abracadabra, ab-ra-ka-dab'ra, n. a magic word written so that the letters form a triangle- worn as a charm: any unintelligible spell or charm.
When I was looking for a word on the first page, abracadabra jumped out at me. It took me back to when my sister and I would brandish wooden sticks and yell incantations at each other wishing the other would turn into a mouse. I read a little about each of the words that I draw.
Abracadabra has its roots in Hebrew or Armaic where it is written as avda kedavara and translates to what was said has been done. Ofcourse, my Harry Potter loving teenage self immediately drew the parallel to the death curse avada kedavara and it was more than enough to choose the word to illustrate.
I dug a little bit deeper and found that abracadabra it wasn't always a death curse. The story is that abracadabra was a charm recited repeatedly to ward off evil bewitchment and improve poor health. It would be said over and over again, each time with the last letter removed until only the letter a remained. This would be written on paper and worn as an amulet or sewn around clothes.
The allure of something magical is what attracted me to the word. I was sold when I saw an image of the charm in Hebrew. Here's my abracadabra for the first #drawdiction.
