MAGIC WORDS In Literature: • "Rushes are not straighter, and ermine is not white, sheep are less gentle, eagles less proud, and deer less nimble, than Abacaba." -- Voltaire, The Ingénue (1767) Abba (see also abracadabra) Mystique: The magic word abba indicates that a magical effect will occur on the authority or with the assistance of a higher power. This power could be of divine origin, or it could be the forefather who handed down the secret through the generations. Meanings: • Divine connection to the creator -- Peter Terpenning, "Sacred Unity, Giving Birth to the World" (2004) • Father; parent -- Wayne A. Meeks, The HarperCollins Study Bible (1997) "Since 'Abba' refers to the earliest form of a child's address to father, I discuss [Jesus'] appeal to the power of Abba's name in light of Freud's comment in his defense of the 'talking cure' . . . that 'words were originally magic' . . . This statement has bearing on the controversy in contemporary Jesus studies whether the word 'magician' applies to him, and moves this discussion from its exclusively sociological locus to a more psychological one." -- Diane E. Jonte-Pace, Teaching Freud (200 ) • God; holy name -- Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy (15 1) • King -- Norman Davies, Europe: A History (1998) • Miracle worker -- Richard Lee Kalmin, Jewish Culture and Society Under the Christian Roman Empire (2002) • Primordial father, supernal father -- Kala Trobe, Magic of Qabalah (2001) -- Israel Regardie, The Golden Dawn (1971) • Sound of the wind -- Peter Terpenning, "Sacred Unity, Giving Birth to the World" (2004) • Term of endearment -- Zondervan, Revolution (200 ) • Unity of all things -- Peter Terpenning, "Sacred Unity, Giving Birth to the World" (2004)