Borce T. Gjorgjievski - History of Western Magic, Wisdom Ancient
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Borce Gjorgjievski: History of Western Magic, © 1996-2000
History of Western Magic
By Borce T. Gjorgjievski
© 1996 – 2001 by Borce T. Gjorgjievski. All Rights Reserved. No part is to be reproduced electronically, printed or in any other
form without a written permission of the author. The author can be contacted by email at
borce@altavista.net
.
“Magic is the first and the last religion of the world”
Imajica
, Clive Barker
1. Prologue
This short account (since a longer one would take many volumes) of the western
traditions of Magic and Spirituality is intended to show a continuous development line of an
uninterrupted magical thought in the Western World. We start five thousand years in the past
when our ancestors just started to build the first cities (and built them well), and we end in the
twentieth century with the techno-shamanism of the new cults. This story is about what
happened in between …
2. Asyro-Babylonian Magic
The religion and pantheon on the ground of today's Iran and Iraq 4000 years ago
resembled the ancient Indian (Arian) one. It consisted of two groups of Gods: Ahuras and
Daivas. In the beginning these two types of Gods had the same status, but then they
segregated. While in India Daivas became gods and Ahuras became demons, in the Asyro-
Babylonian civilization Ahuras became gods and Daivas devolved to demons. Asyro-
Babylonian religion relied heavily on Astrology and, in fact, the oldest concepts of astrology
come from the areas around the rivers of Eufrat and Tiger, from ancient Mesopotamia. From
here astrology was distributed to India, China, Greece and the rest of the world. The Asyrians
were the ones who invented the Zodiac, the twelve signs, the 360 degrees circle, the idea of a
“creative rest” day, the week of 7 days, the 12 months, 60 minutes in an hour, and they had
very developed mathematics, mostly for the needs of Astrology.
From the Asyro-Babylonian tradition originate the words Magic, Mage, and Magus.
Magi (Magoi) were the highest priests, or “learned men,” in the Asyro-Babylonian kingdom,
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
and their art or science was called magic (or Magia). In the Bible they are occasionally
mentioned as a “tribe” which may point that the position was hereditary. Originally the Magi
were just one of the many tribes in Mesopotamia, but later most of the priests were chosen
exactly from this tribe and its name became symbol for magic and magicians. The Magi were
known for their worship of fire, and had reputation of being able to control and direct fire and
lightening. Eliphas Levi says that the Magi have discovered the secret of electricity and
“were able to generate and direct it in ways that are now unknown” (History, 55). In favor of
this may speak the artifacts that were found around today’s Baghdad, 4000 years old, and
which looked like modern batteries. When scientist filled them with alkaline solution the
“Baghdad Batteries” were perfectly able to produce electricity.
In the oldest theogonies of the Asyro-Babylonian originally the highest god was Enlil,
the Lord Wind, but in other theogonies An (Anum) was the ruling god, together with his son
Enki (Ea). Anum was the Sky God, and the king of all the other gods, while Ea was the God
of Wisdom, and also the Lord of the Earth. Although Anum was the king of the gods, Enlil
had the executive power, which he often usurped. The most important god in the Babylonian
tradition was Marduk, who originally was just an aspect of the Sun God. Under Babylonians
he achieved supreme status and was equated with Asallunhi, the God of Magic. The latter
cult of Mithraism, that was spread through the Roman Empire in the first centuries of our era
and was the main competitor to Christianity, has its origins on Mesopotamian soil. The
theogonies of the Mesopotamian cultures also contained entities which were usually not
counted as gods but were sometimes considered more powerful than gods. Such entities were
Tiamat, the mother of gods, which was identified with salt water, and Abzu, her counterpart,
who fertilized her with his seed which is identified with fresh water. Tiamat was killed by
Enlil when she tried to avenge the murder of Abzu. From the dead body of Tiamat, man was
created.
The greatest magical figure of these times was Zarathustra (or Zoroaster in Greek
pronunciation). Different authors date his life differently, and some speculate that there were
several Zarathustras. The accepted time period of his life is usually put in the VI-VII century
BCE, while some authors date it more precisely “258 years before Alexander [of Macedon].”
