Thursday, February 15, 2-3
PGM-lovespells:
-slander spell- telling Gods that so and so has done terrible things so they will help bring this specific person to you.
-these love spells are usually violent-make other person feel painful and tormenting love, rather than an enjoyable one.
-maybe spells are so violent because the person casting the spell wants to get even with the other person. He/she could be angry that this person has no true feelings for him or her.
-question of love vs.obsession- is the person casting the spell really in love with the other person, or is it just an infatuation? If it was love, would this person be so willing to put the other through so much pain and suffering?
-in many cases, the practitioner will make the other feel much pain until he comes to her. This way, he is forced to stay with her, because this is the only way he can experience happiness.
Slander Spell Examples:
Luck-#4-pg85- gruesome descriptions of flesheating, blood, dead animals, etc. Polluted, useless objects offered to Gods.
Why should such a spell work? By making the Gods really angry at a person, they will be quicker to bring the person to the practitioner.
-many false accusations, person accusing often times has very creative imagination, wants to make Gods think the most horrible things they can about the other person.
Spells...
-really powerful and dangerous for magician. They must protect themseves with many charms- in many cases, a charm is built into the spell.
-spell can sometimes be tailored to what sort of affect you want- many different levels of effectiveness.
-need offering- drowned animals, etc. specific times- on roof at moonrise
-sacrifice, prayer, spell praising Goddess in some way, recognising how great her powers are.
PGM-pg44- 296 to 466-
handbook formula- how to make a figurine. writing on body, covered with nails- recital while burying
Many different types of spells found-
-long, complicated material from spellbooks
-some spells are simpler and less expensive
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Love Spells-->not only are they violent, but they ask the gods to punish
-->the victim of a lovespell can be seen as "tormented and destroyed" by
the burning and tortuous
agony requested/demanded in the spell
-->many of the spells want the victim to feel pain until they are with the
agent
**Is it truly love if you wish this kind of pain on someone?**
-->Dante's "Inferno" : the two lovers are punished by being bound together
for the rest of eternity
-->do they always want the victim for eternity? (it's at least for the
night though)
Slander Spells-->when someone steals something, they give it to the gods
posthumuously so they are guilt-free
PGM IV, 2574-2621, pg. 85-86
-->rather than sacrificing something worthy of you, I'm sacrificing
something worthless and pollutive,
something not even worth your time
-->violation of all the normal human categories
Logic of the spell: deliver this person, who has done you [the god or
goddess] wrong, to me, and I will deal out justice by punishing them for their crimes
How does it work?-->you can tailor the spell, removing and adding the parts
as you wish (illness, destruction, etc.)
-->self-advertisment==>displays past projects to present clients in an
effort to produce a higher fee
Backfire of the spell-->the caster makes sure to reiterate several times
that they are not the ones to slander the god/goddess
-->to protect against backfire, it is necessary to protect oneself(the
caster)==>charms (often built into spells)
Burnt offering-->a very specific recipe (deification)
-->must be made up on a roof at moonrise (**baboons are innately connected
with the moon**)
-->then a prayer is said
Subsequent Spell-->endears the caster to the god/goddess, as well as
combines the good and the bad
-->piles up epithets by including more immortals
Other devices in slander spells: magical stuff-->mixed in with clay
figurines (law of contagion)
PGM IV, 296-466, pg. 44
-->shows how to construct a clay figurine (the actual process)
-->stick a needle in various specific areas of the figurine
-->bury the lead tablet upon which the spell is inscribed
-->a prayer is said to Helios, requesting that he play messenger by
retrieving said daemon from Hades.
Then, persuade it to return above ground to perform the terrible deeds
upon the victim
Erotic Charms Worksheet and Gager 28, 29
-->none of them have the writing on the figurine, and some of them don't
even have a figurine
-->this was cheaper, simpler, took less time (text gets abbreviated as well)
**Compare the power invoked when calling a god/goddess, and when calling a
daemon**
-->with this in mind, you can't exactly invoke a daemon for a slander spell
Erotic Charms worksheet cont.
