Symbols for Magic, Divination & Dreamwork
Review by Lalia Wilson
Written by Normandi Ellis, Published by Bear & Company (2020)
ISBN
978-1-59143-376-7 (print)
ISBN
978-1-59143-377-4 (ebook)
This 6” X 9” trade paperback is perfect bound with an attractive blue cover. Its 315 pages include 87 black & white illustrations, including both photographs and linear drawings of each hieroglyph. All this in four “chapters,” notes, a bibliography, and an index.
Ellis says, “Like dream language and poetry, hieroglyphs work on multiple levels, encompassing all levels simultaneously. That are symbolic, and sensory (image), and vibratory (sounds), and filled with mythologies (narrative).” The word hieroglyph itself means “sacred carvings” in Greek. According to the Oxford History of Historical Writing, “The Mesopotamians invented writing around 3200 [BCE] without any precedent to guide them, as did the Egyptians, independently as far as we know, at approximately the same time. Writing entered human consciousness about five thousand years ago. The Egyptian system contained about 1,000 symbols according to Wikipedia. This book uses 60 important hieroglyphs, many the names of gods, as magical symbols. These symbols have meanings in their own right, and additional meanings depending upon adjacent symbols. In some ways, the symbols are like words, in others like letters (which need to be combined to make meaning), and in others are pictographs. In the ancient Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) language there was no difference between writing and drawing or painting. For this reason, working with the hieroglyphs uses the whole brain, unlike alphabetic languages. Alchemy is an Arabic word that first meant things from Egypt, the land called Khem. Similarly “Chemistry” is also from Khem/Ancient Egypt where arguably chemistry originated. Egyptians used crushed semi-precious stones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise to provide vibrant color and vibrational support to produce the effects they wanted in religious temples and murals.
To study these hieroglyphs is to study the philosophy and culture of Ancient Egypt. Many symbols contain flora and fauna native to that region. Seventy of the thousand hieroglyphs are of birds native to the Nile region. All this is incorporated into the mythology. Tarot enthusiasts, for the most part, use cards that incorporate the philosophy and culture of Western Europe. Standard tarot images do not include a crocodile or hippopotamus, because they were not part of the local scenery. You will see them in hieroglyphs, though.
The symbols lend themselves to chanting, meditation, or divination. For divination, Ellis gives several pages of information about each hieroglyph, including a simplified drawing that we can use as a guide to make our own cards, an activity Ellis encourages. She recommends papyrus paper, which, believe it or not, is available at art supply stores and on Amazon. However, if we don’t want to make our own cards we can buy a deck from Ellis at her website: https://normandiellis.com/.
Ellis asserts that the hieroglyphic word sounds have power. Another language that also says that each word has a beyond-language ability to affect the world is Sanskrit. Sanskrit chanting is probably more familiar to readers than chanting the names of the hieroglyphs, but the approach is similar.
The images of these hieroglyphs can be used (much like Runes) as symbols of protection when written on a surface of an object or building. Particularly this is true to make an amulet for personal protection or to draw on the attributes of a particular hieroglyph.
But what will most interest readers of Tarot Sushi is how to use the glyphs in divination. Ellis gives seven spreads. The astrological spread has some additions that make it more useful for me as an astrologer. The Djed Pillar or Tree of Life spread will be familiar to anyone who has studied the Qabalah. Each of the 60 hieroglyphs has nine distinct meanings determined by the sum of your birth month and day, reduced to a number from one to nine.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs or culture, anyone looking for a new divination system, anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of divination, and anyone who would like to expand their ability to read any cards. In particular, the several cards spreads offered to lend themselves to many different types of cards, including most tarot and many oracle decks.
Review copy provided by Bear & Company