Ancient Egyptian magic, known as ''heka'' (; ;
Coptic:
hik';), was a central component of religious and daily life in
ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
. The term ''heka'' refers to both the divine power that gods and pharaohs wielded, as well as the practical use of
ritual
A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
,
spells, and
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
s to influence the world. It was believed that ''heka'' was a force created by the gods to maintain cosmic order and ensure the prosperity of the kingdom. The term ''ḥk3'' was also used to refer to the god
Heka, the
deification
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity.
The origina ...
of
magic
Magic or magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic
* Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
and medicine.
According to
Egyptian literature
Egyptian literature traces its beginnings to ancient Egypt and is some of the earliest known literature. Ancient Egyptians were the first to develop written literature, as inscriptions or in collections of papyrus, precursors to the modern boo ...
(Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being''.''"
Magic in ancient Egypt was utilized for a variety of purposes, including healing, protection, and summoning divine powers. It was also integral to funerary practices, with the dead often receiving spells to help them navigate the afterlife. For instance, spells from the ''
Book of the Dead
The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...
'' were commonly written on
papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can ...
,
cartonnage
Cartonnage or cartonage is a type of material used in ancient Egyptian funerary masks from the First Intermediate Period to the Roman Empire, Roman era. It was made of layers of linen or papyrus covered with plaster. Some of the Fayum mummy portr ...
, and tomb walls to guide the deceased through the dangers of the underworld.
Practitioners of ''heka'' used specific rituals, prayers, and symbols to invoke divine assistance. These included the use of symbolic items such as amulets, which were believed to carry protective powers, and the recitation of specific spells to affect change in the physical world.
Ancient Egyptian magic is also associated with the practice of
divine embodiment
A divine embodiment or godform refers to the visualized appearance of the deity assumed in theurgical, Tantra, tantric, and other mystical practices. This process of ritual embodiment is aimed at transforming the practitioner, aligning them w ...
, wherein gods could be invoked into physical forms through rituals or iconography, enabling their power to manifest in the world. This magical thinking pervaded the culture, influencing everything from the creation of magical texts to the performance of rituals in temples and at royal courts.
References
Works cited
*
*
*
Further reading
* {{cite book , last=Faulkner , first=R. O. , title=The Egyptian Book of the Dead , publisher=Oxford University Press , year=1994
Ancient Egypt
Magic (supernatural)
Theurgy