Deities – The Archaeology of Ancient Magic

Thoth

In ancient Egyptian belief, Thoth is an incredibly complex and powerful deity. Here is a brief overview of his main roles: Thoth is the primordial…

Ablanathanalba & Akrammachamarei

Modern scholarship still sticks to the use of the incorrect term “voces magicae” (magic sounds or magic words) for what ancient authors and practitioners referred…

The Archaeology of Ancient Magic - Ancient Dice with Egyptian Deities - UCL Culture Museum, LDUCE-UC38176

Unique Ancient Egyptian Limestone Dice With Deities

Unique limestone dice incised with the names of six major ancient Egyptian deities: Horus, Osiris, Isis, Nepthys, Hor-Duat, Hathor H: 3.3 cm, 62.99 g, Ptolemaic…

How Dry Myrrh, Pines, Resins and Incense Were Created

Horus cried.The water fell from his eye to the earth and grew.That is how dry myrrh came to be. Geb was sad on account of…

Bainchôôôch

In Gnostic belief, Bainchôôôch was a triple-powered deity and neither a “vox magica” nor an epithet of a higher power. Here is a quote from…

Pantheistic Bes

This ancient bronze statuette showsa composite deity with the attributesof various individual gods: the face of the god Bes, the twin plumes and the ram…

“The Book of Knowing the Creations of Re and of Felling Apep”

From the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus, Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 305 – 30 B.C. “The Book of knowing the creations of Re and of felling Apep. Recite: Thus…

The Archaeology of Ancient Magic - Egyptian Decans Quote Celsus

The Egyptian Decans

“In his polemical work against Christianity, written in 178, the Greek philosopher Celsus (in Origen C.Cels. 8.58) wrote that according to the Egyptians every part…

Iaô

Iaō is one of the most frequently mentioned higher powers in the Greek magical papyri. The name also occurs frequently on textual artefacts, but it…

The Isis Aretology of Kyme

An aretology is a list of a deity’s powers, virtues, miraculous deeds, and attributes. Six Isis’ aretologies are known to us today, dating from the…