One-word spells are simply short incantations.
Incantations and chants have been used by witches and people of other religions and practices for centuries to aid in focusing energy and intent in spells/rituals. In addition, words and languages are a fascinating magic in and of themselves. After all, their very purpose is to aid humans in communicating our intentions to those around us. So it would follow that every word has a set meaning to it, an intention behind it. I know people that use existing words for one-word spells, perhaps in a different language than they are used to to make it seem ~fancier~. I also know people who use the roots of existing words to form a new combination word.
Let’s break down what needs to happen for a one-word spell to work, first. Incantations are energy given form. You cannot simply speak a word ~with intent~ as normal and expect it to work for you, you have to give it energy like any other spell. How do you do that, you ask? Think about how you speak. You need air in your lungs, so you first breath in cold air. While it is in your body, the air heats up, and you end up breathing out warm air. When you speak, air is passing through your vocal cords, causing them to vibrate and produce sound. Then, your tongue shapes that sound into words. To infuse your words with your energy, you can do a few different things. You can hold the air you breathe in inside for a moment, and bind your energy to that air. This works well for one-word spells that only need one burst of air. You can also focus on the energy center in your throat. Imagine that, as air passes through your vocal cords, it is also passing through that energy center. Of course, air is always passing through this energy center, picking up a little bit of energy... but spells are conscious acts of magic using energy. You want to make that spell as effective as you possibly can, and you can do this by binding energy to your spell instead of just tossing a few loose strands of energy in. Thinking about this process is one way to effectively bind your energy to your words. There’s one other thing a one-word spell needs: intent. You can’t speak a nonsense word like... “Glarsh” or something. That doesn’t have any meaning to you, nor to the world. What makes incantations unique is their use of existing intent. Languages are absolutely fascinating.
What sounds like nonsense to one person can be an effective means of communication between others. Language and words are our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and intentions given shape by our tongues. So, when using a word, make it a word that matches your intent. When creating a one-word spell, create it from existing “roots” or “stems”. From 7th grade to 12th grade, part of my English curriculum was learning about Latin and Greek “root/stem words” that made up a majority of English words. For example, ‘Luna’ means ‘moon’, and ‘-ar’ means ‘of’, so ‘lunar’ would mean ‘of the moon’ or ‘having to do with the moon’. You can use this principle, too, when making your own one-word spells. Don’t just think up some nonsense word and use it, use what the languages of the world have already given you. This will allow you more effectively create and use one-word spells that actually work, and work well.
with love,
Adriellen Oliveira xx