Ancient Egyptian Magic

by Eleanor L. Harris, Normandi Ellis (Foreword)

Takes readers through the fundamentals of Egyptian magic, its techniques, rituals, magical formulas.Ancient Egyptian Magic takes readers step by step through the Egyptian philosophy and practice of magic. The author, Eleanor L. Harris, is a long-time practitioner of Egyptian magic, and she explains the "hows" and "whys" of magical tools, amulets, rituals, ceremony, and spells. Advanced practitioners will find especially useful instruction on actual Egyptian magical script as found in the ancient papyri, such as The Leyden Papyrus, The Papyrus Ani (the Egyptian Book of the Dead ), and other important works.You will learn how There is a glossary of deities and terms, along with a list of resources for more information on specialty items to outfit the detail-oriented magician.

Genres: Nonfiction, Magic, Egypt, Witchcraft

240 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[ArchaeoLibraryologist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book with some good information, but a lot of her references were to work done by E. A. Wallace Budge, whose work has largely been discredited by modern Egyptian scholars. Also a bit unorganized and felt as though it jumped around a great deal.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange one. I've been watching videos on the youtube channel Esoterica lately (a wonderful intro to a wide variety of esoteric topics), and this was a book the recommended, so I decided to check it out. I was expecting an academic look at ancient Egyptian magical beliefs & practices, aimed at a more-or-less scholarly audience. Instead, what I got was a how-to guide for those wishing to practice Egyptian magic.

Setting aside my surprise at the contents, how does it hold up as a guide to practicing Egyptian magic in a modern context? Pretty well...I assume. I haven't actually tried any of this, so maybe I don't get to judge. It sure seems like a thorough, well-written, thoughtful crack at the subject. You could probably read this book and, if you were so inclined, become a thorough-going Egyptian practitioner.

But I will say that some of the details are a bit scanty - they are, thankfully, well-footnoted, so you can look up any information that the author leaves out, but that still worries me a little. I mean, if you believe in this stuff, I would think you'd want to have all the relevant details at hand. Similarly, Egyptian magic was fundamentally based on language - yet this whole book is based on the notion that you can use Egyptian magic without speaking the Egyptian language, or even its modern descendants.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not an academic work, though the author does include minimal references. Unfortunately, most of the references are to Budge.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides a nice balance between history and practice, though it is also clear that her perspective is affected by modern concepts of magic and some dated works of Egyptology.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book frustrated me. I felt like the author only used three references. I am concerned that people are going to do stupid things using this book, which doesn't seem to understand the way the spiritual world works -_- It was easy to read and there were some interesting things, but I felt like I would be way better off just reading the three main references she uses.