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Birth tusks (also called magical wands or apotropaic wands [1]) are wands for apotropaic magic (to ward off evil), mainly from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. They are most often made of hippopotamus ivory ( Taweret , represented as a bipedal hippopotamus is the goddess of childbirth and fertility), are inscribed and decorated with a series of ...
An ancient Egyptian apotropaic wand shows a procession of protective deities. It was used in birth rituals, perhaps to draw a magic circle around the mother and child. Items and symbols such as crosses, crucifixes, silver bullets, wild roses and garlic were believed to ward off or destroy vampires.
Such a wand would have been used in rituals associated with birth and were perhaps used to draw a magical circle around the mother and child. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Faience Amulet of Taweret from the late period of Ancient Egypt. Egyptian Museum (Turin, Italy) Taweret's image served a functional purpose on a variety of objects.
For instance, a wand might be used to direct energy during a ritual, while a talisman could serve as a focal point for the thaumaturge's intent. The creation and consecration of these tools are themselves ritualized processes, often requiring specific materials and astrological timing to ensure their effectiveness.
The Book of the Dead were a series of texts written in Ancient Egypt with various spells to help guide the Egyptians in the afterlife. The interior walls of the pyramid of Unas, the final pharaoh of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty, are covered in hundreds of magical spells and inscriptions, running from floor to ceiling in vertical columns.
Berlin Museum Magic wand #1801; The Manchester Museum Collection Database Magic wand #1795; Display. Magic wand #1795 H 12 cm, L 2.5 cm, W 2.7 cm. This piece was a part of an ivory rod. It has two recumbent lions carved on each side. The top part of the rod is lost. Magic rods consist of individual segments that are joined by dowels. [7]
Before tools are used in ritual they first are consecrated.In the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, there is a section based entirely on consecrating ritual items. [5] [6] The Book of Shadows states items must be consecrated within a magic circle, at the centre of which lies a pentacle (or paten).
The latest apotropaic wand found belongs to the Second Intermediate Period king Senebkay. [5] It seems that the use of these objects in Egypt declines after this point. The Barsom used by Zoroastrian Magi is a bundle of twigs that was used during religious ceremonies. While the Barsom is not a wand itself, it was also used for divination ...