Certain types of action not necessarily ritualize could also bring about magical changes.
For example, representations of foreigners,
especially those the Egyptians considered enemies,
were traditionally shown in compromised situations to ensure that
their status of being conquered and the power and the strength of the king would endure.
There are several examples of this that we can find.
One of them is in our collection in the upper Egyptian gallery.
In addition to these examples of magic in Egypt,
we find also the use of amulets.
It was very widespread and because these items could come in
a variety of sizes and were formed from many different materials,
all levels of society could possess them and benefit from their magic.
They take the form of charms and were made of wood,
clay, stone, founts, ivory and other materials.
They can be in the form of humans,
animals, and plants or parts thereof.
They can be implements, devices,
deities, hieroglyphs, all sorts of things.
They also can be worn during life or in the afterlife.
Some are used for magical purposes,
some for medical purposes,
such as the one we call the Wadjet Eye.
This last objects brings us back to the connection again between magic and medicine,
and this is underscored also with a fairly common implement called a cippus.
Prominent on these items are figures of the god Horus as a child.
He's standing on crocodiles and in his hand,
he clutches other dangerous creatures,
all of whom are under his power.
In addition, once water was poured over the figure and the spell was recited,
the individual could then receive the healing powers of the liquid
and be protected specifically against the poison of a scorpion.
These types of protection were part of
the Egyptian medicine and magic from the very earliest times.
A good example is the early dynastic vessel that is
composed basically of two giant hieroglyphs.
When read, these signs would ensure that Dhaka,
that is the life force of the deceased which was signified by the upraised arms,
would live and live is signified by the ankh sign,
and this was done through the water that was flowing through it.
The power of the written word is also evident in the practice of deliberately
damaging hieroglyphs that depicted potentially dangerous creatures.
For example, snakes, birds,
and sometimes even humans.
Another magical item is the shabti figure.
The deceased took such statuettes into the tomb from the Middle Kingdom on.
Originally, they functioned as a substitute for the body.
They first occurred only as a single figure.
Later, they came in all sorts of material,
clay, wood, stone, founts,
and it was then understood that in the afterlife,
this statuette would magically come to life and
perform the forced labor that was required of the deceased.
On its surface, a spell described what was to be
done and the names of the deceased appeared as well.
Both males and females as well as royalty could use them.
Numerous shabtis accompanied the deceased in the burial chamber, and eventually,
the ideal number was 365,
one for each day of the year in the Egyptian calendar.
Occasionally, several foremen were
included to ensure that the appropriate jobs were being done correctly.
Tutankhamen had the largest number of them and also the largest shabti figure,
he had four hundred and thirteen.
The variety of material and the ability to create them also through
molds made it possible to mass produce such small figures.
Making the shabtis also available to most levels of society.
The magical properties of figurines also can be
seen in an episode of a Middle Kingdom story.
It tells us that the husband of an unfaithful wife who was a magician,
plots his rival's demise.
He crafts a crocodile of wax and then tosses it into the river.
At that point, it magically turned into a crocodile and ate the unsuspecting lover.
In Egypt, there seems to have been a very close connection between magicians,
certain priests, and even physicians.
In fact, the title of those performing
Heka magic is the same for the priests reading the funerary texts.