Zarathustra proclaimed one God from the kind of Ahuras, called Ahura Mazda, or only
Mazda, which means “Sage God” or “Sage.” Zarathustra was his prophet on Earth. But on the
opposite side of this God who represented all good and right, Zarathustra put Ahriman, the
personification of all evil. These two forces were in a constant combat with each other which
2
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
kept the equilibrium of the universe. Zarathustrian religion was basically dualistic, because he
gave both Gods almost the same power. Zarathustrian teaching is written in the holy book
“Awesta,” and the oldest part of it consists of 20,000 verses called gathas, written personally
by Zarathustra. These verses brought him the reputation of magician, and father of magic, but
they are also beautiful as poetry. Herzfeld says about them: “The gathas are poetry. Be there
ever so much darkness in them, the train of thought clears up with the progress of
study”(238).
3. Egyptian Magic
The religion of the Ancient Egyptians was inseparably intermingled with magic. The
Egyptian religion, alike the early Mesopotamian religion, was streaming directly from
Shamanism, and therefore had more close contact with its spiritual forces. One of the
strongest characteristics of the Egyptian magic and religion was the use of the “words of
power.” The old Egyptians believed that every object, human or god, had its “true name,” and
if a magician knew that name he could control the entity that bears it. Most of the spells were
cast calling the “true names” of the deities who were supposed to obey every wish of the
operator when called by those names. These names were usually in a foreign jargon,
meaningless to the operator, and hard to pronounce. The failure of such operations was
usually ascribed to the mispronunciation of those names. We have modern variations of this
tradition especially reflected in the Enochian language and the ‘Barbarous Names’ in Chaos
Magic.
An example of the use of these “words of power” can be found in the legend of Isis
and Osiris. The goddess Isis, later the wife of Osiris, the legend says, was a mortal woman
who was very skilled in magic. She knew that Osiris was taking walks through his park every
day, and one day she concealed a poisonous snake on his path. Osiris got bitten by the snake
and he yelled for help, but no one could help him since only Isis had the antidote. She came
and asked from him his true name in exchange for the cure. At first he didn’t agree, but as
death approached him, he whispered his real name to Isis. With this name she became a
goddess and married Osiris.
The famous Egyptologist E.W. Budge, says the following about the power of the
names in ancient Egypt: “It was believed that if a man knew the name of a god or a devil, and
addresses him by it, he was bound to answer him and do whatever he [the man] wished; and
3
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
the possession of the knowledge of the name of a man enabled his neighbor to do him good
or evil”(157).
Egyptians had particular love for amulets and talismans. They were everyday thing,
worn for health, luck, money, protection, etc. Most of the curing in the Egyptian medicine
was done through amulets and spells, and very little through material cures, since Egyptians,
despite their knowledge of the complicated mummification processes, knew very little of
anatomy and physiology, and of the causes of illnesses. Many of the Egyptian amulets are
used even today. Such are the “udjat,” or the eye of Horus, which was suppose to give the
bearer power to see things that other cannot see, also the “ankh,” the Egyptian cross, which
gives long life, and the scarab, symbol of resurrection, and thus overly used in the
mummification process.
Egyptians, alike the surrounding nations, extensively used wax figures for spell
casting and enchanting objects at distance. Usually they would ascribe the actions taken
during the casting of the spell to some deity, depending on the task, so that the punishment, in
case of failure, does not fail on the operator. There were special formulas for procuring
dreams, even for ordering certain kind of dreams, of precognitive or other nature. The
Ancient Egyptians, alike the other ancient civilizations gave special importance to dreams,
which they considered communication from the gods. Fatalism was wide spread, since they
believed the destiny of a man was set before he was born. Therefore astrology, especially in
the form of natal horoscopes, was very widely used. Connected with this was the belief in
“lucky” and “unlucky” days and according to their tables almost every third day in a year was
unlucky.
Man was considered to be consisted of nine parts: a physical body, a shadow, a
double or KA, a soul or BA, a heart or IB, a spirit or KHU, a power, a name, and a spiritual
body. The KA, was the double of the physical body and it remained around the grave after
death. In the graves of the pharaohs there were special places built for the KA, called “The
Temples of KA.” The KA was usually shown as two upward hands. The IB or the heart had
great influence after the death when the earthly deeds of the individual were judged. The
heart was measured against a feather, and if it showed heavier, the person was thrown to a
crocodile-like monster to be eaten. In the “Book of the Dead” there are special prayers with
which the person prays to his heart not to testify against him. The BA or the soul leaves for
heaven after death, and it might visit the grave from time to time. It was depicted as a bird
with the head of the person.
