SELF-IDENTIFICATION WITH DEITY AND VOCES MAGICAE IN
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN AND GREEK MAGIC
Occultists and esotericists , such as the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn [1], have theorized that ancient Egyptian magic is a primary
source for western magic practice and ideas. Since we know that the Hermetica
and Neo-platonic theurgy have had a profound influence on later European
magical traditions [2], an inquiry into possible relationships between Egyptian
and Greek magical ideas would be useful in exploring the veracity of the
occultists' claim. This paper focuses on one set of ancient texts, the Greek
Magical Papyri, which offer considerable potential for investigating this
relationship.
The PGM (Papryi Graecae Magicae) [3 ] is the name given to a cache of papryi of magical spells
collected by Jean d'Anastaisi in early 1800's Egypt. Hans Deiter Betz, in
his introduction to the newest English translation, speculates that these
papyri may have been found in a tomb or temple library and the largest papyri
may have been the collection of one man in Thebes.[4
]However, the exact provenance for the PGM is
unknown. Betz states that through literary sources it is known that quite
a number of magical books of spells were collected in ancient times, most
of which were destroyed.[5] Thus, the PGM are a very important source for first-hand
information about magical practices in the ancient Mediterranean.
The PGM spells run the gamut of magical practices from initiatory rites
for immortality to love spells and healing rites. Most of the papyri are
in Greek and Demotic with glosses in Old Coptic and are dated between the
2nd century BC and the 5th century AD. The spells call upon Greek, Egyptian,
Jewish, Gnostic and Christian deities.
Two of the most intriguing aspects of these texts are the practice of self-identification
with deity and the use of voces magicae in performing magical rituals.
In many of the spells, the practitioner is told to use "I am"
with a specific deity name to empower or work the spell. PGM I 247-62, a
spell for invisibility, states `I am Anubis, I am Osir-phre, I am OSOT SORONOUIIER,
I am Osiris whom Seth destroyed. ."[6] The use of specific magical language in these texts,
the voces magicae, is abundant. Most of these words are considered
"untranslatable" by the scholars working with the papyri [7]. Words of
power in the incantations are composed of long strings of vowels, A EE EEE
IIII OOOOO, YYYYYY, OOOOOOO, alone or with special names of deities or daimons
which are often palindromes and significantly lengthy as in IAEOBAPHRENEMOUNOTHILARIKRIPHIAEYEAIPIRKIRALITHONUOMENERPHABOEAI.
[8 ]The
exact pronunciation of these voces magicae was key to the success
of the spells.
Since Egyptian funerary texts clearly identify the deceased with deity and
the power of words and language is a predominant feature of Egyptian magic,
these notions found in the PGM appeared to provide a possible link between
ancient Egyptian and Greek magic.
Throughout the funerary literature of ancient Egypt, from the Pyramid Texts
to the Book of the Dead, there is abundant evidence that ancient Egyptians
thought that human beings could become deities. Deities were seen as possessing
heku, magic, an aspect of the original creative power that formed
the cosmos. [9
] Thus, magic was perceived to be an intrinsic part of reality and the divine.
[10
] The Coffin Texts provide a guide book for the deceased to help her or
him retain what magic they already possess and to gain more. Naming is extremely
important in this experience and it is the ability to name all the gods
and objects encountered that proves one has acquired enough magic to sit
with the gods. [11] In these texts, the deceased is clearly identified with
the god Osiris. By using historaloe the deceased will successfully navigate
the journey to the afterlife as did Osiris. The use of historaloe in magical
practice was common, particularly in healing rites. [12] By knowing the names of all encountered in the afterlife
and establishing a link with a deity that had already been successful in
this realm, the deceased was well prepared for the journey.
In the Pyramid texts, the initial Utterances appear to be a script directing
the different Egyptian deities to recite specific formulas on the deceased
king's behalf. Utterance 1 begins "recitation by Nut, the greatly beneficent",
utterance 2, "recitation by Geb" and so forth. [13 ]Evidence that
these utterances were spoken during funeral rites are the notes after the
recitations which give directions saying, for example, "pour water"(ut
23) and "cold water and 2 pellets of natron"( ut 32). The priests
and priestesses are taking the role of the deities in preparing the deceased
to join the gods in the afterlife as well as the deceased being identified
with Osiris. Self-identification with deity is an "authentically Egyptian
trait". [14 ]
Language, and particularly naming, carries substantial magical power in
Egyptian thought. The goddess Isis, once she learns Ra's true name, is then
able to cure him of snake bite. [15] One of the oldest cosmologies of the Egyptians from Memphis
(approx. 2700 BC) describes the god Ptah creating by his mind (heart) and
word (tongue) [16].
