“As I Twirl This Spindle, …”: Ritualization and the Magical Efficacy of Household Tasks in Western Antiquity

Abstract

In Mediterranean antiquity the ritual acts of binding and charming were often associated with ordinary domestic tasks reoriented through accompanying incantations and sometimes the adjustment of the task's gestures. Drawing on theories of ritualization (Bell, Humphrey, and Laidlaw) and extending the classical evidence with medieval and modern comparative materials, this article addresses how mundane economic practices are brought into service for magical performance. Ritualization highlights the process by which a domestic “agent” can isolate and transform some particular element or stage in an overall activity (clothes-making, cooking) to reflect a sense of stipulation, of traditional and efficacious action, and thus reorient the isolated domestic task for curse or binding charms.

Writing a cultural history of religion at home

“…With such neighbouring relationships in mind, the frequent absence of religious adornments most probably reflected familiar and personal choice rather than institutionalized religious mandates and concerns. Jews – who are missing in the first volume of this series – were less invested in the visually marked decorative and everyday objects that came to characterize Christian homes, although candles, brooms, embroidered cloth and amulets could carry specific Jewish connotations in light of the complex interplay of space and time – for example, cleaning the house on a Friday before the Sabbath begins (see Frankfurter, 2021). Particularly strong is the chapter’s focus on life-cycle rituals focused on women’s bodies, supporting and materializing divine favour during pregnancy and childbirth (Baumgarten, 2004, 2014).…”