MAGIC WORDS subjects from a position of control that keeps him outside looking in. Rather, the Sage is a full and willing participant in the drama, sitting in the sweat lodge or around the bonfire alongside everyone else. Where the modern-day Sorcerer requires a substantial venue (or television studio) to bring off his act, all the world's a stage to the Sage. He's the indefatigable magician who technically never performs. "Why are you looking at me?" he seems to be asking. "Magic is happening all around us!" The Sage's magic word Behold! calls upon spectators to "witness and be amazed." He beckons everyone to become mystical "seers" endowed with profound spiritual insight and the power to perceive miracles. In other words, the Sage generously invites everyone to participate in the magic, to suspend their disbelief and be convinced that "seeing is believing." With every word he speaks, this wise spinner of yarns weaves story-magic. His incantation Once upon a time opens the floodgates of imagination and calls upon our inner children to never stop believing, to connect with and renew an innate sense of wonder. And his What if beckons us to question the rational, think beyond our accepted reality, and expand the limits of what is possible. Which Archetype Resonates? Again, as McBride has noted, a magician may play out the roles of Trickster, Sorcerer, Oracle, and Sage throughout the course of his career or within the span of a single performance. Each archetype is crucial to the vast cultural tableau of magic in human history, and no one of these mutually- compatible archetypes is better or worse than another. It is therefore appropriate that the magic words collected in this dictionary comprise the vocabularies of all four archetypes. If you are a budding conjuror in search of your performing identity, noting which words seem especially appealing and intriguing will help you to determine which archetype resonates with you at this point in your life. And identifying which words strike you as ef fective within the context of particular tricks or illusions may help you bring various archetypes into your service as you shape your routine. The Power is in How You Say It The sound of a voice, the rhythm of a line, the magic of words. -- Marcia Landy, The Historical Film (2001) A magic word -- merely pronounced, it creates a turbulence, an agitation. This quick movement of emotions and ideas brings another scene to the fore. -- Thomas C. Heller, Reconstructing Individualism (1986) It has been said that the 'secret' of magic words is this: "It doesn't matter what you say as much as it matters how you say it!" Naturally, each ma 5 Dale Carnegie, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking (1990) 6 Joseph Max, quoted by Azaz Cythrawl (1999)