Like other primitive races the peoples of Chaldea scarcely discriminated at all between religion and magic
Like other primitive races the peoples of Chaldea scarcely discriminated at all between religion and magic
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53,266 published records with substantive text · Page 944 of 1,110
That Chaldean magic was the precursor of European mediæval magic as apart from popular sorcery and witchcraft…
That Chaldean magic was the precursor of European mediæval magic as apart from popular sorcery and witchcraft is instanced not only by the similarity between the systems but by the introduction into mediæval magic of the names of Babylonian and Assyrian gods a
Read record →Hundreds of spells, incantations, and omen-inscriptions have been recovered, and these not only enlighten us…
Hundreds of spells, incantations, and omen-inscriptions have been recovered, and these not only enlighten us regarding the class of priests who practised magic, but they tell us of the several varieties of demons, ghosts, and evil spirits; they minutely descri
Read record →Purlieus of the temple, battening upon the remains of sacrifice (the leavings of the gorged gods), flit through…
purlieus of the temple, battening upon the remains of sacrifice (the leavings of the gorged gods), flit through the night-bound streets, and disturb the rest of the dwellers in houses
Read record →A series of texts known as 'Maklu' provides us, among other things, with a striking picture of the Babylonian…
A series of texts known as 'Maklu' provides us, among other things, with a striking picture of the Babylonian witch
Read record →The Maklu series deals with spells against witches and wizards, images of whom are to be consumed by fire to…
The Maklu series deals with spells against witches and wizards, images of whom are to be consumed by fire to the accompaniment of suitable spells and prayers
Read record →It was also necessary to know the name of the devil or person against whom his spells were directed
It was also necessary to know the name of the devil or person against whom his spells were directed
Read record →In all lands and epochs the grisly conception of the vampire has gained a strong hold upon the imagination of…
In all lands and epochs the grisly conception of the vampire has gained a strong hold upon the imagination of the common people, and this was no less the case in Babylonia and Assyria than elsewhere
Read record →They roamed the streets and byways seeking for sustenance among the garbage in the gutters, and looking for…
They roamed the streets and byways seeking for sustenance among the garbage in the gutters, and looking for haunted houses in which to dwell, denied as they were the shelter of the grave, which was regarded as the true 'home' of the dead
Read record →Purification by water entered largely into Babylonian magic
Purification by water entered largely into Babylonian magic
Read record →Let us attempt to describe the treatment of a case by a priest-physician-magician of Babylonia
Let us attempt to describe the treatment of a case by a priest-physician-magician of Babylonia
Read record →Taking one of these in the shape of a Labartu or hag-demon, the priest places before it twelve small cakes made…
Taking one of these in the shape of a Labartu or hag-demon, the priest places before it twelve small cakes made from a peculiar kind of meal
Read record →Having recited some such words of power the asipu then directs us to keep the figure at the head of our bed for…
Having recited some such words of power the asipu then directs us to keep the figure at the head of our bed for three nights, then to bury it beneath the earthen floor
Read record →Next day, armed with this wordy weapon, he arrives at our dwelling and, placing a waxen image of the witch upon…
Next day, armed with this wordy weapon, he arrives at our dwelling and, placing a waxen image of the witch upon the floor, vents upon it the full force of his rhetoric
Read record →In the first place the magician is supposed to fix upon a spot proper for such a purpose, which must be either…
In the first place the magician is supposed to fix upon a spot proper for such a purpose, which must be either in a subterranean vault, hung round with black, and lighted by a magical torch, or else in the centre of some thick wood or desert, or upon some exte
Read record →Many Assyrian spirits were half-human and half-supernatural, and some of them were supposed to contract unions…
Many Assyrian spirits were half-human and half-supernatural, and some of them were supposed to contract unions with human beings, like the Arabian jinn
Read record →St as mould from a grave was supposed by the witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly efficacious in…
st as mould from a grave was supposed by the witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly efficacious in magic, so was the dust of the temple supposed to possess hidden virtue in Assyria
Read record →If one desired to get rid of a headache one had to take the hair of a young kid and give it to a wise woman,…
If one desired to get rid of a headache one had to take the hair of a young kid and give it to a wise woman, who would "spin it on the right side and double it on the left," then it was to be bound into fourteen knots and the incantation of Ea pronounced upon
Read record →To Babylonian geographers as to the Greeks, the ocean was a coiling, snake-like thing, which was often alluded…
To Babylonian geographers as to the Greeks, the ocean was a coiling, snake-like thing, which was often alluded to as the great serpent, and this soon came to be considered as the source of all evil and misfortune
Read record →There is very little doubt that it is the Baphomet of the knights-templar and the Sabbatic goat of the…
There is very little doubt that it is the Baphomet of the knights-templar and the Sabbatic goat of the witchcraft of the Middle Ages
Read record →We read of their confusion in four tablets of the creation epic
We read of their confusion in four tablets of the creation epic
Read record →Nt of comparative religion as indicating to him a mythological system in which the majority of the gods are…
