3-Week SASA Reading Group: Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals

What do you do when you think you have been cursed by a witch? This was a problem that the people of Mesopotamia had to consider and find solutions for. Their best option was to hire an exorcist to perform an anti-witchcraft ritual to remove the evil magic that had been laid upon them. These rituals involved many detailed steps and incantations, all in an attempt to remove results of witchcraft which inflicted ailments such as sickness or bad luck.

There are multiple texts (usually in fragments) from Mesopotamia that detail the process of removing and protecting oneself from the effects of witchcraft as well as how to identify the use of witchcraft. These anti-witchcraft rituals are some of the most well documented rituals and give us an insight into the detailed physical practices and methods involved.

3-Week Text-In-Translation Reading Group

Fridays at 1 pm Eastern Time  

Start date: July 12th

End date: June 26th

MUST RSVP TO GET LIVE SYLLABI WITH THE ZOOM LINK. The same link will be used for all 3 sessions. 

**Please consider supporting SASA to help us create more open access Ancient Studies events and programming. Donate here.**