This was an extremely ambitious concept, in a place of heat and limited plumbing. It was imperative that the human body reflect this holiness through the beauty of its aroma, or at least by not smelling absolutely foul.

Foul odors both called and indicated the presence of malevolence. Deities were summoned through fragrance: the scent of the beautiful indicated the presence of the benevolent divine. Each deity had its own characteristic fragrance. Fragrance was intrinsically tied into the Egyptian conception of beauty and spirituality. This spiritual component cannot be overestimated. Presumably, the natron salts applied to the bodies of the ancient deceased, promoted spiritual safety as well as physical desiccation. The simplest protective spell is a circle of salt, within which one can sit for spiritual safety.

Salt, while inexpensive in the supermarket, is still treasured as a protective material in modern magic. For the purposes of beauty, salt combined with oils, both true and essential, are easily combined into exfoliating salt scrubs, a modern product whose components would all be recognizable and appreciated in ancient Egypt. Applied to the body it also has antiseptic properties, a reasonably effective, if painful, method of cleansing minor cuts and wounds. In fact, salt is a very adequate preservative, as demonstrated not only by mummies but by the quantity of salt contained in modern packaged foods. However, today, the user of salt tends to have only one of those goals in mind at a time it seems that the Egyptians had a conception of receiving multiple benefits simultaneously. This, in fact, corresponds to the way salt is used today: as a preservative, as a magical product, to provide beauty and cleanliness. It is as common an ingredient in the magical papyri as it is in formulae devoted to cosmetics and cleanliness. Alongside its ability to bestow physical cleanliness, natron also seems to have provided spiritual purification. In the holistic world-view so typical of ancient Egypt, natron cleansed many levels simultaneously. It was also used to cleanse the body, teeth and prevent unattractive body odors. Formulae featuring natron were used to rid the home of vermin. It was used for household cleansing as well as to cleanse the body. Natron was ancient Egypt's supreme cleansing product. Based upon the records left to posterity, natron was a fairly ubiquitous product for the living as well. The use of natron, however, was not reserved for the dead.

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