Customer Reviews

Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With so much interest in things magical (from card games to Harry Potter) and mystical (from Celtic chants to Zen monastic biographies) I have been surprised that this book is not better known, and yet it remains, despite a prestigious university press pedigree (Princeton University Press) and marketing by one of the powerhouses of publishing (HarperCollins, their HarperSanFrancisco division here) a relatively unknown text. Not perhaps coincidentally, many of the texts contained herein were, for most of Christian history, relatively unknown. Indeed, it is virtually unknown that, in many parts of Christendom, magic was not only tolerated, but expected of the priestly class; miracles, after all, often seem magical events, much to the chagrin of rational theologians who try to explain them metaphorically, symbolically, or any way other than as Houdini-esque happenings.

In particular, the Coptic Christians, who were concentrated mostly in Egypt, spreading (as all Christians were wont to do) throughout the Roman and non-Roman world from a centre not too far from Alexandria, one of the major cities of the world of the time. The Coptics never really died out, but always remained a strange Christian aberration from orthodoxy on the fringes of East and West. The texts contained in `Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power', by Marvin Meyer and Richard Smith, come from these people.

These texts contain the whole slate of magical utterances -- rites, spells, amulets, curses, recipes. The magical practices contained herein include a spell for protection against headless powers, an invocation to a thundering power to perform every wish (shades of the `Prayer of Jabez' here), an amulet to protect against the mischief of evil spirits, and even an erotic spell for a ma to obtain a male lover (lest we think that modern controversies in the church have no historical bases or parallels).

Lest we think that the magical period of Christianity was only in the remotest of history, this collection includes texts as early as the first century after the time of Jesus to the twelfth century -- more than half the span of Christian history. Almost all texts are from Egypt, centre of the Coptic and Gnostic communities.

The users of these texts, the authors contend, had the same disdain for 'magic' as traditional Christians have for 'magic' today -- magic is usually assumed to be alien, evil, something dark and probably demonic. Yet, these texts were used in much the same way, with an intention rooted in Christianity that somehow would serve to make the practice acceptable, even holy.

Within this text are 135 Coptic texts. They originated in Old Coptic, Greek, and Gnotic texts. This volume combines them in three sections.

Ritual Power in Egypt
These texts come from various sources, manuscripts held in museums all over the world, including the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, texts from Cairo, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Florence, and Oslo, and of course, the Nag Hammadi collection.

Other interesting texts in this section spells for seeking vengeance, spells for ascending through the heavens, spells to drive out demons and various amulets and prayers.

Coptic Texts of Ritual Power
Most of these texts are individual constructs; i.e., spells or curses from a particular person to a particular person or need. However, many are templates, with placeholders or blanks to be filled in later. Often these (perhaps a precursor to indulgences later) were for sale. There are spells to help a woman conceive, and spells to help a woman avoid pregnancy. There are several spells and charms to woo a woman; there are several curses directed at barreness and impotence. Life was harsh!

Coptic Handbooks of Ritual Power
This section consists of masters and collections, like the cookbook from Cairo, and the hoards, portfolios and books of spells held at other major museums. `In a world where ritual dominated the resolution of most crises in life, these handbooks seem to have been a prized component of private collections and the mainstay of temple libraries ` Many of these collections were loose-leaf collections, and sometimes short on Christian imagery. `While this neglect of Christian traditions might suggest that the handbooks' owners worked independently from the monasteries, it may also reflect the type of language and symbolism that worked in the villages beyond the monasteries.'

Unlike our sense of magic as being something devious or sneaky, in fact magic has more often intended to be useful and practical. Thus, these rituals were meant to invoke power and meaning into the lives of those using it .

Addendum
A joy of a book will have a bibliography, an index, and appendices that give further guidance. This book magically has much here to commend it. It does lack an index, which is less critical here than in many texts, but one would hope that a future edition would have one.

The appendix contains previously unpublished Coptic texts from the Beinecke Library at Yale. These are annotated but not translated, so brush up your ancient languages for this one. Thirty pages of textual notes expand the translations in the earlier sections. A good glossary is provided, which is useful for this and other Coptic and Gnostic texts. The bibliography is a gem, and one could devote years to follow-up research based on the hundreds of items contained herein.

