Ancient Spells and Charms for Love and Control
CHARMS
Aims in
PGM
philtrokatadesmos
(binding spell)
ERÔS
agôgê
(fetching spell)
philtrokatadesmos
Love spell: In conversation, while kissing passionately, say:
ANOK THARENEPIBATHA CHEOUCHCHA ANOA ANOK
CHARIEMOCHTH LAILAM.
—PGM VII 661-63
To make a woman love copulating with you: Foam of a
stallion's mouth. Anoint your phallus with it and lie with the
woman.
PDM xiv 1047-48
Erôs
storm wind
fire in the bones
poison
erôs
disease
madness
loss of self-control
destructiveness
Eros Spells
• binding (
katadesmos
) and attraction (
agogê
)
• restriction of sexual attention to NN alone
• restlessness, mental disturbance
• loss of physical and emotional self-control
• physical torture (binding, inflaming, whipping, piercing)
• rejection of husband and family
• compulsory movement (
agogê
) from natal/conjugal house
to house of NN
• culmination in intercourse
agôgê
I am BARBAR ADONAI who hides the stars, who controls the
brightly shining heaven, the lord of the world [
magic
formulas
]... Attract her, NN, draw her to me and join head to
head and fasten lip to lip and join belly to belly and draw thigh
close to thigh and fit black together with black, and let her,
NN, carry out sex acts with me, NN, for all eternity....”
Keep her from eating and drinking, and do not allow her, NN,
to accept another man for pleasure, nor even her own
husband, but just me, NN. Instead, drag her, NN, by the hair,
by her heart, by her soul, to me, NN, at every hour of life,
day and night, until she comes to me, NN... Bind her for all
the time of my life and help force her, NN, to service me...
philtrokatadesmos
Wondrous spell for binding a lover: Take clay from a potter's wheel
and make two figures, a male and a female. Make the male in the
form of Ares fully armed, holding a sword in his left hand and
threatening to plunge it into the right side of her neck. And make her
with her arms behind her back and down on her knees. And you are
to fasten the magical material on her head or neck.
And take thirteen copper
needles and stick 1 in the brain
while saying, "I am piercing your
brain, NN"; and stick 2 in the
ears and 2 in the eyes and 1 in
the mouth and 2 in the midriff
and 1 in the hands and 2 in the
vagina and 2 in the soles, saying
each time, "I am piercing such
and such a member of her, NN,
so that she may remember no
one but me, NN, alone."
Engrave into the obsidian stone a castrated man with his
genitals lying alongside his feet and his hands extended
downward, as he gazes at his genitals. And inscribe Aphrodite
behind his back... turning her face and looking at him. Enclose
the "stone" of the
kinaidos
-fish beneath it. And if you do not
have one of the "stones" in its head, set a small root from the
kinaidos
plant under it and the left top wing of the
kinaidos
bird, and enclose it in a very flat golden box.
And you will place this within the strap [
himas
] of sinew from
the body cavity of a falcon to make it soft, sewing it shut
along the middle of the strap so that the box is invisible. This
is the strap, like the diadem which is seen in paintings of
Aphrodite, which is called the
kestos
.
—Cyranides (3
rd
century CE), 1.10.49-69
Greek Sexuality
• gender identity delineated in terms of power
If any male, then, touches the strap, he will not become erect.
And if he unwittingly carries it, he will become effeminate. And
if he tastes some of the "stone" of the
kinaidos
-fish, he will
become a complete
kinaidos
, never returning to natural
intercourse. And if a woman bears this strap, no man will have
sexual intercourse with her, for he will not get erect. The strap
measures two fingers wide and five palms long.
—Cyranides (3
rd
century CE), 1.10.49-69
ERÔS (
philtrokatadesmos, agôgê
)
LOVE CHARMS
PHILIA (
philtron, kharis
)
philtron
(love charm)
PHILIA
kharis
(beauty/favor/sex appeal
charm)
philtron
+
philtrokatadesmon
Bring and yoke Urbanus, whom Urbana bore, to Domitiana,
whom Candida bore, in love, tortured, sleepless because of his
love and desire for her, so that he may take her away to his
house to live with him ... yoke them in marriage and love, to
live together for the whole of their lives.
DT 271 (3rd century CE)
kharis
I beg you, lord, do not allow me to be overthrown, to be
plotted against, to receive dangerous drugs, to go into exile,
to fall upon hard times. Rather I ask to obtain and receive
from you life, health, reputation, influence, strength, success,
sexiness [
epaphrodisian
], and charm [
kharis
] with all men and
all women…
—PGM XXXVI.211ff.
