змеи и посохи

[jayrandom]

Perhaps less obvious is the background of the famous magical battle between Moses and Aaron and the Egyptian priest-magicians. It was a well-known trick of the magicians of the day (and still exists in contemporary Egypt) seemingly to convert rods into serpents. What actually happens is this: the viper is put into a state of cataleptic rigidity by pressing its head. It then resembles a staff. When it is thrown down on the ground, the shock rouses it, and breaks the hypnotic state. This was what the Egyptians did. As this book is not concerned with apologetics, it is not proposed to discuss the question of whether Aaron's rod (which may have been a similar snake) actually did or did not devour the opponents' staffs.

-- Idries Shah, "Oriental magic" (выделение моё - jayrandom).