#defixiones

[contremineur]

Two Roman curse tablets (lead, c. 150-300 AD)

Curse tablets are found throughout the Roman Empire, though the UK has the highest number of known examples in Latin. The tablets were usually made of thin hammered lead or pewter in the hopes of passing the cold and heavy attributes of the meal onto the cursed. Inscriptions followed a common formula, invoking a god to bring harm to someone who had wronged the author, and might also include magical symbols to increase the potency of their curse. Before being left in ritualistically important locations like springs and temples, the curse would be either folded or rolled to disorientate the cursed individual. Unlike literature and monument commemorations, Roman curse tablets were written by all classes of people from slaves to high ranking officials.

image and adapted text from here

[alexanderbayon]

Roman lead 'curse tablets' or defixiones found during the excavation of a villa in Oxfordshire – see here

[prairiefirewitch]

Poor Antonius; not only were you cursed by some ancient Roman, but they gave you a big bulbous bald head and weasely little arms.

This is what delights me today, when not much else has. This is a lead curse tablet (lamella) found at the Baths of Diocletian. Thousands of these tablets have been found across the Mediterranean and even Britain from the Roman period. They’re one of a small category of tangible evidence that magic was widely practiced.

[figbian]

SOOOO interested and intrigued by this quote in "living and cursing in the roman west" on the content of curse tablets:

As discussed in Chapter 3, the symbolic crossing of the boundaries between the worlds of the living and dead is given great significance, and there are some allusions to victims being hauled unwillingly to the underworld as in the Persephone myth.

like!! HUH. things to think about in terms of roman conceptions of persephone/the hades & persephone myth

[bookofforbiddenknowledge]

Magic in Ancient Greece: An Introduction

I have seen some people claim that magic or witchcraft did not exist in Ancient Greece. This is not the case. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce you all to the strange and wonderful world of Ancient Greek magic!

First, what do we mean by "magic"? Radcliffe Edmonds, one of the leading scholars on Ancient Greek magic, defines "magic" as "non-normative ritual behavior." In short, what makes something magic, and not just normal religion, is that people in a given culture think it's weird. The word "magic" itself refers to the magi, Zoroastrian priests — the Ancient Greeks thought they did magic because to them, Zoroastrianism was foreign and weird. They also thought that Ancient Egyptians could do magic for the same reason — what the Greeks thought was spooky magic was just normal religion in Egypt. Within their own culture, magic was basically heteropraxic religion. Magic was not considered hubristic, at least not inherently.

There are multiple Ancient Greek words that refer to magic. The word μάγος, magos, itself means "magician" or "charlatan." There's also γοητεία, goetia, usually translated as "sorcery." The word most often translated as "witchcraft" is φαρμακεία, pharmakeia, the use of drugs or herbs to transform or influence people. This is what Medea and Circe do.

One of our best sources on Ancient Greek magic is the Greek Magical Papyri, or PGM, a set of magical texts from Hellenistic Egypt. When I first learned about it, I thought it was too good to be true, but here it is: uncorrupted ancient pagan magic! Essentially, the PGM is one of the oldest known grimoires, and the ancestor of the entire Western magical tradition. The papyri contain spells and rituals for almost every purpose: curses, love spells, divination, dream oracles, summoning daimones, necromancy, even full mystical rites. Most of them include invocations to various gods, which are heavily syncretic. Helios/Apollo (treated interchangeably) is invoked the most often. Aphrodite appears pretty often, too. Hekate-Artemis-Selene-Persephone (conflated with a whole bunch of other chthonic goddesses, including Ereshkigal) has her own set of spells. You'll even find the names of Egyptian gods and Hebrew angels in there.

One of the most common features in PGM spells is voces magicae or barbarous names, nonsense words that are supposed to be the secret names of the gods, which give you the authority to call them up. They act almost like a written form of glossolalia. Most are supposed to be spoken or chanted aloud. Some sound like actual names, or are well-known magical epithets like ABRASAX. Some are just strings of Greek vowels. Some of them are palindromic; there's lots of spells that use the "abracadabra" disappearing-letter-triangle format. There's also charakteres, apparently-meaningless magical symbols, the distant ancestor of modern sigils.

