The best books for exploring Ancient Egyptian Magic

Why am I passionate about this?

Having first discovered the mystery of ancient Egypt as a small child via my father’s war-time souvenirs, this interest grew over the years until it became a serious magical under-taking, culminating in Initiation into the magical order of the Temple of Khem. I became Principal tutor of the Order in 1998 and published Liber Ægyptius: The Book of Egyptian Magic in the same year. I continue to teach the Egyptian Mystery Tradition to those willing to submit themselves to the exacting discipline needed to enter the priesthood, and remain a member of the Egypt Exploration Society to keep up-to-date with the current archaeological discoveries in Egypt.


I wrote...

The Atum-Re Revival: Ancient Egyptian Wisdom for the Modern World

By Melusine Draco,

Book cover of The Atum-Re Revival: Ancient Egyptian Wisdom for the Modern World

What is my book about?

An interest in the magic, religion, and spirituality of the ancient Egyptians continues to increase steadily as people begin to realise that it is possible to follow this ancient tradition in the 21st century. The Egyptian religion is the oldest recorded belief system in the world, having just entered its sixth milieu – and it can still teach us how to live today in both earthly and cosmic harmony. The Atum-Re Revival reminds us that both the social and magico-religious developments within Egypt underwent some drastic internal changes during its long history and these are reflected in the differences between the subtle levels of magic, historical influences, and religious emphasis that mark the shift between beliefs and different deities. In this book, I link the old and new in terms of spiritual development.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Magic in Ancient Egypt

Melusine Draco Why did I love this book?

Dr. Geraldine Pinch lectures Egyptology at Cambridge University and drew on a wealth of scholarly material just as the subject was beginning to be taken seriously and managed to effectively bridge the divide between ancient and modern approaches to magic.  This is the book I highly recommend to those wanting to explore the subject of Egyptian magic without getting bogged down in other disciplines; showing how its elements and influences survived in, or were taken up by later societies, right down to our own century.

By Geraldine Pinch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Magic in Ancient Egypt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reclaims Egyptian mysticism from the lunatic fringe. A serious exploration of how different sorts of `magic' were used in very practical ways by a society known throughout the ancient world as the `mother of magicians'. A final chapter examines its persistent fascination.


Book cover of Egyptian Magic

Melusine Draco Why did I love this book?

The world of the ancient Egyptians was a world so permeated with magic, which controlled every facet of life that traces still linger in Egypt to this day. Dr. Jacq is an authority on ancient Egyptian religious texts and it was an encounter with these traces in the form of a family of snake-charmers, which kindled his interest in Egyptian magic. I particularly liked this Aris & Phillips version because it has an Introduction by Rosalie David and in later editions, it was omitted.

By C. Jacq,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Egyptian Magic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Text: English, French (translation)


Book cover of The Inner Guide to Egypt: A Magical Journey to the Land of the Pharaohs: 1

Melusine Draco Why did I love this book?

Firstly, because the authors are known to me as highly respected magical practitioners and, second, because using the Nile to represent the river of consciousness it offers up a comprehensive system for inner development not seen before. The Inner Guide to Egypt takes us on a voyage of discovery that never ends because its images keep popping into our imagination, long after we’ve put the book down. It was originally published by Thoth Publications (1991) and currently by Llewellyn (2010) but its appeal has never diminished for true seekers after the Egyptian Mystery Tradition.

Book cover of Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods: Images of the Commune

Melusine Draco Why did I love this book?

Because of the complexity of the Egyptian pantheon, it is necessary to have a good ‘Who’s Who’ to hand that gives us all the behind-the-scenes scandal and gossip, as well as the genealogy. No one, expert or layman, who reads this book will look at the strange figures of the Egyptian gods in quite the same light again, thanks to The Meekses-Dimitri (Universite de Provence) and Christine (Sorbonne) - who enable us to enter this strange world by observing the daily routines of these divine beings! I have several A-Zs of the Egyptian gods but none can compare with this one…

By Dimitri Meeks, Christine Favard-Meeks, G. M. Goshgarian (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the first English translation of a highly appealing volume originally published in French in 1993. Informed by a sense of wonderment at divine doings, it treats the ancient Egyptian gods as if they were an ethnic group that captured the fancy of ethnologists or sociologists.The book begins with a discussion of the gods' community as a society unto itself. The authors describe the structures of the society of the gods and some of the conflicts that frequently upset it, with individual gods acting to protect their own positions in an established hierarchy and struggling to gain power over…


Book cover of Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt

Melusine Draco Why did I love this book?

I’ve always struggled with reading hieroglyphics but this handbook is the perfect explanation of what each of the 600 figures mean by tracing the origins and meanings of each sign, as well as its graphic stylization. For me, it was the first book to make the symbols ‘come alive’ and it’s been an invaluable desk companion over the years – having been written by a scholar and a language expert and provides a still-vivid snapshot of the gods, the people, and the every-day life of the ancient Egyptians. There is also a complete glossary, a bibliography, and an index, providing a valuable resource for the casual reader, students, and specialists.

By Maria C. Betro,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hieroglyphics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Both literal and highly lyrical, hieroglyphics bring alive a distant world, with descriptions of the natural environment, the art, the society, the religious beliefs, and even the philosophical basis of a culture that flourished 5,000 years ago. Presenting and explaining almost 600 of the figures used in the classic phase of Egypt's "sacred writing," this fascinating volume traces the origins and the meaning of each sign, as well as its graphic stylisation. An opening essay reveals the secrets of the hieroglyphic system, including its development and its structural characteristics, and emphasises the sacred, evocative, even magical power of the form,…


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Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Ethan Chorin Author Of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Story-lover Middle East expert Curious Iconoclast Optimist

Ethan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of citations and interviews with more than 250 key protagonists, experts, and witnesses.

So far, the book is the main -- and only -- antidote to a slew of early partisan “Benghazi” polemics, and the first to put the attack in its longer term historical, political, and social context. If you want to understand some of the events that have shaped present-day America, from political polarization and the election of Donald Trump, to January 6, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russian expansionism, and the current Israel-Hamas war, I argue, you need to understand some of the twists and turns of America's most infamous "non-scandal, scandal.”

I was in Benghazi well before, during, and after the attack as a US diplomat and co-director of a medical NGO. I have written three books, and have been a contributor to The NYT, Foreign Affairs, Forbes, Salon, The Financial Times, Newsweek, and others.

By Ethan Chorin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On September 11, 2012, Al Qaeda proxies attacked and set fire to the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing a US Ambassador and three other Americans.  The attack launched one of the longest and most consequential 'scandals' in US history, only to disappear from public view once its political value was spent. 

Written in a highly engaging narrative style by one of a few Western experts on Libya, and decidely non-partisan, Benghazi!: A New History is the first to provide the full context for an event that divided, incited, and baffled most of America for more than three years, while silently reshaping…


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