The basis for Egyptian witchcraft came from a range of sources. A practitioner of magic had to know alchemy, astrology, astronomy, animal concoctions, and herbal medicines. It took a combination of these with a touch of religion and relationship with a personal god to make someone truly skilled. The most powerful skills were written ones because so little of the population was literate that a written spell would be passed down among families.
Wands were also used and were intricately decorated and highly prized. They were used to summon magical beings and force the being to obey the magician, priest or witch that was calling them. Semi-circular ivory wands were known to be used around the second millennium BC. Some believed that they were used to draw protective circles around those that were vulnerable, such as women giving birth or those that were ill.
Amulets were also used for spells, protection and magic. They could be made by a skilled practitioner, either male or female, and would be worn by an individual for protection or used in spells. Strangely enough, individuals performing spells was not frowned upon by the leaders or the priests because it was not common for anyone to do harmful magic. It was believed that only foreigners did bad magic.
The Egyptians themselves were only known to do truly bad magic against their enemies. If the state wanted to punish an enemy or a traitor they would write the name of person on pots, tablets or on bound figurines. These objects were then burned or buried in the belief that would weaken their enemy. There was also a ceremony that the priests could perform that would curse the enemies of the divine order such as the chaos serpent Apophis who was at war with the sun god.
Images of those that were believed to be threatening the divine order would be drawn on papyrus or modeled out of clay. These would then be trampled, burned and stabbed, then the remnants would be dissolved in urine. These ceremonies also allowed for any human enemies of the Pharaoh to be drawn and cursed as well.
During the reign of Ramesses III, a group of priests, harem girls, and courtiers decided to use a book of destructive spells against the king and his bodyguards. The harem girls were able to get the needed hair to place on the figurines in order to improve the power of the spells. However, the plot failed to bring down the king and all those involved were condemned to death. Proving that either magic was not as powerful as the Egyptians believed or that magic could not be used against the one the gods had chosen to rule.
Continue Reading:
BBC UK – Ancient Egyptian Magic
History Collection – 40 Real People Executed for Witchcraft
History Collection – Witchcraft Execution During The ‘Burning Times’
History Collection – Greek and Roman Trials for Magic and Witchcraft