Another major source for Ancient Greek magic are defixiones or katadesmoi, curse tablets. They're little lead leafs called lamellae, which are inscribed with curses and then deposited in wells, graves, and other chthonic places. Thousands of them have been found.

Here's the text of a curse tablet that invokes Hekate and Hermes Kthonios (copied from Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World by John G. Gager):

Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia Let Pherenikos be bound before Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia. I bind Pherenikos’ [girl] Galene to Hermes Khthonios and to Hekate Khthonia I bind [her]. And just as this lead is worthless and cold, so let that man and his property be worthless and cold, and those who are with him who have spoken and counseled concerning me. Let Thersilochos, Oinophilos, Philotios, and any other supporter of Pherenikos be bound before Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia. Also Pherenikos’ soul and mind and tongue and plans and the things that he is doing and the things that he is planning concerning me. May everything be contrary for him and for those counseling and acting with…

Another curse tablet, which invokes Hekate to punish thieves, includes a drawing of her and charakteres. This is how she's depicted:

From Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in the Ancient World by John G. Gager

It's supposed to be a woman with three heads and six raised arms, but to me it looks like Cthulhu, which is honestly appropriate.

There was a very fine line between love spells and curses in Ancient Greece. Some love spells in the PGM call upon the spirits of the dead and chthonic gods to torture a poor girl until she submits to the magician. Just as many defixiones attempt to forcefully bind a lover. But there's another, gentler kind of love spell described by Theocritus in Idylls, in which a witch named Simaetha invokes the Moon and Hekate and uses an iynx wheel to make a man love her.

If you want to know how to apply all of this in modern practice, I'm still working that one out. I've found the PGM very hard to adapt, because a lot of its requirements are dangerous or impractical. Many of its spells require gross ingredients worthy of the Scottish play, or plants that scholars can't identify, or procedures that I don't plan on attempting. And if you haven't noticed by now, most of them fly in the face of modern magical ethics. (Don't let anyone tell you that the gods will punish you for doing baneful magic, because that's clearly bullshit.) On the other hand, Crowley adapted his Bornless Ritual almost word-for-word from PGM V. 96—172. So far, the best resource I've found on modernizing Ancient Greek magic is The Hekataeon by Jack Grayle. Its material is clearly historically-inspired, but still doable, and spiritually relevant. I really recommend getting it if you have the means, especially if you have an interest in Hekate specifically. I'm happy to have it as a model for how to adapt ancient magic for myself in the future. To me, it strikes the perfect balance between historically-informed and witchy, which is right where I want to be.

If you can't access that one, here's some other books I recommend:

Drawing Down the Moon: Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World by Radcliffe G. Edmonds III: An introduction to Ancient Greek magic, both scholarly and accessible. It covers the definitions and contexts of magic, curses, love spells, divination, theurgy, philosophy, basically everything you need to know.

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation by Hans Dieter Betz: The definitive English edition of the PGM. A must if you plan to study ancient magic in-depth, especially as a practitioner.

Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in the Ancient World by John G. Gager: An English edition of the texts of many curse tablets.

Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Daniel Ogden: a sourcebook of ancient literature concerning magic.

The Golden Ass by Apuleius: A Roman novel about a man who is turned into a donkey by a witch. A very entertaining story, also our source for "Cupid and Psyche" and one of the best sources on the Mysteries of Isis that we have.

Ancient Magic: A Practitioners Guide to the Supernatural in Ancient Greece and Rome by Philip Matyszak: A simple and straightforward introduction to Ancient Greek magic, less scholarly but very easy to follow and directed at practitioners.

[aurinavenir]

Curse Tablets

Curse tablets, known as defixiones in Latin, were commonly used in ancient Greece and Rome from the 5th century BCE to the 4th century CE. These small lead sheets were inscribed with curses aimed at enemies or rivals and were typically placed in graves, wells, or other underground locations believed to connect to the spirits of the dead. The idea was to invoke these spirits to carry out the curse.

