Escaping Osiris

O Osiris the king, who goes forth by night ! by Wim van den Dungen

74

" , !ing "eferkare, am Osiris who goes forth by night#"

$yramid %e&ts ' (ate )th ' ) th Dynasty ' * +7,+d#

"(ord of -.. /en, at the head of the %wo (ands as a who.e ! 01e2 who comes in peace !

(ord of the 3.ooming of the 1eart !"

1ymn to Osiris ' ste.a ' 4 th Dynasty ' 3ritish /useum

"1ai. Osiris, son of "ut ! 0###2 Whose awe -tum set in the heart of men, gods, spirits and the dead# 0###2 !ing of gods, great power of heaven, ru.er of the .iving, king of those beyond !"

1ymn to Osiris ' 5te.a of 5obek'iry ' 4 th Dynasty ' (ouvre

ntroduction 6+ 68 69 64 6; 6, 67 6= 6> +6 Evi. or the end of the 7o.den -ge# %he suffering of Osiris# :eassemby and reanimation of Osiris# 1orus, the avenger of his father# %he restoration of Osiris# %he ascension of Osiris# Offertory and <anon# Escaping Osiris# -ssuming the godform of Osiris# Osirian faith ? <hristianity compared#

3ib.iography

sis and 1orus ' $hi.ae after @acharias ' Desroches ' "ob.ecourt, +>>7#

ntroduction

"<ommoners hide, 0but2 the gods f.y away#"

$yramid %e&ts ' * 4;>a#

%he first Egyptian $yramid %e&ts appear in the )th Dynasty, in the underground chambers of the tomb of !ing Anas 0ca# 897= ' 894= 3<E2, name.y in its antechamber, passage way and buria.'chamber# %ogether with the te&ts found in the tombs of his

successors, $haraohs %eti, $epi , /erenre ? $epi 0ca# 8876 ' 886; 3<E2 of the ) th Dynasty, they form the first known re.igious corpus in wor.d .iterature#

$haraoh Anas, Wenis or Anis, was the .ast $haraoh of the )th Dynasty# 1is pyramid at 5aBBara is at the 5outh'western corner of DCoserDs enc.osure# %he comp.e&, a mode. for these subseBuent ru.ers, is a.most diagiona..y opposed to the pyramid of Aserkaf 0ca# 84=7 ' 84=6 3<E2, the founder of his 1e.iopo.itan Dynasty# $haraoh Anas is the first to inc.ude hierog.yphic inscriptions in a roya. tomb# %he inscriptions carved and fi..ed with b.ue pigment, contain, in 894 of the 7;> known utterances, the first historica. account of the 01e.iopo.itan2 re.igion of the O.d !ingdom 0ca# 8,76 ' 8+>= 3<E2# %echnica..y, this roya. corpus consists of a series of "utterances" or "spe..s", so ca..ed because the e&pression "Dd mdw" 0"Dd" E "words" F "mdw" E "speech"2, "to say" or "words to be said", i#e# "to be recited" is, as a ru.e, at the head of most#
1owever, these te&ts inc.ude drama, hymns, .itanies, g.orifications, magica. te&ts, offering ritua.s, prayers, charms, divine offerings, the ascension of $haraoh, the arriva. of $haraoh in heaven, $haraoh sett.ed in heaven, and misce..aneous te&ts# t refers to the o.dest body of theo.ogy in the wor.d, and precedes the e&tant te&tua.iGation of the )edas, reckoned at ca# +>66 3<E 0most .ike.y the composition was contemporaneous with the ndus civi.iGation, f.ourishing between ca# 9666 3<E ? +766 3<E2#

%hese utterances are the codification, in O.d Egyptian, of a royal canon predated by centuries of ora. transmission# Discovered by /aspero in +==+, these Anas te&ts had been buried and .eft undisturbed for ca# 4866 years# -n untainted primary re.igious source ! 5hort.y after they were written down and a.so much .ater, the Anas te&ts as a who.e acBuired canonica. status, and were copied and reproduced 0cf# the /idd.e !ingdom tomb of 5enwosret'-nkh, "highpriest of $tah"2# %he Anas corpus is a.so the best preserved body of utterances and contains a complete set of them# t provides the standard approach to the theo.ogy of the O.d !ingdom, dominated by -tum':e of 1e.iopo.is# 3y the )th Dynasty 0ca# 8,66 ' 84=7 3<E2, when king !hephren 0ca# 8;46 ' 8;+4 3<E2 added the tit.e "son of :e" to his roya. titu.ary, -ncient Egyptian cu.ture had reached its pinnac.e# <anonica. attainments in science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, magic, ritua. and sapienta. teachings had been estab.ished, and we have to wait unti. the "ew !ingdom 0ca# +;9> ' +67; 3<E2 to witness new deve.opments 0as -tenism and -monism2# 1owever, in a.. periods, Egypt wou.d return to the canon begun by king DCoser 0ca# 8,;4 ' 8,9; 3<E2 and his "(eonardo da )inci", the viGier, scribe, doctor and architect mhotep, "the one that comes in peace"# n architecture 0cf# 7iGa pyramids2, re.igion 0cf# the $yramid %e&ts2 and wisdom'teaching, to name but a few areas of interest, these ru.es became sanctosanct# n the theo.ogy of 1e.iopo.is 0the "On" of the 3ib.e and today the <optic suburb of <airo2, $haraoh Anas ascends to the rea.m of -tum, the uniBue supreme deity 0cf# 1ornung, +>=,2, materia.iGing as the star of our 5o.ar system, :e in his 5o.ar disk 0-ten2# %here, in the 5unDs domain, the Hirst %ime, the king is ensured of an ongoing increase in spiritua.ity 0an efficiency due to the transformation of his 3a into an -kh, a spirit of .ight2 and a union with the on.y true source of .ife and youth, proCected near the "orthern <ircumpo.ar 5tars F he arrives there as an awesome god 0cf# <anniba. 1ymn2# 1e sai.s on

:eDs 3ark of /i..ions of Iears, ascends with a .adder or f.ies as a bird, sacred smoke or a grasshopper# %he .ight.and of :e, fountain of reCuvenation and end.ess power, is a continuing cyc.e of renewa. 0in neheh'time2, a perpetuum mobile at the core of 0ste..ar2 .ight# 1ere, the powerfu. 5a'energy of the universa. 1eka'fie.d can be harvested# %he .atter is due to the autogenic activity of the so.e creator god -tum#

""un" J the unmanifested sameness of everything is not .ight F "-tum" J unmanifested .ight diffused in "un F "-tum'!heprer" J the unmanifested, first occurrence of eterna..y recurrent .ight F ":e" J the manifest presence of -tum as .ight on the primordia. "hi.."#

Grosso modo, this 1e.iopo.itan ideo.ogy of the divine king was 5o.ar, ste..ar ? nationa., comp.ementing the conte&tua., regiona. and variab.e (unar spiritua.ity of the common Egyptians# Hor good reasons, !emp 0+>=>2 and (esko 0+>>>2 doubt whether, in the $redynastic and the historica. periods, 1e.iopo.itanism was shared by the vast maCority of un.ettered Egyptians# %he opposite seems to be true# "!emp has suggested that Egyptian re.igion, as we know it from the forma., state' approved written te&ts, is an inte..ectua..y manipu.ated construction of the historic period, most .ike.y of the midd.e or .ate O.d !ingdom 0###2 to promote the divinity of the king of Egypt#"
(esko, +>>>, p#9+#

%he concept of 1orus 0the E.der2 as the male ru.er of the sky, symbo.ica. of the divine king himse.f, is rather specu.ative 0top'down2 than natura. 0bottom'up2# ndeed, this idea is the ideo.ogica. counterpart of the po.itica. unification of Apper 05outhern2 and (ower 0"orthern2 Egypt# 1assan 0+>>82 points to the assimi.ation by the ma.e king of the power of the great 0cow2 goddesses at the beginning of the $haraonic $eriod, in particu.ar in the Ear.y Dynastic 0Wi.kinson, 866+2# (esko 0+>>>2 conCectures that up unti. appro&imate.y 9666 3<E, the sky was considered female 0cf# "ut2# %he great goddess never vanished, but was assimi.ated by state doctrine# ndeed, during the .ong $haraonic $eriod, the great mother continued to p.ay a crucia. ro.e 0cf# the suck.ing scenes, the ritua. ro.e of mi.k, the continuity of the succession and the accommodation of dynasty'shifts2# Of this, the cu.ts of "eith, 1athor, sis and /ut as we.. as po.itica. rea.ities amp.y testify# <an it be argued that, because, in order to operate proper.y, every state needs to stay in touch with its peop.e, the 1e.iopo.itans introduced or assimi.ated 0at the beginning of the )th Dynasty, ca# 84=7 3<E K2 a human generation of deities, name.y Osiris, sis, 5eth and "ephthys, entang.ed in a fami.y drama K %hey were the great'grand chi.dren of -tum':e, and represent the human side of the "7o.den -ge" of Egypt, the epoch when the gods reigned on Earth, a time when the eterna. eBui.ibrium of the Hirst %ime had not yet been broken by 5eth# %his was the time of Osiris, the (unar deity of vegetation, reigning over the who.e of Egypt, making her .iving, hea.thy and prosperous# 3y doing so, the theo.ogians of -tum':e 01orakhety2 assimi.ated the popu.ar (unar cu.t of Osiris, and made it part of the roya. ritua., especia..y in terms of the physical regeneration &

