Abra Cadabra

Abra Cadabra is a concept that comes from a late Latin word, in turn derived from Greek hug. The etymology of abracadabra, therefore, leads us to the idea of abraxas.

The Gnostics (that is, the followers of the ancient religious and philosophical doctrine that combined elements of Christianity, Judaism, and Eastern beliefs, holding a mysterious and intuitive knowledge of the divine) appealed to abraxas as a symbolic expression to allude to solar course throughout the year and represent God. This voice was also recorded on stones that were used as a talisman.

The term abracadabra is attributed magical powers.

What is abracadabra

Starting from Abraxas, it was Abra Cadabra. It is a word to which magical powers are assigned: it is believed that its pronunciation, in this way, generates supernatural or fantastic effects.

The first recorded use of abracadabra appears in a book of Sammonic Serene, a Roman physician and poet who lived between the end of 2nd century and early 3rd century. According to this scholar, sufferers of malaria and of other lethal affections they had to carry an amulet with this message written in a triangular design.

Various groups and sects, such as the aforementioned Gnostics, continued to make use of this notion. With the weather, most people stopped thinking that abracadabra had a mystical power and thus the term acquired a different use.

Illusionists often say "abracadabra" when performing a trick.

Central element of illusionism

Abracadabra is used in the field of illusionism for specify the supposed magic spell or ritual. It is important to note that, in this case, the illusionist does not really believe or claim that he is performing a supernatural act, but that his performance is part of a show scenic.

Illusionism, then, is an art that consists in provoking phenomena that, in appearance, contradict or ignore the laws of the physical or the principles of reason. While the illusionist is in charge of hiding the mechanisms that mask the true facts, the public accepts the game without refuting the actions.

Returning to the definition of abracadabra, it is common for the illusionist, when performing the enchantment, spell or spell, to say "Abra Cadabra". In an artistic show of this type, a representation is staged where it is made to believe that the pronunciation of the concept makes or establishes the Magic.

Suppose a magician claims that he will extract a rabbit from a galley which appears to be empty. After waving a wand in the air, touch the top with the staff and pronounce: "Abra Cadabra!". With that said, reach into the hat and pull the animal out.

"Abracadabra" in the cinema

Finally, we can mention the existence of films that are known with the qualification from "Abra Cadabra". On 2017, for example, a comedy titled in this way was premiered that was directed by Spanish Paul berger and the performances of Antonio de la Torre Martin, Maribel verdu and Jose Mota.

On Latin America, meanwhile, it was distributed under the name of "Abra Cadabra" to "Hocus Pocus", a film from 1993 who had Bette midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy najimy as protagonists.