Thousands of these tablets have been uncovered, with curses covering various grievances, from romantic rivalries and legal battles to requests for vengeance or justice. For example, curse tablets found in Athens and at Roman sites like Bath revealed requests for the intervention of the goddess Sulis Minerva in the return of stolen goods and to curse the perpetrators of the thefts.

[dovewithscales]

New Essays

Latest blog post is about defixiones, curse tablets. Next up in the queue is knot magic.

My website has contact details, and I can be found still on Discord. I've just sorta gotten tired of social media sites and their bullshit.

[reno-matagot]

Witchcraft Inspiration • Spring Equinox

Not much space-time to practice anything since February (no more apartment, staying with my father) but here are some seeds to sow...

• Dagydes

• Defixiones

• Witch Bottles

• Healing with Asklepios

• Gods (chtonian)

• PGM inspiration

• Spring • Terroir & spirits, animal magic

• Fetch & animal form (teachings of Kirke), sprit fly: animal magical skin.

• Rose, laurel, myrrhe, garlic, Ivy,

• Gems (Zodiacal, Wicca, Witchcraft)

Polytheism

Wicca

[cyprianscafe]

Discursos de Magia Islâmica

Enquanto Sidi Muhammad enraíza as ciências do invisível na história sagrada islâmica, as raízes históricas desse discurso remontam à Grécia antiga. E enquanto o termo “magia”, como foi definido no século XX por estudiosos de estudos religiosos, tem sido amplamente criticado, estudiosos do Mediterrâneo antigo e tardo-antigo reconstruíram uma história muito antiga da própria palavra. Kimberly Stratton, em particular, focou na produção e desenvolvimento da magia como um discurso de alteridade que visava a “outras” populações específicas enquanto impunha normas de gênero e conformidade sexual. No entanto, além dos discursos da elite, evidências materiais abundantes indicam que os greco-romanos antigos e tardo-antigos de fato se envolveram em algumas das práticas que as elites rotulavam de “magia” (mageia), criando maldições vinculativas (katadesmoi, defixiones) que depositavam em sepulturas, poços e encruzilhadas. Uma abundância de textos do século V a.C. ao século II d.C., chamados coletivamente de papiros mágicos gregos, contêm instruções e receitas para a produção de maldições e poções. Além disso, Bernd-Christian Otto apontou que alguns desses artefatos materiais indicam que os praticantes que os produziram identificaram sua própria prática como “magia”. Desde então, Otto postulou a existência de uma tradição ritual textual heterogênea, mas contínua, de “magia aprendida ocidental” do período grego até o presente. Esse “discurso de inclusão” mágico extrai sua potência e apelo do “discurso de exclusão” mantido pelas elites, e as duas tradições, portanto, se desenvolveram juntas em paralelo.