resurrection of the king0during and after .ife2, whereas the .atterDs ascension remained 5o.ar and spiritua.iGing, as the architecture of the tombs of Anas and his successors testify 0cf# the "orthern shaft directed to the " mperishab.e" circumpo.ar stars2# n this .ast fami.y of gods and goddesses, the god 5eth p.ayed the bad boon# 1e envied his brother and being the strongest of the gods, murdered him to c.aim the throne of Egypt# Hrom this moment on, creation was divided and chaos starts to .eaks in, ending the 7o.den -ge# What fo..ows is the age of mankind, in "nomina." time, when the batt.e between 1orus and 5eth rages, pushing the choice between, on the one hand, a peacefu. throne or, on the other hand, the dominion of conscious evi.# (ocking horns with his wicked, powerfu. and perverted unc.e, 1orus, the avenger of his father, is fina..y vindicated by :e, who, at first, had decided in favour of 5eth# -t the end of the day, 1orus is enthroned as the Custified king of Egypt# 1e then descends into the Duat, the netherwor.d, and brings his (eft Eye of We..ness to Osiris, who, fu..y restored by it, is ab.e to rise to his heaven in the Duat# %here, he is enthroned as the king of the dead, estab.ishing a Curisdiction of his own, separate from all other deities# -nd what about the commoners K -s the king .ooked at his father, the roya.s and those part of the administration of the state .ooked at the king# 3ut, they and the maCority of the i..iterate fo.k 0c.inging to the (unar faith K2, had no other way than "to hide"# -s nobody e&cept the divine king had a "3a" 0the dynamica. princip.e enab.ing spiritua.iGation2, everybody was dependent on his ascension, efficiency and goodwi.. 0in heaven2# %o be buried near the king was a privi.ege and even after the Osirification of the roya. hereafter, as given in the Anas te&ts, only $haraoh was "Osiris the king"# Lust as in the O.d !ingdom, Egyptian civi.iGation happened in and around the capita. /emphis, in the $yramid %e&ts, a.. spirtua.iGation circumambu.ated the divine king# 3y the /idd.e !ingdom 0ca# +>9= ' +7;> 3<E2, this b.eek prospect got turned over# -s recent history had made c.ear the more futi.e aspects of a strict roya. theocracy to the peop.e 0cf# the co..apse of the state during the Hirst ntermediate $eriod, ca# 8+>= ' +>9= 3<E2, the provincia.s had .ost faith in the effectiveness of the kingDs e&c.usive spiritua. emancipation and abi.ity to assure a "good "i.e" 0a prosperous annua. f.ooding2# "demotiGation" of the hereafter occurred, a..owing every Egyptian, ab.e to make the proper preparations, to be "an Osiris """ after death 0"""" stands for " nomen natus", the name of the deceased2# n this way, the "3eautifu. West" was in princip.e made accessib.e to a.., and even the commoners cou.d hope to .ive forever in the kingdom of Osiris, the ru.er of the Duat, the netherwor.d of the dead# f Custified by the tribuna. of Osiris, they cou.d now direct.y intervene for their fami.ies# n many ways, this seems an advance# f before, the commoner was tota..y dependent on the spiritua. evo.ution of the divine king 0without him no sa.vation2, and so usua..y spiritua..y .ost, now he or she cou.d make 0even simp.e2 preparations for themse.ves way beyond the power of being near to the king# ndeed, their individual conscience 0"heart" or " b"2 p.ayed a pivota. ro.e, deciding whether their "3a" wou.d enter the kingdom of the good king or be eaten by the monstrous hybrid -mmit, "the Eater", swa..owing the "3a" if oneDs heart was found to be "too heavy" ### %he price to pay for this spiritua. .iberation was the possibi.ity of damnation# %he damned were punished, bruta..y tortured and devoured in the "secret s.aughter house"# Of course, without the sacred mechanism of mummification and enterment 0a..owing the

"!a" to be fed and so the "3a" to be gratified and dynamic2, no transformation was possib.e# f a deceased wou.d try to enter the netherwor.d without any credentia.s, he or she wou.d be ens.aved by the he.. hounds of Osiris .urking at the borders of the kingdom of the dead, and be submitted to continuous humi.iation 0wa.king on the head, eating e&crement2 and torture 0repetitive inf.iction of pain and muti.ation by thousands of knives2# -.. human or divine miscreants capab.e of harming the resurrection of Osiris, had to be kept at a distance, and especia..y the fo..owers of 5eth, who never gave up trying to make incursions, or other ma.evo.ent intruders were kept at bay# n the eyes of the Custified, Osiris was a good king ### -ccording to the standards of common Egyptians, who be.ieved that without a righteous king, both the earth.y kingdom and the sky were .ost, he tru.y was good, righteous and true# <reation as a bubb.e of order surrounded by infinite chaos wou.d not be submerged in the origina., .imit.ess ocean# 1is murder ended his earth.y ru.e, but made him the sole and exclusive king of the midd.e region, the Duat between Earth 07eb2 and sky 0"ut2, the parents of the human generation of deities# 3ecause they had .ost trust in the ineffab.e power of the divine 1orus'king, keeping the fabric of creation operationa. 0effective2, the perfect ru.er was introjected, ru.ing the dark and si.ent beyond, the Western kingdom of the dead, mirroring the .and of the $haraohs# Hrom the /idd.e !ingdom onwards, the theo.ogy of Osiris was refined and brought into c.oser harmony with 1e.iopo.itan thought and the emerging cu.t of -mun':e 0mirroring that of -tum':e2# %he concept of the Duat is interesting# %his dark p.ace of si.ence is part of creation but unseen, underneath the surface of the Earth# /ost basic processes of .ife take p.ace in it, in particu.ar :eDs regeneration 0during the ,th 1our of the -mduat2, but a.so the rebirth of every deceased, $haraoh inc.uded# Did the commoners 0and even the gods2 spoke so we.. of Osiris because they tru.y .oved him or out of fear of his Cudgment and he..ish powers K "(iberation for the ba meant escaping the uncertainties of the kingdom of the dead, which was in the fina. ana.ysis on.y an e&tension of the wor.d of the .iving, with a.. its frightening features, ob.igations and ve&ations# 1ence the prayer of supp.ication OsirisD subCects offered up in an attempt to protect themse.ves against everything that might restrict the movement of their ba'sou.s#"
/eeks ? Havard'/eeks, +>>,, p#+4=#

Hor many reasons, Osirian faith was appea.ing to the masses# Hirst.y, these deities acted out the standard human drama, portrayed as a fami.y tragedy J the good king of Egypt was murdered and primari.y reassemb.ed and raised from the dead by his sister and wife sis, engendering 1orus, who, raised in danger by his mother, avenges his murder and restores his father to fu.. power in the netherwor.d by means of his 0(unar2 eye of we..ness# %he seBuence e&p.ained the becoming of "human time" 0instead of the "eterna. repetition" of the cyc.es of the deities in the "Gep tepi", the Hirst %ime, "in the beginning"2# n between these broad rubrics, many secundary themes were worked out and ritua.iGed as .ong mystery p.ays, whereas important "stations" were enacted in processiona. ritua.s for the divine king and his higher priesthood 0cf# the Osireon2 and pi.grimages organiGed 0for e&amp.e to -bydos, buria.'p.ace of the head of Orisis2#

5econd.y, these deities were easier to approach, for their mytho.ogica. form resonated with the universa. archetypes 0genetic constituents2 processing the spiritua. evo.ution of humanity J mother, father ? chi.d# ntroCected, these idea. standards were beyond the reach of ca.amity and eterna.iGed the hope of a good after.ife in terms of OsirisDs perfect kingdom of the dead# %hird.y, Osiris was the hope of everyman# 1is resurrection from the dead proved beyond doubt that there was life after death Cust as there was a new f.ood every year, a new he.iaca. rising of 5oped, 5irius 0the 7reek 5othis2, the brightest stationary star of sis at the hee. of the conste..ation Orion, symbo.ic of Osiris and bringer of the "ew Iear and the new grain ### n the O.d !ingdom, on.y the divine king was certain to survive physica. death# 1e rose to the sky and sat together with his father :e in the .atterDs go.den bark, merging with :e as a god# "obody e&cept the "great house" had a spiritua. princip.e of moti.ity 0a "3a" or sou.2 effectuating the transformation from sou. to spirit 0"-kh"2# 3y means of the Eastern horiGon 0"akhet"2, his "3a" reached the upper sky a.one and its gods tremb.ed when they see him coming, for he enters as "power of powers" and "image of images" 0cf# <anniba. 1ymn2# "/ay Osiris not come with this his evi. coming# Do not open your arms to him#"
$yramid %e&ts ' * +8,7#

