Egyptian incantation handbook decoded
Text deciphered by Australian researchers provides instructions for concocting luck charms, love incantations, voodoo magic and more
A 1,300-year-old Egyptian handbook recently deciphered by Australian researchers has been revealed as an ancient manual for spells and incantations.
Whether one seeks to cast a love spell, cure fatal illnesses, subjugate a person or perform an exorcism — the book has a recipe for each occasion.
The 20-page document, dubbed “The Handbook of Ritual Power” and written entirely in the Coptic language, was likely used by a ritual practitioner around the 7th or 8th century AD, Live Science reported. It was purchased by Australia’s Macquarie University in the 1980s from an antiquities dealer in Vienna, though it is unclear how he originally procured it.
In a recently published book on the subject, researchers Malcolm Choat and Iain Gardner of Macquarie University and the University of Sydney say the text “starts with a lengthy series of invocations that culminate with drawings and words of power…These are followed by a number of prescriptions or spells to cure possession by spirits and various ailments, or to bring success in love and business.”
The book is currently on display at Macquarie University’s Museum of Ancient Cultures in Sydney.