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Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization #54
The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice
To date, no comprehensive treatment of Egyptian magic has focused on the practice of the magician. Both general studies and textual publications have emphasized instead the religious elements in the contents of recited spells, while the accompanying instructions, with their vignettes and lists of materials, instruments, and ritual actions, remained uninvestigated. This study represents the first critical examination of such "magical techniques," revealing their widespread appearance and pivotal significance for all Egyptian "religious" practices from the earliest periods through the Coptic era, influencing as well the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri. The author also discusses the "pagan-Egyptian" influence on Old and New Testament practices and in the lives of the Coptic Desert Fathers. The third edition is a reprinting of the second, which included minor corrections from the original edition. This volume is a significant revisionist approach to ancient Egyptian magic. As a result of a methodical analysis of both the textual and archaeological records, Ritner concludes that the boundaries between ancient Egyptian magic, religion, and medicine were not as strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by individuals outside of the religious mainstream. Ritner's engaging prose style and felicitous exegesis of even the most arcane material make for easy reading. But more important still, the content of the work ensures that it will become a vital reference tool for all engaged in any aspect of ancient Egyptian religion. [From a review by R. S. Bianchi in Journal of the American Oriental Society 114 (1994) 513-14].
322 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 13, 2020
A must-read for anyone interested in the Egyptian Heka, structural approaches to magic, methods and tools of the trade etc. I would suggest reading it with all the references as they contain a bulk of interesting data that also points to the necessary Papyri and corpora of literature to enrich one's own practices. For an egyptologist it is a treasure, for a general reader of magic in history - a vivid historiography, for an egyptomaniac - something of interest, for a practicing theurgist - an array of tools that may be discerned and used in a reasonable manner.
January 12, 2018
4.5
Excellent, but very dry.
Excellent, but very dry.
August 8, 2015
This book was incredibly dense. I don't know how I ever sat down and thought I was going to read it outright. I think this is a great text on the practice of kemeticism, and I'm going to be reading it over and over for a long while. Next time, I won't read it on pdf though, I think that hindered my progress.
July 21, 2023
An incredibly comprehensive and appropriately respectful analysis of Ancient Egyptian religion, thought, world views, etc. Explanations are brilliant and the conclusion Ritner comes to is fantastic and quite accurate (I haven't seen any other Egyptologist understand the subject at hand this well...). Chock-full of extensive elaborations and clear evidence of a clear understanding and an immortal fascination with the faith and its associated practices.
Also worthy of note are Ritner's extensive footnotes (with in-depth explanations for excerpts of papyri or pieces of mythology, among other things) along with his amazing critiques of the field of Egyptology and the field's improper analysis of Egyptian faith and thought (mostly due to bias, which Ritner clearly puts aside for the sake of this wonderful masterpiece of a book).
A definite must read not once, but many times. Very dense book but most definitely worth it, for the curious and practitioner alike.
Thank you, Ritner. The world lost a great mind when you passed.
Also worthy of note are Ritner's extensive footnotes (with in-depth explanations for excerpts of papyri or pieces of mythology, among other things) along with his amazing critiques of the field of Egyptology and the field's improper analysis of Egyptian faith and thought (mostly due to bias, which Ritner clearly puts aside for the sake of this wonderful masterpiece of a book).
A definite must read not once, but many times. Very dense book but most definitely worth it, for the curious and practitioner alike.
Thank you, Ritner. The world lost a great mind when you passed.
Read
May 25, 2022this was dense af but real interesting. reads majorly like a textbook so im not bothering with stars.
Read
August 21, 2024Spit magic goes so incredibly hard
November 12, 2023
Ritner had a low tolerance for sloppy thinking and often sounded ill-tempered in writing. He was usually right, though, and never more importantly than in this book, his most fundamental contribution to Egyptology. He demolishes a lot of over-broad anthropological theories about the distinction between magic and religion and argues that scholars' prejudices about "magic" have gotten in the way of understanding Egyptian beliefs, as well as those of many other cultures.
Ritner examines the concept of "heka", the Egyptian word that roughly translates as "magic", and points out that it was a morally neutral force that the creator god used to form the world, that all the gods used (including evil ones like Apophis), and that humans could take advantage of for beneficial or malicious purposes. He then discusses several other terms related to the concept of heka, followed by a selection of ritual practices: encircling, spitting, licking, swallowing, images of bound prisoners, execration texts, the breaking of red pots, ritual violence to both people and images, and letters to the dead. This sample set of techniques isn't comprehensive. Unlike Geraldine Pinch's Magic in Ancient Egypt or Maarten Raven's Egyptian Magic: The Quest for Thoth's Book of Secrets, which are more wide-ranging but not as intellectually rigorous, this book is meant to define magic rather than describe every aspect of it.
