An Ancient Egyptian Magical Spell to Protect a Young Lady from EverythingPosted on 29/05/2012

The Third Intermediate Period of Egyptian history (ca. 1070 – 720 BC) was characterized by a breakdown of

central authority and resulting multiple kings – and these dislocations were accompanied by changes in

religious and magical practices, as well as changes in architecture and tomb construction.

During the Libyan Dynasties of this period (dynasties. 21 – 24) as part of transformations in religion and

magic, a new type of magical protection appeared. Called Oracular Amuletic Decrees (OAD), these amulets

were primarily worn as a charm by the young of the non-royal / religious strata. This is no surprise. Given

uncertainties associated with changes and dislocations of the time, it makes sense that protection against

various misfortunes should be sought – especially for children and the young - who might not have been able to

protect themselves.

The charms, written in hieratic on papyrus strips, are approximately 5 to 6cm wide and 65cm long (picture

below) and were tightly rolled up and placed in a case – such as the following:

Oracular amuletic case in the British Museum

Here is a description of the production of the amulets by Dr. Lucarelli, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-

Universität Bonn:

The demons of the [oracular amuletic decrees] were considered a cause of evil in daily life, which needed to

DIANABUJA'S BLOG: Africa, The Middle East, Agriculture, History and CultureAmbling through the present and past

with thoughts about the future

Hieratic oracular amuletic text recto and

verso. (not the ms. translated in this

blog). British Museum

be repulsed by divine intercession. The priests and the temple authorities, by

producing and distributing the amuletic papyri, were the intermediaries

with the gods who pronounced the oracular decrees…

…The attempt of the Theban priests of the Libyan period to link the popular

beliefs in demons to the local temples did not cease with the [amuletic

decrees] but continued in the Ptolemaic period with the increasing use

of protective amulets, which spread through the whole late antique

Mediterranean world.

Source: Lucarelli-”Popular Beliefs in Demons in the Libyan Period:

the Evidence of the Oracular Amuletic Decrees“

Dr. Ritner of the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago) has produced a

lovely translation of an oracle manuscript in the Oriental Institute, as follows:

For Lady Taibakhori, spoken by the Goddess Nekhbet:

…I shall keep her healthy in her flesh and her bones.

I shall protect her and I shall look after her.

I shall be between her and any sickness.

I shall grant her life, health, and a great and goodly old age.

I shall cause her eyes to see;

I shall cause her ears to hear;

I shall cause her strength to flourish.I shall open her mouth to eat and

I shall open her mouth to drink.

I shall cause her to eat in order to live and

I shall cause her to drink in order to be healthy.

I shall cause her to be completely satisfied with a happy life on earth.

Source: A “Lost” Oracular Amuletic Papyrus (OIM 25622) for Lady Taibakhori, spoken by the

Goddess Nekhbet: Practical Egyptian Magical Spells –

Presented at the 1998 Oriental Institute Annual Dinner, by Robert K. RitnerRetranslated from: I. E. S. Edwards, Oracular Am uletic Decrees of the Late New Kingdom , Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum , vol.

IV, London: 1960.

Oracular decrees were long, and generally written to encompass everything that could go wrong – or befall –

the addressee. Dr Ritner’s translation (above) selects just a few of the lines of the original text, which in its

length and totality of protections is indeed rather amazing.

Here is the full text from which the above was extracted :

P. OI 25622, recto: [papyrus Oriental Institute, front]

(1) … Taybekhori, the daughter of Tetisheri, who is (also) called Sherenihi, my servant and my

offspring (?).

(5) I shall keep her healthy [in] her flesh and her bone(s). I shall protect (her) and I shall look

after her. I shall be between her and any sickness. I shall grant her life, health, and a great and

good old age. I shall cause her eye(s) to see; (10) I shall cause her ears to hear; [I shall cause]

her vigor to flourish. I shall open her [mouth] to eat and I shall open [her] mouth to drink; I

shall cause her to eat [in order to] live and I shall cause [her] to drink [in order to be healthy]. I

shall (15) cause her to be completely satisfied with a happy life on earth. I shall keep healthy her

whole body, every limb [of hers] and her entire frame from her head to the soles of her feet.

I shall keep [her] safe from every evil design of every god and every goddess (20) residing in

heaven, earth, and the underworld; I shall keep her safe from [their] manifestations; I shall

propitiate [them] for her in all their names. I shall keep her safe from every action of a khawt-

demon, from every action of a shemawt-demon and from every action of every god who does

wrong. I shall keep her safe (25) from every action of every god and every goddess and from

every evil thing. I shall keep her safe from the gods of (the book) “That-which-is-in-the-Year;” I

shall cause [it] to be nullified for her at all times.

I shall keep her safe from every action of a demon and every interference of a demon; (30) I

shall keep her safe [from] every demon of every kind that is in (?) heaven, earth, and the

underworld; I shall not let them come anywhere near her. I shall keep her safe from every evil

eye. I shall keep her safe from every Syrian magic; I shall keep her safe (35) from every magic

of every foreign land of every kind in the entire earth; I shall never let them prevail over her.

