Post by Prof. Axel Miriyan on May 29, 2009 21:34:38 GMT -6
Lesson 1
Side Note to students: I chose to touch briefly on the Ancient Egypt, most to give you a fell of how the ancient people felt and saw magic, we will not be covering everything about them, as there is a lot about them…Also please do not forget, after reading the lesson go and join the class discussion.
Ancient Egypt
Magic was beginning to integrate into society and wizards are held in high esteem, also there was no division between the magical world and the Muggle world at this time.
The Egyptians used magic for both practical and religious purposes. They believed magic was a divine creation for the benefit of humanity, and with their gods being magical helped them cope with their environment they lived in along with anything bad that would happen (i.e.: drought, plague, ect.) and anyone who show that they could do magic was held in that high esteem.
The purpose of the magic was to compel the help of divine powers. Usually, the person carrying out the magic was identified by name with a deity to obtain from him the power of that god. Also the person might threaten that god with dire consequences if his demands were not met.
To the Egyptians, magic was a real and potent force. It was a tangible means of communicating, manipulating, and controlling their gods. For example, their life depended on agriculture and thus the weather. Using magic to control the weather was important for their survival, magic was also essential after death for safe passage through the afterlife.
Many of the Egyptian gods were invoked using magic, but the most frequent god invoked was Isis, since she was the protector of her son (Horus), with whom the person seeking help would be identified with. Some important ancient Egyptian magic rituals concern defense against enemies. Wax or clay figures of the enemy were ritual destroyed. Also magic was used to keep away spiritual enemies (i.e. god's that were not favorable towards them or wanted to harm them). Also personal spells were used against someone's enemy. For example, there are spells that invoke evil gods to appear in a person's dreams. Also personal use of magic included the use of love potions. It usually consisted of some liquid or food that came with an incantation. To the ancient Egyptians, it would not differ much from a medical prescription. Remember, magic was just another field of knowledge like medicine and was very real to them.
Dreams and Prophecy
Magic was also used for the prediction of the future. One way this was done was by asking the statue of a god, which acted as an oracle. What we call now Divination could be obtained through the interpretation of dreams. The Egyptians viewed dreams as a means in which the gods could make contract with humans. Another practice, known as "incubation", involves the sleeping in a temple in order to receive prophetic dreams from a god.
These are a few dream interpretation taken from the Chester Beatty III’s papyrus:
"If a man sees himself in a dream slaughtering an ox with his own hand” = good: it means killing his adversary.
"Eating crocodile flesh” = good: it means acting as an official among his people.
"Submerging in the river” = good: it means purification from all evils.
"Seeing his face in a mirror” = bad: it means another wife.
"Copulating with a woman” = bad: it means mourning.
"Being bitten by a dog” = bad: it means he will be touched by magic.
The last one shows that even though they thought highly of magic, they still feared it.
Magic for the Dead
In the afterlife, it was important for the deceased to be equipped with magical spells for their protection. The earliest collections of such spells were found inscribed inside Old Kingdom royal pyramids, as they were the one that need the most protection, for they were so important in life. These are called "Pyramid Texts" since they were inscribed on the walls of the pyramids. Approximately 800 of these incantations have been found. Osiris first appears in these texts as the lord of the dead.
Only the King had the promise of immortality. During the First Intermediate period, this promise started to be extended to all. Thus during this period there was an expanded collection of these incantations. In fact, more than 1100 spells have been found. These spells were now copied onto the interior surfaces of coffins. Thus these texts are referred to as "Coffin Texts". Many of these were basically guide books to the underworld so the spirit would not get lost.
Later, during the New Kingdom, these spells were copied onto papyrus scrolls and were available to anyone who could pay for them, which were mostly the royal. We know these scrolls as the "Egyptian Book of the Dead".
Homework
Side Note to Students: Remember do NOT post your homework, sent it to me through an owl, and remember your headings.
1) Finish the sentence: Egyptians used magic for both _________ and _________ purposes.
2) What was the purpose of Magic?
3) Who was the only person promised immortality according to Egyptians?
4) Short essay, look up and give me five facts about another ancient race that used magic. I will add extra points for good detail.
