Egyptian Magic Wands

     There are numerous example of the curved Egyptian "magic wands" in the museum collections of the world. I have always wondered what these things actually were and why they were called magic wands Today I found out.

     I am reading a number of articles on the "Book of the Two Ways", which has been found on a number of Middle Kingdom coffins. The articles mention some of the monsters and demons that appear in the Book of the Two Ways (often bearing knives) and mentions that some of these monsters also appear on the magic wands often placed in the tombs of this period. The author mentions that the points of these wands are often worn down "as if they had been used to draw 'enclosing circles of protection' on the floors around someone or something". Perhaps they were used to protect young children while they slept?