4
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
The process of mummification was the most complicated ritual in the Egyptian magic
and religion. The body was anointed with countless perfumes, specially prescribed amulets
and formulas were put in special places, talismans and sacred stones were put in their places,
and many liturgies and evocations were held around the dead body. The social strata (or
“cast”) of the priests, who were the only magicians, was kept absolutely closed to outsiders.
Only in the latter days could foreigners receive initiation, and even then very rarely and under
terrible oaths of secrecy. The priests considered themselves to be the “guardians of the relics
of the former wisdom of nature” (Shepard, 287), in which definition we can recognize echoes
of the primeval Shamanism.
4. Hebrew Magic
With Judaism the polytheistic eon started its downfall while the monotheistic eon started to
rise. There were attempts at creating a monotheistic religion already in Ancient Egypt with
the pharaoh Akhenaton who proclaimed the sun god of Lower Egypt, Aton, as the supreme
and only God. He built many temples for Aton, and gave up his deity (pharaohs were
considered gods) in favor of his new God. His name, Akhenaton, means in the mercy of
Aton. Unlike the other pharaohs, Akhenaton was depicted on the frescos and the pictures as
imperfect human, bald and with a good-sized belly. The high priests of the old gods hated
him for what he has done, and immediately after his death restored the old religion and erased
the name of Akhenaton from every document or inscription they could find.
While in polytheism magic was not only allowed, but also a necessary part of religion and
people’s everyday life, with monotheism there’s a different attitude. The monotheistic God
condemns magic, because magic was always man's attempt to seize the power of God. The
standard Biblical explanation is that by magic humans violate the order in God’s universe -
they try to reach knowledge that is not meant for them (past, future, etc.); Adam and Eve
were expelled from the Paradise because they could “become like one of Us.” A monotheistic
God doesn't want rivals, and even the personification of evil, the Satan, exists only because
God allows it. In such environment only prayer was considered as a permissible mean to
influence reality. In the Old Testament there is a reference which suggest that a true believer
should not allow a witch to live.( Exodus|22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Deuteronomy|18:10 There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an
5
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Borce Gjorgjievski: History of Western Magic, © 1996-2000
History of Western Magic
By Borce T. Gjorgjievski
© 1996 – 2001 by Borce T. Gjorgjievski. All Rights Reserved. No part is to be reproduced electronically, printed or in any other
form without a written permission of the author. The author can be contacted by email at
borce@altavista.net
.
“Magic is the first and the last religion of the world”
Imajica
, Clive Barker
1. Prologue
This short account (since a longer one would take many volumes) of the western
traditions of Magic and Spirituality is intended to show a continuous development line of an
uninterrupted magical thought in the Western World. We start five thousand years in the past
when our ancestors just started to build the first cities (and built them well), and we end in the
twentieth century with the techno-shamanism of the new cults. This story is about what
happened in between …
2. Asyro-Babylonian Magic
The religion and pantheon on the ground of today's Iran and Iraq 4000 years ago
resembled the ancient Indian (Arian) one. It consisted of two groups of Gods: Ahuras and
Daivas. In the beginning these two types of Gods had the same status, but then they
segregated. While in India Daivas became gods and Ahuras became demons, in the Asyro-
Babylonian civilization Ahuras became gods and Daivas devolved to demons. Asyro-
Babylonian religion relied heavily on Astrology and, in fact, the oldest concepts of astrology
come from the areas around the rivers of Eufrat and Tiger, from ancient Mesopotamia. From
here astrology was distributed to India, China, Greece and the rest of the world. The Asyrians
were the ones who invented the Zodiac, the twelve signs, the 360 degrees circle, the idea of a
“creative rest” day, the week of 7 days, the 12 months, 60 minutes in an hour, and they had
very developed mathematics, mostly for the needs of Astrology.
From the Asyro-Babylonian tradition originate the words Magic, Mage, and Magus.