-->caster holds some control over the dead spirit==>sacred names ("We are
the knights who say 'Nee!'") -->long series of unpronouncable names
-->commands the daemon to do his will by threatening the daemon with his
connection to the gods
Social aspects of the spells-->they appear all-pervasive
**How do you account for things no going the way they should?**
-->in this sense, spells can be used as scapegoats
-->subverts the system while leaving it intact (simply beating the system)
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Thursday, February 15, 3-4
Use of violence in love spells
*metaphor of sex as a form of combat
*force of Eros is itself violent - the passion invoked causes the victim
to be violently stricken with desire
*the subjugation of one will to another - breaking the will as a violent
process, not easily accomplished
*Ares' presence in PGM IV possibly attesting to the violent nature of
subjugation - also possibly included due to his association with Aphrodite
as her adulterous lover
Women vs. Men in love spells
*in reality the majority of spells are cast by men on women
*in literature most often it is the woman casting the spell to obtain a man
*possibly due to evidence lacking in reality = material used did not survive
*writing itself more practiced by men so the literature depicts women
using magic since it would be degrading for a man to use such love spells -
undermining his masculinity
*women as the weaker sex, needy and inferior - use magic to attain what is
unavailable to them
*in reality men may feel the need to practice these love spells due to
their feeling inferior for some reason but they try to hide it and
certainly avoid recording such things in literature
The Liar - as an example of a man using a love spell in literature
*the actual use of the spell attains the desired woman, however, it is
revealed that it was never necessary in the first place
*the woman is easily accessible and this makes the man's use of magic
rather a joke since he could have obtained her at any time
Women in Literature
*they are often older, ugly women with insatiable desires and immense
powers - highly unrealistic
*implication of these examples - only these sorts of women would need to
use magic to obtain their men - these monsters who are unguarded by men and
thus basically run wild
*these women are beyond male control - these representations manifesting
the fears of what happens to a woman when she is let beyond this male control
The virtually identical love spells?
*PGM IV as well as others -very similar in the magical words used and the
actions performed.
*implied that the slight difference between them however would reveal
important information about these similar spells
(ran out of time... didn't get to discuss this further)
Love spells as a form of rape
*sexual contact against the woman's will - however these spells seek to
change the woman's will and make her want the sexual contact
*most likely would not have been thought of as a form of rape
Stuff to think about
*Danger of these spells and protection needed
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Violence in love spells:
Ares depiction in love spells: Ares is the most masculine of gods.
Ares also shows up in Apeleius' Metamorphosis in the love scenes
between Photis and Lucius. Here there are also lots of war metaphors.
This is not surprising since eros is violent. The violence in spells is
to break the will of the target and allow someone else to control them
i.e. bring them running.
His consort is Aphrodite, the goddess of love (more eros love than
philia love)
Gender Roles:
Archaeological evidence says 80% of love spells were cast by men
onto women. Literary evidence says that women cast the spells
on men.
Why they differ:
Men write the literature. By admitting that men cast the spells,
they are saying that men are too weak to do whatever needs doing
themselves. Also, accusing someone of using magic accuses them of
cheating, that they are low class and not virile enough.
Women who cast spells:
They are usually married (Panphile) old, or ugly.
They have few limitations. They have stupid husbands
or are not under the control of a male. This is opposite of
social reality. More than depicting reality, this shows what
would happen if women were allowed to run loose or were
beyond male control. The social hierarchy is upset causing chaos.
Some of the only literary evidence for men casting love spells
is a joke. The man casts the spell over a woman already
promiscious. He didn't need to do it.
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Friday 3-4
-Slander Spells
-Gods not omnicient, they have limitations (prideful)
-Egyptian roots- enemies of state condemned for political wrongs and cursed
(by kings and priests) for offending gods
-typically performed by spiteful people trying to hurt others
-usually beloved targeted by agent (bound to come to him)
-accuse them of:
-defiling places devoted to gods
-killed people, committed canibalism
-typically gross things
-Ex: someone offended Selene (Moon goddess); who is connected to
Artemis, Hekate, Isis, Aphrodite (in this context, Persephone
-Why association?--all connected to Underworld, certain animals in
common, sex, "mother of all things"
-Parts of the Slander Spell
-beneficient offering- asking nicely
through sacrifices, gifts, or compliments
-coersive offering- force the god to do something (only if beneficient
offering doesn't work)
-protective charm- trying to enrage goddess of sex and death, need
protection to shield agent from rage. Also used to direct the rage to
beloved, bind her with Eros (punishment, torment)
-magical material used to connect victim to spell (hair, piece of
clothing, personal article)
- Professionals used hanbooks to make the spells
-Ex: figure supposed to have bound female with Ares holding a sword above
her
-don't always follow directions (forget things, simplications)
-no male
-no text written on her
-less than 365 knots on thread
-Handbooks written by professionals, for professionals trying to sell
clients their spell book
-make changes to appease/attract customers
-put together from different sources and edited to show differences (pg
47)
-Occasionally have what you need to say to do your spell
-sometimes no real instruction (say usual)
-focus more that the author heard it around but looks like it works
(not actually sure if it does work)
-Literary examples almost always women. In reality, more often men
-men don't want to admit that they do spells (pride)
-men also don't want to admit their failure and had to resort magic
-want to show that magic disrupts society
-Ex: Lucius denies that magic works, says that woman would sleep anyone
who clinked two coins together
-woman have insatiable desire, uncontrolled by husband--BAD!
-Erotic love magic
-philae--affection rather than violence
-used to calm the ones they love (husband, wife, lover, etc.)
-If calmed too much--worthless or dead
-Usually used by women on men--Exceptions: used on same sex on
person of higher rank to calm them down and keep them in same relationships
(working, economic)
-Erotic--violent attraction, desire--procedure same as love magic
-wopmen trying to inflict upon men (and women upon women, men upon
men, and men upon women) a violent attraction to the agent
-way desire is thought of same--type of love different