Roots of Magic episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

We speak with Ulrike Steinert on her MagEIA research-project ‘Metaphors in ancient Mesopotamian incantations and magic rituals: Emotions, cultural concepts and performance’. She proposes analysis of metaphors for emotional states as a means of access to ancient Akkadian magic. We are listening, and would like to see this approach applied to other cultural contexts as well.

Sara Chiarini has been studying practices for gaining knowledge in the Greek Magical Papyri. The conversation covers typologies, the types of practices involved in doing ancient knowledge-ritual, and the difficult question of ‘belief’ in the efficacy of such practices among practitioners.

We speak with Egyptologist Sofie Schiødt about her work-in-progress at Würzburg, exploring the evidence for ancient Egyptian magic in situ. How did the ancient Egyptians relate to the spaces in which they performed rituals? How did the spaces relate to them? She plans to find out.

We speak with Daniel Schwemer about an intensive ritual practice for driving out demonic forces and/or hostile magic. Bit Meseri, the ‘House of Enclosure’, took the ashipu (and forty-nine protective apkaluspirits) four days, at the end of which period the patient was good to go. We talk ritual, theology, and divine handbags.

We speak with Martin Stadler on his work deciphering and interpreting the extraordinary temple-complex at Edfu in Egypt. We discuss myth, ritual, the priestly temple-hierarchy, and magical ritual embodied in physical architecture.