A palavra sihr em si aparece vinte e três vezes no Quran, particularmente durante o encontro entre Moisés e os feiticeiros do Faraó (Quran 7:112–26, 10:76–81, 20:57–76, 26:37–51) e em um versículo que registra como alguns mequenses acusaram Maomé de ser um poeta, um louco ou um feiticeiro (51:52). Em um versículo, os demônios descrentes (shayātīn) são descritos como tentando as pessoas ensinando-lhes feitiçaria (2:102). E embora o próprio Quran não condene sihr (embora o apresente como uma falsidade), há vários hadīth que pedem a morte de feiticeiros. No entanto, apesar dessa representação negativa de sihr no Quran e no hadith, os estudiosos mostraram que, no período ʿAbbāsid, os muçulmanos passaram a ler o termo por meio de novos estudos produzidos durante o movimento de tradução grega, o esforço multigeracional, patrocinado pelos califas ʿAbbāsid, para traduzir as obras recebidas dos gregos antigos para o árabe. A absorção dessas obras clássicas levou, em última análise, à produção de uma síntese de cosmologias e metafísicas neoplatônicas, neopitagóricas e aristotélicas. As contribuições para essa síntese filosófica e metafísica incluem as obras influentes de Abū Maʿshar (m. 886) sobre astronomia, que descreveram os efeitos causais das rotações planetárias no mundo físico e no corpo humano. Enquanto isso, seu contemporâneo e mentor, al-Kindī (m. 873), identificou esse agente causal da mudança material como os raios astrais emitidos por cada corpo celeste. Al-Kindī descreveu sihr legalmente permitido como atos que extraíam e controlavam o poder desses raios astrais. Uma obra pseudo-aristotélica do mesmo período contém um capítulo intitulado “Sirr al-asrār” (O Segredo dos Segredos), que resume as teorias de influência astral delineadas por Abū Maʿshar e al-Kindī e adiciona instruções para operacionalizar esse conhecimento na prática. Finalmente, o século X viu a produção do compêndio enciclopédico conhecido como Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Safāʾ (As Epístolas dos Irmãos da Pureza) e o Ghāyat al-hakīm (O Objetivo do Sábio), por Maslama ibn Qurtubī (m. 964). Composto por um grupo enigmático de estudiosos devotados ao conhecimento esotérico, o Rasāʾil situa a prática de sihr como a culminância do aprendizado humano dentro do currículo aristotélico/neoplatônico e localiza o efeito causal dos corpos celestes em seus espíritos celestiais (rūhāniyyāt), para os quais eles fornecem nomes e invocações. De acordo com os Irmãos, esses seres espirituais afetam o mundo material por meio de suas correspondências com naturezas materiais ou "por meio de suas almas e volição". Enquanto isso, o Ghāyat "expande e sistematiza" tanto as teorias de causalidade encontradas nas obras de Abū Maʿshar e al-Kindī quanto as aplicações práticas apresentadas no "Sirr al-asrā r".

Sorcery or Science?: Contesting Knowledge and Practice in West African Sufi Texts - Ariela Marcus-Sells

[jawbone-xylophone]

I don't know any ancient bee curses, though I did check my notes to make sure, but there's a very cool phenomenon in Medieval European beekeeping called swarm charms. Here's a cool article:

Most spells I have access to (Sumerian/Babylonian/Akkadian) might involve warding OFF insects and rats and such, but we're here for trans rights, not locust repellant.

Some cool articles in here about ancient Roman defixiones, curse tablets:

I think logistically it would be easier to mail someone a box of grasshoppers though, which I legally could not recommend but I think the idea of mailing someone a biblical plague for their biblical opinions is very funny.

We're here, we're queer, and we're ready to strike biblical levels of fear. Practice safe hex folks. 💕

if you think trans people being attracted to trans people and their features is inherently problematic I'm sending my swarm of ancient bees your way

[arcane-offerings]

Lindsay C. Watson, Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome (London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019). Paperback edition. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254644181761

[dovewithscales]

My amazing mate @clover1982 got me the coolest Yule gift. A bit early cause I was having a rough day yesterday.

I do a lot of candle magic and defixiones so having a wax seal is really cool. Just last week I did a binding that involved writing out an invocation, folding up the paper and sealing it in black wax.

[hexandbalances]

How to Make a Wax Tablet

For use in spellwork; curse tablets in particular. Note that a ready made set can be found online for roughly $20. However, beeswax can be found readily in most craft stores for $6-10 and have many, many uses.

Materials

A photo frame, ideally 8x11" to allow for more writing space

Beesewax, shaved, chopped, or in pellet form

Oil - linseed is more historically accurate but olive or coconut will do. The oil makes the wax soft enough to write on and scrape it to re-use.

Hot glue, epoxy pen, or any other precision sealant (more on this below)

Colorant (optional) such as food, candle, or soap dye

Method

Determine amount of beeswax and oil required. You could eyeball it but if you want to be more precise, determine the volume (length × width x depth) of the frame's resevoir. You can then plug it into this online calculator to determine how much beeswax by weight you'll need. Then measure out between 10-15% of that weight in oil.