nt of comparative religion as indicating to him a mythological system in which the majority of the gods are certainly of elemental origin as opposed to totemic or fetishistic origin
Read record →Its great devotional utterance, the Book of Psalms, is national, not individual; the individual in it has…
Its great devotional utterance, the Book of Psalms, is national, not individual; the individual in it has merged his own aspirations and sufferings into those of the whole community
Read record →In Virgil's Æneid we find Queen Dido of Carthage worshipping and sacrificing to the gods of Rome, but whether…
In Virgil's Æneid we find Queen Dido of Carthage worshipping and sacrificing to the gods of Rome, but whether this error is due to Roman lack of imagination or otherwise it would be difficult to say
Read record →Is given, for to those fit for heaven the bridge appears a wide and easy way; to the unfortunate ones doomed to…
is given, for to those fit for heaven the bridge appears a wide and easy way; to the unfortunate ones doomed to destruction it seems but of a hair's breadth, and stepping on to it they straightway fall into the yawning gulf beneath
Read record →Berossus distinctly states that these gardens were within the buildings by which Nebuchadrezzar enlarged his…
Berossus distinctly states that these gardens were within the buildings by which Nebuchadrezzar enlarged his father's palace
Read record →Lesser goddess, merged in conception of Ishtar, 124 APH-RO-DI'TÉ
Lesser goddess, merged in conception of Ishtar, 124 APH-RO-DI'TÉ
Read record →Goddess; mother of mankind, 'chief daughter of Anu,' 144, 145; Zag-muku and, 251 BE-DAD or BEN-DAD
Goddess; mother of mankind, 'chief daughter of Anu,' 144, 145; Zag-muku and, 251 BE-DAD or BEN-DAD
Read record →Arch-demons and demons, 334 DOD OR DODO
Arch-demons and demons, 334 DOD OR DODO
Read record →29, 163; typifies primitive man in Gilgamesh epic, 155, 159, 160; the monster Khumbaba and, 158; slain by wrath…
29, 163; typifies primitive man in Gilgamesh epic, 155, 159, 160; the monster Khumbaba and, 158; slain by wrath of Ishtar, 158; shade of, appears to Gilgamesh, 160; a sort of satyr, 163; the beguiling of, 163, 164; Gilgamesh meets, 164-166; death of, 170; Gilg
Read record →Spirits of heaven, 90 IK-SU'DA (Grasper)
Spirits of heaven, 90 IK-SU'DA (Grasper)
Read record →The celebrated, at Mecca, 52 KAN'DIS
The celebrated, at Mecca, 52 KAN'DIS
Read record →Confounded by Zoroaster, 333 MAGICAL TEXTS
Confounded by Zoroaster, 333 MAGICAL TEXTS
Read record →To the sun-god, etc., 67, 68 PRIEST-S
To the sun-god, etc., 67, 68 PRIEST-S
Read record →Witchcraft of Middle Ages and the, 293 SAB-I'TU
Witchcraft of Middle Ages and the, 293 SAB-I'TU
Read record →Purification by, 270 WATERS OF DEATH
Purification by, 270 WATERS OF DEATH
Read record →COMPACTS BETWEEN THE LIVING AND DEAD 245 XIX
COMPACTS BETWEEN THE LIVING AND DEAD 245 XIX
Read record →The last breath as it passed from the body; and to this day the Tyrolese peasant still fancies a good man's…
the last breath as it passed from the body; and to this day the Tyrolese peasant still fancies a good man's soul to issue from his mouth at death like a little white cloud.[7] We may trace the same fancy in our own country, and it is related[8] that while a we
Read record →Then there is the widespread Animistic belief, in accordance with which each man has several souls;--some lower…
Then there is the widespread Animistic belief, in accordance with which each man has several souls;--some lower races treating the breath, the dream ghost, and other appearances as being separate souls
Read record →The ability to open doors, to clank chains, and make other noises implies considerable coherence of the ghost's…
The ability to open doors, to clank chains, and make other noises implies considerable coherence of the ghost's substance.'[31] That this conception of the soul was not only received but taught, may be gathered from Tertullian, who says: 'The soul is material,
Read record →H slaying his enemy, cuts off the right thumb of the corpse, so that the departed soul may be incapacitated…
h slaying his enemy, cuts off the right thumb of the corpse, so that the departed soul may be incapacitated from throwing a spear; and even the half-civilised Chinese prefer the punishment of crucifixion to that of decapitation, that their souls may not wander
Read record →The New Zealanders believed that the man who was eaten was annihilated, both body and soul; and one day a…
The New Zealanders believed that the man who was eaten was annihilated, both body and soul; and one day a bushman, who was a magician, having put to death a woman, dashed the head of the corpse to pieces with large stones, buried her, and made a large fire ove
Read record →As a curious illustration of how every spiritual conception was materialised in olden times, may be quoted the…
As a curious illustration of how every spiritual conception was materialised in olden times, may be quoted the fanciful conception of the weight of the soul
Read record →Just, too, as souls are possessed of visible forms, so they are generally supposed to have voices
Just, too, as souls are possessed of visible forms, so they are generally supposed to have voices
Read record →The Greeks believed that such as had not received funeral rites would be excluded from Elysium
The Greeks believed that such as had not received funeral rites would be excluded from Elysium
Read record →But when the unburied body could not be found, and the ghost wandered, the missing man was buried in effigy,…
But when the unburied body could not be found, and the ghost wandered, the missing man was buried in effigy, for, as it has been observed, 'according to all the laws of primitive logic, an effigy is every bit as good as its original
Read record →The same rhyme is current at Burslem, in the Staffordshire Potteries
The same rhyme is current at Burslem, in the Staffordshire Potteries
Read record →Ll a tear, departing with a cold smile.'[62] But, as already noticed, the same idea, in a measure, extends to…
ll a tear, departing with a cold smile.'[62] But, as already noticed, the same idea, in a measure, extends to the West, for in this country it has long been a popular belief that the ghosts of the wicked are forced to periodically rehearse their sinful acts
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