Hor the kings, the coming of Osiris is not a.ways appreciated# %he kings were warned against him# %heir u.timate spiritua. goa. aimed beyond the darkness of the land of Osiris, in the .ightfie.ds of :e, fi..ed with eterna. .ight and g.ory, devoid of any form of tria., Custification or ob.igation 0-tenism shows many aspects of this e&c.usivity of the .ight.and2# n the /idd.e !ingdom 0cf# the <offin %e&ts2, the dead were J " 0###2 poor .ost creatures making their way through hosti.e parts, unab.e to count on anything but their own know.edge or the he.p of protectors so.icitous of their success#"
/eeks ? Havard'/eeks, +>>,, p#+4;#

1ence, at best, commoners cou.d cherish the hope to be resurrected as was Osiris# %he .atter had procured for himse.f a separate legislation or "office", name.y that of king of the beautifu. West# n a strict sense, this is not the ".and of the dead", but a possib.e p.ace of g.ory for the dead# %hose sou.s who cannot enter, eventua..y, by .ack of sustenance, s.ow.y perish# OsirisD rea.m is the kingdom of the Custified deceased J a holy family saved from chaos by a good king# n his dark kingdom, his nob.e servants wou.d .ive out the best of their .ives on Earth for a.. of eternity, and its heaven was fi..ed with the best of the best, resemb.ing the e&ce..ence of .ife on Earth# Iet, Osiris was a king and monarchs need to be served# Hreedom was sti.. dependent on status and power, and was not a given, for knowledge of the Duat was indispensab.e# 5erving Osiris was deemed the highest spiritua. state attainab.e for a.. Custified humans, the "Osiris """# -.though the rich and powerfu. cou.d afford the magica. mechanics to feed the "!a" gratifying the "3a" 0igniting the process of spiritua.iGation2, they were not sure to enter the 5o.ar 3ark of /i..ions of Iears# ndeed, even for them, u.timate spiritua.iGation was futi.e and a nob.e ro.e in the ho.y fami.y of Osiris was the second'best

so.ution# Even the dead king had to pass through the Duat, but, un.ike everybody e.se, cou.d a.ways escape Osiris or comp.ete.y identify with him 0in ecstatic, this-life ritua.s and trance'.ike activities ' cf# the 5ed Hestiva., the Osireon, the Dramatic :amesside $apyrus ' "ayd.er, 866;2# -.though by the "ew !ingdom, the dead dec.ared to be gods presenting themse.ves before Osiris, the power 0"sekhem"2 of their divinity was a.ways sma..er than the dominion of Osiris, whom even the gods 0and even :e2 feared# 1e had procured for himse.f a kingdom in the hidden p.ace and cou.d never .eave it# (ikewise, the deities of the Duat and the b.essed dead were bound to its darkness# f, in the /idd.e !ingdom, funerary theo.ogy had been trying to .earn about the Duat or hidden chamber, by the "ew !ingdom they knew# 3ut on.y .iterate peop.e cou.d rest assured never to mishand.e the Osirian mechanics and cause their sou.s to be annihi.ated or perpetua..y chained# ndeed, this very operationa. know.edge, "proven a mi..ion times" was restricted to the very few# t was high.y esoteric and "initiate" materia.# %his .eaves us with the comp.ementarity of a two'tiered heaven J
+# ) - %1E /OO" J the 0.ower2 sky of Osiris J the u.timate state of human b.essedness is to .ive the .ife of an "Osiris """, with a court, humb.ing servants and a kingdom situated in the vast darkness of the Duat 0.ike creation is a bubb.e of moisty air suspended in chaos2# Even the sma..est offer made with a sincere heart during earth.y .ife might be enough to be he.ped by sis or Osiris, and so the commoners made surethe holy family would notice them. %his economy is inc.usive of everyman, but conditiona., e&cept for $haraoh ' the Eye of 1orus F 8# E"D "7 " %1E 5A" J the 0upper2 sky of :e J the sky of Osiris and the sky of :e are pro&imate, and after the highest spiritua.ity of servitude has been fu.fi..ed, the "3a" of the deceased is transformed, in the horiGon, into an "-kh" of :e, sai.ing, among the other pure beings of .ight, on the 3ark of :e, i..uminating the beings of day and night, inc.uding the deities and the Custified b.essed dead of Osiris 0who otherwise s.eep2# %he sacred know.edge regarding this spiritua. evo.ution was for the very few and, when first written down 0cf# the $yramid %e&ts and the -mduat2, portrayed in the tomb of kings on.y# %his economy is e&c.usive of everyman, reserved to the deities 0as the king and his high priests2 and unconditiona. ' the Eye of :e#

Everywhere peop.e cou.d pray to Osiris, for indeed 5eth, in his rampage, had scattered parts of OsirisD dismembered body all over gypt J his .eft .eg in the first Apper Egyptian nome, his right in the si&th, his Caw in the third, his ear in the tenth (ower Egyptian nome, his head in -bydos 0and /emphis !2, his backbone in 3usiris, etc# 5uch omnipresence may e&p.ain his popu.arity, but a.so signa. his particu.ar, uniBue function in the Egyptian pantheon, to wit J the sacred body of nobility within creation 0or "sah"2, the divine matter ofthe dark! eclipsed "un at night 0cf# the "ew !ingdom -mduat2# n 5pe.. +48 of the "ew !ingdom 3ook of the Dead, Osiris is given , times 8, "names of the god Osiris in every p.ace wherein he chooses to be"# %hese are enumerated in a great .itany, showing the e&tent of his popu.arity, for he was deemed omnipresent# Osiris was not on.y a "netCer" or "god", but had a.so been a "nesu" or an earth.y "king", a.beit in the "7o.den -ge", when the gods ru.ed, and their se.f'possessed power 0"sekhem"2 was omnipotent and devoid of evi. and chaos 0"isefet" and ""un"2# %his was before the time of humanity, initiated by the murder of this god#

Hor the common Egyptian, Osiris was a good king, a Cust ru.er who generated .ife, prosperity and hea.th for a.. those in his retinue, in this life and in the next. Of course, they had to be his servants and dedicate their eterna. e&istence to him and him a.one 0e&cept for the brief moments the 3ark of :e passed during the night2# "0###2 Osiris'in'his'every'p.ace# Osiris'in'his'p.ace'in'the'(and'of'the'"orth# Osiris'in'his'p.ace'in'the'(and'of'the'5outh# Osiris'in'every'p.ace'where'his'!a'wishes'to'be# Osiris'in'a..'his'ha..s# Osiris'in'a..'his'creations# Osiris'in'a..'his'names# Osiris'in'a..'his'ho.dings# Osiris'in'a..'his'risings# Osiris'in'a..'his'ornamentations# Osiris'in'a..'his'stations# 0###2"
3ook of the Dead, papyrus of "u, <4( , ) #+9'89#

%he .egend of Osiris is to.d in various ways, but we possess no comp.ete ta.e# %he Egyptians themse.ves on.y a..uded to the assassination and probab.y conceived the seBuence of events as a form of sacred history# /ost narratives go back to De side et Osiride of /estrius $.utarch 0ca# 4; ' +86 <E2, an initiate of the mysteries of -po..o# 1e stressed the connection between the myth of Osiris and the inundation of the "i.e and its ferti.ity 0cf# agricu.ture2, a reading confirmed by Egypto.ogy, connecting Osiris with popu.ar $redynastic 0(unar2 vegetations ritua.s 0the "3u.." as consort of the great cow goddess of the /oon K2# %he "7o.den -ge" or "age of the gods" cou.d therefore ref.ect some of the events of the period of the formation of the two kingdom 0the (ate $redynastic $eriod, ca# 9,66 ' 9966 3<E, or the 7erGean cu.ture of "aBada and the %ermina. $redynastic $eriod, ca# 9966 ' 9666 3<E2# n these .ast ,66 years of prehistory, the ro.e of the ma.e chief, important from the start of agricu.ture in (unar'based, nomadic and semi'nomadic societies, increased, and the "good king" became an emb.em of power and unity# 3esides its merits, the te&t of $.utarch is a 1e..enistic composition, adding e.ements which cannot be corroborated by the record, a.though, given the age of the record, absence of evidence is never evidence of absence# n many ways, his version remains the most "romantic" rendering of the ta.e, opening vistaDs to syncretism and ana.ogy J "Osiris is none other than $.uto ###"
$.utarch J $eri sidos kai Osiridos ' first century <E

