A video of televangelist Kenneth Copeland cursing Covid-19 on March 29th excited the twitterverse, typically in ridiculing posts.
While the politics of Copeland and his business enterprise should not be disregarded (see @LastWeekTonight trenchant critique ), we spent the first minutes of my Ancient Magic course analyzing the mechanics of Copelands curse formulae.
Copeland is, in many ways, deeply indebted to earlier forms of magic, unsurprising given how resilient and persistent magical formulae are over time.
Copeland begins by invoking Jesus ("in the name of Jesus"). The invocation of god(s), angels, and charismatic figures is one of the central characteristics of ancient magic in general, but the invocation of Jesus, in particular, was believed to be especially potent.
Acts 19 reports that "SomeJews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed."
Rabbinic texts attest the use of Jesus' name and discomfort with it, such as Palestinian Talmud Shabbat 14d: "The grandson of (R.Joshua b. Levi) had a choking fit. A man came and pronounced a charm over him in the name of Jesus Pandira, and he recovered."
Justin Martyr (2nd century CE), in his Dialogue with Trypho (85), argues that the name of Jesus is more potent than any others: “…For every demon, when exorcised in the name of this very Son of God..is overcome and subdued.
Spells that are not obviously Jewish or Christian also invoked Jesus, such as in the Greek Magical Papyri: "I conjure you by the god of the Hebrews, / Jesus" (PGM IV. 3007-86).
Next, Copeland uses legal language "I execute judgment on you Covid-19." Legal language is common in some magical traditions. My friend and colleague @avbamkin has written extensively on legal language in ancient Jewish magic. academia.edu/12898822/Jewis…
Legal formulae were transferable, such that the Jewish divorce formula, attributed to a rabbi, and found throughout Jewish incantation bowls, is also found on Syriac incantation bowls: "Rav Joshua bar Perahya sat (in court) and wrote against them a bill of divorce..."
Copeland also executes judgment against Covid-19, naming the virus by name. This was believed to be crucial to defuse the power of the demonic force, and exemplified in Jesus' encounter in Luke 8 (Mark 5): "Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied...
Copeland then attributes the virus to Satan. Attributing illness to demons, and to Satan in particular, was typical of ancient magic.
Copeland tells Satan to "Get out," uttered by Jesus in Luke 4: “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him."
This language is also found in the Babylonian Talmud (Meilah 17b), deployed by Rabbi Simeon against the demon Ben Temalion: "Ben Tmalion, go out, Ben Tmalion, go out!"
Notice the repetition in the Babylonian Talmud, found, as well, throughout Copeland's incantation. Repetition buttressed potency.
Copeland invokes the example of the rebuke of the serpent in Genesis 3, understood by many ancient and modern interpreters to represent Satan. Invoking biblical precedent, and particular biblical verses that depict god rebuking Satan, was widespread in Jewish and Christian magic.
One of the most popular verses for this purpose was Zechariah 3:2, "The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan!The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!"
I cannot speak for Copeland, but when he says "the virus is over," this is not, necessarily, a reflection that he believes the virus is, indeed, now gone. Incantations often speak as if they have already worked, in the present tense.
See, for instance, this prescription for a love spell from the Cairo Genizah "as Joseph in front of Pharaoh the King of Egypt and as Esther in front of the King Ahasuerus, n son of n shall have grace and favour and honour in the eyes of her husband" (T-S K 12.89, 1a:3–4).
Wikipedia already includes a derisive summary of Copeland's curse: "in a televised sermon, Copeland claimed COVID-19 "...is finished. It is over." On 30 March 2020 the count of known cases in the USA increased by approximately 20,300." This misses the mechanics of curses.
Copeland ends by using a specific appellation for Jesus, "the prince of war." Choosing the appropriate appellation of god or the angelic forces invoked was an important part of the craft and expertise, entreating a specific facet of the being in question.
The performance was a crucial component of many magical traditions, though this is often irretrievable given that we have the material artifacts used in the performance - amulets, herbs, figurines, and so on - but no record of the ceremony itself.
Ritual handbooks often provide more background on aspects of the performance, but sometimes these need to be reconstructed, as @cghaberl does for some incantation bowls: academia.edu/596735/The_Pro…
The wingman speaks in tongues a few times, reminiscent of the magical characters and utterances with no semantic meaning found throughout ancient magic. I cannot think of many sources that attest a sorcerer's a wingman, and judging by his "contribution" here, I can see why...
One dissonant line was "I demand a vaccination to come immediately." A vaccination negates the fundamental premise behind the rest of the curse, namely that the illness is attributable to Satan, and therefore is cured through Satan's removal and defeat.
However skeptical and cynical we might feel, and whether one's gut tells them that Copeland is a huckster, it is crucial to understand that his followers perceive this performance as potent and powerful. Ancient ritual experts were regularly faced with the cynical and skeptical.
For instance, in Lucian's (d. 180 CE) Lover of Lies (16), Ion tries to convince the skeptical Tychiades that the "Syrian adept from Palestine," which some scholars argue is Jesus, did, in fact, successfully exorcize demons:
'This is sheer folly,' said Ion; 'you are determined not to believe any one...look at that Syrian adept from Palestine: everyone knows how time after time he has found a man thrown down on the ground in a lunatic fit.. and how he has got him on to his feet again...
Copeland therefore draws from a wellspring of earlier well-established magical traditions, formulae, and mechanics to authorize and legitimate himself, and speak in a language that would resonate with his followers.
Addendum 1/2: Josephus (1 Century CE), in his Antiquities of the Jews (Book VIII) provides a wonderful description of an exorcism performance:
For I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal...
For I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal...
Addendum 2/2: Eleazar would persuade & demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power; he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, & commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it; & thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man.
