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HERSHEL SHANKS

SECRET SPELLS. It is possible that the inscribed stone mug was used in ancient Jewish magic. Little is known about such practices, but Byzantine-period incantation bowls like the one shown here are a relatively common indicator that they took place. In this example (not from Mt. Zion), the incantation is written in Aramaic spiraling inward toward the center of the bowl, where the demon is depicted with hands and feet bound.