%he origina. cu.t'centre of Osiris is unknown, a.though the Eastern De.ta 0the >th nome2 has been proposed# n the Ear.y Dynastic $eriod, Osiris is not attested by name# %he paring of 1orus and 5eth, essentia. in the .ater Osiris myth, is given from the midd.e of the Hirst Dynasty 0ca# 8>66 3<E2, i#e# antedating the written name of Osiris 0in the )th Dynasty$yramid %e&ts2 by si& centuries or more, suggestive of a broad unwritten ora. tradition# n the )th and )th Dynasties of the O.d !ingdom, Osiris assimi.ated indigenous gods of severa. p.aces# n DCedu, known as "per'usir" 0-busir or 3usiris, "%he 1ouse of Osiris"2 in the De.ta, Osiris rep.aced -ndCety, probab.y a local king represented as an o.d man

ho.ding a crook and a f.ai., and wearing a doub.e'p.umed crown# n DCedet, near DCedu, the sou. of Osiris was thought to dwe.. in the sacred ram, worshipped as ":am'(ord'of' DCedet", the 7reek "/endes" 0according to $indar, the :am had intercourse with women2# t was a powerfu. symbo. of strength and virility# %he Egyptian word for "ram" was "ba", but "3a" a.so meant "sou."# n -bedCu 0-bydos2 in Apper Egypt, Osiris superseded !hentiamentiu# %his god of the -bydos necropo.is, the "Horemost of the Westeners" 0who ousted Wepwawet, or "%he'Opener'of'the'Ways"2 is mentioned on sea.s of $haraohs Den and Maa of the Hirst Dynasty 0ca# 9666 ' 8=66 3<E2# -ssociated with 5okar in /emphis, Osiris and funerary concerns merged# Osiris is depicted in human form, and his ear.iest appearance yet found, shows the head and part of the upper torso, topped by his hierog.yphic name 0 )th Dynasty b.ock from the reign of $haraoh GeGi, ca# 84++ ' 897= 3<E2# 1is iconography portrays him wrapped in mummy bandages, with the appare. of -ndCety 0crown, crook, f.ai.2 and a curved beard 0reminiscent of that of a ram or a goat K2# n the $yramid %e&ts, the "magister" of count.ess generations of ante'rationa. theo.ogica. ref.ection, Osirian theo.ogy is a.ready we.. deve.oped and integrated in the roya. cu.t# %he good god has become part of the 1e.iopo.itan "Ennead" or company of deities, suggestive of a period of gestation and formation, at .east bringing us back to the %ermina. $redynastic $eriod 09966 ' 9666 3<E2, when the process of unification is on its way# %his wou.d make the historica. appearance of Osiris more or .ess coincide with the emergence of writing and the formation of the $haraonic 5tate of Egypt# 1e.iopo.itan ideo.ogy had been deve.oped in two steps J

the king incarnates 1orus the E.der J the sky'god incarnates on Earth and each king is a physica. manifestation of the same 1orus again, etc# %he sky'god assimi.ates the powers of the $redynastic "great sorceress" 0.ike the sky cow "ut or "eith2 F the king is the son of the creator J :e, the creator, impregnates, as high priest of :e, a woman giving birth to a divine prince corronated as the "son of :e", the so.e mediator between sky and Earth in this .ife and the on.y effective power in the hereafter# -s a spirit of .ight, he navigates on the 3ark of :e for "mi..ion of years"#

"1orus the E.der" 0"1eru Ar"2 of the Ear.y Dynastic $eriod is not yet "1orus", son of Osiris, and thus easi.y b.ended with :e, who too strides the skies# %he king, a fo..ower of 1orus, is an incarnation of 1orus the E.der, but not yet the "son of :e"# n the )th Dynasty 0ca# 8,66 ' 84=7 3<E2, the re.ation between 1orus the sky'god, :e and his son the king became canonica. for Egyptian kingship 0cf# $haraoh !hufuDs titu.ary, the god 1erakhety, "1orus of the %wo 1oriGons"2# %he )th and ) th Dynasties 0ca# 84=7 ' 8+>= 3<E2 evidence the introduction of 1orus, son of sis and Osiris into the roya. funerary theo.ogy, betraying the growing importance of Osiris# 3esides being the "son of :e" in this .ife, the divine "(ord of the %wo (ands" and the ".iving 1orus", was a.so "Osiris the king" in the after.ife# -s in O.d !ingdom theo.ogy, on.y the king had a "sou.", and so nobody e&cept the king cou.d be transformed into Osiris# %he immorta. strength and viri.ity of the ramNsou. was sti.. a roya. privi.ege# "Iet Osiris is more than Cust a ferti.ity god F his presence in cu.t, myth and .egend is uniBue# 1e is king of the dead, but his kingship maintains a vita. .ink to the kingship of the .iving pharaoh# %hat .ink is evident on the number.ess Egyptian monuments and can

be seen in a.most any museum where Egyptian obCects are to be found# t is the raison dDOtre for the most common performative utterance in Egyptian funerary re.igion, the offertory#"
1are, +>>>, p#+,#

n the $yramid %e&ts, .arge.y written in a pre'rationa. mode of cognition, there are unreso.ved tensions between the sa.vic paths offered by Osiris and :e, as we.. as between certain themes crucia. to both myths# Worse, in a few iso.ated spe..s, we read how Osiris is to be kept out of the tomb 0cf# supra2 ! %hose who wish to enter the domain of :e, are prone to escape from the kingdom of Osiris and they offer supp.ications to encounter no resistance when trying to rise and reach the sky of #e. n these utterances 0spe..s, hymns, prayers etc#2, the "o.d" traces of the dark, subterranean, "enterred" (unar 0night.y2 Osiris 0predating the Dynastic $eriod2 confront the .ight of the 5o.ar "roya." :e and in the ritua., a functiona. integration occurs# Other issues, such as the obvious importance of 5eth in the roya. ascent 0ho.ding, together with 1orus, the ".adder of the sky"2 hand in hand with him murdering Osiris, are .eft untouched# %he mechanica. addition of "Osiris" to the te&ts betrays a rewriting of the "o.d" 1e.iopo.itan corpus, origina..y .arge.y dedicated to :e 03reasted, +>782# n the $yramid %e&ts, the process of Osirification had a.ready reached the stage of maturity and automatism# n written form, the o.dest form of the name "Osiris" appears for the first time in the pyramid of Anas, with growing prominence during the ne&t mi..ennium and more# %he hierog.yphs used are a seat 0M+2 or "ws" and an eye 0D42 or "ir", making "wsir", "Asir" or "Osiris"# Osiris, the one with an "eye" 0a verb meaning "to make", "to do"2 on the "throne" of Egypt, or "he who makes the throne" 0cf# 3udge, +>79, referring to Erman2, was the embodiment of the "sou." or "3a" of the nation, both in its parts as in genera., both in this .ife as in the ne&t# 1is ear.y integration in the roya. canon focused on -tum' :e, is a c.ear mark of his popu.arity, even in the (ate O.d !ingdom, and points to the supportive 0accommodating2 ro.e of the popu.ar, (unar faith in the new roya. ideo.ogy# ndeed, as king of the dead, Osiris guaranteed the reign of his son 1orus, the first name of every earth.y monarch# -.though roya. theo.ogy was mascu.ine and 5o.ar, the presence of (unar, darker and feminine Bua.ities was not reCected, but 0at first2 poor.y integrated in the overarching 1e.iopo.itan theo.ogy#

"O Osiris, take away a.. those who hate !ing Anas and who speak evi..y against his name#"
$yramid %e&ts, * +,#

n the /idd.e !ingdom 0ca# +>9= ' +7;> 3<E2, Osiris is fina..y acknow.edged as the netherword.y, nocturna. side of :e# 3efore, :e had been the so.e hera.d of truth and Custice 0cf# his daughter /aat2# n the $yramid %e&ts, the rapid growth of individua.iGed ethics, as we.. as OsirisDs assumption of the ro.e of "Cudge of the dead" are not yet discernib.e, a.though the king is tru.y Osiris# 3ut, in the rather "provincia." Heuda. -ge that fo..owed, Osiris wou.d become the god of righteousness par excellence 0cf# the weighing of the heart against the feather of /aat2# f, in the O.d !ingdom, on.y the divine

king had been Custified, by the /idd.e !ingdom, in princip.e everybody who cou.d pay for the ritua.s cou.d be transformed into an "Osiris """# Even a poor wretch cou.d be saved if the "sou." had a "house" 0i#e# a tomb or a coffin2 and a few spe..s were known# %he /idd.e !ingdom <offin %e&ts evidence a nightmarish conception of the Duat, a disma., sinister, dark and dangerous p.ace# %hese chthonic connotations of the kingdom of Osiris were inf.ated to give way to the e&traordinary power of magic, nu..ifying the chains of inter.ocked events# Every Custified individua. was "saved" through magic# ts powers outwitted the enemies .ying await in the after.ife# %he deceased was protected against his or her "evi.s" 0"isefet"2 by the dec.aration of innocence p.aced in the "house of the sou."# %he effectiveness of the "divine words" of magic was abso.ute and irreversib.e# 3ut in order to be Custified, the deceased was first put on tria. J was his conscience too heavy K f so, the sou. was .ost and oneDs e&istence had been point.ess# "(Dindividu nDest p.us confrontP, devant .e tribuna. divin, Q un adversaire, mais Q .a /aRt e..e'mOme# (a confrontation revOt de ce fait une signification tout Q fait diffPrente, Bui se traduit par .Dimage de .a ba.ance et de .Daction de .a pesPe du cSur#"
-ssmann, +>>>, p# >+

