Amanda–Alice MARAVELIA: Magic in Ancient Egypt: Metaphysical Quintessence

of the Land of Gods, Athens (Iamblichos Publications) April 2003, pp. 432, 24 cm
x 17 cm, ISBN 960-268168-3

The book by Dr Amanda–Alice Maravelia: Magic in Ancient Egypt: Metaphysical Quintessence of

the Land of Gods, Athens (Iamblichos Publications) 12003, is a concise egyptological study of the
ancient Egyptian magical practice, tools and techniques, which aims to present scientifically a rather
thorny subject misused by esoterists, pyramidiots and various other irrelevant persons. Furthermore,
subjective arbitrary and tendentious opinions which are not based on strict scientific arguments, and
which tend to misinterpret ancient Egyptian magic, ancient texts, and/or pictures through mysticism
(cf. JACQ 1985: 1 ff, 27-32 & figs. 7-8, 32: fig. 9, 35: fig. 10, 69: fig. 21, 113: fig. 35, 150: fig. 45; &
passim) are also dealt with and criticized. Some of the opinions of the same Egyptologist
concerning a possible mastery of the elements (see op. cit.: 64 ff) are reexamined, enriched, correc-
ted and discussed on apt and strictly scientific grounds. The principal axis of thought in this book is
the fact, accepted by most modern scholars, that religion and magic in ancient Egypt were not
incongruous but rather enjoyed a harmonious symbiotic relationship, both in state and in popular
cults (see for instance: LÄ III, 1980, cols. 1137-51: art. «Magie»; MAGIC IN EGYPT 1987: passim;
RITNER 1992: 189-200; RITNER 1993: passim; PINCH 1994: passim; RITNER 1995A: 43-60; & c.).
Magic was a widely accepted, morally positive or at least ethically neutral concept, which consti-
tuted the alter ego of religion; hence being her twin sister and having being bestowed by gods to hu-
mans, it was endeavouring mainly to assist the latter in times of personal or state crisis.

Magic (HkAw) was considered as the divine remnant after the initial act of creation through Heka
(with the help of Hu and Sia), immanent within Cosmos, divinities and the human psyche. Thus, it
was a kind of allegorically transcendental «fluid» permeating and interconnecting everything inside
the existent Universe in its entirety (r Dr.f). Magic and the concomitant theological conceptions of
the Egyptians are considered in this book, mutatis mutandis, as corresponding to symbols and arche-
types of the personal and of the collective unconscious in a Jungian approach, that helps towards
understanding the scope of magic and the true nature of Egyptian divinities, as those last were pro-
perly described by Hornung (see HORNUNG 21996: 128-34 & chap. 5). Special emphasis is stressed
on the study of the possible relations between magic and the Positive Sciences (Astronomy and
Mathematics), as well as in using terms borrowed from modern Physics as metaphorical parallels to
some ancient Egyptian concepts (i.e.: HkAw/cosmic background radiation, mAat/inverse of entropy,
nTrw/quantum particle’s wave functions and/or orbitals of probability which consist of virtual solu-
tions to Schrödinger’s equation, & c.). Magic is considered allegorically as the metaphysical quintes-
sence of the ancient Egyptian religion, and as an important component of Egyptian culture. The
time span covered by this book is mainly the classical Pharaonic era, although some additional hints
concerning the Ptolemaic, Roman and Coptic Periods are given. It is the first time that an egyptolo-
gical book on magic, useful for professionals as well as understandable by lay persons, has been
written in Hellas.

