Why do we say "hocus-pocus" when doing a magic trick?

maudy2

Seems to be a tad contentious but I lean towards the likelihood that it sounds exotic and rhymes ! http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/hocus-pocus.html Oct 30 08, 9:03 AM

star_gazer

There is another reason. Oct 30 08, 12:17 PM

edmund80

It is supposedly a variation of the words spoken during the consecration of the wine and wafer during the Catholic Mass. "It's been plausibly suggested that hocus-pocus is a corruption of the genuine Latin words hoc est enim corpus meum, "for this is my body," spoken during the consecration of the Roman Catholic Mass when the wine and wafer are said to be transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Some experts, presumably non-Catholic, think hocus-pocus itself was then corrupted into the word hoax." http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1313/whats-the-origin-of-abracadabra-hocus-pocus-and-presto Oct 30 08, 12:32 PM

star_gazer

Interesting Edmund. There was also a magician named Ochus Bochus. Some have suggested the phrase predated His Majesties Hocus Pocus, being corrupted from the name of a demonic sorcerer of Norse folklore, Ochus Bochus. Ochus Bochus is himself quite possibly a corruption of Bacchus, god of conjuration who turned water into sacred wine. Bacchus/Bochus could well be related to Jesus who turned water into wine, wine into his own blood, & bread into his flesh (all coopted from Dioynisianism). http://www.paghat.com/cranesbillhocus.html Oct 30 08, 1:32 PM

zbeckabee

The origins of the term remain obscure. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term originates from hax pax max Deus adimax, a pseudo-Latin phrase used as a magic formula by conjurors. Some believe it originates from a parody of the Roman Catholic liturgy of the eucharist, which contains the phrase "Hoc est enim corpus meum." This explanation goes back to speculations by the Anglican prelate John Tillotson, who wrote in 1694: In all probability those common juggling words of hocus pocus are nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome in their trick of Transubstantiation. Others believe that it is an appeal to the Norse folklore magician Ochus Bochus. The Welsh hovea pwca (a "goblin's trick", or hoax) could also be the source. Or it may simply be imitation Latin with no meaning, made up to impress people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocus_Pocus_(magic) http://www.paghat.com/cranesbillhocus.html Oct 30 08, 5:46 PM