Magi (Magoi) were the highest priests, or “learned men,” in the Asyro-Babylonian kingdom,
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
and their art or science was called magic (or Magia). In the Bible they are occasionally
mentioned as a “tribe” which may point that the position was hereditary. Originally the Magi
were just one of the many tribes in Mesopotamia, but later most of the priests were chosen
exactly from this tribe and its name became symbol for magic and magicians. The Magi were
known for their worship of fire, and had reputation of being able to control and direct fire and
lightening. Eliphas Levi says that the Magi have discovered the secret of electricity and
“were able to generate and direct it in ways that are now unknown” (History, 55). In favor of
this may speak the artifacts that were found around today’s Baghdad, 4000 years old, and
which looked like modern batteries. When scientist filled them with alkaline solution the
“Baghdad Batteries” were perfectly able to produce electricity.
In the oldest theogonies of the Asyro-Babylonian originally the highest god was Enlil,
the Lord Wind, but in other theogonies An (Anum) was the ruling god, together with his son
Enki (Ea). Anum was the Sky God, and the king of all the other gods, while Ea was the God
of Wisdom, and also the Lord of the Earth. Although Anum was the king of the gods, Enlil
had the executive power, which he often usurped. The most important god in the Babylonian
tradition was Marduk, who originally was just an aspect of the Sun God. Under Babylonians
he achieved supreme status and was equated with Asallunhi, the God of Magic. The latter
cult of Mithraism, that was spread through the Roman Empire in the first centuries of our era
and was the main competitor to Christianity, has its origins on Mesopotamian soil. The
theogonies of the Mesopotamian cultures also contained entities which were usually not
counted as gods but were sometimes considered more powerful than gods. Such entities were
Tiamat, the mother of gods, which was identified with salt water, and Abzu, her counterpart,
who fertilized her with his seed which is identified with fresh water. Tiamat was killed by
Enlil when she tried to avenge the murder of Abzu. From the dead body of Tiamat, man was
created.
The greatest magical figure of these times was Zarathustra (or Zoroaster in Greek
pronunciation). Different authors date his life differently, and some speculate that there were
several Zarathustras. The accepted time period of his life is usually put in the VI-VII century
BCE, while some authors date it more precisely “258 years before Alexander [of Macedon].”
Zarathustra proclaimed one God from the kind of Ahuras, called Ahura Mazda, or only
Mazda, which means “Sage God” or “Sage.” Zarathustra was his prophet on Earth. But on the
opposite side of this God who represented all good and right, Zarathustra put Ahriman, the
personification of all evil. These two forces were in a constant combat with each other which
2
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
kept the equilibrium of the universe. Zarathustrian religion was basically dualistic, because he
gave both Gods almost the same power. Zarathustrian teaching is written in the holy book
“Awesta,” and the oldest part of it consists of 20,000 verses called gathas, written personally
by Zarathustra. These verses brought him the reputation of magician, and father of magic, but
they are also beautiful as poetry. Herzfeld says about them: “The gathas are poetry. Be there
ever so much darkness in them, the train of thought clears up with the progress of
study”(238).
3. Egyptian Magic
The religion of the Ancient Egyptians was inseparably intermingled with magic. The
Egyptian religion, alike the early Mesopotamian religion, was streaming directly from
Shamanism, and therefore had more close contact with its spiritual forces. One of the
strongest characteristics of the Egyptian magic and religion was the use of the “words of
power.” The old Egyptians believed that every object, human or god, had its “true name,” and
if a magician knew that name he could control the entity that bears it. Most of the spells were
cast calling the “true names” of the deities who were supposed to obey every wish of the
operator when called by those names. These names were usually in a foreign jargon,
meaningless to the operator, and hard to pronounce. The failure of such operations was
usually ascribed to the mispronunciation of those names. We have modern variations of this
tradition especially reflected in the Enochian language and the ‘Barbarous Names’ in Chaos
Magic.
An example of the use of these “words of power” can be found in the legend of Isis
and Osiris. The goddess Isis, later the wife of Osiris, the legend says, was a mortal woman
who was very skilled in magic. She knew that Osiris was taking walks through his park every
day, and one day she concealed a poisonous snake on his path. Osiris got bitten by the snake
and he yelled for help, but no one could help him since only Isis had the antidote. She came
and asked from him his true name in exchange for the cure. At first he didn’t agree, but as
death approached him, he whispered his real name to Isis. With this name she became a
goddess and married Osiris.
The famous Egyptologist E.W. Budge, says the following about the power of the
names in ancient Egypt: “It was believed that if a man knew the name of a god or a devil, and
addresses him by it, he was bound to answer him and do whatever he [the man] wished; and
3
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
the possession of the knowledge of the name of a man enabled his neighbor to do him good
or evil”(157).