n the "ew !ingdom 0ca# +;9> ' +67; 3<E2, deep specu.ations about the regeneration of the sou. of :e ensue, uniting, in the ,th 1our of the -mduat, with the body of Osiris, thus comp.eting the theo.ogy of the dark, ec.ipsed 5un# n this "ew 5o.ar %heo.ogy 0-ssmann, +>>;2, his function invo.ved the "midnight mystery" or "-rs obscura" of the Duat# Osiris he.ps to regenerate the dynamic power of :e 0eterna. moti.ity2, and so becomes integrated in the cyc.e of :e J Osiris is the $body$ left in the Duat. Hina..y, in the $to.emaic $eriod 096; ' 96 3<E2, Osiris was transformed into "5erapis" 0a composite deity, for Osiris and the -pis 3u.. merged2# -dding 7reek e.ements, 5erapis cou.d be worshipped by native Egyptians and 7reek immigrants a.ike# Ander the :omans, the cu.t of Osiris and sis f.ourished in -thens, :ome, 7ermany, 5witGer.and, 5pain, $ortuga., 7au., 3ritain, <arthage and the countries of "orth -frica# Especia..y sis became very popu.ar# <enturies after the end of the officia. cu.t of the Egyptian deities, Osiris and sis sti.. had great cu.t centres, .eft untouched by the emerging <hristian faith# n 9=> <E, the "5erapeum", a strongho.d of $agan henotheism, was destroyed by the <hristian Emperor %heodosius 097= ' 9>;2# n ;9; 3<E, the sis cu.t, surviving on the is.and of $hi.ae, was c.osed down by "arses, a genera. of Emperor Lustinian 0;87 ' ;,; <E2# 1e removed the statues of the gods from their shrines and brought them to <onstantinop.e# %he priests were imprisoned# On the is.and of /eroe, the cu.t may have survived a .itt.e whi.e .onger# 5o the cu.t of these remarkab.e "netCeru" had been "officia..y" in service for ca# 9#;66 years 0ca# 9666 3<E ' ;9; <E2, and had, in the .ast nine centuries, accommodated an international call# Were they incorporated in the emergent <hristian theo.ogy 0Osiris and 1orus in the figure of <hrist and sis in the "theotokos", the "/other of 7od"2 K $robab.y so, but not without changing their nature# "%he secret of the enormous popu.arity enCoyed by Osiris from the "ew !ingdom to the end of the $haraonic period .ay in the hope of eternal life that he held out to everyone who had made at .east some preparations for death#"
Watterson, 8669, p#,>, my ita.ics#

-s soon as, throughout the variety of Osirian myths, an "Egyptian prototype" is discerned, a series of "dramatic moments" or a seBuence of crucia. events emerge# %he record suggests a human ta.e, a recogniGab.e story'.ine, moving from a state of goodness and p.enty, to a state of evi. and want, to return to a state of greater goodness and ever.asting happiness# %hese narrative features give the Osirian myth "a stronger sense of uniBueness and .inearity, than for instance, the rising and setting of the sun or the stars" 01are, +>>>, p#+;2# %he irreversible episodes of the Osiris myth the assassination, dismemberment, scattering, reassemb.y, reanimation, resurrection and coronation of Osiris# 1is murder on.y takes p.ace once, and the Egyptians were re.uctant to address the issue direct.y# %here is no perpetual repetition, but an ever.asting "fina." state J Osiris, king of the Duat, is for ever and ever the same 0even after -tum destroys the wor.d ' cf# Egyptian eschato.ogy2#

the (unar $hases and the /ystery of Osiris

/eaning of the (unar $hases

"EW /OO" +th Muater N sis ? "ephthys th Muater N 1orus -venging darkness at its ma&imum, initiation of e&terna. phase, gathering of impu.se sustained efforts to ma&ima.iGe cyc.e, the means to do so manifest .ight at its ma&imum, rea.iGation of intent, initiation of interna. phase, cu.mination of impu.se withdrawa. of the .ight, sustained efforts to e.iminate components

HA(( /OO" th Muater N 1orus ? Osiris !ing

)th Muater N 5et

-.though proCected upon the (unar cyc.e for commemorative reasons, the .egend of Osiris has no "interna." cyc.e, but represents a linear process defined by a c.ear beginning and a fina. end# %his process may be repeated, but each time the same .inear seBuence is run through# %his remarkab.e difference with the -tum':e cyc.e and its wide.y discussed neheh'time 0eterna. recurrence2, coup.ed with his enduring popu.arity, mystery and magic, make Osiris an outstanding factor in the Egyptian pantheon, for in a way all deities except Osiris share in the "olar fate of rise and fall# %hey are part of eterna. repetition, whereas Osiris gives ever.asting sameness 0dCedet'time2# n the 1e.iopo.itan Ennead, the dramatis personae of these myths be.ong to the .ast generation of gods J Osiris, sis, "ephthys and 5eth# %he conditions of order 0-ir, .ife '5hu' and Water, truth '%efnutN/aat'2 as we.. as the generative powers of "sky" 0"ut2 and "Earth" 07eb2 are a.ready in p.ace# %he .ast generations introduces human affairs, a.beit in a "divine" format 0a "7o.den -ge" when the gods reigned on a mythica. Earth2# %he dynamism between these anthropomorph divinities, who act .ike fami.y members, foca.iGes on 1orus, the son of Osiris and sis, the avenger who triumphs over his evi. unc.e 5eth, the reCuvenator of Osiris, who resurrects his father and becomes the Custified king of Egypt, source of unity and peace# %aking into consideration many known sources, the fo..owing picture emerges J

Osiris is the good king of Egypt J the god'king Osiris .ives on Earth and estab.ishes a.. good things, he brings civi.iGation to Egypt and is .oved by a.., e&cept 5eth and his gang, those who wish to usurp the throne of Egypt by sheer might F Osiris assassinated, dismembered and scattered J Osiris is tricked ? ki..ed by his brother 5eth, his body dismembered and scattered a.. over Egypt F Osiris reassemb.ed and reanimated by sis J his wife and sister sis reco..ects his body 0e&cept his penis2 and revivifies it with the he.p of the gods F Osiris inseminates sis who gives birth to 1orus J before the s.umbering Osiris moves to the netherwor.d, sis, the 7reat 5orceress, is ab.e to take his seed and give birth to 1orus F Osiris avenged by his son J a.though persecuted and sodomiGed by 5eth, 1orus grows up with the he.p of sis and prepares to avenge his father by fighting 5eth 0.oosing his .eft eye but crushing 5ethDs genita.s2# 1e triumphs over his evi. unc.e, who henceforward is forced to carry Osiris F Osiris restored by 1orus J his (eft Eye made we.. by %hoth, 1orus is dec.ared !ing of Egypt and descends into the Duat to bring the Eye of We..ness to his father, so as to restore him comp.ete.y 0turning him into a supportive god of the Cust2 F Osiris ascends as "king of the dead" J Osiris reassemb.ed, reanimated and fu..y restored by 1orus, ascends to the sky 0of the Duat2 and is enthroned as its king for ever and ever# n this capacity, he Cudges the dead and nobody is ab.e to move further without being Cudged by him# 1e is the guarantee, on yonder side of e&istence, of reCuvenation and an eterna. .ife featuring the best of this .ife# 1is is the perfect kingdom of darkness#

