The land of Persepolis, which became Ancient Persia and now modern day Iran has been home to a vast array of rituals and magic. Some rituals were seen as a worship of god while others were seen as protective in nature. The latter exists more in the realms of ‘Jadu’ (the term for magical energy) which is self motivated and has little to do with God. The etymology of the word magic was derived from the word for Zoroastrian priests, ‘magi’, which later developed into magi(c/k/ck), as we know it today across latin based words. Zoroastrianism was the leading faith of the Persian empire, intention was important during the Zoroastrian era, ‘do good, think good, speak good’ being the main slogan of the faith. Rituals of this time have been passed down through centuries and still practised in a majority of modern day Iranian traditions. 

 

Spirituality has been the recent craze, circulating mainstream western societies, from cleansing your chakras with crystals and watching how to put a love spell on your ex on ‘Witch-Tok.’ Yet the question that accompanies this trend is, should some customs be practised by those of other cultures? For example, many Native Americans are rightfully protective of their culture, so when they see someone buying white sage at Urban-Outfitters and watching a Youtube video on ‘how to smudge’ it can be perceived as stepping over the lines of appropriation. Reiki Master and Spiritualist, @Lokiladdusaw on TikTok states “participating in closed practised rituals when you are not affiliated with that culture, such as smudging or Voodoo, can backfire and you will be cursed.” Unless you are willing to risk being cursed, it's best to do your research and stay clear of closed practices . 

 

Luckily for Iranians we have our very own spiritual rituals and spells, most of which we were brought up with in our homes. It's a familiar sight to see your maman bozorg (grandmother), wandering the house with a small spoon-like object in her hand, leaving a trail of smoke behind her as she chants a protective ‘spell.’ Eyes watering, you cover your face from the smoky smells, watch her as she goes round the room and all of a sudden she heads for you. She holds the popping, smoking spoon over your head as though she's watering a plant, while she says “oh esfand, and esfand seed, esfand 103 seeds, burst eyes of the jealous…” As time moves on and maman bozorg is no longer there, you learn to appreciate the customs like the Esfand ritual, whether or not you believe in its protection against ‘Evil Eye’ or its more of a gesture of care and love. 

Iranians have an array of rituals for protection and averting evil. Many popular rituals that we know and love revolve around fire as they are rooted in the Zoroastrian beliefs that fire is a sacred symbol of purity. Yet there are some rituals that are less common and a dying practice, here is a not so common protection ritual involving water, that you can try for yourself. 

 

My grandmother stressed the importance of water, because it is “ravan” meaning to flow. Start the ritual by holding an egg upright between two coins. As you carefully hold the egg in one hand between your thumb and two fingers, move the egg around your body and chant the names of the people who might be causing you illness or evil. With each name you press down on the egg through the coins and when the egg breaks, the culprit is found; and the curse broken. But the ritual does not end there, the importance of washing the egg away with flowing water was stressed by all. The egg cannot stay in one place as this ends up strengthening the curse. 

 

Armineh Lilly River

 

A message from our writer Armineh - I offer therapy for women of colour who are healing spiritually, utilising different symbolic systems of belief, from Hinduism to Abrahamic religions. Having been raised with a multi-faith family, I am myself an accumulation of everyone who raised me, and so, multi faith. If you are interested feel free to contact me – @alillyriver.