Egyptians had particular love for amulets and talismans. They were everyday thing,
worn for health, luck, money, protection, etc. Most of the curing in the Egyptian medicine
was done through amulets and spells, and very little through material cures, since Egyptians,
despite their knowledge of the complicated mummification processes, knew very little of
anatomy and physiology, and of the causes of illnesses. Many of the Egyptian amulets are
used even today. Such are the “udjat,” or the eye of Horus, which was suppose to give the
bearer power to see things that other cannot see, also the “ankh,” the Egyptian cross, which
gives long life, and the scarab, symbol of resurrection, and thus overly used in the
mummification process.
Egyptians, alike the surrounding nations, extensively used wax figures for spell
casting and enchanting objects at distance. Usually they would ascribe the actions taken
during the casting of the spell to some deity, depending on the task, so that the punishment, in
case of failure, does not fail on the operator. There were special formulas for procuring
dreams, even for ordering certain kind of dreams, of precognitive or other nature. The
Ancient Egyptians, alike the other ancient civilizations gave special importance to dreams,
which they considered communication from the gods. Fatalism was wide spread, since they
believed the destiny of a man was set before he was born. Therefore astrology, especially in
the form of natal horoscopes, was very widely used. Connected with this was the belief in
“lucky” and “unlucky” days and according to their tables almost every third day in a year was
unlucky.
Man was considered to be consisted of nine parts: a physical body, a shadow, a
double or KA, a soul or BA, a heart or IB, a spirit or KHU, a power, a name, and a spiritual
body. The KA, was the double of the physical body and it remained around the grave after
death. In the graves of the pharaohs there were special places built for the KA, called “The
Temples of KA.” The KA was usually shown as two upward hands. The IB or the heart had
great influence after the death when the earthly deeds of the individual were judged. The
heart was measured against a feather, and if it showed heavier, the person was thrown to a
crocodile-like monster to be eaten. In the “Book of the Dead” there are special prayers with
which the person prays to his heart not to testify against him. The BA or the soul leaves for
heaven after death, and it might visit the grave from time to time. It was depicted as a bird
with the head of the person.
4
Borce T. Gjorgjievski
History of Western Magic
.
The process of mummification was the most complicated ritual in the Egyptian magic
and religion. The body was anointed with countless perfumes, specially prescribed amulets
and formulas were put in special places, talismans and sacred stones were put in their places,
and many liturgies and evocations were held around the dead body. The social strata (or
“cast”) of the priests, who were the only magicians, was kept absolutely closed to outsiders.
Only in the latter days could foreigners receive initiation, and even then very rarely and under
terrible oaths of secrecy. The priests considered themselves to be the “guardians of the relics
of the former wisdom of nature” (Shepard, 287), in which definition we can recognize echoes
of the primeval Shamanism.
4. Hebrew Magic
With Judaism the polytheistic eon started its downfall while the monotheistic eon started to
rise. There were attempts at creating a monotheistic religion already in Ancient Egypt with
the pharaoh Akhenaton who proclaimed the sun god of Lower Egypt, Aton, as the supreme
and only God. He built many temples for Aton, and gave up his deity (pharaohs were
considered gods) in favor of his new God. His name, Akhenaton, means in the mercy of
Aton. Unlike the other pharaohs, Akhenaton was depicted on the frescos and the pictures as
imperfect human, bald and with a good-sized belly. The high priests of the old gods hated
him for what he has done, and immediately after his death restored the old religion and erased
the name of Akhenaton from every document or inscription they could find.
While in polytheism magic was not only allowed, but also a necessary part of religion and
people’s everyday life, with monotheism there’s a different attitude. The monotheistic God
condemns magic, because magic was always man's attempt to seize the power of God. The
standard Biblical explanation is that by magic humans violate the order in God’s universe -
they try to reach knowledge that is not meant for them (past, future, etc.); Adam and Eve
were expelled from the Paradise because they could “become like one of Us.” A monotheistic
God doesn't want rivals, and even the personification of evil, the Satan, exists only because
God allows it. In such environment only prayer was considered as a permissible mean to
influence reality. In the Old Testament there is a reference which suggest that a true believer
should not allow a witch to live.( Exodus|22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Deuteronomy|18:10 There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]