A magical gathering Dusk falls like a soft blanket over the forest clearing The air is warm and filled with magic A gathering of people murmur secrets and swap spells A woman snaps her fingers bringing a campfire to life Birds and animals fall silent and even the stars seem to listen It is time for the witches and sorcerers to tell their tales
From ancient magic users in Mesopotamia to modern day Wiccans people have believed in magic for thousands of years Nearly every culture throughout history had their own special magical beliefs traditions and practices But what exactly is magic Magic was a powerful force to be feared and respected invisible but ever present Some ancient cultures thought that if they left gifts at temples their gods and goddesses would share their magic in the form of blessings Others believed magic was a force that could be harnessed by magic users themselves Magic users have gone by many names throughout the centuries witches warlocks sorceresses wizards and shamans to name only a few They believed they could use spells potions and magical ceremonies for good or bad purposes such as telling the future or laying on curses We’ll begin 5,000 years ago at the birth of human civilisation in the Middle East where magician priests used their skills to heal the sick Follow magic’s silver thread through history to visit fierce Norse sorceresses spell muttering Medieval witches Vodou charm casters and many more We’ll also explore some of these cultures magical myths and most famous users magic So settle down turn the page and begin your journey into the magical world of witches 9
Ancient mesopotamian magic 3100 500 BCE The sun is setting A warm desert breeze hisses through the bulrushes on the banks of the Tigris River Inside a hut filled with the scent of incense a woman lies stricken by sickness Beside her sits a man mixing a potion and whispering an incantation to the great god Ea Welcome to Mesopotamia From the Taurus Mountain in what is now southern Turkey two mighty rivers flow the Tigris and Euphrates Between these rivers lies the fertile land of Mesopotamia where the first human civilisations started 5,000 years ago These civilisations invented the first written languages built huge cities and travelled far and wide They also held a strong belief in magic Learned magicians The people who practised magic in Mesopotamia were called ašipu meaning exorcist someone who drives away evil spirits In this culture only men were allowed to practise magic Ašipu were highly respected scholars and doctors who tried to cure illnesses by fighting the evil magic they believed had caused them They spent their lives studying their art and praying to Ea the Mesopotamian god of magic and medicine see page 12 10
Medical magic The ašipu used magic for many things warding off evil spells created by other magic users repelling ghosts or soothing a vengeful god’s anger Once they diagnosed a sickness the ašipu attempted to cure the sufferer using a mixture of medicine magical spells and prayers to Ea The aim was to cleanse the patient’s soul of the evil sorcery that had caused the disease Although far less effective than modern medicine it’s possible that the ašipu’s work had a generally helpful effect on the patient’s mental and physical wellbeing A taste of their own medicine For the ašipu life was a constant battle between light and dark magic While the ašipu used magic to help people there were other sorcerers working in the shadows who used it for evil purposes The ancient Mesopotamians thought dark magic was used to cause calamities bad luck and sickness When disaster struck people employed ašipu to draw the curse out from a victim of dark magic and send it back to the evil sorcerer so they suffered the consequences instead 11