A little ring for success and for charm [
kharis
] and for
victory... The world has nothing better than this. For when
you have it with you, you will always get whatever you ask
from anybody. Besides, it calms the angers [
orgai
] of kings
and masters. Wearing it, whatever you say to anyone, you
will be believed, and you will be pleasing to everybody.
—PGM XII.270-27
3
thymokatokhon
Charm to restrain anger [
thymokatokhon
] and secure favor
[
kharis
]:
Take a silver lamella and inscribe with a bronze stylus the
following seal of the figure and the names, and wear it under
your clothing, and you will be successful.
The names to be written are these: [
voces magicae
], supreme
angels, give to me, NN whom NN bore, victory, favor (
kharis
),
reputation, advantage over all men and over all women,
especially over NN, whom NN bore, for ever and all time.
—PGM XXXVI. 35ff.
breath
soul
heart
life
thyein
thymos
(rage, swell)
desire
courage
anger
erection
Fishing with
pharmaka
is a quick and easy way to catch fish,
but it makes them inedible and paltry. In the same way,
women who use love potions (
philtra
) and sorcery (
goêteia
)
against their husbands, and who gain mastery over them
through pleasure, end up living with stunted, senseless,
crippled men. The men Circe bewitched and drugged were of
no service to her, nor did she have any use at all for them
after they had become swine and asses.
—
Moralia
139a
Contexts for Magic
•
polis
religion and individual piety
• communal and individual
kharis
• prayers, oaths, and curses
• deities and
daimones
• law
• contracts and spells
• performative language
• popular belief and “high” science
• sympathy and antipathy
• doctrine of signatures
• deity in nature
Uncover the mystical world of ancient charms and spells, from healing and knowledge to love and success. Explore the esoteric practices of philtrokatadesmos and eros spells, delving into binding and attraction rituals that have been used throughout history. Dive into the intriguing methods of invoking deities for assistance, casting spells for love and influence, and invoking protection and safety. Discover the power of these ancient practices in shaping fate and controlling desires.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Aims in PGM AIM Healing Knowledge Love Injury Miscellaneous Success Safety Invocation Service Horoscopes and General Astrology NUMBER/PERCENT 109/21% 102/20% 98/19% 61/12% 44/8.5% 42/8.2% 22/4.3% 22/4.3% 7/1.4% 6/1.2%
ERS philtrokatadesmos (binding spell) ag g (fetching spell)
philtrokatadesmos Love spell: In conversation, while kissing passionately, say: ANOK THARENEPIBATHA CHEOUCHCHA ANOA ANOK CHARIEMOCHTH LAILAM. PGM VII 661-63 To make a woman love copulating with you: Foam of a stallion's mouth. Anoint your phallus with it and lie with the woman. PDM xiv 1047-48
Ers er s storm wind fire in the bones poison disease madness loss of self-control destructiveness
Eros Spells binding (katadesmos) and attraction (agog ) restriction of sexual attention to NN alone restlessness, mental disturbance loss of physical and emotional self-control physical torture (binding, inflaming, whipping, piercing) rejection of husband and family compulsory movement (agog ) from natal/conjugal house to house of NN culmination in intercourse
agg I am BARBAR ADONAI who hides the stars, who controls the brightly shining heaven, the lord of the world [magic formulas]... Attract her, NN, draw her to me and join head to head and fasten lip to lip and join belly to belly and draw thigh close to thigh and fit black together with black, and let her, NN, carry out sex acts with me, NN, for all eternity.... Keep her from eating and drinking, and do not allow her, NN, to accept another man for pleasure, nor even her own husband, but just me, NN. Instead, drag her, NN, by the hair, by her heart, by her soul, to me, NN, at every hour of life, day and night, until she comes to me, NN... Bind her for all the time of my life and help force her, NN, to service me...
philtrokatadesmos Wondrous spell for binding a lover: Take clay from a potter's wheel and make two figures, a male and a female. Make the male in the form of Ares fully armed, holding a sword in his left hand and threatening to plunge it into the right side of her neck. And make her with her arms behind her back and down on her knees. And you are to fasten the magical material on her head or neck.
