Book of Thoth: Egypt's Most Dangerous Secret

This episode of the podcast "Is This the Norm?" — hosted by sisters Heather, Rebecca, and Lora — explores the history and mythology surrounding the Book of Thoth across three distinct incarnations. Rebecca leads the discussion by first recounting the original ancient Egyptian legend (from the Papyrus Cairo CG 30646) about Prince Setne Khamwas, who discovers the magical book written by the god Thoth in the tomb of Naneferkaptah, only to learn — through a cautionary tale of betrayal, death, and a hallucinatory seduction by the beautiful Tabubu — that the book brings ruin to all who possess it. The hosts then trace how European scholars in the Greco-Roman period reinterpreted a collection of Egyptian texts as a second "Book of Thoth" (the Corpus Hermeticum), fueling Renaissance-era fascination with Egyptian mysticism. Finally, Rebecca connects this lineage to the invention of a common divination tool used today. References: Aleister Crowley | biography, teachings, reputation, & facts. (n.d.-a). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleister-Crowley Antoine Court de Gébelin | French scholar and writer | Britannica. (n.d.-a). Www.Britannica.Com. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-Court-de-Gebelin Egyptian texts : Setne Khamwas and Naneferkaptah. (n.d.). Www.Attalus.Org. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://www.attalus.org/egypt/setne.html Rosetta Stone decree. (2022, February 10). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone_decree The Ancient Egyptian book of thoth. (n.d.-b). Near Eastern Studies. Retrieved August 28, 2026, from https://neareast.jhu.edu/faculty-books/the-ancient-egyptian-book-of-thoth/