Egyptian magic

In Egyptian myth magic was one of the forces used by the creator to make the world. Through magic symbolic actions could have practical effects. All deities and people were thought to possess this force in some degree but there were rules about why and how it could be used. Priests were the main users of magic in Egypt where they were seen as guardians of a secret knowledge given by the gods to humanity to wear off the blows of fate. The most respected users of magic were the lector priests who could read the ancient books of magic kept in temple and palace libraries. In popular stories such men were credited with the power to bring wax animals to life or roll back the waters of a lake. Real lector priests performed magical rituals to protect their king, and to help the dead to rebirth. By the first millennium BC their role seems to have been taken over by magicians. Healing magic was a specialty of the priests who served Sekhmet the fearsome goddess of plague. Lower in status were the scorpion charmers who used magic to rid an area of poisonous reptiles and insects. Midwives and nurses also included magic among their skills and wise women might be consulted about which ghost or deity was causing a person trouble. Amulets were another source of magic power obtainable from 'protection-makers who could be male or female. None of these uses of magic was disapproved of either by the state or the priesthood. Only foreigners were regularly accused of using evil magic. It is not until the Roman period that there is much evidence of individual magicians practicing harmful magic for financial reward.