And take thirteen copper needles and stick 1 in the brain while saying, "I am piercing your brain, NN"; and stick 2 in the ears and 2 in the eyes and 1 in the mouth and 2 in the midriff and 1 in the hands and 2 in the vagina and 2 in the soles, saying each time, "I am piercing such and such a member of her, NN, so that she may remember no one but me, NN, alone."
Engrave into the obsidian stone a castrated man with his genitals lying alongside his feet and his hands extended downward, as he gazes at his genitals. And inscribe Aphrodite behind his back... turning her face and looking at him. Enclose the "stone" of the kinaidos-fish beneath it. And if you do not have one of the "stones" in its head, set a small root from the kinaidos plant under it and the left top wing of the kinaidos bird, and enclose it in a very flat golden box. And you will place this within the strap [himas] of sinew from the body cavity of a falcon to make it soft, sewing it shut along the middle of the strap so that the box is invisible. This is the strap, like the diadem which is seen in paintings of Aphrodite, which is called the kestos. Cyranides (3rd century CE), 1.10.49-69
Greek Sexuality gender identity delineated in terms of power MALE upper active dominant lover (adult) male FEMALE lower passive submissive beloved kinaidos
If any male, then, touches the strap, he will not become erect. And if he unwittingly carries it, he will become effeminate. And if he tastes some of the "stone" of the kinaidos-fish, he will become a complete kinaidos, never returning to natural intercourse. And if a woman bears this strap, no man will have sexual intercourse with her, for he will not get erect. The strap measures two fingers wide and five palms long. Cyranides (3rd century CE), 1.10.49-69
ERS (philtrokatadesmos, agg) LOVE CHARMS PHILIA (philtron, kharis)
PHILIA charm) philtron (love charm) kharis (beauty/favor/sex appeal
philtron + philtrokatadesmon Bring and yoke Urbanus, whom Urbana bore, to Domitiana, whom Candida bore, in love, tortured, sleepless because of his love and desire for her, so that he may take her away to his house to live with him ... yoke them in marriage and love, to live together for the whole of their lives. DT 271 (3rd century CE)
kharis I beg you, lord, do not allow me to be overthrown, to be plotted against, to receive dangerous drugs, to go into exile, to fall upon hard times. Rather I ask to obtain and receive from you life, health, reputation, influence, strength, success, sexiness [epaphrodisian], and charm [kharis] with all men and all women PGM XXXVI.211ff. A little ring for success and for charm [kharis] and for victory... The world has nothing better than this. For when you have it with you, you will always get whatever you ask from anybody. Besides, it calms the angers [orgai] of kings and masters. Wearing it, whatever you say to anyone, you will be believed, and you will be pleasing to everybody. PGM XII.270-273
thymokatokhon Charm to restrain anger [thymokatokhon] and secure favor [kharis]: Take a silver lamella and inscribe with a bronze stylus the following seal of the figure and the names, and wear it under your clothing, and you will be successful. The names to be written are these: [voces magicae], supreme angels, give to me, NN whom NN bore, victory, favor (kharis), reputation, advantage over all men and over all women, especially over NN, whom NN bore, for ever and all time. PGM XXXVI. 35ff.
breath soul heart thyeinthymos (rage, swell) life desire courage anger erection
EROS CHARM agog , philtrokatadesmos incantation over bound images, tortured animals, burning materials PHILIA CHARM philtron, kharis Terms incantation over amulets, knotted cords, rings, potions, ointments Description binds and mollifies, reduces anger (thymos), increases esteem for practitioner; increases sex appeal (kharis) of practitioner affection (philia) diffuse insider within existing relationship in need of repair wife, social inferior husband, king, other authoritative male burns, tortures, maddens, impels victim to leave home and come to practitioner sexual desire (eros) specific outsider to destroy loyalty to natal family or spouse man, prostitute young woman (or man), usually in natal home Action Effect Range Social context User Victim
Fishing with pharmaka is a quick and easy way to catch fish, but it makes them inedible and paltry. In the same way, women who use love potions (philtra) and sorcery (go teia) against their husbands, and who gain mastery over them through pleasure, end up living with stunted, senseless, crippled men. The men Circe bewitched and drugged were of no service to her, nor did she have any use at all for them after they had become swine and asses. MALE FEMALE upper lower active passive dominant submissive lover beloved (adult) male kinaidos Moralia 139a
Contexts for Magic polis religion and individual piety communal and individual kharis prayers, oaths, and curses deities and daimones law contracts and spells performative language popular belief and high science sympathy and antipathy doctrine of signatures deity in nature