"ote that Osiris escapes, .ike the precreationa. "un, the cyc.ic and end.ess repetitions of :e and the other stars, most of them rising and setting in accordance with the .aw of eterna. recurrence initiated by -tum'!heprer# Osiris thus re.ates to "un, to the primordia. waters of precreation, deemed .imit.ess, inert, dark, .ife.ess and g.oomy# "un pree&ists creation and is separated from it# %he kingdom of Osiris is part of creation, but separated from its Earth and sky# <reation itse.f, conceived as a .iving organism 0cf# hy.eGoism2, has a body of generation, or "Osiris", and a spirit 0"akh"2 of order 0"/aat"2, i#e# the eterna. recurrence imp.ied by the first time of -tum':e# (ike "un, separated from creation by inertia, Osiris is separated from the .iving by death, and ru.es the wor.d from the underwor.d# %hree considerations to conc.ude this brief introduction# Hirst.y, to encompass the who.e range of Osirian be.iefs 0name.y from the beginning of the $haraonic $eriod unti.. the .ast strongho.ds of its cu.t abroad2 is beyond the .imitations of this paper# nstead, .et us focus on a se.ection of the evidence avai.ab.e in the $yramid %e&ts and by doing so try to iso.ate the origina. core of the theo.ogy and this by using the o.dest historica. evidence avai.ab.e 0name.y between ca# 894= ' 886; 3<E2# 3eing first, comp.ete as we.. as canonica., the Anas te&t testify of the importance of Osiris in the roya. cu.t, focused on :e# -.though integrated in the .atterDs "Ennead" or group of nine manifestations, the cu.t of Osiris became nationa. in the /idd.e !ingdom on.y# 3ut it was a.ready popu.ar enough to be part of the roya. canon from the start# 5o from the 4 th Dynasty 0ca# +>9= ' +7;> 3<E2 onwards, the pi.grimage to -bydos, where the head of Osiris was kept 0in the Osireon K2, became popu.ar among Egyptians wishing a good p.ace in the after.ife# Discovering the rudiments of Osirian theo.ogy, before it became popu.ar and was "harmoniGed" with 5o.ar faith 0-tum':e ? -mun':e2, wi.. a..ow us to put into evidence the bottom .ayer of Osirian faith and confirm the dramatic seBuence of the .atter ta.e# 5econd.y, Osirian faith initiated the offertory and canon as a sacred separation and sub.imation# -.. offerings are assimi.ated by the offer of 1orus, who brings his hea.ed (eft Eye to Osiris and so fu..y restore him# 1ence, a.. offerings are the Eye of 1orus 0given to Osiris to hea. him2# When Osiris is fu..y resurrected, he efficient.y acts on beha.f of 1orus, and a..ows the divine king and f.ood'maker to ce.ebrate the year.y return of the .ife' giving waters, emerging, in the 5outh of Egypt in mid Lu.y, out of the netherwor.d.y "un# -.. offerings serve rebirth and reCuvenation# %y offering &aat! the king serves the rebirth of creation. %hird.y, the va.idity of an e&c.usive funerary interpretation of the $yramid %e&ts 0or for that matter of the comp.ete corpus of canonica. re.igious te&ts, such as the <offin %e&ts, the3ook of <oming out into the Day and the -mduat2, taught by /orenG, $iankoff, /ercer,Hrankfort, Hau.kner, -ssmann, 1ornung and -..en, has to be addressed J is there a mystica. dimension or direct e&perientia. contact with the divine beyond the first three studied by Egypto.ogy 0-ssmann, 86682 K %his is not "esoterism" defined as "difficu.t to access", but asdirect spiritua. e&perience# -fter cross'cu.tura. comparison and participant observation 0cf#mystico.ogy2 and a.though high.y subCective in each individua. case, a genera. pattern is detectab.e# Esoterism is then the know.edge and practice of an inner deve.opment a.ong spiritua. .ines, invo.ving a direct contact with the onto.ogica. foundation of rea.ity# %he universa. characteristics of the re.igious, sacred,

numinous, mystica. peak'e&perience have been summarised as fo..ows 0cf# $ahnke ? :ichards, +>78, in %art, +>7;2 J +# unity J the nomina. distinctions between both obCect ? subCect disso.ve F 8# noetic Bua.ity J a conscious state, capab.e of contemp.ative, intuitive thought F 9# space'time'shift J everything happens in the perpetua. "now" F 4# parado&a.ity J the e&perience invo.ves the conCunction of both opposites F ;# ineffabi.ity J the essence of the e&perience can not be verba.ised F ,# tempora.ity J this state is on.y e&ceptiona..y permanent 0deification2, one moves backwards, to sett.e at the nomina. .eve. without .oss of memory#
3esides these, mystico.ogy confirmed the three'tiered nature of the process of spiritua. emancipation 0cf# the "scala perfectionis"2 J

+# purification J proper preparation to the spiritua. operation demands physica., psycho.ogica., socia. and mora. discip.ine and is often operationa.iGed as sensoric reduction, typica. EE7'freBuency patterns and the invocation of archetypa., sacred images and sounds 0cf# neurotheo.ogy2 F 8# tota.iGation J the actua., direct e&perience of the "totaliter aliter", radica. otherness F
9# actiona.iGation J the fusion with the Divine, eventuating a "return" to the wor.d, brings an outstanding increase in ethica. awareness, unconditiona. compassion and a direct action changing the wor.d for the better# <ompare these stages with those of the cave mysteries of the Apper $a.aeo.ithic J +# intro J the tunne. J the process of differentiation from .ight to darkness F 8# sanctum J the "rock cathedra." J the sec.uded p.ace of the mystery of the hidden light F 9# e&it J the return J the process of integration from darkness to light# <oncerning Egyptian re.igion, four dimensions seem appropriate J +# the cu.tic J the .oca., po.itica. residence of the deities, either as be.onging to a particu.ar p.ace andNor as state deities, functioning as symbo.s for the po.itica. identity of the co..ective F 8# the cosmic J the emergence, structure ? dynamics of the sphere of their action F 9# the mythic J the sacred tradition, or "what is said about the gods", their cu.tura. memory as set down in myths, names, genea.ogies etc#

4# the mystic J the direct e&perience of the deities or the obCective spiritua. rea.ities encountered by the divine king, his priests and the worshippers# (et us focus on the fourth dimension# n the conte&t of the "ew 5o.ar %heo.ogy in genera. and -tenism in particu.ar, the Buestion can been posed, rather ironica..y, whether Egyptian re.igion had re.igious subCects other than the dead K -nswered affirmative.y, the ro.e of Osirian initiation may be touched upon 0cf# the Osireon2# -khenatenDs return to

the "pure" form of 5o.ar worship a..ows us to work out the inner dynamics of the this-life mysteriese&c.usive.y ce.ebrated by $haraoh in his roya. cu.t, "mysticism" being defined as the direct e&perience of the Divine#
"0-kenaten2 J %he words of :e are before thee, 0'''2 of my august father, who taught me their TessenceU, 0###2 them to me# 0###2 t was known in my heart, opened to my face, understood 0'''2 0:amose2 J "%hy monuments sha.. endure .ike the heavens, for thy duration is .ike -ton therein# %he e&istence of thy monuments is .ike the e&istence of the heavens F thou art the On.y One of T-tonU, in possession of his designs#"

3reasted, 866+, ** >4;'>4, ' tomb of the viGier :amose ' origina. .ost ' -khenaten Custifying -tenism to :amose by referring to his persona. ? e&c.usive mystica. e&perience ' 3easted notes J "%hese accompanying inscriptions are direct.y be.ow the upper row, depicting the decoration, and be.ong with a .ower band connected with the same incident# %hey are on.y in ink and very faded F be.ieve my copy of them is the first made# %hey have never been pub.ished#" 0p#9=>2

-tenism reCects the "hidden" and the "dark", and so cannot e&ist together with Osiris and -mun# t e.iminates the "hidden" side of :e, returns to the e&c.usive worship of the .ight.and of the doub.e horiGon 0cf# :a'1orakhety2, and reCects a.. possib.e netherword.y interpretation by e.iminating the Duat and bringing the sky on Earth, name.y in -khetaten, -khenatenDs <ity of the -ten# %his is the 5o.ar economy pushed to beyond its .imits# ts so.e mooring'post being the king# -nd the peop.e K %hey secret.y continued to worship Osiris, even in -khetaten, and .ike.y e.sewhere# Did they remember the fai.ures of kingship 0name.y at the end of the O.d !ingdom2 K Or did they disbe.ieve -khenaten K f so, they sti.. obeyed# $erhaps, in their own hearts, the certainty of a good p.ace in the kingdom of Osiris gave greater comfort than the "new" heaven of -khetaten K ndeed, the second'best, (unar heaven of the commoners had not .ost its a..uring power, Buite on the contrary# %he apogee of Osiris was yet to come# n Osirian faith, the mystic dimension is "demotiGed"# 3ut how cou.d commoners direct.y e&perience and "see" the deities K Hor /oret 0+>882, "mystery" imp.ied "vo.untary death", a "psycho.ogica. death" e&perienced before actua. physica. death# %his "dead posture" pre.udes spiritua. rebirth or "peret'em'heru" J going out into the day ### Hor Wente 0+>=82, the "ew !ingdom -mduat and 3ook of 7ates bring "the future into the present", so that rebirth"cou.d have been genuine.y e&perienced in this .ife now"# -nd this, most .ike.y through initiations 0for the priests2, festiva.s, pi.grimage ? persona. piety# n these .atter conte&ts, Osirian faith a..owed non'roya.s to have direct spiritua. access to the Duat, the wor.d of magic and of the dead# %he 3ooks of the "etherwor.d are usua..y very e&p.icit about this, but Egypto.ogy has yet to take them serious# Of course, on.y a sma.. e.ite had the necessary education ### "1e who know these words wi.. approach those who dwe.. in the "etherwor.d# t is very very usefu. for a man upon Earth#"
-mduat, conc.uding te&t of the 5econd 1our#

