Inventory number

General description

Magical papyrus Isis

Papyrus Cat. 2105/369, known also as papyrus CGT 54052, is a fragmentary manuscript written in the hieratic script. On the recto of the papyrus three columns of text are preserved, containing magical spells against snake bites. These spells have been recognized as copies of the "Magical book of Isis" written on papyrus Cat. 1993.

The first column, of which only a small fragment is preserved, contains the introduction of the manuscript. On the second column, preserved on two fragments, is copied a spell in which the magician, to save the patient from the poison, identifies himself with Horus "effective of magic" (mnx-HkA.w): in this way he obtains the power he would need to heal the man. The third column contains recitation instructions of the preceding formula; these instructions explain that the magician must pronounce the spell while making some knots in a strip of cloth, which will be subsequently put on the patient's body. This technique is frequently attested in ancient Egyptian magical practice: thanks to it, the words of the spell could be "trapped" in the knot and then transferred on the damaged body part through the contact with the cloth.

The verso of the papyrus bears no text.