CONDICIONES DE RUIDO EN LA UPIICSA

Occultists and esotericists , such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, have theorized that ancient Egyptian magic is a primary source for western magic practice and ideas. Since we know that the Hermetica and Neo-platonic theurgy have had a profound influence on later European magical traditions, an inquiry into possible relationships between Egyptian and Greek magical ideas would be useful in exploring the veracity of the

occultists' claim. This paper focuses on one set of ancient texts, the Greek Magical Papyri, which offer considerable potential for

investigating this relationship.

The PGM (Papryi Graecae Magicae) is the name given to a cache of papryi of magical spells collected by Jean d'Anastaisi in early

1800's Egypt. Hans Deiter Betz, in his introduction to the newest English translation, speculates that these papyri may have been found in a tomb or temple library and the largest papyri may have been the collection of one man in Thebes.However, the exact provenance for the PGM is unknown. Betz states that through

literary sources it is known that quite a number of magical books of spells were collected in ancient times, most of which were

destroyed. Thus, the PGM are a very important source for first-hand information about magical practices in the ancient

Mediterranean.

The PGM spells run the gamut of magical practices from initiatory rites for immortality to love spells and healing rites. Most of the papyri are in Greek and Demotic with glosses in Old Coptic and are dated between the 2nd century BC and the 5th century AD. The spells call upon Greek, Egyptian, Jewish, Gnostic and Christian deities.

Two of the most intriguing aspects of these texts are the practice of self-identification with deity and the use of voces magicae in

performing magical rituals. In many of the spells, the practitioner is told to use "I am" with a specific deity name to empower or work the spell. PGM I 247-62, a spell for invisibility, states `I am Anubis, I am Osir-phre, I am OSOT SORONOUIIER, I am Osiris whom Seth destroyed. ." The use of specific magical language in these texts, the voces magicae, is abundant. Most of these words are considered "untranslatable" by the scholars working with the papyri. Words of power in the incantations are composed of long strings of vowels, A EE EEE IIII OOOOO, YYYYYY, OOOOOOO, alone or with special names of deities or daimons which are often palindromes and significantly lengthy as in

IAEOBAPHRENEMOUNOTHILARIKRIPHIAEYEAIPIRKIRALIT HONUOMENERPHABOEAI. The exact pronunciation of these voces magicae was key to the success of the spells.

Since Egyptian funerary texts clearly identify the deceased with deity and the power of words and language is a predominant

feature of Egyptian magic, these notions found in the PGM

appeared to provide a possible link between ancient Egyptian and Greek magic.

Throughout the funerary literature of ancient Egypt, from the Pyramid Texts to the Book of the Dead, there is abundant evidence that ancient Egyptians thought that human beings could become deities. Deities were seen as possessing heku, magic, an aspect of the original creative power that formed the cosmos. Thus, magic was perceived to be an intrinsic part of reality and the divine. The Coffin Texts provide a guide book for the deceased to help her or him retain what magic they already possess and to gain more.

Naming is extremely important in this experience and it is the ability to name all the gods and objects encountered that proves one has acquired enough magic to sit with the gods. In these texts, the deceased is clearly identified with the god Osiris. By using

historaloe the deceased will successfully navigate the journey to the afterlife as did Osiris. The use of historaloe in magical practice was common, particularly in healing rites. By knowing the names of all encountered in the afterlife and establishing a link with a deity that had already been successful in this realm, the deceased was well prepared for the journey.

In the Pyramid texts, the initial Utterances appear to be a script directing the different Egyptian deities to recite specific formulas on the deceased king's behalf. Utterance 1 begins "recitation by Nut, the greatly beneficent", utterance 2, "recitation by Geb" and so

forth. Evidence that these utterances were spoken during funeral rites are the notes after the recitations which give directions saying, for example, "pour water"(ut 23) and "cold water and 2 pellets of

natron"( ut 32). The priests and priestesses are taking the role of the deities in preparing the deceased to join the gods in the afterlife as well as the deceased being identified with Osiris.

Self-identification with deity is an "authentically Egyptian trait".

Language, and particularly naming, carries substantial magical power in Egyptian thought. The goddess Isis, once she learns Ra's true name, is then able to cure him of snake bite. One of the oldest cosmologies of the Egyptians from Memphis (approx. 2700 BC) describes the god Ptah creating by his mind (heart) and word (tongue) . Thus, words contain a primal substance and the act of speaking mirrors original creation. Speaking creates reality.

Writing was given to humans by the god Thoth and the Egyptians called their langauge "words of the gods" and hieroglyphs "writing of the sacred words."

The Pyramid Texts, Coffin Text and the Book of the Dead all exhibit the Egyptian belief in the power of language to affect the world. Words, spoken or written were not just symbols, but

realities in themselves. Hieroglyphs held particular resonance with magical power and most of the funerary texts were written in

hieroglyphs. The Egyptians clearly believed that humans have energetic doubles in the world beyond the physical and it seems reasonable to suspect that the hieroglyphs were thought to have a similar existence since they were written on the inside of the

pyramid tombs or coffins or on scrolls placed inside the coffins for the deceased to use. Further evidence of the reality of the images themselves comes from the practice of cutting particular

hieroglyphs in half to diminish their potential effect.