Thus, words contain a primal substance and the act of speaking mirrors original
creation. Speaking creates reality. Writing was given to humans by the god
Thoth and the Egyptians called their langauge "words of the gods"
and hieroglyphs "writing of the sacred words." [17 ]
The Pyramid Texts, Coffin Text and the Book of the Dead all exhibit the
Egyptian belief in the power of language to affect the world. Words, spoken
or written were not just symbols, but realities in themselves. [18 ] Hieroglyphs
held particular resonance with magical power and most of the funerary texts
were written in hieroglyphs. The Egyptians clearly believed that humans
have energetic doubles in the world beyond the physical and it seems reasonable
to suspect that the hieroglyphs were thought to have a similar existence
since they were written on the inside of the pyramid tombs or coffins
or on scrolls placed inside the coffins for the deceased to use.
Further evidence of the reality of the images themselves comes from the
practice of cutting particular hieroglyphs in half to diminish their potential
effect. [19 ]
Vowel chanting is also found in Egyptian religious practice as reported
by Demetrius in his Roman treatise, De Eloutione:
"in Egypt the priests, when singing hymns in praise of the gods, employ
the 7 vowels which they utter in due succession and the sound of these letters
is so euphonious that men listen to it in place of the flute and lyre"
[20
]
The distinction between religion and magic in scholarly discourse breaks
down in the context of Egyptian religion and it is reasonable to suspect
that vowel chanting could be used for more than hymns of praise by Egyptian
priests.
Thus, self-identification with deity and use of a specific kind of magical
language found in the PGM places Egyptian magical notions within a Greek
magical context. The question then becomes, can evidence be found that Greek
magic, prior to the PGM, included these practices and do they appear in
later Greek magical material that we know to have influenced the European
tradition.
Betz states in the Encyclopedia of Religion that "magic was an essential
part of Greco-Roman culture and religion." [21] In classical Greece, Egypt and Thessaly were considered
prime sources of magical knowledge, but by 323 BC magical material in Greece
had increased considerably. Betz further states that it was "Hellenistic
syncretism that produced the abundance of material available today."
[22
]Greek magical practitioners distinguished different types of magic; goeteia
- lower magic, mageia - general magic and theourgia - higher magic. Theourgia,
appears to be the most likely place to find self-identification with deity
and the use of voces magicae.
Self-identification with deity in magical acts as part of ancient Greek
magical practice prior to the PGM is not evident. The Greeks speculated
that humans and gods "had the same mother", but a huge gap existed
between them. From ancient times to the latest date of the PGM, Greek notions
about the relationship between human existence and divine existence took
a variety of forms [23,] but never followed the Egyptian pattern of the possibility
of declarative divine identity. The ancient Greeks believed that communion
with the gods was possible as in the Eleusian and Dionysian mysteries [24] and Empedocles
declared he had the knowledge to make himself immortal. [25]But, the Greek
idea of a divine spark within the human soul which can be activated, contemplated
and re-united with the gods still assumes an other-ness of deity and validates
the fundamental separateness of human existence from the divine.
For the Egyptians, the divine appears to be immanent in the world. The world
of humans and gods were not seen as being decidedly different. Human activity
continued after death and Gods, embodied as the Pharoah, lived in human
society. Magical practice was merely clarifying what already exists. For
the Greeks, magic was a conduit for communication and communion with deity
or a process whereby the soul could be purified through direct contact with
the Divine. Egyptians had only to affirm a state of being through speech
to create the sought reality. "Repeated commands or assertions that
a desired state of affairs was already in being, are a common feature of
Egyptian spells." [26 ]
However, there are references to the voces magicae in ancient Greek
material aside from the PGM. Early, are the Ephesia grammata, ( ASKION,
KATASKION, LIX, TETRAX, DAMNAMENEUS, AISIA ) mystic letters that were supposedly
inscribed on the statue of Artemis at Ephesus used verbally and written
to avert evil. A lead tablet inscribed with the Ephesia grammata dates to
the 4th c BC and they were said to be used spoken as an apotropiac charm
while walking in a circle around newlyweds. [27
]
Peter Kingsley, writing of Empedocles' magical worldview, states "there
is nothing that is not vibrantly and knowingly alive. For him [Empedocles]
- everything - even the words spoken by a man of understanding has an existence,
intelligence and consciousness of it's own." [28 ]This notion appears close to the Egyptian ideas that
words are not symbols, but realities.