Prepare the frame. Remove the glass (save for another craft) and seal the corners on the inside using tape, a tiny bit of hot glue, or an epoxy pen - whatever will work to prevent the wax from leaking out while it's in liquid form.

Ensure that the frame is level for pouring. Many frames have a fold out stand on the back that will prevent it from laying flat. Keep this in mind and try to prepare it now so the wax dries evenly, rather than fiddle with it later while juggling hot containers.

Melt the wax. I tend to scorch things in the microwave so I prefer the double boiler method. Place wax into a heat safe container, then insert the container into a pot of boiling water. Beeswax has a melting point of 144 to 147 °F (62 to 64 °C) - much higher than, say, coconut oil (76 °F/24 °C). So melt the beeswax nearly completely first then add oil. Stir to combine. Add any coloring if using.

Pour into the frame. IMPORTANT: do NOT let any water get into your wax. It will cause it to bubble and crack. Allow it to cool completely before using.

Bonus ideas:

Select a dye color that is significant to your intended task

Use oil infused with associated herbs or plants

Add essential oils for the same reason, and also for a pleasant scent (myrrh fragrance, perhaps, for attracting the attention of Hekate?)

Consider adding other ingredients that were also used for magical inks such as incense ash, powdered buckthorn or wormwood, etc.

[suteknakht]

I'm amazed you found this really old post lol. I appreciate your added thoughts, and I agree that Seth seems to have a role as initiator. I'm kind of surprised that no academic, to my knowledge, seems to have made that point. I also agree that he is a necessary if difficult for people to accept.

Have you ever looked into Seth's role in curse tablets/defixiones? There he is usually adressed as the foremost god that is capable of binding people and other gods, due to his strength but also magic. (Though I should reread my notes on this honestly as I don't recall the finer details). I think that is also interesting to consider, in general but also in this context as 'dismemberer/initiator'.

Some thoughts on ch9 of Temple of the Cosmos:

Very quick summary of Kemetic view of 'soul' after death: after death the person becomes their ba. This ba can fly between heaven and earth and comes to visit its body to retain its sense of identity. But its drawn to 'heaven', and it can become an akh ('transfigured spirit') through a certain process. In this process its necessary to 're-member' or heal the 'limbs'. As is pointed out, this shows parallels with the Osirian myth in which he is dismembered and then re-membered by the putting back together of his limbs.

But this process of becoming an akh is not automatic, it seems, but requires effort from the person.

Seeing the parallel of the becoming akh and Osiris myth, I wonder how Seth plays into this. As the dismember-er, Seth could be seen as the force that makes the re-membering and becoming an akh possible. But at the same time, this is precaurious because becoming an akh is not guaranteed. The ba (dismembered soul, I suppose it could be called, akh being the re-membered soul) can become 'stuck' on earth (for a time, or perhaps permanently). I wonder if Seth can be viewed as this precaurious force: one that is necessary for transformation/liberation (of the soul), but not without risk.

[txwitchery]

Defixio Silentii

Based on an ancient Roman curse tablet (defixio) found in London, this written charm is meant to stop gossip by someone who knows your secrets.

Take a small piece of paper and a pen. Upon the paper, write:

[name] defico et illeus vitam et mentem et memoriam et iocinera pulmones intermixta fata cogitata memoriam  sic non possit loqui quae secreta sint 

(I curse [name] and (their) life and mind and memory and liver and lungs intermixed the fate of the thoughts and memory thus can (they) not speak what is secret)

substituting the person’s name where it says [name]. As you write, be sure to pour in your intent-- in order to cast this curse, you must be very determined to keep this person silent. Once you are finished, roll the paper up and set it aflame. Collect its ashes in a fireproof bowl.

Take these ashes to a body of running water. Throw the ashes into the water and walk away. Do not look back. 

NOTE: do not use curses lightly. Recall that the energy you send into the universe is the energy you get back.