0 MAGIC WORDS Horus) salutes the high god. Hissing is the sound made by the sacred snake that devours its own tail, emblem of the endless cycle of regeneration. Popping, moreover, is the first element of the high god's secret name, and hissing the second; and popping and hissing, together with breathing, speaking, and laughing, are among the sounds the high god made when he called the world into being. If we fail to comprehend these sounds, it is because they are of a higher order than human speech, not a lower one. They echo divine speech; they are recovered fragments of the language of paradise. One of the magical papyri relates that the mere sound of them delights the gods." 0 Porridge and Chips Facts: This magic phrase is used by professional magician Clown Kevin. Possible In Literature: • "A magic word, 'possible.'" -- Scott Smith, Breaking 100, 90, 80 (2004) Presto Xav had the power to speak most things into existence with the magic word of presto. -- Anonymous (200 ) Mystique: The name itself was almost magic on his tongue, like presto or shazam. -- Peter Abrahams, Their Wildest Dreams (200 ) Presto is a flash -- the very essence of spontaneity, the profound magic of the "instant" when something shifts. Presto says "magic is in the air. Do not try to figure it out; you cannot. It is the power of the unknown at work, and something special is about to happen."21 The word itself begs to be spo ken quickly, as if without thinking. Truly spontaneous speech is when the thought and the word are identical, like unselfconscious singing in the bathtub. We capture that energy when we jump outside ourselves with "cour 20 Philip Zaleski, Prayer: A History (2005) 21 Jamie Sams, Medicine Cards (1988) 22 Allen Ginsberg, "Meditation and Poets," quoted in John Welwood, Ordinary Magic (1992)