Magic
Magic
Multiple Uses . The Egyptians believed that magic, called “heka” was a useable and controllable force in the world, which could be accessed through performing rituals and reciting or writing spells. Magic was useful in medicine, improving agricultural production, cursing opponents, compelling love from sexual partners, and communicating with dead ancestors. For the Egyptians, magic was a neutral force like any other sort of energy in the natural order of things. Magic was studied in the “House of Life” located in the temple, much like the other sciences such as astronomy or medicine. Magic could control the natural world, other people, and dangerous animals. It was a component of medicine, included in a variety of issues such as general health maintenance, both while the subject was awake and asleep, as well as was used to prevent snake and crocodile bites.
Part Of Science . At the beginning of the twentieth century C.E., some Egyptologists argued that Egyptians in the Old Kingdom were more “scientific” than their descendants in the New Kingdom (circa 1539-1075 b.c.e.) and later. The Ramesseum Papyri, and the magician’s kit found with them, show that magic was an integral part of Egyptian science in the Middle Kingdom. No real change occurred in the relationship between magic and other sciences over the whole period of Egyptian history. The reliance on magic did not increase over time, nor were there any changes in the way magic was used.
Mechanics . Egyptologist Robert Kriech Ritner has described the techniques of using magic as its “mechanics,” which included licking and/or swallowing liquids that had had contact with magical images, manipulation of images, and recitation of spells. Another common technique was walking a circuit around a space to be protected, called circumambulating. Rituals also included tying special knots, using numerology, utilizing color symbols, and breaking, trampling, burning, burying, or spitting on objects. Egyptian magic also included intercession from the dead.
Recitation techniques . Often the speaker of magic assumed the identity of a god in a recitation. Many spells take the form, “I am the deity NN.” The magician thus associated himself with a god whose story could be related to the situation at hand. The god Horus, for example, was renowned for his recovery after the god Seth attacked him. Thus, recovery from illness was associated with Horus. Many of the medical spells begin, “I am Horus.” A second recitation technique was to recite patterns of sound that imitated speech but used no Egyptian words. These patterns were literally “magic words.”
Priests As Magicians . Magic relied on the proper use of words as well as rituals and gestures, which were composed and copied at the House of Life, a unit of the temple. Thus magic was related to religion, as were other sciences in Egypt. The majority of magicians were priests. A specific priest called the “Prophet of Magic” and a “Chief of Secrets” were responsible for the use of magic in the temple. A “Chief Lector Priest” recited prayers for rituals and also pronounced spells for magical acts. Many lower-level lector priests were available both for official duties in the temple and private consultations that required magical intervention. Evidence from Deir el Medina also suggests that “wise women” had access to magic spells. Female magicians were especially consulted for divinations that determined the cause of events. For example, a death under suspicious circumstances could have been caused by magic. The wise woman was especially equipped to investigate such charges if there was reason to believe an event was related to magic.
Protecting Property. Magic was used to protect property. The major method used was a procession around the property, either with an image of a god or a special stick of wood. Such processions could be made around a temple as a god’s house. Similar processions of this type were made by individuals to protect their residences.
Protecting People. Magic also protected people from wild animals. Using songs, spells, gestures, and rituals, a person could ward off crocodiles. The Harris Magical Papyrus recorded the necessary words and actions used in the Ramesside Period. An egg was made from clay and a professional magician recited the proper spell. A man then stood lookout in the prow of a boat holding the egg. He was directed to throw it at a surfacing crocodile to protect the boat.
Protection From Ghosts. Egyptians believed that people were also at risk while asleep. Ghosts were a particular worry. According to a papyrus in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, ghosts could inject poisoned fluid in a person’s ear while he was asleep. A spell from Deir el Medina was used in conjunction with clay figures of snakes to prevent ghosts from entering a bedroom. Such clay figurines have been discovered in houses dating to the New Kingdom.
Protecting Fields and Animals. Fields were magically charged to make them more fertile by parading an image of the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu around them. Priests carried an image of the harvest goddess, Renenutet, around granaries to protect the harvest from harm. Spells were also useful to protect the fields from pests; for example, they could be used to keep birds from eating grain. A special cake was first baked and then placed over a piece of acacia wood. The spell called on the falcon-god Horus to protect the field from other birds. Many other magic remedies were used to protect the herds. Horus was again invoked to keep the herd safe from predatory animals such as lions and hyenas. Spells were also used to identify and remove infected animals from the herds. Cattle were especially at risk when they forded streams. Many scenes carved in Old Kingdom (circa 2675-2130 b.c.e.) tombs depict cattle crossing a stream while a magician supervised and recited a spell. A magician’s toolbox found at the Ramesseum contained a small statue of a man with a calf on his shoulders, which probably was also used to protect cattle while they crossed streams.
Defeating Enemies. The Egyptians also believed that misfortune could be directed at their enemies. Commonly, foreign enemies of the state were portrayed as bound and defeated on buildings and furniture. Among common objects decorated with defeated enemies were door hinges, paving stones, sandal bottoms, footstools, throne bases, canes, jar handles, and oar stops. Thus, opening a door ground the enemy; walking on a path in sandals trampled them; resting one’s feet, or sitting, caused them distress; pouring from a jar squeezed them; and rowing crushed them. Depictions that caused the enemy pain were used in both private and public life. Both ordinary people and government officials could use them. Figurines were sometimes decorated with the name of a foreign group or even a local individual. These figurines could be smashed or sealed inside a jar and buried. These methods brought distress to either a state or personal enemy.
Love Spells. People could also use magic to compel love from another person. The earliest example of a love spell was discovered in Deir el Medina and dates to the Ramesside Period (circa 1292-1075 b.c.e.). In the spell a man asks that a woman “run after me like a cow after grass, like a servant after her children, like a drover after his herd.” Some other examples attempt to break up existing marriages and relationships through magical means.
Conclusion. Magic provided a source of control over the world for Egyptians of all social and political classes. Though professional practitioners were often consulted, the workmen at Deir el Medina, for instance, had access to magic themselves. Magic gave Egyptians the comfort of knowing that certain dangers to themselves and their property could be confronted.
Sources
Joris F. Borghouts, trans, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts (Leiden: Brill, 1978).
Borghouts, “Magical Practices among the Villagers,” Pharaoh’s Workers: The Villagers of Deir el Medina, edited by Leonard H. Lesko (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1994), pp. 119–130.
Christian Jacq, Egyptian Magic, translated by Janet M. Davis (Wiltshire, U.K.: Aris & Phillips, 1985; Chicago: Bolchazy-Carducci, 1985).
Robert Kriech Ritner, The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice (Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1993).