History Main / MagicalIncantation

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Outside [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFourthEdition 4th Edition]], most spells have "verbal components" that need to be spoken when they're cast. Onlookers can identify a spell by its verbal components (with training) and can silence a spellcaster to prevent them from casting. Some [[SkillScoresAndPerks abilities]], like the [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition 3rd Edition]] feat "Silent Spell", counter this requirement.

** Raven's usual magical chant is "''Azarath Metrion Zinthos!''" In addition to sounding downright cool, the phrase has significant meaning: "Azarath" is her home dimension, "Metrion" is her real name, and "Zinthos" was the name of a pet raven she had as a child. ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Yes, seriously.)]]

* From ''Series/SesameStreet'', the bumbling StageMagician, the Amazing Mumford, has one whenever he performs a trick: "[[CatchPhrase A La Peanut Butter Sandwiches!]]"

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', all spells require incantations, which are actually composed of random names of runes from the various runic alphabets, especially the Elder Futhark.

** It should be noted that certain chants vary depending on the user. Both, Yusei and Jack have different chants for Stardust Dragon. But most of the time, the chants are the same for the same monster. Aki uses the same chant Yusei uses for Stardust Dragon, and Yusei uses the same chants the other Signers use for their respective dragons. Each monster that has a summoning chant almost always stick with the same chant in the Japanese version and the players never fail to recite the chants. In ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', the summoning chants for Fusion Summons also reference each Fusion Material, which is the only part of the chant that may differ from time to time, but the rest stays the same.

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

* Yuki Nagato from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' uses incantations. In the anime, they are sped up and backwards Microsoft SQL scripts.
** In the books, they're simply SQL.
* Magic in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' requires an incantation of at least the name. Whether the full incantation of a spell is required seems to be based on whatever flows better in the show, but powerful spells NEED the incantation (Lina's big three spells are never cast without incantation, except when she used Dragon Slave to comically abuse Gourry.)

* ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'' has these. More adept magic users can abbreviate the incantations to cast spells rapid-fire: makes for a funny CurbStompBattle in the first episode.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in the ALO Arc, where players using magic have to recite a string of commands in a language that sounds vaguely Norse. They do have the benefit of visual cues for timing, in something close to English script. Top players, like Leafa, by-heart their spells and learn their meaning.

* ''LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokuroChan'': "PIPIRU PIRU PIRU PIPIRU PII!" It resurrects people that the title character bludgeoned to death. She chants it often. [[BloodyHilarious Do the math.]]

* ''LightNovel/AkashicRecordsOfBastardMagicInstructor'' has a detailed system of these. In this series, incantations are used by a magician to alter their own state of mind so they can cast a spell, which has several implications. Changing the incantations alters the output of a spell, in a manner that seems random but is actually predictable from how the incantation was changed. Skilled magicians can shorten their incantations without weakening their spells, but this is noted to increase the chances of an accident. ''Really'' skilled magicians can cast spells using incantations that have nothing to do with the nature of the spell.

* 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/TheGardenOfSinners'', 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/TheGardenOfSinners Cornelius Alba]], who can incant eight lines in under two seconds and create a thousand-degree flame.

* In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsShazam'', [[EvilSorcerer Karmang]] chants an invoking spell which takes the form of a little rhyming poem to summon ComicBook/BlackAdam and the [[ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore Sand Superman]] to his presence. Later, he chants a fire spell while hurling fireballs at ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/MaryMarvel.

Specific examples of magic incantations include ByThePowerOfGreyskull, {{Invocation}}, and many instance of CallingYourAttacks. Compare and contrast WordsCanBreakMyBones which is the usually shorter "words of power". Not to be confused with {{Invocation}} when this is done just for show. Compare WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic for when the incantation itself is either irrelevant or else useless without the magical muscle to go with it. Compare IKnowYourTrueName for another way words can control sticks, stones, and bones. On the powerful end of the [[ThePowerOfLanguage Power of Language]] scale.

* ''Literature/BookOfBrownies'': The evil Golden Dwarf's sole weakness is a magical incantation that when uttered in his presence, will banish him to another world permanently. The main problem is that the incantation is a long, ''long'' word - ''Kerolamisticootalimarcawnokeeto'' that nobody else could remember, but the three titular brownies made it work by memorizing one-third of the chant each and say it in sequence.

* ThePhilosophicalStrangler by Eric Flint plays this for laughs; the Rosy finger takes so long to cast that the fight is already over when it's done.

