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The Spell

Each magical act came along with a spell, which was called ra. Another Ancient Egyptian term is shenet, the invocation. Sometimes it was also written down as sa:ooh, which means protective spell. Collections with the records of many spells were referred to simply as medjat, the book, or as ra:ooh, the plural form of ra.

The archaeological evidence from which we draw our present knowledge of the spell-casting practices of the Ancient Egyptians is usually papyri, ostraca, statues, stelae, and other objects.

The spells very often follow a unique scheme:

 a heading, the so-called spell title,

 the core text of the spell, and

 an instruction for handling or commentary.

The latter often contains a listing of materials, ingredients, or similar and is accompanied by instructions for processing and application. This is practically comparable to the package leaflet of modern drugs.

Recipients of the spells are either the good deity, which is to produce the desired state, or the enemy, or the opposing energy, for example, a demon, whose influence is to be weakened. It is interesting to note that the recited text presents the facts in different ways:

 stating, that is, the simple statement and description of a condition.

 narrative, that is, telling a story around the desired state, or

 discursive, which means creating an argument with a deity.

In terms of content, spells often reflect the mythological stories surrounding the Gods Isis and Osiris, the battle of the God Horus against the God Seth, or the narratives surrounding the Sun God Ra. Thereby it is always first about the determination of danger, for example, the injury of Osiris and his subsequent healing. Thus, an analogy is always created using known legends.