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Binding Spells
Magic for Protection and the Future
Magic in the World
Witches and the Magical Dead
Neoplatonism and its Legacy
100

the Greek OR Latin term for a binding spell

What is a katadesmos/defixio?

100
a Mesopotamian demon who acted as a protective entity against other demons, especially Lamashtu

Who is Pazuzu?

100

a Roman from North Africa in the 2nd c. CE who defended himself successfully against charges of being a magician

Who is Apuleius?

100

the text in which the first witch of Greco-Roman literature appears

What is the Odyssey?

100

the version of the Greek god Hermes believed to be a founding father of alchemical beliefs in antiquity

Who is Hermes Trismegistus?

200

the most popular material for Greco-Roman binding spells to inscribed on

What is lead?

200

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?

200

the Greek term for a magician that also meant a deceiver or cheat

What is a goes?

200

a witch who dwells in Thessaly and is particularly skilled in necromancy; she appears in Lucan's Bellum Civile

Who is Erictho?

200

the title of the master craftsman of the cosmos that Plato describes in his Timaeus 

Who is the Demiurge?

300
a kind of binding spell intended to ensure that one's current relationship is strengthened and maintained, as well as to prevent one's partner from straying

What are philtra?

300

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?

300
a Roman law of the 1st c. BCE targeting both magicians and assassins; those found guilty would either face exile or violent death

Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficiis

300

this particularly kind of necromancy/divination was preferred within Mesopotamia

What is skull necromancy/divination?

300
known as "the Beast," this more modern-day magician developed the school of Thelema that claimed one should "do what thou wilt."

Who is Aleister Crowley?

                                   


    

400
a group of primordial divine beings who pursue those who commit murder, particularly against family members

Who are the Erinyes/Furies?

400

wrote The Interpretation of Dreams, a Greek manual on how to read dreams and understand what they indicate about the future

Who is Artemidorus?

400

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?

400

the Greek name for one who died a violent death and is likely to return as an unsettled ghost

What is a biaiothanatos?

400

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?

500
a special wheel spinning on a thread that appears in erotic magic?
What is a iunx?
500

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?

500
a Mesopotamian term for a dangerous magic user

What is a kaššāpu/kaššāptu?

500

the Egyptian name for the part of the spirit which may return to the world of the living after death

What is the akh?

500

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?