Home › Glossary › Letter I

incantatory sequence

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A sequence of poems structured as ritual chants, often using repetition, invocation, and rhythmic patterns for ceremonial or spiritual effect.

Detailed Definition
Incantatory sequence is a series of verses linked by recurring sounds, phrases, or syntactic formulas that build cumulative intensity through ritualized repetition; designed to be spoken aloud, it harnesses the physicality of language to induce meditative, ecstatic, or communal states, bridging poetic form and performative magic.
Example
Example in poetry:
Verses repeating with slight variations: “Come light, come flame, come fire” → “Come flame, come heat, come sun” → “Come heat, come burn, come brightness”; A ritual chant sequence with shifting lines but repeating words; Incantations with moving cycle of repeated end-words; Hymn verses looping
Additional Notes
A series of stanzas or poems employing repetitive language, strong rhythm, and a chant-like tone; the cumulative effect is designed to evoke a trance-like state or build towards an overwhelming emotional climax.
Also Known As
ritual sequence spell sequence incantatory progression charm-chain Chant poem sequence
Skip to main content