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The southern wall of the burial chamber and the lid of Džehutiemhat's sarcophagus. Photo: Petr Košárek, © Czech Institute of Egyptology FF UK

Magic Snake Spells and Texts Discovered In Egyptian Tomb

Egyptologists digging in Abusir , between Giza and Saqqara, have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown scribe. Not only was this burial decorated with gods and goddesses and loaded with magical...
The Pyramid texts discovered within the tomb of Unas at Saqqara in Egypt. Source: EvrenKalinbacak / Adobe Stock

The Pyramid Texts: Evidence for Hypnosis and Trance

There has been a long history of Egyptologists denying that the Egyptians had any mystical doctrines and practices connected with the world of the living, despite everything to the contrary said...
Ancient Egypt’s Book of the Dead. Source: Paolo Gallo / Adobe Stock.

Book of the Dead: Ancient Egypt’s Quest for Eternal Life (Video)

The Egyptian Book of the Dead , or "The Book of Coming Forth by Day," is an ancient religious text that played a significant role in Egyptian funerary practices around 1550 BC. It contains spells,...
A false door at Angkor Banteay Srey temple in Cambodia. Source: TMAX / Adobe Stock

Did Ancient Tombs Really Have Traps Inside? (Video)

The concept of ancient tombs being riddled with traps and dangers is one that has been popularized by movies, video games, and other forms of pop culture, but it begs the question: did they really...
The Nordic Helm of Awe is a Viking or Norse magical spell or rune that could be used for good or evil, but it wasn’t an actual battle helmet. Source: Fotokvadrat / Adobe Stock

What is the Helm of Awe? Runes, Symbols, and Viking Magic!

Every culture contains a plethora of images, animals, foods, etc. that are symbolic of their values. Symbols are an important, meaningful aspect of culture that can teach historians, archaeologists,...
Witchcraft at the Agora, Athens Revealed in New Study

Witchcraft at the Agora, Athens Revealed in New Study

Witchcraft, as those who go beyond superficial Sabrina well knows, is all about “energy transferal.” This bizarre statement is made perfectly clear in the discovery of a jar containing a mutilated...
Part of the Egyptian Book of Breathing, a hieratic papyrus probably from Thebes, Egypt written during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Resuscitation of the Ancient Egyptian Book of Breathing

Recently, an American professor has for the first time analyzed the First Book of Breathing , a famous ancient Egyptian book that reveals incredible insights into the afterlife. What happens to us...
Person holding an ancient grimoire filled with spells, curses, and incantations

Magic of the Ancients: Five Incredible Texts of Spells, Curses, and Incantations

As long as humanity has had beliefs in a higher power, the use of magic, spells, curses, and incantations have featured widely across cultures. A number of influential texts or ‘grimoires’ (textbooks...
Magic was an everyday part of life in the Graeco-Roman empire. Source: John William Waterhouse / Public Domain.

Ancient Spells and Charms for the Hapless in Love

By Adam Parker / The Conversation Valentine’s Day is not all love, hearts, and roses for everyone. For the hapless in love, the day can be a yearly reminder of failed romances, unrequited love and...
Egyptian papyrus, Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead: A Magical Guide to the Egyptian Underworld

The Book of the Dead is not a book per se , but rather, a corpus of ancient Egyptian funerary texts from the New Kingdom . Each ‘book’ is unique, as it contains its own combination of spells. In...
Harry Potter books have been banned by a Catholic school library. Source: vlakhov Valeriy / Adobe Stock.

Catholic Teachers Banned ‘Evil’ Harry Potter Books

Harry Potter books were removed from a private Catholic school in Nashville in 2019 because they include actual “ curses and spells ”, according to staff at the school. In a report in the US daily,...
The nature of the objects could indicate that they were used in Roman sorcery.

Evidence Suggests an Underground of Roman Sorcery in Pompeii

Experts have found a treasure trove of unusual objects concealed in Pompeii and it is theorized that the objects belonged to a Roman sorcerer who used them in the casting of spells . Pompeii is one...
Icelandic books of magic, occult books.