* Yuki Nagato from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' uses incantations, in the anime they are sped up and backwards Microsoft SQL scripts.

-->''Heed me now, thou who is darker than dusk, Heed that which is more red than blood, In the name of that which has been buried in the bottomless abyss of time eternal, I summon thee, Master of the ultimate darkness, Have no pity on the fools who stand in our way, Infuse me with power; let your strength become mine to wipe them from the face of this earth to deliver unto them the ultimate doom! DRAGON SLAVE!''
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' 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.

* Much like the games, mages in ''Manga/FinalFantasyLostStranger'' have to chant in order to use spells, particularly when using powerful magic like Firaga. Especially powerful mages, like the Magus Sisters, can skip the chant all together and invoke a spell nigh-instantly.

* 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.

* Most of the ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' anime revolves around the titular pets performing magic spells by chanting "Jewel Flash!". Their sentence structures vary between each season, yet they maintain most of the aforementioned chant, or at least a variation of it. Their sweet-themed counterparts are also capable of magic through the "Sweets Flash" chant.

* In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsShazam'', [[EvilSorcerer Karmang]] chants an invoking spell which takes the form of a little rhyming poem to summon ComicBook/BlackAdam and the [[ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore Sand Superman]] to his presence. Later, he chants a fire spelll while hurling fireballs at ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/MaryMarvel.

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': They are used in-place of manipulating magic through gestures:

* In Fantasy LARP systems, particularly those based off of NERO, the success of a spell depends both on correctly reciting the incantation (along the lines of "I call upon Mystic Force to cast Fireball!") and hitting your target with a spell packet.

* In Hugh Cook's ''Chronicles of a Age of Darkness'', the wizards use a non-human language, in which every single verb is irregular.
* In the ''Literature/KateDaniels'' series by Ilona Andrews, words of power are acquired by mages having a contest of wills against the words when first encountered. Success means you acquire the word, failure means you die. These words are extremely powerful, and almost impossible to resist, until Kate encounters a bad guy whose native tongue is the ancient tongue from which the words are taken...
* 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 mastered such a language, but he whips together an incantion in PigLatin.

* 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 sorcerers lose respect if they going around telling things to "push" or "flop" instead of sounding impressively mystical.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', wizards use incantations, but back it up with potent props (sometimes stripped down to a small stick and 3cc of mouse blood if they're summoning Death). Witches tend to dispense with this. When Magrat Garlick had to open a locked door with magic, she spoke to it, got into its mind, and got it to remember when it was part of a green, growing, living, tree. The planks of the door then erupted into growth and opened a gap. Granny Weatherwax approved of the technique, but said if it had been her, she's have gone into the rocks around it and prodded their memories of when they were all runny and liquid in a volcano.

*** Carrionite "technology" is described as this. Humans and other species use numbers. To humans the right equation can split the atom. To the Carrionites, they need just find the right word or words.

* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'': Magic [[WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic doesn't strictly need spoken incantations]], but spellcasting rolls are substantially penalized if a mage goes without. They can also get a modest spellcasting boost by speaking the spell extra-loud.

* The ''VisualNovel/ShinzaBanshoSeries'' absolutely loves this trope with lengthy incantations invoking reality shattering effects for almost every named character, with effects ranging from simply [[VisualNovel/DiesIrae turning the user into a living flame]] to more extreme ones such as the [[VisualNovel/KajiriKamuiKagura complete destruction of everything]]. As a general rule, these incantations are all about the user invoking their desires and wishes upon the world, overwriting the old reality with their own with some select few being able to make these effects permanent across all of creation. Additionally, the characters themselves never come up with them and they are instead their subconscious desires expressed in the form of words. The first activation is also completely out of their control and they are chanting them without conscious input.

* In ''Webcomic/FarStarSummerSchool'', incantations are one of the forms of witchcraft taught at the Sunny Summer School for witches. Constanza, who teaches the subject, notes that while it is the simplest one, it is the most difficult and exhausting one as well, being much easier to preform with the aid of a familiar.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', spell incantations were in Latin, unless the caster was one of Oberon's Children.

* Most of the ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'' anime revolves around the titular pets performing magic spells by chanting "Jewel Flash!". Their sentences structures vary between each season, yet they maintain most of the aforementioned chant, or at least a variation of it. Their sweet-themed counterparts are also capable of magic through the "Sweets Flash" chant.

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

* [[https://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/pow/index.htm Here]] is a list 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”.

* [[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”.

* [[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”.