ANCR-401 Lessons

Introduction
Today marks your last day in the Room of Runes as Fourth Years. And, for some of you, your last day here in general. It’s been an exciting year. By now, you should be familiar with the basics of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Your final exams will take place after this lesson, so I hope you have paid close attention all year. To make sure you have not missed any vital information, let us review one final time what we have learned so far. There will also be a brief preview of what is ahead of us next year at the end of this lesson.

Review of the Basics of Hieroglyphics
This year, we began our two-year focus on the script of the ancient Egyptians, hieroglyphics. This script was in use for nearly two and a half thousand years (from roughly 3,000 B.C.E. to around 500 B.C.E.), and although there were quite a few changes to them over this long period, and new symbols came and went, there are a number of key symbols that endured during the height of Egyptian culture, also known as the period Middle Egyptian period. These are the symbols that represent the core of most hieroglyphic inscriptions, and thus this is what we focused on this year.

The term “hieroglyph” or “hieroglyphic” is a word derived from Greek and means “sacred image.” This is because the majority of hieroglyphic inscriptions can be found in places considered sacred by most people, such as temples and monuments to the gods, but particularly in ancient tombs, especially inside the pyramids.

However, these were not the only uses of the hieroglyphs: an elaborate system of recording language also allowed for something we today consider an annoyance, but which allowed the ancient Egyptian culture to flourish: bureaucracy! Writing, especially the ability to record numbers, allowed for accurate record keeping, including of ownership of property, trade accounting, and, of course, taxes. With the help of their scribes, the Egyptian pharaohs were able to rule over a huge area.

Over the course of this year, we studied some of the basic symbols of the hieroglyphic script, those that represent single sounds, predominantly consonants. Consonants are the main building blocks used in the Egyptian writing system, as we learned, and although some of them can also stand for vowel sounds, this is not a common feature in the Egyptian world. Since this can cause ambiguity, the Egyptians came up with an ingenious method to distinguish between similar words: determinatives. You will, of course, remember that determinatives are symbols written alongside other glyphs to narrow down the meaning of a word.

For those of you who may have lost their handouts from earlier this year, here they are again: phonetic hieroglyphs and other hieroglyphic symbols. However, it would do for you not to lose them again. 

In addition to studying the script used by the ancient Egyptians, we also learned more about their culture and use of magic in two guest lectures by our professor of Ancient Studies, Professor Morgan. She explained to us that magic was an inseparable aspect of Egyptian culture, and that the pharaoh was considered a magical being, because he was considered to be born with magic. Priests also had magic as an innate quality, and a priest was known as Hery Seshta.

Words and images were considered essential to Egyptian magic, which is where the role of hieroglyphs becomes obvious. Being both words and images, they were used by the ancient Egyptians in various ways in their magic, including on amulets, and in writing charms and enchantments. The reason hieroglyphs were so effective in magic is partly due to their dual nature as both representatives of spoken language and as ideograms in their own right. By concentrating spoken language into a single symbol, the magic behind that word was concentrated on a single focal point, and as such, it was strengthened. Ideograms also made use of the concept of sympathetic magic, using the symbols as representatives of the desired effect, such as with animal hieroglyphs altered to incapacitate the depicted creature or symbols of the gods used to invoke their power.

Next year, we will delve deeper into these aspects of Egyptian magic in relation to the hieroglyphs, but for now, I think we have covered everything in our review of the year.

Preview of Next Year
To finish the year on an anticipatory note, let us look at what the next year will bring us. In Year Five, we will continue and deepen our study of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. We will learn about a new group of symbols, those representing two and three consonants respectively.

In addition, much of the year will be spent discussing the use of hieroglyphs in inscriptions and texts and magic in general. There will also be quite some discussion on culture and history of ancient Egypt so we can better understand the script we are transcribing and the symbols we are using. We will also talk about how spells in ancient Egypt are both magical and mundane, although that particular distinction is somewhat blurry at that time in world history, particularly in ancient Egypt. Lastly, we will take a closer look at the roles of priests and scribes in Egyptian magic, and at the end of the year, we will also briefly look at other scripts also used in ancient Egypt.

By the end of the year, you should all be well prepared to sit your O.W.L.s in Ancient Runes, which will cover the two major writing system of the ancient world, Germanic runes and the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Until then, there is still a long time to go. First, you will have to sit your final exams today, and then you will have a break before we all reconvene to continue our studies in Year Five.

A Guest Appearance
And now, we have an interesting special guest to help us both close out this year and whet our appetites for the next. Allow me to introduce: Hafiza Seherli.

Mrs. Seherli has been heavily involved in both ancient spell research as well as the potentially “grey” area of spell creation regarding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics since her graduation from Uagadou School of Magic in 1942. To give you a sneak peek at our topic for next year, I’ve invited her to speak about the truly fascinating topic of ancient Egyptian script-based magic. Or, if you prefer brevity, magical hieroglyphs.

~~~

Hello all! My, it’s such a treat to be able to speak with students and get a glimpse at what the future may hold for my own profession! I rarely get a chance to get away from the field these days, so I confess that breathing fresh air free of sand is particularly enjoyable as well. Yes, spell research -- and indeed, even spell creation -- in the Middle East is thriving at the moment, and truly has been since the early 1900’s when Ahmad Toghay uncovered the secret of activating hieroglyphics that lay buried for thousands of years.

My job as a spell researcher in Egypt often takes me into the field alongside curse-breakers and magiarchaeologists, but just as often can result in lengthy projects and examinations of old records with magihistorians or magianthropologists. I find I prefer a mix of both sides of the coin to keep things interesting! Of course, even when I’m in the field alongside curse-breakers, our job descriptions aren’t quite the same. My ultimate goal is to catalogue various enchantments used at these sites: the methods used to create them, their effects, and their dates of usage. Really, it is my job to record as much information as possible about these spells, whereas your average curse-breaker is simply trying to get out alive -- or help others to complete their research while doing the same!

Most commonly, though not one hundred percent of the time, ancient Egyptian spells revolve around funerary practices, which means it is necessary for at least some spell researchers to work in the field to document them. It’s usually an assortment of your typical curses to “dissuade” any potential tomb robbers, enchantments of protection on the coffin and mummy themselves, or even spells meant to help the deceased in the Afterlife.

I’ve been informed by your professor that the majority of your studies this year have focused on the phonetic side of hieroglyphics and general practice with transcribing, with some cultural studies thrown in as well. This is an excellent background, despite the fact that there is still more to learn about the purely magical properties of these ancient symbols. The phonetic component of hieroglyphic spells can provide some excellent insights into the background of the spell and its purpose. After all, even being able to read enough to know which gods are invoked in the spell can be a useful hint as to its purpose.

For now, though, I will turn you back over to your professor. Best of luck with your exams, students! And should you have any questions about spell research, spell creation, or related fields, I will be here to answer any and all inquiries for the remainder of the day!

Closing
Thank you again, Hafiza, for taking time out of your schedule to visit with us. However, we must move on with the last bit of business for the year. Your final exams are waiting for you now. Make sure you have studied all we discussed this year, and I am sure you’ll do well. The final exam is split into three parts of equal weight: a transcription test, a quiz on the theoretical and historical material covered this year, and finally an essay, where you can get creative with the hieroglyphs. When you finish, should you have questions for Mrs. Seherli, she will be more than happy to chat with you.

Original lesson written by Professor Mathilda Stevens
Additional portion written by Professor Venita Wessex