Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild

What's in a Name?

We're often asked about our latest research. The following description isn't a sales pitch — the only profit we'll see is other folks putting our ingenuity to use and sparking insights in others.

Our latest project, a few years in development, is a system for decoding Egyptian echoes within the letters in one's name. It's technically a system for magicians to use, but there's nothing "tricky" or insincere about the system; the symbolism is genuinely there and deeply meaningful. Most vitally, we offer instruction on how to be a spontaneous poet, using the letters in someone's name to trigger original Egyptian poetry, instantly and effortlessly.

Here's a link to a fuller description, if you're interested in the idea of awakening Egyptian poetry from a name:

http://aweber.com/t/NM2fO

Egypt

"Egypt! What wondrous pictures are conjured up by that magic word! Scenes of white-robed priests moving in solemn procession through columned aisles to the sound of stately music; . . . of royal pageants wherein King and Queen, bedecked in silks and cloth of gold, embroidered with a mine of gems, pass through the crowded lines of their acclaiming subjects; scenes of light and life and colour, which cannot fail to rouse our admiration, even our awe; such are some of the pictures that rise before us at the sound of the mystic name." -- F. H. Brooksbank, Legends of Ancient Egypt (1914)

Magic Mirrors of Ink

While painting magic words onto a talisman, a magician of old spilled a puddle of ink and discovered something marvelous. Reflecting and absorbing light at one and the same time, an inkblot is a magic mirror.

Egyptian magicians use magic mirrors of ink to open one's eyes "in a supernatural manner," to make one's sight pierce into "the invisible world." Magic mirrors of ink are poured onto parchment and empowered by beseeching two genii whose names are Tarshun and Taryooshun. Traditionally, the persons best equipped to gaze into a magic mirror of ink are prepubescent boys, virgins, pregnant women, and dark-skinned bondswomen. For a detailed account of the preparation of a magic mirror of ink and the visions it granted, see Jorge Luis Borges' The Mirror of Ink (1998), pages 1-5, or An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1890), pages 247-252.

Here's a link to artist Teresita Fernandez's "Ink Mirror (Landscape)," a slab of highly-polished black fiberglass.

Egypt

“Egypt! What wondrous pictures are conjured up by that magic word! Scenes of white-robed priests moving in solemn procession through columned aisles to the sound of stately music; . . . of royal pageants wherein King and Queen, bedecked in silks and cloth of gold, embroidered with a mine of gems, pass through the crowded lines of their acclaiming subjects; scenes of light and life and colour, which cannot fail to rouse our admiration, even our awe: such are some of the pictures that rise before us at the sound of the mystic name.” —F. H. Brooksbank, Legends of Ancient Egypt (1914)

Saritap Pernisox Ottarim

These antiquated Egyptian magic words are for opening locks. They are believed to grant the speaker the ability to “open all locks at a touch, whatever precautions have been taken to secure them.”

Khabs Am Pekht

This mystic Egyptian phrase translates as ‘the attainment of the star.’ According to Fellowship of Isis documents, initiates of the Elusian Mysteries were dismissed with the corrupted pronunciation Konx Ompax.

As the poet Gary Barwin has suggested,

the stars are asterisks
footnoted by things here on earth

Noctar Raiban

These antiquated magic words for mind reading are from an Egyptian book of magical talismans. They were believed to compel even “the most discreet man ... to unveil his utterly secret thoughts.”

Ridas Talimol

Used by magicians to control fire or water, ridas talimol is an antiquated magic phrase for “commanding the elements,” from an Egyptian book of magical talismans.

Zorami Zaitux Elastot

These ancient Egyptian words for instant success were believed to call upon the assistance of “enough genii for the immediate achievement” of any undertaking.

Bessen Berithen Berio

Jungian scholar Marie-Louise von Franz notes that these words appear in the only creation myth in which the Godhead laughs, after which “light appeared and its splendor shone through the whole universe” [Creation Myths, 1972]. The myth dates from late antiquity, likely from Hellenized Egypt.