Ritner then discusses the close similarities between state-sponsored rites, such as those in temples, and the private rituals done for personal reasons such as healing the sick or cursing personal enemies. He asks who practiced the private rituals and concludes that the practitioners were invariably trained priests, who had plenty of off-time from their temple duties. Thus, although temple and personal rituals were performed for differing reasons, they used the same techniques and were performed by the same people, so there is no hard distinction between "magic" and "religion" on those grounds.
Ritner concludes that heka is the power that binds things together, so that one thing, often a physical image, is a double (or ka) of another thing. By manipulating one, the ritualist can affect the other. The creator god first envisioned the world, then turned his idea into a physical form through the power of heka. Statues of gods are manifestations of those gods, figurines of human enemies are damaged or destroyed as a way of attacking the people they represent, and a human takes on the role of a god in both temple rituals and private healing spells. Words represent the things to which they refer (and in Egypt, the written word is literally an image), so that both spoken and written words are imbued with the power of heka. Heka is thus the common thread in such disparate elements of Egyptian culture as the beliefs about the gods, beliefs about the soul, the mystical power ascribed to writing, and the symbolism that pervades art. In short, heka "unites the tenets of Egyptian religion to the techniques of Egyptian religion". In my opinion, this is the most significant insight into Egyptian religion in the past 50 years.
Better yet, this book is one of many that the Oriental Institute allows you to freely download from its website.
Ritner examines the concept of "heka", the Egyptian word that roughly translates as "magic", and points out that it was a morally neutral force that the creator god used to form the world, that all the gods used (including evil ones like Apophis), and that humans could take advantage of for beneficial or malicious purposes. He then discusses several other terms related to the concept of heka, followed by a selection of ritual practices: encircling, spitting, licking, swallowing, images of bound prisoners, execration texts, the breaking of red pots, ritual violence to both people and images, and letters to the dead. This sample set of techniques isn't comprehensive. Unlike Geraldine Pinch's Magic in Ancient Egypt or Maarten Raven's Egyptian Magic: The Quest for Thoth's Book of Secrets, which are more wide-ranging but not as intellectually rigorous, this book is meant to define magic rather than describe every aspect of it.
Ritner then discusses the close similarities between state-sponsored rites, such as those in temples, and the private rituals done for personal reasons such as healing the sick or cursing personal enemies. He asks who practiced the private rituals and concludes that the practitioners were invariably trained priests, who had plenty of off-time from their temple duties. Thus, although temple and personal rituals were performed for differing reasons, they used the same techniques and were performed by the same people, so there is no hard distinction between "magic" and "religion" on those grounds.
Ritner concludes that heka is the power that binds things together, so that one thing, often a physical image, is a double (or ka) of another thing. By manipulating one, the ritualist can affect the other. The creator god first envisioned the world, then turned his idea into a physical form through the power of heka. Statues of gods are manifestations of those gods, figurines of human enemies are damaged or destroyed as a way of attacking the people they represent, and a human takes on the role of a god in both temple rituals and private healing spells. Words represent the things to which they refer (and in Egypt, the written word is literally an image), so that both spoken and written words are imbued with the power of heka. Heka is thus the common thread in such disparate elements of Egyptian culture as the beliefs about the gods, beliefs about the soul, the mystical power ascribed to writing, and the symbolism that pervades art. In short, heka "unites the tenets of Egyptian religion to the techniques of Egyptian religion". In my opinion, this is the most significant insight into Egyptian religion in the past 50 years.
Better yet, this book is one of many that the Oriental Institute allows you to freely download from its website.
June 1, 2013
This amazing volume, more footnotes than text, makes a great read on several levels for those interested. It tackles many individual issues in Egyptology whose status may be unclear otherwise. The first two chapters attempt to define 'heka', which is usually translated as 'magic', which is dealt with at great length as well as the meanings of many other terms whose true meanings do not translate easily. It is one of the few publications that discuss the nature of pH nTr, the encounter with the god(s). That alone would make it a great book. Ritner goes on to cover magical actions, materials, and the nature and social status of practitioners as well as the decline of practice in Roman times. This isn't just a summary mentioning execration figures and red pots. The summary of findings on the Mirgissa deposit is well worth a read. His writing is clear and in-depth with numerous references cited per page. The sheer volume of footnotes and references to other publications makes it a great resource for tracking down sources of information.
The only drawback is the limited index of subjects covered. I ended up sticking endless post-it bookmarks in this large book to mark subjects of interest worth returning to.
The only drawback is the limited index of subjects covered. I ended up sticking endless post-it bookmarks in this large book to mark subjects of interest worth returning to.
March 30, 2017
good stuff
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews