‘As Far as the East Is from the West, and the North Is from the South’

Abstract

This article continues a series of studies dedicated to Syriac love magic as attested by texts found in Syriac magical codices dated to the 18th–20th century. Here I address five Syriac recipes that I consider to belong to the category of separation spells. Four of them are titled ‘For Hatred’ and are edited for the first time. Another one can be found in The Nestorians and Their Rituals and exists only in the English translation provided by G.P. Badger. Based on their supposed proto-text, the five texts can be divided into three spells. The separation spells are also compared with Syriac spells for attraction. The comparison involves the textual level as well as the magical practices for inducing hatred or love. In the third section of the article, I address the phenomenon of Syriac hate spells in a wider context by providing parallels from Jewish, Coptic, Mandaic, and Arabic magical traditions.