On this Valentine's Day all you need to know about this 1,300-year-old Egyptian 'Love Spell'

After an ancient Egyptian magic spell deciphered, it revealed that the text and the images indicated a 1,300-year-old 'Love Spell'

When you hear about "Love Spell" the first thing which comes to your mind is magic. But in such cases, people should be aware of the fact that trying to manipulate the will of the desired person is the most frequent mistake people make which cannot bring positive results. In today's world, you may use the dating app, but there is an ancient Egyptian love spell, over 1,300 years old which could be the perfect magic spell to find love.

The ancient 'Love Spell'

A detail from the throne of Tutankhamun which shows the pharaoh with his wife Ankhsenamun on the right
Tutankhamun with his wife Ankhsenamun Wikimedia commons

It should be mentioned that this ancient text includes an image of two bird-like creatures facing each other who are surrounded by fragments of sentences referring to Biblical characters and events. This Egyptian text is written in Coptic, which is an Egyptian language that used the Greek alphabet and a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in the lands of Pharaoh until at least the 19th century as an official language.

Korshi Dosoo from the University of Strasbourg in France carried out a new analysis where the researcher has compared it with other similar papyrus artefacts and known rituals of the time. His analysis suggests that this was a love spell for the protection between two people.

In his published paper, Dosoo said, "This image shows affinities with a number of similar tableaux from other texts of the same genre, and analysis of these images, alongside textual evidence, suggests that they may be understood as a representation of a ritual intended to unite two lovers."

The research on ancient Egyptian text

1300 Year Old Ancient Egyptian Love Spell
1300 Year Old Ancient Egyptian Love Spell YouTube grab

It should be noted that one of around 900 papyri and papyrus fragments stored at Australia's Macquarie University in Sydney, this ancient text is technically known as P.Macq.Inv.588. As per Dosoo, those two figures in the papyrus might be an attempt to show male and female characters. While explaining the image the researcher said that the connection drawn between them could be a male genital or maybe it shows bond or chains.

But the main fact is these two creatures are facing each other suggests love is the aim of this magic spell, which took years to decode. Earlier, as per a report by Live Science showed that Dosoo said as an observer, it could be said that "The image might have enhanced the performative aspect of the spell – the client might find the weird drawings an impressive addition to the overall atmosphere and impression created by the ritual."

It should be noted that a Biblical character called Ahitophel, who was a counsellor of King David, was also mentioned in the ancient text which suggests that the incantation is designed to avoid such bad influences. The text also includes the description of an exotic deer musk perfume, which is believed to use to attract lovers together. As per the researcher texts like this would be a part of larger volume, possibly a kind of magician's handbook.

Dosoo said that it is quite difficult to be certain about the age of this papyrus, but it does match the style and content of other texts accurately dated to the late seventh or early eighth century. However, try to make sense of these magical texts is not easy, but Dosoo believes that this his interpretation is "broadly correct."

Related topics : Archaeology
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