"%he mysterious <avern of the West where the 7reat 7od and his crew rest in the "etherwor.d# %his is e&ecuted with their names simi.ar to the image which is drawn in the

East of the 1idden <hamber of the "etherwor.d# 1e who knows their names whi.e being upon Earth wi.. know their seats in the West as a contented one with his seat in the "etherwor.d# 1e wi.. stand among the (ord of $rovision as one Custified by the <ounci. of :e who reckons the differences# t wi.. be usefu. for him upon Earth ###"
-mduat, introductory te&t of the "inth 1our#

1ow can these te&ts not point to this-life occu.t know.edge K -nd once we acknow.edge the presence of a mystica. dimension, we beg the Buestion of how to operate the magic K s there a particu.ar series of ritua.s enab.ing one to e&perience the obCective spiritua. rea.ities behind three thousand years of spiritua.ity today K Of course, the first thing to do is to .ift the funerary restrictions put on the avai.ab.e corpora. -.though found in tombs, they move beyond funerary concerns 0cf# Wente, +>=82, but a.so show us an initiatic and experiential register, a.beit in ante'rationa. terms# Distinguish between psi'events 0parapsycho.ogy2, occu.tism 0know.edge of the invisib.e wor.ds2 and mysticism 0direct e&perience of the Divine2# -.though in immature instances of meta'nomina. e&perience 0i#e# those fa..ing outside empirico'forma. consciousness2, these phenomena cannot be distinguished, .et us avoid adCectives as "shamanic" or "shamanistic" 0cf# "ayd.er, 866;2, and prefer "ecstatic", which is more neutra. and devoid of the historica. connotations imp.ied by historica. 5hamanism 0the art ? science of contro..ed trance2# %he word "ecstatic" comes from the 7reek "e&", "out" V "stasis", "standsti.." or "statikW", "art of weighing"# n -ncient Egypt, the variety of ecstatic e&periences covers persona. piety 0offerings, prayers, festiva.s, mystery p.ays2, magic 0psi'events2, the occu.t 0initiation, entering and .eaving the Duat2 and mysticism proper 0the spiritua.ity of the king and his high priests, meeting the deity "face to face" or transforming into one2# Anfortunate.y, must strong.y disagree with one of my most rewarding sources of inspiration, Erik 1ornung, who wrote about the Egyptians J "### any sort of ecstasy appears Buite a.ien to their attitudes#"
1ornung, +>=,#

:ecent.y, "ayd.er 0866;2, by suspending the funerary interpretation, made c.ear that the$yramid %e&ts in genera. and the Anas te&ts in particu.ar, revea. an e&perientia. dimension, and so a.so represent this-life initiatic e&periences conscious.y sought by the divine king 0cf#Egyptian initiation2# %hese may be c.assified in two categories J Osirian rejuvenation 0cf# the te&ts of the buria.'chamber2, a.ready at work in the 5ed festiva., and 'eliopolitan ascension0cf# the te&ts in the antechamber2# n the "ew !ingdom, (unar and 5o.ar spiritua. economies were refined J the way of Osiris in the Osireon and the "etherwor.d 3ooks 0cf# -mduat2, and the way of :e in the "ew 5o.ar %heo.ogy of both -tenism and -menism# 3oth the -mduat0cf# the ,th 1our2 and the $yramid %e&ts testify that the core of the Osirian <eremony invo.ved rejuvenation 0found in the pit of darkness ' cf# the (rs Obscura2# n the /emphis %heo.ogy of $tah, a synthesis between :e and Osiris was sought and found in the idea of creation by the heart 0mind2 and tongue 0speech2 of $tah, of whom -tum':e and Osiris are theophanies# E.sewhere, the reader may find my epistemo.ogica. survey of mysticism# n the conte&t of this paper, the term "ecstasy" is defined as the c.ass of events pertaining to rapture, the ravishing e&perience of sub.ime de.ight, b.iss and Coy, accompanied by intense emotion, noetic c.arity, creativity and 0stages or stations of2 trance# One moves outside

the "nomina." ego 0defined in terms of three spatia., one tempora. and one semiotic dimension2 and "enters" the rea.m of the 1igher 5e.f, i#e# a si&th'dimesiona. witnessing focus of consciousness, a..owing for the direct perception of obCective spiritua. rea.ities, hidden from ordinary consciousness as dream.ess s.eep is hidden from waking 0indeed so far hidden, for 5ocrates to compare the former with physica. death2#

:emark J %he use of capita.s in words as "-bso.ute", "7od" or "Divine", points to a rationa. conte&t 0i#e# how these appear in a theo.ogy conducted in the rationa. mode of thought ' cf# cognition, neurophi.osophy ? theonomy2# 1ence, when these words are used in the conte&t of -ncient Egyptian ante'rationa. thought 0which, as a cu.tura. form, was mythica., pre' rationa. ? proto'rationa.2, this restriction is .ifted# 1ence, words such as "god", "the god", "gods", "goddesses", "pantheon" or "divine" are not capita.iGed#

6+ Evi. or the end of the 7o.den -ge#

Osiris is heir to the throne of 7eb, and so the king of the %wo (ands# "7ebDs heir 0in2 the kingship of the %wo (ands# 5eeing his worth, he gave 0it2 to him# %o .ead the .ands to good fortune# 1e p.aced this .and into his hand# ts water, its wind, its p.ants, a.. its catt.e, a.. that f.ies, a.. that a.ights, its repti.es and its desert game# 0-.. that2 were given to the son of "ut, and the %wo (ands are reCoicing !"
7reat 1ymn to Osiris, "ew !ingdom, ste.a <8=, ' (ouvre#

%wo wooden barks were found near the 7reat $yramid of king !hufu# %hey were used by the deceased king in the netherwor.d# Herried over to the eastern horiGon, he wou.d arrive in the Hirst %ime of the gods# ndeed, in the .ight.and of the horiGon, the transformation 0"kheper"2 from sou. 03a2 to spirit 0-kh2 took p.ace# -fter being transformed in the horiGon, $haraoh arrived in heaven as a god# "%he "urse <ana. is opened# %he Winding Waterway is f.ooded# %he Hie.ds of :eeds are fi..ed with water# %hereon , king %eti, am ferried over to yonder eastern sky, to the p.ace where the gods fashioned me, wherein was born, new and young#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** 949 ' 944#

%he 7o.den -ge refers to a period untained by evi. 0"isefet"2# %he Hirst %ime, as the onset for time, is who..y .uminous and has a dynamica. symmetry 0whereas "un is an inert symmetry2# %he interna. pressures of the Ennead, caused by the presence of 5eth, the symmetry'break, resu.ted in the emanation of 1orus 0the E.der2 and :e# 3oth sky'gods initiated the 7o.den -ge, the ru.e of the gods, interpreted in Osirian faith as the kingdom of Osiris on Earth# %he mere presence of 5eth in the Ennead was not sufficient to end the 7o.den -ge 0in precreation2, but makes the Ennead dynamica.# 5eth represents an opposing kingdom# f the ru.e of Osiris can be .inked with the .ife of the ferti.e .ands bordering the "i.e, then 5eth is the barren desert encompassing this narrow but .ong stretch of vegetation# 3oth 1orus and 5eth assisted the king when ascending# 1e was the unity of both, and embodied Egypt 01orus ru.ed (ower Egypt and 5eth Apper Egypt2#

When 5eth murdered Osiris, the 7o.den -ge on Earth ended# "o .onger wou.d Egypt be ru.ed by the gods, but by their offspring# %he re.ationship is however not incarnationa. 0:e wou.d not incarnate in 1orus the king2, but genetico'magica.# n Osirian faith, the conception of 1orus is magica., but invo.ves sis ? Osiris 0cf# infra2# n 1e.iopo.itanism, :e overshadowed his highpriest to impregnate the mother of the future king, the "son of :e"# %he wor.d is a.ways on the brink of desaster, for a.though 5eth 0after 1orus was vindicated2 was condemned to carry Osiris and assist :e 0in the 7th 1our of the -mduat2, he neverthe.ess continued to be a dangerous god, associated with natura. and mora. evi.# %o know where he is and what he is doing is better than to send him in the desert and turn oneDs back to him# -s the "netCer" of a.. dark desires and disruptive emotiona. states, his presence teaches one to ho.d desires in check and by doing so understand their overa.. evo.utionary process# -.ways wi..ing to cause havoc, 5eth remains the friend of evi.doers#

68 %he suffering of Osiris#

"Iou 0(adder of the god2 have come seeking your brother Osiris, for his brother 5eth has thrown him down on his side in yonder side of 0the desert of2 7ehesty#"
$yramid %e&ts, * >78#

