Binding Spells
the Greek OR Latin term for a binding spell
What is a katadesmos/defixio?
Who is Pazuzu?
a Roman from North Africa in the 2nd c. CE who defended himself successfully against charges of being a magician
Who is Apuleius?
the text in which the first witch of Greco-Roman literature appears
What is the Odyssey?
the version of the Greek god Hermes believed to be a founding father of alchemical beliefs in antiquity
Who is Hermes Trismegistus?
the most popular material for Greco-Roman binding spells to inscribed on
What is lead?
This snake-like figure with a lion's head crowned in solar rays often appears in amulets related to digestion and stomach health
Who is Chnoubis?
the Greek term for a magician that also meant a deceiver or cheat
What is a goes?
a witch who dwells in Thessaly and is particularly skilled in necromancy; she appears in Lucan's Bellum Civile
Who is Erictho?
the title of the master craftsman of the cosmos that Plato describes in his Timaeus
Who is the Demiurge?
What are philtra?
a culture of the ancient Mediterranean that would at times place warnings within its tombs to prevent robberies; these warnings would often threaten to "seize" and abuse any intruders
What is Egypt?
Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficiis
this particularly kind of necromancy/divination was preferred within Mesopotamia
What is skull necromancy/divination?
Who is Aleister Crowley?
Who are the Erinyes/Furies?
wrote The Interpretation of Dreams, a Greek manual on how to read dreams and understand what they indicate about the future
Who is Artemidorus?
the Egyptian cosmic force typically translated as "magic" which could be harnessed by those who the necessary knowledge; this force was also often imagined as a god itself
What is Heka?
the Greek name for one who died a violent death and is likely to return as an unsettled ghost
What is a biaiothanatos?
a staunch defender of theurgy; wrote On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians to argue against critiques of the practice
Who is Iamblichus?
an ancient Mesopotamian text that aims to protect people from the negative intentions of potential spellcasters; it focuses on burning to drive off enemies
What is Maqlû?
What is a kaššāpu/kaššāptu?
the Egyptian name for the part of the spirit which may return to the world of the living after death
What is the akh?
the Greek label for the process of leading a divine spirit into a mortal/inhuman object during the telestike rituals of theurgy
What is empsychosis?