Editor's Preface

Chapter 2

It has been my distinct pleasure to assist the Baldric brothers in compiling their notes into what you now hold in your hands today. Despite the pair’s success in the field and their knowledge of the subject, the transition from tomb to tome was not an easy one. Many factors common to curse-breaking, such as hieroglyphic variants, layering of spells, shifts in meaning over time and different meanings specific to the numerous nomes and cults that made up ancient Egypt, complicated compiling a list of meanings and uses. Including the vast amount of stylistic differences inherent to the script was difficult to do while still offering a streamlined and easy-to-use reference. Because of this, there are a few cultural and linguistic phenomena noted here that apply throughout the work. Variants of glyphs (U35 is “the same” as U36)

<il>Changes in meaning over time (lots of time-- and therefore lots of changes!) </il> <il>Changes in meaning based on pairings. </il> Interchangeability of gods and their symbolism (At times, Min was a fertility god. In other cults he was the creator god, considered to be a facet or representation of Ra). Despite the natural limitations that exist in the field, A Magical Addendum does an excellent job of capturing both the broader strokes of glyphs’ meanings while still noting specific uses and combinations useful to the curse-breaker’s mental repertoire. Clio Ravenwood Senior Editor of Merge Books