Orpheus healed human pathos with poems and the lyre, while Pythagoras could
chant his disciples to sleep and heal body and soul through musical words.
[29
]Fox argues that the PGM are carrying forward this "shamantic"
tradition of magical musical charms. For the actual author(s) of the PGM,
the notion of the magical potency of language could have been very strong
indeed coming out of both the Egyptian and Greek magical traditions.
The use of voces magicae continues into later Coptic texts. For a
spell invoking a "thundering power to perform every wish" the
practitioner should say: "I invoke you. . .who is addressed with the
great secret name HAMOUZETH BETH ATHANABASSETONI ." [30] Vowel incantations
are also found in these Coptic texts in figures typical of the PGM: [31 ]
AEEIOUO
EEIOU
EIO
IO
I
Voces magicae are also referred to in the Chaldean Oracles which
are contemporary with the PGM and they appear to be an intrinsic part of
the theurgist's ritual. What is intriguing, for this study, about the Chaldean
Oracles, is the relationship between the voces magicae and the process
of immortalization of the soul, which is the goal of theurgy. These texts
provide the closest approximation to self-identification with deity in a
non-Egyptian context. According to the Chaldeans, the soul, in its descent
to the body gathers impure substances. Through theurgistic rites, the soul
can re-ascend, encounter the Divine and be purified of these impure substances
and attain immortality. The voces magicae invoke the assistant spirits
that will help the soul to ascend without fear of being dragged down into
Hades. [32
]However, even though immortalization is the goal, self-identification with
deity is not declared and only the soul can attain such a state.
The idea that the Egyptian language specifically held magical power is seen
in the writings of people of the time. In the Hermetica (CH xvi) there is
a passage which states that Greeks will not understand the Hermetica when
translated into their language as Greek does not contain the power of Egyptian.
[33
]The Chaldean Oracles state "do not ever alter the foreign names (of
the gods)". Lewy elaborates further, "It is impossible to translate
the magical formula, because its power it not due to its external sense."
[34]
Iamblichus, describing the difficulty of translating the Hermetica from
Egyptian to Greek says ". . .for the very quality of the sounds and
the [intonation] of the Egyptian words contain in itself the force of things
said." [35
] Invocation of deities by their secret names is also characteristic of
Egyptian magic prior to the PGM according to Pinch, but unfortunately she
does not give examples. [36
]
Scholars have identified other potential sources beside Egyptian for specific
voces magicae. The glossary in the Betz edition of the PGM speculates
on a few of the voces magicae. Jewish and Greek origins are offered
as well as Egyptian for the eight names considered. Betz finds a intricate
syncretism of Greek, Egyptian and Jewish elements in the texts. [37 ]To tease
out the various strands and definitively locate the origin of specific voces
magicae is yet to be done and will be difficult. What we may be seeing
in the voces magicae is a general and wide-spread ancient Mediterranean
magical practice. It could be that ABRACADABRA is a cousin to the voces
magicae in the PGM.
Further questions to be asked regarding the voces magicae are: what
were the potential avenues of magical communication between Egypt and Greece
in the 4th century BCE where the earliest evidence of specific magical words
is found in the Ephesia grammata? Is there evidence of specific voces
magicae, other than vowel chanting, in Egyptian magical practice prior
to the PGM? If the specific form comes from Greek notions, why are the voces
magicae in the PGM glossed into Old Coptic in many spells where the
main body of the text is in Greek?
In conclusion, the claim that the roots of European magic can be traced
to Egyptian magic appears highly suspect in regard to the notions discussed.
Egyptian ideas and practices of self-identification with deity do not seem
to be compatible with Greek notions of the relationship between the human
and divine worlds. Through the voces magicae there is evidence of
a generalized magical tradition in the ancient Mediterranean from which
the European tradition may draw, but not specifically from Egypt.
Endnotes
Works Cited