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| By Kamal Ghazal |
Buried within the folds of history, beneath the sands of Egypt, one of the most enigmatic practices known to mankind was uncovered: compulsive love magic.
In a quiet corner of the Louvre Museum in Paris, a small yet profoundly significant artifact is displayed, a clay figurine measuring no more than 9 centimeters in height, discovered inside a ceramic jar, accompanied by a lead tablet inscribed in Greek, known as a defixio, or "curse tablet."
This discovery dates back to the 3rd or 4th century CE and is believed to have been used in magical rituals aimed at binding a woman to a man infatuated with her, in a way that goes beyond mere affection to the total enslavement of will.
The Figurine: A Symbol of Submission and Control
The figurine depicts a kneeling woman, her arms bound behind her back, her body pierced with 13 bronze needles. The targeted spots are precise: the brain, eyes, ears, mouth, abdomen, hands, genitals, and soles of the feet.
Each piercing was accompanied by the recitation of a spell, imbued with a clear intention: “so that she remembers no one but me.”
These practices are documented in a famous magical papyrus known as PGM IV, preserved at the National Library in Paris. It contains detailed instructions for crafting a figurine of wax or clay, binding it with a spell inscribed on a lead tablet, and then burying it near the grave of someone who died an unnatural death, at sunset, amidst an atmosphere charged with incantations and mysterious names.
The Spell: A Plea to the Spirits of the Underworld
The Greek-inscribed lead tablet contains a long and terrifying text of binding magic incantations. It begins by calling upon underworld deities such as Pluto, Persephone, Anubis, and even the souls of children and women who died prematurely. The plea to the spirits reads:
“ Do not let her eat, drink, sleep, or approach any man but me. Drag her by her hair and entrails to me. Bind her to me for the rest of my life, loving, desiring, and submitting to me…”
This forceful, obsession-laden language reveals the true nature of such magic , not to create love, but to impose it by force, blending desire with domination.
Love and Binding Magic: A Global Phenomenon
Despite the Hellenistic (Pharaonic-Greek) character of this figurine, the use of dolls for black magic purposes is not exclusive to ancient Egypt. This practice spread across many civilizations, employing different materials and methods:
- In African and Caribbean Voodoo, dolls are pierced with needles to bind or harm a specific person.
- In Japan, the Ushi no Koku Mairi ritual involves effigies called Wara Ningyo, used in curses and pinned to trees at midnight.
- In Medieval Europe, wax dolls were crafted and melted over fire to inflict pain or force love upon a victim.
All these cultures utilized what we now call poppets as symbolic tools to channel hidden forces toward a targeted individual for purposes of love, control, revenge, or even protection.
Between Artifact and Meaning
What makes this clay figurine unique is not merely its small size or age, but its bold message about humanity’s ancient desire to control others under the guise of love.
It stands as a reminder that when love is taken by force, it transforms into black magic , into a curse, carved in earth and pierced with needles of jealousy and obsession.
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