This talk is about the earliest complete records of real magical techniques in existence – the Graeco-Egyptian papyri from the 1st-5th century. It is from these that the later grimoires and other manuals of practical magic descended. These papyri contain literally hundreds of spells with detailed description of rites recorded by the magicians who actually used them. Do you need a spell to compel a lover to return, to evoke shadowy presences, to bind a spirit, to secure victory in a race or a negotiation, to see a god face to face, to deflect a courtroom judgement, or simply to send friends or enemies specific dreams or your own designing? All of these techniques will be discussed. Dr Stephen Skinner will describe these and more and show how mediaeval sorcerers used similar techniques, later handed on via the Key of Solomon, and similar grimoires, in a diluted form to the adept of the Golden Dawn, or modern practitioners of witchcraft. Many of these spells have lost a lot of details in this long transmission, but the Graeco-Egyptian papyri still retain most of the details, if you know how to read them. These papyri are the actual working manuals not just theories about magic.
