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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ancient magical grimoire with a dimly lit, mysterious background and captivating light swirls, emphasizing knowledge power and spell world. Source: XaMaps/Adobe Stock

Spells, Invocations and Divination: The Ancient History of Magical Grimoires

Grimoires are books containing magic spells and instructions for the making of amulets and talismans, but some of them also contained directions on how to summon and control demons. Grimoires have...
Selection of Greek Magical Papyri which are kept at the British Library.	Source: British Library

Curious and Unusual Spells from the Greek Magical Papyri

The Greek magical papyri, as it is commonly known, is an extensive collection of ancient Greco-Roman Egypt magical spells, rituals, remedies, hymns, and myth. Scholars have placed its origin between...
Ancient Egyptian Goddess. Credit: tk0920 / Adobe Stock

Ancient Egyptian Sex Spell Invoked a Ghost to Entrap a Man

Ancient, magical spells of subjugation, love, and sex sounds like the opening lines to an adult fairy tale, but these steamy evildoings are also found on an 1,800-year-old ancient Egyptian “erotic...
Witches across the United States join together to put a spell on Donald Trump. Source: Asta / Adobe Stock.

Witches ‘Spell’ President Trump In Pre-Halloween Showdown

Thousands of self-declared ‘ witches ’ will cast a unified ‘ spell ’ on POTUS Donald Trump this weekend and “yes” this news piece is a work of non-fiction and not a joke. It would appear that in the...
In the medieval England magic was a service industry. Source: Вероника Преображенс / Adobe Stock.

In Medieval England, Magic Was A Service Industry

Tabitha Stanmore / The Conversation Chances are that when you hear the words “ medieval magic ”, the image of a witch will spring to mind: wizened old crones huddled over a cauldron containing...
Portrait of Emma Hamilton as Circe. This image was popular in illustrations for numerous books referring to Circe. (Public Domain) Circe’s cave is located at Mount Circeo, in Italy. Source: Association of Speleo-Archeological Research, Rome Sotterranea

Seductress’ Cave of Depravity from Homer’s Odyssey Found?

Italy's Mount Circeo or Cape Circeo is located about 60 miles (97 km) south of Rome and this promontory marks the southwestern limit of the former Pontine Marshes. This famous geological feature is...
Sorcerer in hood standing in front of an ancient destructed Babylon tower with flood, fire & hurricane illustration

Mesopotamian Magic: Ancient Tablets Reveal a World of Witches, Sorcerers and Exorcists

Ancient Mesopotamia was a vast region in Western Asia which has become known as the ‘cradle of civilization’ due to the huge number of feats the culture achieved. Agriculture, animal herding, and...
Limestone stela showing a man and woman standing next to each other, which shows signs of having been defaced.

Ancient Egyptian Carving of Couple Defaced in Revenge Attack to Deny Them a Happy Afterlife

Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife shaped every aspect of their culture and society. A find in a 3,500-year-old shrine is throwing new light on the beliefs of provincial Egyptians. Experts...
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Ancient Magical Incantation to Capture Evil Devourer Found in Turkey

The discovery of magical incantation that is 2800-years-old has been announced by experts. It was found at a site in south-west Turkey and is written in the ancient Aramaic language . The incantation...
Egyptian Papyrus from Macquarie University with proposed Coptic Love Spell

French Academic Detects A Little Bit of Love Magic on Egyptian Papyrus

A French University lecturer has announced that he has deciphered an Egyptian magical spell written on a piece of papyrus. The spell has baffled experts, because of its enigmatic language and imagery...
Agni, a deity which appears in the Atharva Veda. (Public Domain) Background: Detail of Codex Cashmiriensis folio 187a from Atharva-Veda Saṁhitā second half, by William Dwight Whitney and Charles Rockwell Lanman.

The Atharva Veda: Popular Religion, Charms, and Ancient Hindu Spells

Thou who art neither alive nor dead, the immortal child of the gods art thou, O Sleep! Varunânî is thy mother, Yama (death) thy father, Araru is thy name. We know, O Sleep, thy birth, thou art the...
One of the pages from The Book of Magical Charms. Credit: The Newberry Library

Do You Have the Magic Touch? Chicago Library Appeals to Public for Help Transcribing Magical Manuscripts

Do you have a talent in solving magical puzzles and manuscripts? Do you have a penchant for casting spells? Well, if that’s the case, Chicago's Newberry Library is offering the right job for you as...
A modern Pagan Wiccan altar set up.

Secrets of Magic in Modern Paganism Revealed

Magic is one of the aspects that can be found in many of the groups that are part of the movement known collectively as Modern Paganism. According to practitioners of magic within the movements of...
Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

The magical traditions of ancient Greece encompassed spells, curse tablets, drugs, potions, poisons, amulets, and talismans. For many cultures of the past, there was a very fine line between magic,...
Locals in Thailand Village Claim Black Magic Tattoos Helped Preserve the Skin of a Corpse

Locals in Thailand Village Claim Black Magic Tattoos Helped Preserve the Skin of a Corpse

A group of cemetery workers clearing a graveyard in Thailand near the Laos border were shocked to excavate the corpse of a man whose skin had been preserved , as if by magic. In fact, some people...
The Magic of Heka: Ancient Egyptian Rituals That Have Crossed Cultures and Time

The Magic of Heka: Ancient Egyptian Rituals That Have Crossed Cultures and Time

Magic has always been a mysterious way to achieve goals and was often thought to make dreams come true. In the case of the ancient Egyptian civilization, it was seen as a way to communicate with the...
Witch of Endor by Nikolai Ge, 1857.

Ancient Witchcraft and the Spell of the Pella Curse Tablet

In the first half of the 4th century someone wrote a text in Doric Greek idiom. This text became known as the Pella curse tablet. Over the centuries, it became a key object in the argument supporting...
This silver scroll, revealed digitally by a group of researchers, may be an incantation of an 8th century magician in Jordan. The language is unknown, but the practice of placing magical incantations on scrolls and placing them in containers is well known from antiquity.

Magical Incantation Discovered on Ancient Silver Scroll Written in Unknown Language

We may never know what the magic spell says, but scholars using a CT scanner and new software have revealed an inscription or incantation on a tiny, tightly rolled silver scroll that was written...
Curse tablet in Jerusalem

Archaeologists Find Ancient Magic Curse Tablet in Jerusalem

Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists have discovered a 1,700-year-old curse tablet in the ruins of an old Roman mansion in the City of David in Jerusalem. It is believed the words were written...