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A beautiful and informative overview of ancient Egyptian magic, superstitious beliefs, and the occult, expertly written and illustrated
The ancient Egyptians were firmly convinced of the importance of magic, which was both a source of supernatural wisdom and a means of affecting one’s own fate. The gods themselves used it for creating the world, granting humankind magical powers as an aid to the struggle for existence. Magic formed a link between human beings, gods, and the dead. Magicians were the indispensable guardians of the god-given cosmic order, learned scholars who were always searching for the Magic Book of Thoth, which could explain the wonders of nature.
Egyptian Magic, illustrated with wonderful and mysterious objects from European museum collections, describes how Egyptian sorcerers used their craft to protect the weakest members of society, to support the gods in their fight against evil, and to imbue the dead with immortality, and explores the arcane systems and traditions of the occult that governed this well-organized universe of ancient Egypt.
CONTENTS
Preface 7
1 A PRESENT OF THE GODS 11
Cosmic wisdom or black art? 11
A struggle for life and death 12
The leading actors 18
2 THE MAGICIANS OF EGYPT 29
Witches and medicine men 29
High school for magicians 31
The major league 37
3 SURFING THROUGH THE UNIVERSE 47
The cosmic Internet 47
In quest of the laws of nature 51
Knowledge gives power 52
Sacred incisions 55
4 THE PRACTICE OF MAGIC 59
Showing one’s colors 59
Knowledge of commodities 60
The right time and place 66
Pulling the strings 68
5 BOOKS OF MAGIC 75
A magical toolbox 75
On the track of Khaemwas 77
An end and a new beginning 83
6 THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM 91
Women and children first 91
Doctor for invisible diseases 93
Home insurance 98
For better or for worse 99
7 THE VIGILANT AUTHORITIES 109
Battle at the temple gates 109
Playing for high stakes 112
Life out of death 118
Sex and violence 121
8 A MAGICAL FUNERAL INSURANCE 127
The troublesome dead 127
Going out by day 130
The body as microcosmos 133
The daily bread 136
9 ETERNAL LIFE 145
Defying death 145
Travel nerves 150
At the weight watchers’ 153
The quest for enlightenment 156
10 A CHANGING WORLD 163
Oriental wisdom 163
A Christian varnish 167
Jinn and buried pearls 174
11 ‘ENLIGHTENED’ EUROPE 183
Between witchcraft and Egyptomania 183
Moses and the sting-fish 187
Good chemistry 192
Thoth’s book of magic rediscovered ! 199
Chronology 203
Concise bibliography 204
Index 206