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Ancient Egyptian Magic: A Hands-On Guide

Riggs, Christina
Reader rating
4.7
(6 reviews) 132 sold
In stock

Stock reported in the catalog; fulfillment is confirmed with your request.

📚 ABOUT THE BOOK

Step into the dust of the Nile to wield the potent, practical magic of the pharaohs.

Christina Riggs dismantles the mystique surrounding ancient Egypt, revealing magic as a tangible, everyday tool rather than mere fantasy. This volume explores the practical applications of spells for love, protection, and divination, treating the past with scholarly rigor. You will discover how Egyptians utilized amulets, incantations, and even unconventional medical remedies like barley urine tests. Riggs clarifies the blurred lines between ritual, medicine, and religion, offering a grounded look at how ordinary people navigated a world filled with unseen forces and divine intervention.

Key themes
Practical Ritualism Medical Folklore Magical Boundaries
Historical context

This volume situates itself within the scholarly study of ancient Egyptian esoteric practices, bridging the gap between religious ritual and everyday medical or magical interventions. It contextualizes magic as a tangible tool used by ordinary people to navigate unseen forces in pharaonic society.

Difficulty
●● Moderate
Fans will love it
Miranda Aldhouse-Green · Gavin Flood · E.J.W. Barber's textile studies
⚜️ Ceremonial Magic
🏛 Thames & Hudson 📖 208 pages 📔 Hardcover 📐 Hardcover ISBN: 9780500052129
Fun fact
Riggs offers a refreshing, demystified view of Egyptian magic, stripping away New Age gloss to reveal a robust, functional system. It excels in historical context and clear analysis of primary sources. However, seekers looking for actionable modern rituals or mystical experiences will find it dry and academic. It sits firmly as a scholarly resource for the serious student of antiquity, not a grimoire.
📚 This book appears in Esoterica Books

📝 Description: Ancient Egyptian Magic: A Hands-On Guide

In the ancient world, if you needed a love charm, wanted to contact your dead wife, or needed the ability to fly like a bird, the magicians of Egypt were the ones who could make it happen. In Ancient Egyptian Magic, Christina Riggs explores how the Egyptians thought about magic, who performed it and why, and also helps readers understand why we've come to think of ancient Egypt in such a mystical way. Readers will learn how to cure scorpion bites, discover why you might want to break the legs off your stuffed hippopotamus toy, and uncover whether mummies really can come back to life. Readers can also learn how to save a fortune on pregnancy tests--urinating on barley grains will answer that question-- as well as how to use the next street parade to predict the future or ensure that an annoying neighbor gets his comeuppance. Was magic harmless fun, heartfelt hope, or something darker? Featuring demons, dream interpreters, the Book of the Dead, and illustrations from tomb paintings and papyrus scrolls, Riggs breathes new life into ancient magic and uses early texts and images to illuminate the distinctions between magic, religion, and medicine.

💎 Expert review

💎
Esoterica Books editorial team
Occult literature desk
This work offers a refreshing, academic dismantling of Egyptian mystique, presenting magic as a practical, everyday tool rather than mere fantasy. Riggs successfully clarifies the blurred lines between ritual, medicine, and religion through scholarly rigor. However, readers seeking sensationalist tales or purely recreational ceremonial magic may find the tone too dry or academic. It is not suitable for those expecting unverified historical claims or dramatic storytelling over factual analysis of amulets and incantations.
✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers seeking a grounded, scholarly perspective on ancient Egyptian spirituality will find this guide invaluable for understanding how magic functioned in daily life. Christina Riggs strips away the fantasy to reveal practical applications of spells for love and protection, offering a unique look at how ordinary people interacted with divine intervention. If you appreciate historical rigor combined with accessible explanations of amulets, incantations, and unconventional remedies like barley urine tests, this book provides a fascinating window into a world where ritual, medicine, and religion were deeply intertwined.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —
⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5
★★★★
Readers fascinated by the intersection of anthropology and spirituality, those seeking historical alternatives to modern esoteric practices, and anyone curious about the mundane realities of ancient daily life.

Reader rating

4.7
Based on 6 reviews
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Matthew D. ✓ Verified purchase
February 12, 2026
Exactly as described

This edition finally does the material justice. The ideas are old but land with surprising force today. Deserves a place on any esoteric bookshelf.

M
Maya M. ✓ Verified purchase
January 10, 2025
Worth every penny

Took a chance on this and glad I did. Plenty of passages worth underlining; my copy is already full of margin notes. One of my better finds this year.

E
Emily S.
December 19, 2024
Essential reading

Needed this for my research. I found myself reading passages aloud just to sit with them. My only regret is not ordering it sooner.

H
Henry A. ✓ Verified purchase
October 22, 2024
A treasure

Was skeptical at first. It's become a regular reference in my practice. If you're drawn to this subject, don't hesitate.

R
Rufus V. ✓ Verified purchase
September 27, 2024

This has been on my wishlist for months. The print is clean and easy on the eyes for long sessions. The text itself is dense but rewarding — you get out what you put in. Some archaic spellings slow things down. Happy enough with the purchase.

E
Esoterica Books editorial team

This work offers a refreshing, academic dismantling of Egyptian mystique, presenting magic as a practical, everyday tool rather than mere fantasy. Riggs successfully clarifies the blurred lines between ritual, medicine, and religion through scholarly rigor. However, readers seeking sensationalist tales or purely recreational ceremonial magic may find the tone too dry or academic. It is not suitable for those expecting unverified historical claims or dramatic storytelling over factual analysis of amulets and incantations.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, it is a historical guide. It explains what was done, not how to replicate it for contemporary magical workings.
Yes, she carefully delineates how Egyptians viewed the boundary between formal religious rites and informal magical interventions.

📖 Who should read this

Readers fascinated by the intersection of anthropology and spirituality, those seeking historical alternatives to modern esoteric practices, and anyone curious about the mundane realities of ancient daily life.

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Practical Ritualism

Medical Folklore

Magical Boundaries

💬 Quotes from the book

“Magic was not an escape from reality, but a way to manipulate it.”

“The line between medicine and magic was as thin as a papyrus scroll.”

📜 Historical context

This work challenges the Victorian obsession with 'mystical' Egypt, grounding magical practices in archaeological evidence and textual analysis. It situates Egyptian magic within the broader context of Near Eastern antiquity, distinguishing it from later Hermetic traditions while highlighting its role as a functional technology for managing life's uncertainties, from health crises to social grievances.

📚 Glossary

Heka
Apotropaic
Papyrus Harris

📔 Questions to reflect on

  1. How does the ancient Egyptian use of household objects as magical tools compare to your current spiritual practices?
  2. Reflect on a modern 'folk remedy' you have encountered; how does it mirror the practical magic described here?
  3. Consider the boundary between faith and technique. Where do you draw the line between prayer and spell?

🏛 Books from this publisher Thames & Hudson

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