Egyptian Statue of a deified individual covered with magic spells and deities; belonged to 26th-30th Dynasty (672-342 BC).
Magic was fundamental to human life in ancient Egypt. In Ancient Egypt, magic was invoked through deities, primarily by trained priests, but also by pharaohs, magicians, and ordinary people. It was an integral part of healing rituals and was brought into being using spells and sacred texts. Most prominent use of magic was as protection against evil, illness, disease, and danger; whether it be a snake bite, a life-threatening illness, or an invading army. Magic was intimately connected to medicine and healing, yet it could also be harmful as a curse or black magic. Objects were also believed to be charged with magic, including amulets and wands. Heka was the deification of magic while other Egyptian deities would use protective magic to help humans, including Shed, Tutu, Wadjet, Isis, and Bes.
Heka was the deification of magic and medicine in Ancient Egypt and preceded all other Egyptian deities. The name Heka, or hk3w, is actually the old Egyptian word for magic and describes the supernatural force that Ancient Egyptians believed created and permeated the universe. The word Heka translates as “using the Ka.” In ancient Egyptian religion, Ka refers to the divine spirit that protects a person. It is an aspect of a person’s or a god’s soul and could live on after the body’s death, for example, in a picture or statue. As an energy, Heka was available to Egyptian deities as well as to priests, magicians, and ordinary people and could be invoked both for good or ill. Magic can be loosely defined as a supernatural act, which is intended to bring about a change. According to egyptologist J. F. Borghouts, magic can be understood broadly as “a system of coping with irrational situations.”
According to Egyptian myth, god Heka fought and overcame two serpents. These serpents then became part of Heka’s symbol, with two snakes above the head, or sometimes two intertwined snakes and a pair of raised arms. Egyptian physicians called themselves “priests of Heka.” People consulted them to use magic to aid healing or to protect against illness, diseases, parasites, or respiratory problems, for example, which were commonplace in the Egyptian desert. Medical practices were combined with magical rituals and incantations to heal the patient. Many Egyptian deities and pharaohs depicted on ancient tablets, stelae, statues, and scarabs carry a Heka scepter, or crook and flail, which we can see in the illustration above. A “sekhem” (power) scepter was carried by rulers and important officials and was used to designate earthly or state power. In the present day, the name of the healing practice Seichim, which is similar to reiki, takes its name from the word. The heka scepter, meanwhile, designated magical power and was used for purposes of healing.
In ancient Egypt and other ancient cultures, there were believed to be two kinds of magic: protective, beneficial magic, or “white” magic; and harmful, negative “black” magic, which could come in the form of curses and hexes. When magic is beneficial, it is typically used to heal and to protect. It could also be used to cast love spells, protect young children or women in childbirth or accompany a dead or dying person on his/her journey through the underworld. However, people could also use magic in a harmful way, directed against one’s enemies as a curse, hex or a personal kind of voodoo. Most Egyptian deities who use magic are protective deities. Particular objects, especially amulets, could be charged with magic and were believed to attract benign forces and ward off evil spirits. Black magic or necromancy, was also practiced, but it was widely thought that the magic would come back to bite the person in some form of karma when used with malevolent intentions.
Archaeological Museum of Naples
#archaeohistories