"Magic is a reasoned system of techniques for influencing the gods and other supernatural powers that can be taught and learned...Magic is a praxis, indeed a science, that through established and for the most part empirical means seeks to alter or maintain earthly circumstances, or even call them forth anew. Magic not only manipulates occult forces but also endeavors to master the highest supernatural powers with which religion is concerned."

G. Frantz-Szabo, "Hittite Witchcraft, Magic and Divination," CANE 3:2007

Magic & Divination

Magic in the ancient Near East consisted of three categories: apotropaism (protection), exorcism (elimination), and hexing (imposition). Magic was the means by which a person, usually a king, could change the course of the future which was set by divination.

And this leads me to my first point: divination =/= magic.
Divination, whether inspired (deity-initiated) or deductive (man-initiated), was not magic. Divination was a forecast, similar to our weather forecasts. The dream, liver, stars, lot, and/or deformed birth all worked together to give a forecast of what was most likely coming to an individual (again, usually the king). Divination was the process by which people knew the future, at least in some sense, in the same way we can know the what the weather will be like tomorrow.

However, divination differs from a weather forecast in that certain actions could change the forecast. Those who could interpret the information communicated by the gods (baru, tupsarru, muhhu, and apilu) often also gave advice on the best course of action to either see the forecast come to fruition (if good) or change the forecast (if bad). But that was it - it was short-term knowledge of the future gained by communication from a deity coupled with the best course of action to bring about the desired result.

Actually getting that desired result was left to the realm of magic.
Divination is about knowing; magic is about doing.

Magic & the Omen

The diviner has pronounced the probable, short-term future. Think of this probable, short-term future as an omen; think of an omen as a rope on a winch. On one end of the rope is the person and on the other end of the rope is the coming evil. The winch is time, slowly pulling the coming evil to the person. The job of magic was simple - cut the rope. Conversely, if on the end of the rope is the coming good, the job of magic is to ensure the rope is not cut (and yes, some may be trying to cut the same rope others are trying to protect).

This was done through incantations and rituals. The incantations were the words; the rituals were the movements and components.

Apotropaic Magic

If someone wanted protection from the evil (demons, ghosts, etc.) during their travels or over their home, they would need apotropaic magic. This often took the form of statues for the wealthy and figurines for the commoner for places of residence. These statues or figurines would bear the image of protective creatures or deities and therefore be able to act in those capacities.

For example, lamassu bear the image of protective guardians, and can therefore act as protective guardians for the palace.

On the road it is very impractical to lug around a lamassu. Instead of statues or figurines, travelers would carry certain stones, pendants, or clay tokens which were inscribed with a deity's protection. These could be "charged" at a shrine before the journey and at other shrines along the journey. In this way, the traveler carried their protection from evil with them. Paradoxically, these tokens could also bear the image of the thing one was seeking protection from, most often demonic entities.

Bastardizing This

Apotropaic magic is warding magic. The incantations, rituals, materials, and objects all function as wards with an aura which ebbs and flows depending on various situations. The closest modern class would be a cleric/paladin mixture, but with the ability to make "holy symbols".

Exorcistic Magic

Exorcistic magic was closely linked with what we would consider medicine. The symptoms one suffered was, in ancient Near Eastern thought, a supernatural occurrence. It wasn't cancer; it was a demon festering in your body. It wasn't tooth decay; it was an angry god punishing you. Thus, medicine (and I use the term very loosely) and exorcism were closely linked.

Exorcistic magic involved the creation of medicines (i.e. drugs, herbal concoctions) to remove the evil upon a person. This medicine was the material component of the magic. The medicine was both prepared and administered at certain times and under certain conditions and alongside incantations. There is evidence the incantations were actually stories linked to the cure, as discussed in the example below.

An example is found in the Mesopotamian story "El's Drinking Party". This story actually provides great insight into medicine for the time. The first part of the story is a short story about the king deity El getting plastered, suffering from a hangover, and other goddesses finding a cure for him. The second part is how to make the cure for a hangover. It is possible the short myth is the incantation to be recited when giving the remedy.

Oh, the remedy? Based on the myth and the pieces of the text with the cure, it involves at least three ingredients: dog hair placed on the head, pqq (possibly dung) and olive oil mixed together and possibly ingested. I recommend you try it after your next bender; let me know how it works.

Bastardizing This

Exorcistic magic is medicinal magic. The exorcist makes drugs which makes the evil go away. It really is the same idea of a pharmacist today, albeit the actual praxis is very different. The medicines have different curative powers which work at different strengths and dosages. The possibility of overdose exists.

Hex Magic

Hex magic is simply putting bad things on other people. This form of magic was largely seen negatively due to the fact is specialized in "bad things". Sure, I want the bad thing on that guy, but the sorcerer could also put a bad thing on me down the line, so I don't really like them. This seems to be the magic most associated with witchcraft and/or sorcery, both of which were seen as bad.

Honestly, I need to spend more time finding resources for this specific form of magic. I would imagine it is similar to the other forms in that it has verbal, somatic, and material components to it, but beyond that I couldn't tell ya. It was disliked; there were rituals performed by royalty to send witchcraft-practitioners to the underworld. But it was still an exercise of power; the hex tied the person to the evil and set the winch in motion.

Bastardizing This

Hex magic is probably closest to the concept of the wizard or witch in common thought. Someone who is able to produce a negative effect against another person. Is that negative effect a fireball? Probably not (but maybe). Is that negative effect a sudden calamity though? Yeah, probably. This class would probably be most linked to "spells" in the modern sense - one time effects which produce an immediate effect vs wards with their constant auras or medicines with their applications.

Necromancy

I will make a comment concerning necromancy. Necromancy was a form of magic practiced, albeit not in an official capacity. The necromancer was not the one who raised zombies or skeletons. Rather, the necromancer rode the divide between divination and magic by raising deceased spirits.

In Mesopotamia the cult of the ancestor was pervasive. Funerary meals were provided both at burial and then on a monthly basis afterwards to provide for the deceased in the afterlife. This made the deceased's life in the netherworld slightly better, kept them within the funerary cult, and placated their ghost (etemmu/rapiuma). The truest form of death in the ancient Near East was to be forgotten.

It was believed the deceased could in some way forecast the future. A desperate individual would find a necromancer and have them conjure up the spirit of the deceased to ask them questions. This was an incredibly dangerous option though, and truly only for the desperate. The reason for this was there was a chance the necromancer did something wrong and conjured up a ghost or, worse, a demon.

A ghost was a spirit which either never received a proper burial or had no one to remember them. They were not cared for and were vengeful, hateful spirits. Demons were, well, demons. In either case, the necromancy could go awry and the life and future of the necromancer's client could be jeopardized.

The necromancer both learned the future and exercise power. They were "both/and", in a way.

Bastardizing This

Necromantic magic has the same thought as modern necromantic magic does. The difference lies in what is conjured up. The modern necromancer conjures up dead bodies; the ancient necromancer conjured up dead spirits or demons. There were still incantations, movements and offerings, along with a special pit. This individual is engaged in very dangerous magic.

Closing Thoughts

I have a lot more academic journal articles to read concerning magic, but this is a good foundation. It at least gives me a direction going forward in thinking of magic in the context of the ancient Near East. Obviously, I won't adhere strictly to this for a game, but I do want to be faithful to the source material at least in spirit. Down the line I'd expect another one of these posts.