They were animated, and in addition to their bodies of stone, metal, or wood, they had each a soul magically derived from the soul of the divinity which they represented.

They spoke, moved, acted--not metaphorically, but actually.

The later Ramessides ventured upon no enterprises without consulting them.

They stated their difficulties, and the god replied to each question by a movement of the head.

According to the Stela of Bakhtan,[24] a statue of Khonsu places its hands four times on the nape of the neck of another statue, so transmitting the power of expelling demons.