Curses, Amulets, and Tomb Magic: Protection in Life and Death
In Ancient Egypt, the ancient Egyptians lived in a world infused with invisible forces—some benevolent, some dangerous. To survive and thrive, they didn’t just pray—they practiced protection magic. Through curses, amulets, spells, and tomb rituals, they guarded their homes, bodies, and souls with sacred precision.
In this installment of our “Witchcraft and Wonder in Ancient Egypt” series, we delve into the various ways Egyptians protected themselves from harm, whether from envious neighbors, malevolent spirits, or the unknown challenges of the afterlife.
🌙 Verse by Sandy W.
Speak not my name in envy’s breath,
Lest stone shall rise and summon death.
For ink may bless, but also bind—
And wrath remembers what’s left behind.
🧿 Everyday Amulets: Magic You Could Wear
To walk through an ancient Egyptian city was to walk among people adorned with protection. Amulets were common among all classes—worn as necklaces, sewn into clothing, tucked under pillows, or buried with the dead.
Common Types of Amulets:
- The Eye of Horus (Wedjat): Offered protection, healing, and rebirth.
- The Scarab Beetle: Symbolized transformation, renewal, and protection in the afterlife.
- The Ankh: Represented eternal life and divine energy.
- Djed Pillar: Associated with stability and resurrection.
- Taweret and Bes figures: Used during childbirth to ward off evil.
Amulets were often blessed with spells and carved with hieroglyphs to activate their magic. They weren’t just ornaments—they were active magical wards.
⚰️ Tomb Magic: Spells for the Afterlife
In death, magic became even more essential. Egyptians believed that the soul had to travel through the underworld, face trials, and present itself before divine judges.
To protect the deceased, they were buried with:
- Funerary texts, such as the Book of the Dead, Coffin Texts, or Pyramid Texts, filled with spells and guidance.
- Shabti dolls, enchanted to perform labor for the soul in the afterlife.
- Amulets wrapped in the mummy’s linen, offering protection from evil beings and spiritual decay.
- Protective statues and carvings were placed in tombs to fight off spiritual intruders.
Every item placed in a tomb served a magical purpose. Even the orientation of the burial chamber was chosen to align with celestial protection.
🐍 The Curse is Older Than Fear
A man stumbles into the black mouth of a tomb, torchlight flickering against gold-lined walls. He knows he shouldn’t be there. The air is too still. The silence, too heavy. And there—at the threshold—he sees it. The warning.
“Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the peace of the pharaoh.”
This isn’t fiction. It’s ancient Egyptian magic at its most potent and primal—the curse.
But curses were not simply threats carved to scare off grave robbers, they were magical contracts: spells woven into stone, clay, and bone to summon the wrath of gods, spirits, or the land itself.
🧙♂️ Curses and Counter-curses
While protection magic was routine, offensive magic—especially curses—was also practiced. Ancient Egyptian curse tablets and inscriptions have been found, calling on deities to punish enemies or avenge injustice.
One famous curse reads:
“May the crocodile eat him, may the hippopotamus be against him in the water, and may he never rise from the Nile.”
Curses were often:
- Written on clay pots or figurines representing the target
- Broken, burned, or buried in cemeteries or rivers
- Accompanied by rituals calling on gods like Set or Sekhmet
To counter these curses, people would consult ākh-spirits and temple healers or recite protective spells from temple scrolls or magical handbooks.
🔮 The Curse as Protection
In ancient Egypt, magic was used to preserve harmony (Ma’at) and ward off chaos (Isfet).
When that balance was threatened—by enemies, thieves, or injustice—magic became defensive. Or destructive.
Curses served several protective functions:
- Guarding tombs from desecration
- Defending temples, sacred texts, or hidden treasures
- Punishing oath-breakers or traitors
- Ensuring vengeance beyond death
They were not seen as dark arts, in fact, they were often administered by state-sanctioned priests or scribes acting on behalf of divine order.
🗿 Execration Texts: Breaking to Bind
Some of the most striking examples of ancient Egyptian cursing magic are execration rituals. These were highly ritualized practices where the names of enemies or chaotic forces were:
- Written on clay figurines, ostraca, or bowls
- Sometimes carved upside down (to disempower)
- Then smashed, burned, or buried in boundary zones
By destroying the physical representation of a foe, the Egyptians believed they were symbolically—and magically—destroying their power and influence.
