Author : Sally Taylor
In modern society we have many means for dealing with tough competitors but putting hexes on them isn't usually one of our chosen methods. In Ancient societies, it was quite common. Archaeologists have recovered over 1,500 "Curse Tablets" from ancient Greece, England, Sicily, and throughout the Mediterranean and dating from as early as 500 BC, many of which do curse businesses and politicians.The Curse Tablets are also known as "defixiones" a Latin term meaning "to nail down" as they commonly are found with nails driven through them. Nailing the defixiones served a double purpose, binding not only the hex but also binding the tablet itself. The tablets are usually made of lead which was a cheap and readily available writing material in the ancient world. It is also possible that other materials were also widely used (as a few have been found) but did not preserve as well for us to find today.The oldest tablets are sometimes blank and sometimes inscribed with only the name of the entity to be hexed, but as writing became more prevalent the inscriptions on the tablets became more elaborate. It is presumed that the earlier societies felt that the rituals of creating the hex and binding the tablet was sufficient to bind the the hex, while in later societies the rituals were replaced by inscribing the hex. The idea that inscribing text would work in lieu of ritual to bind the spell can be seen in the late practice of scribes of making and selling curse tablets. The hexes themselves ran in themes that allow us to glimpse what daily headaches and concerns plagued our ancient ancestors.Most of the tablets cursed people and entities in the areas of businesses, legal, political, love, thievery, and charioteers. The hexer would call to Gods relevant to the area of life the hex involved. Surprisingly, many of these invocations were not polite, but seemed to carry a feeling that the Gods acted upon the invocation as a matter of course and not favor. While some of the tablets call for vengeance, many seem to be made just to satisfy greed or lust.Tablets were hidden by throwing them into water or buried in graveyards and other places where they were likely to be picked up by the spirits of deceased who were stranded from their afterlife destination. It is thought that it was believed that the soul of the deceased would either act on the hex or deliver it to the appropriate deity to claim favor and be allowed to pass to the afterworld. That most of the tablets were hidden reveals that they were believed to work on their own without the knowledge of the hexed which could activate the hex through fear of it.There was, however, a fear of curses and hexes in these societies. So much so that they were decreed illegal in the Ancient Roman Empire. Another testament to the belief in or the actual effectiveness of the hexes is the number of amulets found for protection against curses and hexes within these societies. While no one today can say whether they worked or not, we do know that they were seen to work and they were seen to be very effective. Perhaps the next time you have a an irritating competitor or are called into court to defend yourself, you might want to just hex your rival. What an inexpensive and private mode of conducting personal business it is that has been discovered for us.©2006 Sally Taylor.Sal is an avid gem and treasure hunter, explorer, writer, and Internet Marketer. She is the owner of http://www.rockhoundstation1.com and author of a controversial Internet Marketing Beginner's Guide to Business Building: http://rockhoundstation1.net/ps/sally
Keyword : archaeology, rockhounds, ancient civilizations, strange artifacts, artifact hunting, curses, hexes
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