Icelandic Sorcerers and the Books of Black Magic They Coveted

The once highly rich tradition of Icelandic books of magic of the 16th and the 17th centuries has survived only in a fragmentary state. Despite this fact, Icelandic folktales speak about the...
The Black Book is said to hold all the magical practices in opposition to the divine.

The Black Book - Source of Devils Magic that Wizards Wager Their Soul to Obtain

The Black Book is said to hold within its pages all the magical practices which are in opposition to the divine. The idea regarding the existence of such a book is very old and it appears briefly in...
"Delphic Oracle" Painting by Heinrich Leutemann. Image source: art-prints-on-demand.com

Spells, Charms, Erotic Dolls: Love Magic in the Ancient Mediterranean

It was a well-kept secret among historians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the practice of magic was widespread in the ancient Mediterranean. Historians wanted to keep the activity...
Kings' Fairy Tale, 1909, by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis

The Lost Charms and Incantations That Molded Celtic Reality

Since men and woman have been capable of making vocal sounds, incantations have been floated on airwaves by enchanters, who whispering charms, spells in rituals, hymns and prayers, invoked curses,...
The Gospel of Satan: Grand Grimoire is One of the Creepiest Medieval Manuscripts Out There!

The Gospel of Satan: Grand Grimoire is One of the Creepiest Medieval Manuscripts Out There!

The Grand Grimoire, sometimes referred to as the ‘Red Dragon’ or the ‘Gospel of Satan’, is a medieval grimoire believed to possess immense powers. According to legend, it was written by an apocryphal...
Collection of Egyptian Busts and Shabtis, design by Anand Balaji

Nefertiti and the Perfect Serenity of Death: Mesmeric Shabtis of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun —Part II

Archeological records and a trove of recovered specimens inform us that shabtis (funerary figurines) produced from different materials were placed in the tombs of Eighteenth Dynasty Pharaoh...
Collection of Egyptian Shabtis, design by Anand Balaji

Deputies of the Dead from Amarna to Thebes: Mesmeric Shabtis of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun—Part I

Among the most important items that made it into the crypts of both kings and commoners alike were shabti figurines that served to ensure that the Afterlife was one long holiday for their masters...
Detail of two ancient Egyptian 'gate spells'. On the top register, Ani and his wife face the ‘gates of the House of Osiris'. Below, they encounter the 'mysterious portals of the House of Osiris in the Field of Reeds'. All are guarded by unpleasant underworld protectors.

Through the Twelve Chambers of Hell: The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt

Death, the ancient Egyptians believed, was not the end of our struggles. They believed in an afterlife and that the worthy would go on to paradise, but their dead didn’t simply pass over to the other...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

Life after Life: Guidebook to Conquering Dangerous Demons and Dark Waters in Duat – Part II

One of the pivots for the successful implementation of ‘heka’, the ancient Egyptian term for magic, was words – both spoken and written – and the latter was considered the most powerful form. Scores...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

Life after Life: In the Quest for Eternity, Death is Only the Beginning – Part I

The ancient Egyptians took great care to prepare for the Afterlife. In fact, they were so meticulous about getting every minute detail in order, that to us they come across as having been obsessed...
Was it Love or Witchcraft? The Magical Practices of Chinese Empress Chen Jiao

Was it Love or Witchcraft? The Magical Practices of Chinese Empress Chen Jiao

Usually, the Empress of the Han Dynasty was invincible, untouchable, and protected by the law more than anyone else. However, in the case of Empress Chen of Wu, the accusation of practicing black...
Friedrich Paul Thumann, (1834-1908), "Cupid (Eros) and Psyche."

Four Ways to Love: How the Ancient Greeks Used Magic to Fulfil Hopes, Dreams, and Desires

For the ancient Greeks, 'love' was categorized into distinct words, each representing a different kind of infatuation; which is considerably different from our ideas of generalizing all aspects and...

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