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Spells : Spells,
incantations, a written or spoken formula of words
supposed to be capable of magical effects.
Anglo-saxon spel, a saying or story, hence a form of
words; Icelandic, spjali, a saying; Gothic, spill, a
fable.
The conception of spells appears to have arisen in the
idea that there is some natural and intimate connection
between words and the things signified by them. Thus if
one repeats the name of a supernatural being the effect
will be analogous to that produced by the being itself. It
is assumed that all things are in sympathy, and act and
react upon one another, things that have once been in
contact continue to act on each other even after the
contact has been removed. That certain names unknown to
man, of gods, demi-gods, and demons, if discovered can be
used against them by the discoverer, was believed in
Ancient Egypt. Spells or enchantments can be divided into
several classes as follows: (i) Protective spells; (2) the
curse or taboo; (3) Spells by which a person, animal or
object is to be injured or transformed ; (4) Spells to
procure some minor end, or love-spells, the curing of
persons and cattle, etc.
known professor of the art of magic, and if it be in a
language or dialect unknown. Thus the magicians of
Ancient' Egypt employed foreign words for their
incantations, such, as Tharthar, thamara, thatha, mommon,
thanabotha, opranu, brokhrex, abranazukhel," which occurs
at the end of a spell the purpose of which is to bring
dreams. The magicians and sorcerers of the middle ages
h'kewise employed gibberish of a similar kind, as do the
medicine men of the North American Indians at the present
day. The reason for the spell being usually couched in a
well-knowa formula, is probably because experience found
that that and no other formula was efficacious. Thus in
Ancient Egypt not only were the formulae of spells well
fixed, but the exact tone of voice in which they were to
be pronounced was specially taught. The power of a spell
remains until such time as it is broken by an antidote or
exorcism. Therefore it is not a passing thing.
(i) The protective spell.—The commonest form of this is an
incantation, usually rhymed, imploring the protection of
certain gods, saints, or beneficent beings, who in waking
or sleeping hours will guard the speaker from maleficent
powers, such as :—
" Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on."
Of a deeper significance are these supposed to be spoken,
by the dead Egyptian on his journey through Amenti by
which he wards off the evil beings who would hinder his
way, and so the serpent who would bite the dead is
addressed thus : 0 serpent come not! Geb and Shu stand
against thee. Thou hast eaten mice. That is loathsome to
the Gods. Thou hast gnawed the bones of a putrid cat." The
Book of the Dead says, " Whoever readeth the spells daily
over himself, he is whole upon earth, he escapes from
death, and never doth anything evil meet him," says Budge
in Egyptian Magic, p. 128. " We learn how great was the
confidence which the deceased placed in his words of
power, and also that the sources from which they sprang
were the gods of Thoth and Isis. It will be remembered the
Thoth is called the " scribe of the gods," the " lord of
writing," the " master of papyrus," the " maker of the
palette and the ink-jar," the " lord of divine words,"
i.e., the holy writings or scriptures, and as he was the
lord of books and master of the power of speech, he was
considered to be the possessor of all knowledge both human
and divine. At the creation of the world it was he who
reduced to words the will of the unseen and unknown
creative Power, and who uttered them in such wise that the
universe came into being and it was he who proved himself
by the exercise of his knowledge to be the protector and
the friend of Osiris, and of Isis, and of their son Horus.
From the evidence of the texts we know that it was not by
physical might that Thoth helped these three gods, but by
giving them words of power and instructing them how to use
them. We know that Osiris vanquished his foes, and that he
re-constituted his body and became the king of the under*
world and god of the dead, but he was only able to do
these; things by means of the words of power which Thoth
had given to him, and which he had taught him to pronounce
properly and in a proper tone of voice. It is this belief
which makes the deceased cry out, " Hail, Thoth, who
madest Osiris victorious over his enemies, make thou Ani
to be victorious over his enemies in the presence of the
great and sovereign-princes who are in Tattu, or in any
other place." Without the words of power given to him by
Thoth, Osiris would have been powerless under the attacks
of his foes, and similarly the dead man, who was always
identified with Osiris, would have passed out of existence
at his death but for tlie words of power provided by the
writings that were buried with him. In the Judgment Scene
it is Thoth who reports to the gods the result of the
weighing of the heart in the balance, and who has supplied
its owner with the words which he has uttered in his
supplications, and whatever can be said in favour of the
deceased he says to the gods, and whatever can be done for
him he does. But apart from being the protector and friend
of Osiris, Thoth was the refuge to which Isis fled in her
-trouble. The words of a hymn declare that she knew " how
to turn aside evil hap," and that she was " strong of
tongue and uttered the words of power which she knew with
correct pronunciation, and halted not in her speech, and
was perfect both in giving the command, and in saying the
word," but this description only proves that she had been
instructed by Thoth in the art of uttering words of power
with effect, and to him, indeed, she owed more than this.
Spells to keep away disease are of this class.
