Review (PDF) Egyptian Magic (Illustrated Edition)
A study of the remains of the native religious literature of ancientEgypt which have come down to us has revealed the fact that thebelief in magic, that is to say, in the power of magical names, andspells, and enchantments, and formulæ, and pictures, and figures,and amulets, and in the performance of ceremonies accompanied bythe utterance of words of power, to produce supernatural results,formed a large and important part of the Egyptian religion. And it iscertain that, notwithstanding the continuous progress which theEgyptians made in civilization, and the high intellectualdevelopment to which they eventually attained, this beliefinfluenced their minds and, from the earliest to the latest period oftheir history, shaped their views concerning things temporal as wellas spiritual in a manner which, at this stage in the history of theworld, is very difficult to understand. The scrupulous care withwhich they performed their innumerable religious ceremonies, andcarried out the rules which they had formulated concerning theworship of the divine Power or powers, and their devotion toreligious magic, gained for them among the nations with whom theycame in contact the reputation of being at once the most religiousand the most superstitious of men. That this reputation was, on thewhole, well deserved, is the object of this little book to shew.Egyptian magic dates from the time when the predynastic andprehistoric dwellers in Egypt believed that the earth, and theunderworld, and the air, and the sky were peopled with countlessbeings, visible and invisible, which were held to be friendly orunfriendly to man according as the operations of nature, which theywere supposed to direct, were favourable or unfavourable to him. In-nature and attributes these beings were thought by primitive man toclosely resemble himself and to possess all human passions, andemotions, and weaknesses, and defects; and the chief object of magicwas to give man the pre-eminence over such beings. The favour ofthe beings who were placable and friendly to man might be obtainedby means of gifts and offerings, but the cessation of hostilities on the part of those that were implacable and unfriendly could only beobtained by wheedling, and cajolery, and flattery, or by making useof an amulet, or secret name, or magical formula, or figure, or picturewhich had the effect of bringing to the aid of the mortal whopossessed it the power of a being that was mightier than the foe whothreatened to do evil to him. The magic of most early nations aimedat causing the transference of power from a supernatural being toman, whereby he was to be enabled to obtain superhuman resultsand to become for a time as mighty as the original possessor of thepower; but the object of Egyptian magic was to endow man with themeans of compelling both friendly and hostile powers, nay, at a latertime, even God Himself, to do what he wished, whether the werewilling or not. The belief in magic, the word being used in its bestsense, is older in Egypt than the belief in God, and it is certain that avery large number of the Egyptian religious ceremonies, which wereperformed in later times as an integral part of a highly spiritualworship, had their origin in superstitious customs which date from aperiod when God, under any name or in any form, was unconceivedin the minds of the Egyptians. Indeed it is probable that even the useof the sign which represents an axe, and which stands thehieroglyphic character both for God and “god,“ indicates that thisweapon and. tool was employed in the performance of someceremony connected with religious magic in prehistoric, or at anyrate in predynastic times, when it in some mysterious waysymbolized the presence of a supreme Power.
File Size: 2071 KB
Print Length: 138 pages
Publication Date: November 10, 2013
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00GLZRK7O
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Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Budge is known among Egyptologists today for being cited again and again by amateurs. His works—this one was originally published in 1901—are badly out of date, but they show up everywhere because they're out of copyright. The problem is still more serious when Budge discusses religion, the study of which changed dramatically in the mid- to late 20th century.Egyptian Religion, a companion volume to this one, mostly covers aspects of Egyptian religion that Budge and his readers found sympathetic (i.e., those that resembled Christianity). This one is mostly about what he calls near the outset "gross and childish superstition"—a classic example of the way people use "religion" to refer to beliefs and practices that they like and "magic" for those they don't. The book lumps together all kinds of miscellaneous practices, as shown by the title of the last chapter: "Demoniacal Possession, Dreams, Ghosts, Lucky and Unlucky Days, Horoscopes, Prognostications, Transformations, and the Worship of Animals." Other topics covered include mummification and funerary rites, amulets, spells, and the power that the Egyptians ascribed to names, demonstrated with overlong quotations from ancient Egyptian stories.Most of what Budge says isn't exactly wrong, but there are better and more recent books on the subject. Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt discusses all types of Egyptian religious practices.
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