The contents of this book are the following: A Foreword by the author presenting its specific aim.
A concise Introduction to the principles of magic in general, its anthropological approach (high-
lighting of course Malinowski’s theories; see for instance MALINOWSKI 11948), and the study of an-
cient Egyptian magic, together with its main categories and characteristics. Chapter I consists of a
brief introduction to ancient Egyptian culture, history, the hieroglyphic scripture, and its symbolism.
Chapters II, III and IV deal with various aspects of Egyptian religion considered as the meta-
physical background of magic [cosmogony, theogony, cosmology, cults of various deities, Osirian
cult and beliefs in the afterlife, possible henotheistic points common to the Semitic monotheistic re-
ligions and Christianity, multiplicity and functional meaning of divinities and their nature, descrip-
tion of divinities using quantum mechanical analogues (as already proposed in DERCHAIN 1965),
monotheism/henotheism/polytheism/pantheism, myths and magic, allegories and symbols, humans
in the divine or hostile universe, psychic, spiritual and corporeal components of humans (kA, bAi, Ax,
HkA, sxm, Xt, rn, ib, Swt, & c.), stellar and solar origins of the Egyptian religion, zoolatry and animal
cults, Isis and her cult (in Antiquity and during modern times), Bes, Thouēris, popular and state
religion, & c.]. Chapter V introduces the reader into the world of Egyptian «magicians» and various
orders of priests, wise women (rxwt), healers, amulet–men (zAw), exorcists (xrpw), the House of
Life, and presents «magicians» as wise men of knowledge and active members of the Egyptian
society (rxww-xt, irrw-xt), (rather than and) distinguished from the charlatans or sorcerers of the
Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. Chapter VI deals with the holistic magico–medical techniques,
medical doctors, healing rituals, medications and mummification. Chapter VII is devoted to the
particularly important funerary magic and analyzes the liturgy of the opening of the mouth [and its
connection to the stellar cult and meteoritic iron (biAt)], funerary stelæ, false doors, the offering
formula (Htp-di-nsw), funerary magical tools such as shabtis, hypocephali and cones, sacred and
magical funerary texts (PT, CT, BD, Im-_wAt, & c.), the daily underworld journey of the solar god
Rē‘ and his supersubstantial union with Osiris, the post mortem «journeys», «transformations» and
«transfigurations» of the deceased together with their archetypal connotation, & c. Chapter VIII
deals with more magical tools, such as statues, statuettes, figurines made of various substances
(clay, wax, & c.), amulets, phylacteries, (sacred) oils, lamps, poisons, numerology, theophoric my-
stical names, magic gems, letters to the dead, magical stelæ and cippi of Horus, & c. Chapters IX
and X deal with various magical techniques and practices (apotropaic and prophylactic magic, spells
for success, fertility magic, spells for love with some emphasis on the ancient Egyptian love songs
together with a Ramesside and a Coptic analogue, ‘Apophis and Seth, the evil eye, demoniacal
possession and exorcisms, state curses and hexing rituals, defixio, funerary curses, forced divination
and theurgy (pH-nTr), ghosts and dangerous dead (mwt), poisonous reptiles and obnoxious insects,
& c.). Chapter XI is devoted to the study of a possible «mastery» of the cosmic elements (earth and
terrestrial divinities, fire and light, water and sacred barks, air and ætheric divinities) and shows the
little or zero relation of ancient Egyptian (cultic) magic to the later and medieval magical techni-
ques of theurgy, examines divination, necromancy, astrology and horoscopes, calendars of lucky
and unlucky days, good and bad dreams, and finally discusses possible relations between Mathe-
matics, Astronomy and magic; the previous sections are followed by a short study of Alchemy, Her-
metism and the Corpus Hermeticum, the Osirian archetypal symbolism of Alchemy and the latter’s
relation to modern Astrophysics and Jungian Psychology; this chapter concludes with a short sec-
tion on the importance of magic in ancient Egyptian social life. An Epilogue with some recapitu-
lating conclusions and discussion is then given, followed by rich Bibliographical References and
Indexes (of ancient Egyptian and Coptic words commented in the text, concepts, terms, persons and
various notabilia). The book contains many useful tables, related black & white pictures with expla-
natory captions (some of them showing a few unpublished items from the National Archaeological
Museum of Athens and the Benaki Museum studied by the author); it also presents the readers with
several original hieroglyphic and/or hieratic texts followed by direct translation into Modern
Hellenic and rich commentaries, as useful examples of magico–religious texts.
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