Archaeologists discover a series of 2,000-year-old magic spells in Serbia

Researchers in eastern Serbia have discovered a series of magic spells on tiny rolls of gold and silver, buried alongside the remains of humans who died almost 2,000 years ago.

The incantations seem to invoke divine powers to do good or evil, but the researchers are still trying to translate exactly what was written, and what they were used for.

"The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic - it's a Middle Eastern mystery to us," chief researcher Miomir Korac, from the Archaeological Institute in Belgrade said.

The burial site is near the modern-day city of Kostolac, which was the site of the Roman city Viminacium between the 1st and 6th century AD. It's estimated that the latest remains - and the spells - were buried around the 4th century AD.

But while this is the first time archaeologists have discovered something like this in Serbia, they've seen similar tablets of 'binding magic' in other countries.

Binding spells were usually written to benefit or curse the living, but people would bury them with the deceased in the hopes that they would carry them either to angels or demons in the afterlife, and force them to do finish the job.

"They were often love charms, ordering someone to fall in love, but there were also dark, malignant curses, to the tune of: 'May your body turn dead, as cold and heavy as this lead,"

These charms were usually buried with people who had suffered a violent death, because it was believed that "souls of such people took longer to find rest and had a better chance of finding demons and deities and pass the wishes to them so they could do their magic". 

What these incantations reveal, are the details about the beliefs and faith of the residents of Viminacium at the time.

"This is a very important archaeological discovery because it shows how much hope they had in the 'curse tablets' so that they used precious metals," Korac said.

"According to my knowledge, such tablets have never been found inscribed in gold anywhere. According to the Roman customs, gold was never put into graves."

There's also evidence that the Roman city was in the middle of a religious shift during the 4th century, seeing as both Christian and pagan gods are called upon.

"Opposing deities appear on these tablets, as if invoking both Christ and the Antichrist today, or Christ and pagan gods, and that is weird. This shows us that the process of converting to Christianity was slow." 

The team is still in the middle of excavating the site, so until they've finished digging and the proper analysis of these remains begins, we're not going to know much more about the mysterious find.

But it just goes to show that there's always so much more left to learn about the societies that came before us.

Why Spells Work

Spells

How Spells Work

 

The Wizard and Mystical Moments

There really is a wizard who makes wands to for spells and healing.

Richard Carter is that wizard.

He makes magical tools For Mystical Moments in Slathwaite, began producing an array of the objects.

They are some of the intriguing items on sale at the store, with his partner Jackie Restall.

Richard explained the wands saying: "You can make spells with them and they’re also very good for healing."

"Each type has its own properties. Oak is for strength and when you’re feeling down you can meditate with it and feel the vibrations from it."

"But just having one in your home shows that you’re open to spirituality – for some people they mark the beginning of their spiritual journey."

"You either believe in it or you don’t, it’s each to their own. But are they not just nice pieces of woodwork at least?"

Each person who purchases a wand must cleanse it themselves.

“As the wands have been handled by me they’ve been impregnated with my energy."

“The best way to cleanse one is by running it over incense then putting it in each hand, putting your other over it until you can feel the energy.

“Then place it in the hand you write with to feel the magic energy coming into the wand.”

Jackie’s shop includes other spiritual objects and she plans to open a spiritual therapy room soon.

"We started making spiritual items to sell and toured around Wiccan, Pagan and other spiritual events."

"We’re eclectic spiritualists – we have lots of interests and don’t subscribe to being one type like a pagan."

One of her main interests are crystals.

"The crystals work by giving out a vibrational energy which is created when you hold them."

"Each type of crystal has its own healing properties - I sleep with some under my pillow and I think they work."

“The response to us has been really positive so far."

Witches & Spells - You Don't Need to Explain Yourselves

While the Pagan a Kitchen doesn't practice spell casting as a circle, we have witches in our family that do.

One of our younger witches (senior in high school) was recently challenged by a classmate who told her casting spells was nonsense and they really didn't work anyway.

She told her classmate, "your prayers don't seem to be real or effective, but I'm not attacking you."

So, we had an interesting chat about spells and if they really do work.

Here's what we talked about:

First, you need to be a little more private about your spell casting.

No one needs to know everything you do, nor or you required to explain yourself.

"But she attacked my beliefs," she said.

"Yes, she did, you could have just responded by saying, 'thank you for telling me' and ended the conversation."

But having said that, let's talk about Magick and spell casting.

Magick spells are not a "magic pill" that fixes everything and gives you everything you want.

But, Magick spells do work, and it is life changing.

Natural Magick is the power of your energy, your consciousness and of nature connected to the forces that work in the universe.

But more than anything, it's the energy inside of you that helps you accomplish the spell.

You must have real interest and intent and you simply must believe.

Also, you have to be focused on one desire at a time, you can't be all over the place.

After you have cast your spell, do something, get moving, take 

action, allow your energy and consciousness to guide you.

Don't overthink or worry about the spell or it's outcome.

Overthinking will bring negative energy and cast a shadow over your spell.

Believe in yourself, your energy and your intentions will bring wonderful results.