Magic & Healing in Ancient Egypt

In our modern age of hospitals and specialists to treat illness, we probably would mock some forms of ancient egyptian healing and magic.

The egyptians believed that sickness and disease were caused by evil spirits, they would take the ill person to the temple for healing where he would be treated by the priests with incantations drugs or incubation. Incantations are a form of Psychology, the solem recitation of certain sentences and words of invocation over a sick person, would reasure and calm them helping to soothe the patients nerves and worry that would probably have been caused by an unknown fear, we would accept this as superstition. Amulets were also used, when the mummy was prepared for burial all forms of amulets were woven in the bindings to offer protection.

The Goddess Isis was regarded as a great enchantress and a healer,together with the help of the God Thoth she found all the parts of her husband osiris body, after he had been killed by his jelous brother Seth, and she brought him back to life

Healing magic was a speciality of the priests who served the Goddess Sekhmet, the fearsome goddess of plague,‘the Goddess of a thousand names’, She destroys all that is no longer of value and brings healing to the world

Destructive magic was also practised. The names of foreign enemies and Egyptian traitors were inscribed on clay pots or tablets that could be broken or burnt.Wax figurines could be created,and used to bring ill health or death to a person, Ramses 111 had many people of his harem tried and then executed for using destructive magick against him, this incident is known as the harem plot, and took place in the harem quarters at Medinet Habu.

Pharoahs would have prisoners on the soles of their shoes to theoretically tread them underfoot and squash them, pschologically in the belief that this would weaken or destroy the enemy..Enemies would also be portrayed beneath the kings throne to show that he was powerful and subdued enemies that threatened Egypt.