What have Egypt and Wicca got in common? Well, the answer is a lot. Many modern magickal practices can draw their roots from ancient Egypt. It was known as the “Mother of Magicians”. Now where have we heard something like that before?

Ancient Egypt culture flourished from around 3100 BCE to around 395 CE when Roman rule ended. But it extends to around 5500 BCE and that does go back a bit, even in the world history time line.

The Wiccan practice of the broom to sweep the sacred space prior to ritual and the use of water sprinkled on the floor; these came from ancient Egypt, likewise the use of incense. The Egyptians made use of fragrances in the ritual sense. “It was pleasing to the Gods”.

The use of knotted threads and ribbons also came out of Egypt; knotted red threads were sometimes called “Anubis threads”. They were used for protection from negative forces and entities.

Poppets were used for both healing and cursing; the former was used to represent the body of the sick person and the cursing was usually reserved for foreign armies.

Colour in Magick – Black was the colour of the night and death, but also for healing. Blue was heaven and water. Green was life and fertility. Red was the colour of blood and fire, but could also represent the sun, danger and chaos. Yellow or gold also represented the sun, constancy and eternity. White was the colour of sacredness and purity.

Magickal Tools – Egyptians used a number of different woods or materials for their wands, a different wand was used for different occasions. Sceptres such as Sekhem were used for command, and also to wave over objects for blessing.

Postures and movements from Egypt are also used within Wicca, such as the crossed arm position known as the Osiris position. The Egyptians also moved sunwise in their rituals, they believed that to move against the direction of the sun was to give power to the forces of chaos. The use of the sacred circle was a normal practice for the Egyptians. They offered food and gifts to the God, and after they had their share the priests ate there fill. Today we offer cakes and ale (wine) as well to the God/Goddess then we then take part in the sharing of the offering.

“Between the worlds” was also used in ritual; time didn’t exist within a sacred space. This was because stepping into a sacred space was seen as returning to the beginning of time, to enable the priest to tap into the energies of creation.

A final similarity between ancient Egypt and Wiccans is seen in the books of magick (Book of Shadows). The priests consulted their books for spells, healing and curses. Such spells were usually chanted, generally repeated a specific number of times to have their full efficiency.

Ancient Egypt, its religion, culture and legends still hold the mystery of magick with its eternal appeal and old beliefs. May the Egyptian people come through their time of grief and be strong once more to hold their heads up high.

So as you can see we as wiccans do share a unique path with the ancient Egyptians that have been left to us all as our legacy to hold and cherish and also pass along as it was passed along to us.

by David Rankine

Footnote: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs will be showing as the next Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition for Melbourne Museum, running from April to November 2011 – www.kingtutmelbourne.com.au.

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Still today the stereotypical image of a witch is that of an ugly old hag wearing a broad brimmed, tall, black pointed hat.  But where did the hat originate?

In medieval times, woodcut images of witches show them as wearing a verity of costumes associated with those times, including headscarves and hats of differing fashions.  Many are also shown bareheaded with their hair locks blowing in the wind.

Is it possible that the witches hat is an exaggeration of the tall conical ‘dunce’s hat’, popular in the royal courts during the 15^th century, or the blunt-topped hats worn by the Puritans and Welsh of the same period?  At one point long ago, pointed hats were a fashion icon in the city of London (then the fashion capital of Europe), but it took a long time for fashion to trickle into the country, and by the time they did, they became way out of fashion in the city.  City folk called country folk ‘pagani’ (which means country dweller), much the same as calling someone a ‘hick’ today.

Pointed hats soon became considered something only the ‘pagani’ would wear, most were herbalists and farmers wife’s who lived in the country and understood the land.  Since they were wise to the ways of nature and could grow and harvest herbs, so the pointed hat became associated with the ‘wise woman’ or ‘witch’.  During this same period, the Christian church chipped in and associated pointed hats with the horns of the devil, by which time they frowned upon their use.

Brimless, conical hats have long been associated with male wizards and magicians, Goya the famous artist painted witches wearing such hats.  It is possible that other artists somewhere along the way added the brim to make the hats more appropriate for women.  By Victorian times, the tall, black, conical hat worn by an old crone became readily identifiable as symbols of wickedness in illustrations of children’s stories and fairy tales.

Another possibility is that the witch’s hat may date back to antiquity.  Ancient Etruscan coins from the city of Luna depict a head on one side of the coin; some believe it to be the goddess Diana, who is associated with witches.  The head on the coin depicts the wearer with a brimless, conical hat.

Today most contemporary witches go bareheaded or wear ritual headgear such as headbands with a crescent moon or other religious symbols on it.  Normally the symbol is positioned on the forehead.  During rituals in which the Goddess and Horned God are represented, the high priestess may wear a headband or a crown, while the high priest may wear a helmet with horns or antlers.

by George Knowles

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