The book is not lavishly illustrated, but it does have original drawings, a few photographic representations, and original language sections that enhance the readability. This is a book which is both scholarly and fun, interesting and educational. Mysterious combination, indeed!

In an environment where `what we do is religion and what they do is magic' attitude, these compilers prefer to speak of `ritual' as a less value-ridden word and since the spells relate to that sphere of life we call `religion' the sub-title may be a more appropriate description. There are 135, dating from the first 1000 years of Christianity, in English, with notes and written originally on papyrus, parchment, rag paper, pottery or bone. There are love spells, healing spells, sexual spells, protective spells, spells to drive out demons, spells for a good singing voice or to silence a dog, and curses. A book for specialists.

I bought this book hoping for more information on Catholic and Christian folk magic and folk ways. This is deffinently more of a "ceremonial" type book calling on various spirits and angels. There also aren't many amulets presentes as the back of the book boasts, nor are there complete prayers, rather fractions of several prayers with many blanks left in between.

"Ancient Christian Magic" is a collection of magical spells, charms and rituals from ancient Egypt.

Or not so ancient, since the translated texts are from the Roman period, or the Early Middle Ages. The real shocker is that the magic is...wait for it...Christian. Or at least nominally Christian. In reality, the magical papyri included in this volume are a syncretistic blend of Christianity, Judaism, Gnosticism and good old fashioned Egyptian paganism. Osiris, Isis, Anubis and the inevitable mummies are featured alongside Abraxas, Yao, Jesus, Gabriel, and what have you.

Some of the spells and incantations are quite humorous. One is a homosexual love spell! We also learn that the magician is supposed to write his spells on a piece of papyrus, visit a rock tomb at midnight, and place the papyrus in the mouth of a corpse. Please stay clear of the jackals! The book also includes an extended version of the apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and king Abgar of Edessa.

Still, the volume feels a bit disappointing. The introductions deal mostly with the issue of whether "religion" and "magic" are really two different things, or why the phrase "ritual power" is better than "magic". Yawn. I'm sure this is very interesting...to assistant professors at some sleepy comparative religion department. Personally, I would have appreciated a longer essay on the syncretism. How are we to interpret this blend of Christian, pagan and "heretical" elements?

But above all we want to know: CAN THE MUMMY REALLY WALK?

If all one wants to do is decide if there was such a thing as Christian magic, this book is not for them. Instead such a person ought to read C K Barrett's _New Testament Background_. Barrett includes half a dozen sample texts along with texts which illuminate other aspects of Christian origins.

What the reader gets in this book is Coptic and Greek texts of ritual power, i.e. magic. There are spells of healing and spells of protection from harm. There are also curses. In one text a woman named Mary appeals to three archangels to "bring away" a woman by the name of Martha. Mary's appeal is rather vicious in that she seeks to have Martha suffer an ulcerous tumor or to pour forth worms. It is significant that Mary considers this "punishment" for Martha. She then appeals to "lord Jesus Christ" to dissipate any hope that Martha might have.

Personally I find magical incantations distasteful. They represent the worst in people. What can not be gained by the legitimate rules of a society are attempted to be gained by invoking the power of a supernatural being. Such selffishness would not seem to be in alignment with what Christianity proclaims.

Meyer has collected a number of Coptic texts from the early centuries of Christianity which are texts of ritual power. Since there are thousands of un-recorded Coptic texts in the Berlin Museum alone, one can not say that Meyer has a comprehensive collection. Nevertheless he has collected texts for diverse situations and events. And most helpfully, he has added numerous notes to help the reader toward understanding.

In dept discussion and examples provided. Great historical support and reasoning. Strong reference source for the topic than others I've seen

Bought this for my Magic & Ritual Powers class and enjoy reading it, although some texts are hard to follow/understand, but it is just what happend when deciphering ancient texts. =]

The authors did an incredible job on getting the information for the book--I salute them, but I am kind of disappointed in the book. The magic used is not to me so magical, but more like prayers, actually (it seems to me, but someone else rightfully might disagree with me). I am not a practicing Christian magician, so that might influence how I feel about the book. The book, however, makes a great collection item for my magical library. I say go ahead and buy the book at least to get a good idea of christian magic.

it was ok, but i am not very sure on how to cast the spells. it has a good, but confusing, background. the spells are good, but I am not sure if all i say is the words given or if there is something i should knwo, not given in the book. i expected different.