Enchanting Table

Enchantment Table is a block. Notch has stated that Enchanting will work in three stages and the effects will be based on the spell you choose, but a random loot element will be included as well. Each spell will cost the player experience levels but in turn allow the player to enchant armor and swords so that they will last longer, be more powerful and give their color more of a gloss look.

In 1.9 Pre-Release 3, the Enchantment Table can be destroyed with a single punch, but only drops as a block if it is harvested with a Pickaxe.

History
Notch first tweeted about the Enchantment Table on September 30th 2011.

Enchantments
Enchantment names are randomly constructed from a long list of words. Three to five words are chosen from the list and appended to each other, creating the enchantment name. Any name can be chosen for any item. Note that the names are not actually saved with the item, they are only displayed in the Enchantment Table interface, albeit with the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The list of words is as follows, as of Beta 1.9 pre-release 3:

"the elder scrolls klaatu berata niktu xyzzy bless curse light darkness fire air earth water hot dry cold wet ignite snuff embiggen twist shorten stretch fiddle destroy imbue galvanize enchant free limited range of towards inside sphere cube self other ball mental physical grow shrink demon elemental spirit animal creature beast humanoid undead fresh stale"

Bugs

 * Enchantments are disabled/do not work in Beta 1.9 Pre-release 3's SMP. If a player attempts to enchant an item, it will appear enchanted for the client, but will update with the unenchanted status once the player logs out and then back in again.
 * In Beta 1.9 Pre-release 3, if a potion in the enchantment slot is right clicked, the game has a chance to crash.
 * If you shift click an item into the enchanting table the game will crash. (both creative and survival modes)

Trivia

 * Notch commented on Reddit "Oh, it's more magical than that! It automatically opens up and turns towards players who get close to it. When nobody is around, the books is closed and spins slowly. Because magic."
 * Notch comments on other book animations. "Yes, the pages flip randomly every now and then."
 * On October 1st 2011, Notch tweeted an image of the enchantment screen, with enchantments written in the Standard Galactic Alphabet. The first enchantment translates onto "Well Played Internets You Are Good", the second translated into "These Names Will Be Random And Confusing", and the third translates to "Each Spell Costs Experience Levels". The Standard Galactic Alphabet or SGA was originally created by Tom Hall for use in the Commander Keen series of computer games.
 * When an Enchantment Table is nearby a Bookshelf, SGA letters will come from the shelves to the Enchantment Table.
 * Although the bottom texture appears to be the same as obsidian, it is separate from the obsidian texture in terrain.png.