Roman Magic

The Graeco-Roman World was superstitious and believed that by using magical spells, charms and amulets they could protect themselves from harmful influences.

The difference between Magic and Religion in the Ancient World was that Religious Rites were performed in public to elevate the Soul, whereas Magic Rites were performed privately for selfish reasons.
In Ancient Greek literature, the use of a magical wand, magical herbs and a magical act by a Greek God were commonplace.
The Roman author Pliny the Elder described magicians and their magic in his work, Natural History. Although he didn’t believe in it, he pointed out that everyone was afraid of coming under a spell. The wearing of amulets to counter spells was commonplace. Pliny also described the Emperor Nero as being a student of Magic.

The Bath Curse Tablets were appeals written on tablets addressed to the local Goddess of the Baths, Sulis Minerva, pleading for revenge upon the thief. They are on display in the Roman Baths Museum, Bath, in Britain.
The tablets were found in an excavated Spring next to the Roman Baths in Bath, Somerset,
They had words written upon them that were thought to hold a magical power, such as, ‘Bazagra’, ‘Bescu’ and ‘Berebescu’.

This was the Graeco-Roman tradition of consulting with the souls of the Dead for the purpose of Divination. However, whereas the Classical World believed the Dead could answer any question, the Romans believed that only certain things were known by certain deceased persons.

Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos or ‘Quadripartitum’ meaning ‘the four books’, is an Graeco-Roman Astrological Work combining Astrology with Philosophy of Aristotle.
Before Christianity became the State Religion, the Romans regularly consulted the positions of the planets before making decisions.