PDM – The Archaeology of Ancient Magic & Ritual Practice

The London-Leiden Magical Papyrus, 2nd-3rd century, Egypt.

How to Express “Very Good” in the Egyptian-Demotic Magical Papyri

Learning the languages of the ancient magical papyri In the Egyptian-Demotic magical papyri, to express that a ritual is “very” good, you write “good” and…

Fate has a Daughter

In this ancient Egyptian spell against poison we learn that the Egyptian god of fate, who is called Schay, has a daughter named Sarbytha. The…

London-Leiden Magical Papyrus, Recto column 19, lines 21-24 Late 2nd or early 3rd century, Egypt. AMS 65, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden

Spell Against a Bone Stuck in the Throat

This ritual is against a bone stuck in the throat of a person. It is preserved in the Egyptian-Demotic magical papyrus pdm xiv dated to…

Section of the London-Leiden Magical Papyrus, recto column 2, 7-9. 2nd/3rd century, Egypt. British Museum EA10070,1 © The Trustees of the British Museum

Egyptian Divination Ritual – Beginning of the Invocation of Anubis

This section of the London-Leiden magical papyrus, also known as pdm xiv / PGM XIV, describes an Egyptian divination ritual, highlighted is the beginning of…

The Divine Determinative or: How Ancient Egyptians Marked Their Deities

In the ancient Egyptian script “Demotic” the names of gods and goddesses were written with a special sign at the end which marks the divine…

Kephaleke - Papyrus AMS 65, 2nd-3rd century (C) Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden.

Ram’s horn – An Ancient Egyptian Herb and How to Use It

The author of this ancient Egyptian magical papyrus wrote down the Demotic (Egyptian) words for plants and minerals and then added their Greek terms. We…

Assessing Ritual Efficacy in the Egyptian Magical Papyri

In the ancient Egyptian magical papyri we find multiple references concerning the efficacy of individual ritual instructions. The common expression is a simple “very good”…

Video: The Making and Use of Ancient Magical Artefacts

Over 100 ancient Egyptian and Greek magic books have been discovered in Egypt until today. They date between the 1st century BC and the 12th…

„Sky“, Bôel and Tat in the Egyptian magical papyrus pdm xiv / PGM XIV

Left side: How was „Sky“ written in ancient Egyptian Demotic? Right side: Two examples of how a correct pronounciation of ancient secret names of higher…

Video: The London-Leiden Magical Papyrus

A brief introduction to the most extensive ancient Egyptian magical papyrus known to us today. LiteratureF. L. Griffith, H. Thompson The demotic magical papyrus of…