⚰️ Tomb Curses: Words That Watch
Famous tomb inscriptions often invoke gods like:
- Anubis, to guard the burial
- Thoth, to record offenses
- Sekhmet, to unleash divine retribution
- Serqet, the scorpion goddess, to poison trespassers
“Anyone who enters this tomb who does harm or steals will be devoured by the crocodile, the hippopotamus, and the lion.”
—Tomb of Khentika Ikhekhi
These were more than threats. They were activated spells, often accompanied by hidden amulets or curse tablets designed to outlive the deceased and continue their protection.
🧿 Justice, Not Malice
Egyptian curses were deeply tied to moral and spiritual order. Magic wasn’t wielded for selfish vengeance—but to restore balance.
If someone broke an oath or committed injustice, magic was invoked to:
- Bring about public disgrace
- Induce illness, madness, or bad fortune
- Ensure the soul faced judgment in the Hall of Ma’at
In many ways, this mirrors the magical traditions of other cultures: protective binding, return-to-sender spells, and karmic justice.
🏠 Home Protection Rituals
Houses weren’t left unguarded. Protective rituals often included:
- Burying clay figures of protective deities at doorways and thresholds
- Placing painted spells on walls or over beds
- Daily invocations to gods for household safety
In childbirth, illness, or periods of unrest, families might draw apotropaic wands—carved with lions, snakes, and deities—to ward off evil from the mother and infant.
These practices weren’t seen as superstition. They were sacred acts of spiritual safeguarding—as valid as food, water, or medicine.
🌘 Modern Reflections: Cursing in Today’s Craft
Modern witches are often cautioned against cursing. But Egypt reminds us that defensive magic is not inherently unethical. Intent and justice matter.
If you choose to draw from these traditions, do so with awareness:
- Study the rites of binding and reversal
- Understand the use of names, objects, and placement
- Consider ethical frameworks like Ma’at—truth, balance, justice
The ancient Egyptians didn’t curse lightly. But they believed in accountability, magical and otherwise.
🕯️ Fear and Faith, Intertwined
The Egyptian approach to danger wasn’t to deny it—it was to meet it with preparation, power, and protection. Magic wasn’t an act of rebellion. It was an act of alignment: with the gods, with the cosmos, and with one’s destiny.
They believed that with the correct rituals, the right words, and the right amulets, even the forces of chaos could be held at bay.
And perhaps they were right.
🌒Reflection
Not all spells were meant to heal. Some were meant to protect, punish, or warn. To work with cursing magic is to recognize the full spectrum of magical power: not only light, but shadow. Not only peace, but the sword that guards it.
In our next post, we’ll follow the winding thread of Egypt’s magical wisdom into the wider world—where its legacy shaped Western occultism and beyond.
📚 Reference Sources and Suggested Readings
Primary Sources:
Note: Many ancient inscriptions and texts do not have a singular author or modern publication but can be cited descriptively or via edited/translated collections if available.
- Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom. (n.d.). Berlin and Brussels collections. (Refer to academic compilations or museum archives for specific citation details.)
- Tomb inscriptions from the Valley of the Kings, Saqqara, and Giza. (n.d.). Ancient Egyptian funerary texts and tomb art. (Use museum publication or archaeological report where applicable.)
- Faulkner, R. O. (Trans.). (1973). The ancient Egyptian coffin texts (Vols. 1–3). Aris & Phillips.
- Allen, J. P. (Trans.). (2005). The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts. Society of Biblical Literature.
Academic Sources:
- Ritner, R. K. (1993). The mechanics of ancient Egyptian magical practice. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
- Pinch, G. (1994). Magic in ancient Egypt. University of Texas Press.
- Teeter, E. (2011). Religion and ritual in ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press.
- Goelet, O., & Faulkner, R. O. (Trans.). (2008). The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of going forth by day(J. Wasserman, Ed.). Chronicle Books.
- Taylor, J. H. (2010). Journey through the afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. British Museum Press.
- Hornung, E. (1999). The ancient Egyptian books of the afterlife (D. Lorton, Trans.). Cornell University Press. (Original work published 1997)
- Robins, G. (1997). The art of ancient Egypt. Harvard University Press.
Modern Practice and Ethical Discussion:
- Illes, J. (2004). The encyclopedia of 5,000 spells: The ultimate reference book for the magical arts. HarperOne.
- Miller, J. (2006). Protection & reversal magick: A witch’s defense manual. New Page Books.
- Siuda, T. L. (n.d.). Ma’at and Kemetic ethics. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.kemet.org
Coming next:
Part 4 – From Nile to Occult: How Egyptian Magic Shaped the World