History Main / MagicalIncantation

* [[Here| https://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/pow/index.htm] is a lot of “Pow-Wows” or folk Christian Magic formulas. Although some of the contents include more complicated rituals, the majority of these Pow-Wows are incantations. The spots where there are three crosses are placed where one should say aloud “The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost”.

-->--'''{{LetsPlay/Slimecicle}}''', "This Is [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Resident Evil 2]]"

* Literature/HarryPotter spells are mostly [[strike:in Latin]] [[CanisLatinicus Latin]]''[[CanisLatinicus -ish]]''.

* In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' battles there are arcane languages that must be used to cast spells.

* "Verbal components" to most spells in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', except in 4th edition. Unless it's 3rd edition, and you have the Silent Spell feat. It's generally not all that important, but savvy players can silence enemy casters to prevent them from using magic.

* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Spellwrights have to call on the khert in Tainish in order to cast spells, and if they get things wrong it can be disastrous. Even for the very rare tacit casters, people born with the ability to cast without speaking out loud, knowing the Names of things is important.

* The kids in ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' use two of these in conjunction with a magical dragon scale to {{teleport|ation}} between Earth and Dragon Land.

* Spells in ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' are cast using an incantation that's essentially a rhyme describing the intended effects.

-->--**{{LetsPlay/Slimecicle}}**, "This Is [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Resident Evil 2]]"

-->--{{LetsPlay/Slimecicle}}, "This Is [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Resident Evil 2]]"

* ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'': The Witches of Dathomic mostly speak to work spells, aside from very minor ones. Teneniel is astonished that Luke can do "magic" (as she thinks of it) just by thought alone. He explains this is how Jedi learn, and so it seems Witches have inadvertently limited themselves by requiring chants to use Force powers.

* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' by Creator/DavidEddings, sorcery functions through "the Will and the Word". They concentrate on what they want to happen, and speak. What they actually say doesn't matter much, although Garion once gets told off for using "Push" to move a rock -- because wizards lose respect if they going around telling things to "push" or "flop" instead of sounding impressively mystical.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' does this in Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and so forth, requiring at least an activation key word/phrase before each spell, then the incantation itself. Its possible to use magic without one for speed/surprise, but the spell will be less effective. Also notable is that the spell after being spoken can be held for approximately 20 sec, giving the wizard a greater ability for surprise. Unincanted, delayed, and fully incanted spells can themselves be stacked atop others of their own kind, and eachother as well, leaving little limitation to the wizard besides their {{Mana}} pool and skill.

* In the Nasuverse, arias spoken by magi are actually forms of self-hypnosis to improve their magecraft; the actual words hold no power. Only two examples are shown where the actual words are magical. First, in ''LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai'', there's someone who learned a language that allows him to change reality by describing the world differently than it is. Second, there's Caster in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', who uses the language of the Age of Gods, which is apparently such that the words themselves are fully-formed spells. Both languages are impossible for modern humans to learn.
** High-level magi can also shorten their incantations, most notably with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notarikon Notarikon]]. The most extreme is [[LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai Cornelius Alba]], who can incant eight lines in under two seconds and create a thousand-degree flame.

** This trope is later lampshaded in a late episode of ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'', when Roboppi mentions how long Ai's summoning chant for "[=Dark Knight @Ignister=]" is, causing him to stop and wrap up the rest of the chant. During that scene, Ai is chanting while no summoning animation is happening; the camera is only focusing on him. It's clear that Ai makes his chants up, which is shown later during his duel with Playmaker when he chants during the summoning of [=The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister=] when he tries to come up with six adjectives for the six Ignis, but only comes up for five ("Superior! Splendid! Stunning! Elegant! Super!") and then spontaneously adds "Ultra super!". Again, for a majority of the chant, the camera is focusing on Ai again.

* In the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise, characters use individual summon chants when summoning powerful monsters, starting from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' (even prior in dubs of previous series). The summon chants adds a little bit of dialogue during the summoning sequence and describes the character of the duelist and/or the monster. The incantations are not necessary at all, but summoning monsters without the chants makes the sequences rather dull. This is later lampshaded in a late episode of ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'', when Roboppy mentions how long Ai's summoning chant for "[=Dark Tempester @Ignister=]" is, interrupting the flow of his chant. During that scene, Ai is chanting while no summoning animation is happening; the camera is only focusing on him.

* In the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise, characters uses individual summon chants when summoning powerful monsters, starting from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' (even prior in dubs of previous series). The summon chants adds a little bit of dialogue during the summoning sequence and describes the character of the duelist and/or the monster. The incantations are not necessary at all, but summoning monsters without the chants makes the sequences rather dull. This is later lampshaded in a late episode of ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'', when Roboppy mentions how long Ai's summoning chant for [=Dark Tempester @Ignister=] is, interrupting the flow of his chant. During that scene, Ai is chanting while no summoning animation is happening; the camera is only focusing on him.

* In the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise, characters uses individual summon chants when summoning powerful monsters, starting from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' (even prior in dubs of previous series). The summon chants adds a little bit of dialogue during the summoning sequence and describes the character of the duelist and/or the monster. The incantations are not necessary at all, but summoning monsters without the chants makes the sequences rather dull.

* ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'': The Witches of Dathomic always chant to work spells, aside from very minor ones. Teneniel is astonished that Luke can do "magic" (as she thinks of it) just by thought alone. He explains this is how Jedi learn, and so it seems Witches have inadvertently limited themselves by requiring chants to use Force powers.

* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/OperationChaos'', the incantations require an ''exotic'' language. The narrator explains this as similarity: you can not expect anything but ordinary results from using ordinary language. He has not master much of language, but he whips together an incantion in PigLatin.

* Magic users in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' sometimes use incantations and sometimes don't - exactly why is never made clear, though as a professional philologist Tolkien certainly had respect for the power of language. Some individuals, such as certain elves and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Maiar]], uses songs instead.
** Gandalf's utterances during spellcasting are generally fairly straightforward phrases like "Fire take the werewolves" spoken in Quenya. He also makes reference at one point to a "Word of Power" (in a way that suggests his usual spells are ''not'' Words of Power), but we don't actually hear what it is so it's not clear what language it was in.

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' has four magical incantations, all related either to the [[SolarAndLunar sundrop or moonstone]]. In order of appearance, they are the Healing incantation[[note]]''[[FountainOfYouth Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine]]. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine''[[/note]], the Hurt Incantation[[note]]''[[MakeThemRot Wither and decay. End this destiny]]. Break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free. Take what has been hurt. Grant them no mercy. Bend and break the reigns, and set the spirit free. The spirit free''[[/note]], the Moon Incantation[[note]]''[[{{Lunacy}} Crescent high above, evolving as you go]]. Raise what lies beneath, and let the darkness grow. Bend it to my will. Consume the sunlight's glow. Rise into the sky, and let the darkness grow. Let darkness grow''[[/note]], and The Sun Incantation[[note]]''[[ThePowerOfTheSun Power of the sun. Gift me with your light]]. Shine into the dark. Restore our fading sight. Rise into the dawn. Blazing star so bright. Burn away the strife. Let my hope ignite. Let hope ignite''[[/note]]. All but [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} the first]] are introduced over the course of the series. When a new one pops up, you'd best get ready for a doozy a WhamEpisode.

''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'''s Healing Incantation, which can be used as a FountainOfYouth and, as the ending of the movie reveals, [[spoiler: even [[BackFromTheDead bring back the dead.]]]]