The amulets found upon Egyptian mummies, and the
inscriptions on Gnostic gems are for the most part of a
protective nature. (See Egypt and Gnostics.) The
protective spell may be said to be an amulet in words, and
is often found in connection with the amulet, on which it
is inscribed.
(2) The curse or taboo.—(a) The word of blighting, the
damaging word, (b) The word of prohibition or restriction.
(a) The curse is of the nature of a spell, even if it be
not in the shape of a definite formula. Thus we have the
Highland curses : " A bad meeting to you." " Bad
understanding to you." " A down mouth be yours " which are
certainly popular as formulae.
Those who had seen old women, of the Madge Wildfire
School, cursing and banning, say their manner is
well-calculated to inspire terror. Some fifteen or twenty
years ago, a party of tinkers quarrelled and fought, first
among themselves, and then with some Tiree villagers. In
the excitement a tinker wife threw off her cap and allowed
her hair to fall over her shoulders in wild disorder. She
then bared her knees, and falling on them to the ground,
in a praying attitude, poured forth a torrent of wishes
that struck awe into all who heard her. She imprecated 41
Drowning by sea and conflagration by land; may you never
see a son to follow your body to the graveyard, or a
daughter to mourn your death. I have made my wish before
this, and I will make it now, and there was not yet a day
I did not see my wish fulfilled." Curses employed by
witches usually inferred a blight upon the person cursed,
their flocks, their herds and crops. Barrenness, too, was
frequently called down upon women. A person under a curse
or spell is believed in the Scottish Highlands " to become
powerless over his own volition, is alive and awake but
moves and acts as if asleep." Curses or spells which
inferred death were frequently mentioned in works which
deal with Mediaeval Magic. (See Summons by accused.)
(b) The Taboo, the word of prohibition or restriction.
This is found in the mystic expression '' thou shalt not."
Thus a number of the commandments are taboos, and the Book
of Leviticus teems with them. The taboo is the " don't"
applied to children—a curb on primitive desire. To break a
taboo was to bring dire misfortune upon oneself, and often
upon one's family.
Of injuring or transformation of a' person, animal or
object there are copious examples. These were nearly
affected by a spell of a given formula. Thus no less than
twelve chapters of the Book of the Dead (chapters LXXVII.
to LXXXVIII) are devoted to providing the deceased with
words of power, the recital of which was necessary to
enable him to transform himself into various animal and
human forms. The Rev. S. Baring Gould in his Book of
Folklore, PaSe 57> says, that in such cases the
consequence of a spell being cast on an individual
requiring him or her to become a beast or a monster with
no escape except under
•conditions difficult of execution or of obtaining. To
this
category belong a number of so-called fairy tales, that
actually are folk-tales. And these do not all pertain to
Aryan peoples for wherever magical arts are believed to be
all-powerful, there one of its greatest achievements is
the casting of a spell so as to alter completely the
appearance of the person on whom it is cast, so that this
individual becomes an animal. One need only recall the
story in the Arabian Nights of the Calenders and the three
noble ladies of Bagdad, in which the wicked sisters are
transformed into bitches that have to be thrashed every
day.
• Of this class are the stories of " Beauty and the Beast"
and " The Frog Prince."
(4) Spells to procure some minor end, love-spells, etc..
Love-spells were engraved on metal tables by the Gnostics,
and the magicians of the middle ages. Instances of these
are to be found in The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abraham
the Jew (q.v.) Spells were often employed to imprisoa evil
spirits.
The later Jews have many extravagant opinions and legends
relating to this subject, which they appear to have
derived in a great measure from the Babylonians. Jose-phus
affirms that it was generally believed by his countrymen
that Solomon left behind him many spells, which had the
power of terrifying and expelling evil spirits. The
Rabbins also almost uniformly describe Solomon as an
accomplished magician. It is probable that the belief in
the power of spells and incantations became general among
the Jews during the captivity, and that the invention erf
them is attributed to Solomon, as a more creditable
personage than the deities of the Assyrians. Those
fictions acquired currency, not only among the Arabs,
Persians, and other Mohammedan nations, but, in process of
time, also in many Christian communities. They were first
adopted by the Gnostics and similar sects, in whose creed
heathenism preponderated over Christianity; and, in the
dark ages, they found their way among the Catholics;
principally by means of the Pseudo-gospels and fabulous
legends of saints. An incident in the life of St. Margaret
will suffice as a specimen. This holy virgin, having
vanquished an evil spirit who assaulted her, demanded his
name. " My name," replied the demon, " is Veltis, and I am
one of those whom Solomon, by virtue of his spells,
confined in a copper caldron at Babylon; but when the
Babylonians, in the hope of finding treasures, dug up the
caldron and opened it, we all made our escape. Since that
time, our efforts have been directed to the destruction of
righteous persons; and I have long been striving to turn
thee from the course which thou hast embraced." The reader
of the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments" will be
immediately reminded of the story of the " Fisherman." The
Oriental origin of many similar legends, e.g., of St.
George of Cappadocia, is equally obvious.
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