I shall keep her safe from all the wrath (?) of all (male) spirits and all (female) spirits; I shall

not let them come anywhere near her. (40) I shall keep her safe [from] every cry of every fear.

I shall keep her safe from every dread, every sickness, every disorder, every fever, every

inflammation, [every] malady … every … and every mishap (45) which makes every … in the

land; I shall never let them happen to her throughout her whole lifetime. I shall keep her safe

[from] the bite of a serpent; I shall keep her safe [from] the bite of scorpions, from every bite of

(50) every snake, all reptiles, and every mouth which bites; I shall not let them come anywhere

near her.

I shall keep her safe from any harmful action (?) of a horse; I shall keep her safe from any

harmful action (?) of a chariot and any harmful action of a ship. I shall keep her safe (55) from

anything unpleasant (?) and any abomination on every kind of journey which she will make

(by) ship, chariot, or (on) foot, while her breath is alive and well with her. I shall keep her from

harm at midday, I shall watch (60) [over her].

… I shall provide for her safe-conduct (?), protection, life, and health in every place in which

she may be and [every] sanctuary [which] she may enter. (65) I shall cause my great, mighty …

oracle to take possession of her for life, health, and … I shall give her everything (?) which … (?)

I shall cause to be good every vision (70) which [she] has seen; I shall cause to be good [every]

vision which I shall cause another (male) or another (female) to see for her; I shall cause to be

good every vision which every man and (75) every woman and all people of every kind in the

whole land have seen for her. I shall do for her every good …

I shall keep her safe from Syrian lentigo; I shall keep her safe from Ethiopian lentigo. I shall

keep (80) her safe from Sekhmet and her son. I shall keep her safe from the ape of the place of

the mound (?) and the baboon of the place of the Wadjet. I shall keep healthy [her] head; I shall

cause her ears to hear; I shall cause (85) her eye(s) to see; [I shall] keep healthy her mouth; I

shall keep healthy … I shall keep healthy her hands; [I shall keep healthy] the ten fingers of her

hands; [I shall keep healthy] her intestines; I shall keep healthy her feet; (90) I shall keep

healthy her ten toes; I shall keep healthy her entire frame from her head to the soles of her feet.

Nekhbet, the [great] goddess, the eldest who was the first to come-into-existence, [said]: As

regards everything (95) which has been included in this oracle and those (things) the inclusion

of which has been forgotten in it, I shall make them beneficial to Taybekhori, the daughter of

Tetisheri, who is (also) called Sherenihi, whose mother is (100) … every single day.

Aha! Finally found it (May 31) – picture of the manuscript discussed in this blog! It is in a document, so had to take a

picture, therefore poor quality. Oracular text of OIM 25622 a-d, Oriental Institute Museum, U. of Chicago.

Bits and pieces of the decrees and their cases continue to be identified in various museums, as noted in the

following snippet. An identical case described below is that pictured after the text, which is in the Fitzwilliam

Museum, Both were owned ba a certain ‘Sh3k:

Container for an oraculal amuletic decree, dynasty 22. Translation below. Fitzwilliam Museum.

One of two oracular decree cases of Sh3k, in the Louvre. (JEA – Journal of Egyptian Archaeology)

Here is the case of Sh3k, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, mentioned in the above quote:

Hieroglyphic Inscription: Dd

mdw in xnsw m wAst nft-Htp ir.n.f

sA nfr [n] SAq, mAa-xrw

Translation: ‘Words recited by

Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep; he

made a goodly protection [for] Shak,

the justified’

The amuletic decrees of the Libyan

Period and later are the product of

priestly intermediaries (between god

or goddess and the person receiving

the amulet); those found in recent

times in the Middle East, the Sahel

and North Africa are composed

generally by Imams (Islamic clerics)

or, minimally, by Arabic scribes., to

be discussed in an upcoming blog

Note: Since predynastic times, Libyan

tribes caused problems in the Nile

Valley, and it was not until the Third

Intermediate Period, discussed in this

blog, that ‘Libyans’ were able to

dominate certain areas of the Valley.

Here is link to a blog I wrote a while

back on the earliest (prehistoric)

records of Libyans in the Nile Valley:

Libya – Prehistoric Links with the Nile Valley

Articles of possible interest:

Opening up an ancient Egyptian library (britishmuseum.org)

Fragments of Book of the Dead found in Brisbane (abc.net.au)

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About diana buja

A recent group photo at a training course for veterinarians and vet technicians here in Burundi. I discuss in French with some

Kirundi and have also a Kirundi translator to help with technical aspects ... Blog entries throughout this site are about Africa, as

well as about the Middle East and life in general - reflecting over 35 years of work and research in Africa and the Middle East –

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This entry was posted in Egypt-Ancient, Magic and tagged Amulet, Ancient Egypt, AncientEgypt, Bes, Book of the Dead, British Museum, Demons, Egypt, Egyptian, Egyptology,

Hatshepsut, History of Ptolemaic Egypt, Luxor, Magic, Magic (paranormal), Nekhbet, New Kingdom, Oracle, oracles, Papyrus, protective amulets, Ptolemaic, religion, Ritner,

Spells - Ancient Egypt, Tebtunis, University of Chicago. Bookmark the permalink.

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