" sis cries out to Iou 0king /erenre2, "ephthys ca..s to Iou# %he 7reat /ooring'post removes 0any2 impediment for Iou as 0for2 Osiris in his suffering#"
$yramid %e&ts, * =78#

"Wepwawet opens a way for me, 5hu .ifts me up, the 5ou.s of On set up a stairway for me in order to reach the above, and "ut puts her hand on me Cust as she did for Osiris on the day when he died#"
$yramid %e&ts, * +6>6#

"%o say J %he dCed-pi..ar of the Day'bark is re.eased for its (ord, the dCed'pi..ar of the Day'bark is re.eased for its protector# sis comes and "ephthys comes, one of them from the West and one of them from the East, one of them as screeching fa.con, one of them as a kite# %hey have found Osiris, his brother 5eth having .aid him .ow in "edit F when Osiris said J D7et away from me !D, when his name became 5okar# %hey prevent Iou from rotting in accordance with this your name of -nubis# %hey prevent your putrefaction from dripping to the ground in accordance with this your name of DLacka. of Apper EgyptD# %hey prevent the sme.. of your corpse from becoming fou. in accordance with this your name of 1orus of 1aty#%hey prevent 1orus of the East from putrefying# %hey prevent 1orus (ord of $atricians from putrefying# %hey prevent 1orus of the Duat from putrefying# %hey prevent 1orus (ord of the %wo (ands from putrefying, and 5eth wi.. never be free from carrying Iou, O Osiris#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** +8;; ' +8;=#

%he Egyptians avoided to address the murder of Osiris direct.y# n the same way, they often refused to ca.. 5eth by his name, and instead ca..ed him J the ma.evo.ent, the evi. one, the adversary, the enemy, the rebe. ### n the same way as they, to neutra.iGe them, occasiona..y modified, suppressed or rep.aced 0by anodyne substitutes2 hierog.yphs deemed dangerous in sensitive areas of the tomb 0.ike the sarcophagus

chamber2, the Egyptian scribes avoided to invoke the most terrib.e of events 0the end of the 7o.den -ge2 as we.. as the name of the cu.pit# %he ru.es of sympathetic magic taught them so# "everthe.ess, the suffering of Osiris was terrib.e# %o be tricked, drowned, found and then cut into scattered pieces, makes the point of 5ethDs terrib.e powers of seduction and crue.ty# n $.utarchDs account, 5eth became envious of Osiris and secret.y measured his body# 1e made a beautifu. chest to these measurements# 3ringing it to the banBueting ha.., everbody was p.easured at the sight of it# 5eth promised that whoever fitted inside cou.d have it as a gift# Everybody tried, but on.y Osiris fitted in# When he .ay down inside, 5eth s.ammed the .id and sea.ed it with .ead# 1e cast it into the "i.e and it was carried downstream to the great sea# sis was so for.orn, that her tears caused the "i.e to f.ood 0the night when the "i.e rose is known as the ""ight of the %eardrop"2# %he coffin had washed ashore on the $hoenician coast at 3yb.os and taken root in a tamarisk tree, set up as a co.umn in the pa.ace of the king# -fter many tria.s, sis brought the body of Osiris back to Egypt# t is at this point that 5eth seiGed it again and dismembered it into +4 parts# 1e scattered the severed .imbs a.. over the .and and threw his penis into the "i.e# n this way, the body of Osiris became one with the soil of gypt.

69 :eassemby and reanimation of the body of Osiris#

" sis and "ephthys have seen and found Iou ###"
$yramid %e&ts, * ;=4#

"0 have seen !2 says sis# D have found !D, says "ephthys, for they have seen Osiris on his side on the bank X###Y# -rise X###Y my brother, for have sought Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** 8+44 ' 8+4;#

"Iour two sisters sis and "ephthys come to Iou 0so2 that they may make Iou ha.e#"
$yramid %e&ts, * ,8=#

" 0###2 there has been done for him what was done for his father Osiris on that day of re' uniting the bones, of making good the so.es, and of e&tending the feet#
$yramid %e&ts, * +9,=#

""ephthys has co..ected a.. your members for Iou in this her name of D5eshat, (ady of 3ui.dersD# 05he2 has made them ha.e for Iou, Iou having been given to your mother "ut in her name of D5arcophagusD# 5he has embraced Iou in her name of D<offinD, and Iou have been brought to her in her name of D%ombD#"
$yramid %e&ts, * ,+,#

sis and "ephthys represent the wa&ing 0first and second Buater2 and waning 0third and fourth Buater2 .ight of the /oon, associated with Osiris# Hrom the "ew /oon onwards, the disk of the /oon is crescent# <u.minating at Hu.. /oon, it returns to its waning phase# %he wa&ing phase is sis, the warm'hearted mother, concerned, devoted and inventive# %he waning phase is her sister, the "(ady of the 1ouse", co.d, distant, somewhat detached from the sorrows of this wor.d and Buite passive# /arried to 5eth, .egend has it she was in .ove with Osiris and had -nubis as his son# <ast out by his mother, who feared the vio.ent wrath of her husband 5eth, -nubis was taken in by sis# 1e became

her .oya. assistant in a.. matters, especia..y regarding the reassemb.y and mummification of the body of Osiris# n near.y a.. iconographic representations of the myth, sis and "epthys are mentioned together and appear .ikewise# %his points to the comp.ementarity of both archetypes and to the inter.ocked nature of these two natura. differentia.s# %here is no wa&ing without waning and vice versa# %he task of these wai.ing sisters is doub.e J on the one hand, they seek and find the +4 parts of the body of Osiris, with the e&ception of the penis, and on the other hand, they make the body hea.thy, imp.ying its organic reunification# %his by embracing him# n this stage of the myth, the iconography of the body of Osiris is typica.# -.ways depicted anthropomorph, his body is wrapped in mummy bandages from which his arms emerge to ho.d the crook and the f.ai.# %hese are the emb.ems of kingship of the .iving 1orus, and of Osiris, the king of the dead# %he body of Osiris has become a ritua. obCect, moreover, it is a ta.isman 0a consecreated obCect charged with magica. intent2# When reanimated by sis, the body is in a "vegetating" condition and represented .ying on a funerary bier# %he pha..us was carefu..y bound up to simu.ate erection 0cf# -tum masturbating the wor.d in to e&istence2# n the c.assica. story recorded by $.utarch, sis and "ephthys went searching for a.. the parts of the body of Osiris# Whenever they found one, they performed funerary ritua.s and erected a tomb# 3ut sis cou.d not find his ma.e member# Anfortunate.y, thrown into the "i.e, it had been eaten by the "i.e <arp 0(epidotus2, $hagrus and O&yrynchus fish ! 1ence forward, these fish were considered unc.ean# 5o in the p.ace of the penis of Osiris, sis made a likeness of it and consecrated this magica. pha..ic simulacrum# 5he breathed .ife into the re'membered body of Osiris and reanimated it# sis, hovering over the mummy of Osiris in the form of a kite, a sma.. gracefu. hawk, begets 1orus# -t the Winter so.stice, a.ong with the ear.y b.ossom ? f.owers, the chi.d 1orus 01arpocrates2 is born# $.utarch adds that the Egyptians ce.ebrated this birth around the 5pring eBuino& 0name.y around the time when he was crowned king K2#

64 1orus, the avenger of his father#

"Iour sister sis comes to Iou 0Osiris2 reCoicing for .ove of Iou# Iou have p.aced her on your pha..us and your seed issues into her, she being ready as 5othis# 1orus 5oped has come forth from Iou as 1orus who is in 5othis#"
$yramid %e&ts, * ,98#

":emember, 5eth, and put in your heart this word which 7eb spoke, this threat which the gods made against Iou in the /ansion of the $rince in On, because Iou threw Osiris to the Earth ! When Iou said, O 5eth J D have never done this to him !D, so that Iou might have power thereby, having been saved, and that Iou might prevai. over 1orus ### When Iou said, O 5eth J D t was he who attacked me !D, when there came into being this his name of DEarth'attackerD ### When Iou said, O 5eth J D t was he who kicked me !D, when there came into being this his name of Orion, .ong of .eg and .engthy of stride, who presides over Apper Egypt#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** >;7 ' >;>#

"O Osiris king %eti, mount up to 1orus, betake yourse.f to him, do not be far from him# 1orus has come that he may recogniGe Iou# 1e has smitten 5eth for Iou bound, and Iou are his !a 0of 5eth2# 1orus has driven him off for Iou, for he swims bearing Iou, he .ifts up one 0Osiris2 who is greater than he in Iou, and his fo..owers have seen Iou, that your strength is greater than his, so that they cannot thwart Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ;=, ' ;==#

"1orus has cried out because of his Eye, 5eth has cried out because of his testic.es, and there .eaps up the Eye of 1orus, who had fa..en on yonder side of the Winding Waterway, so that it may protect itse.f from 5eth# %hoth saw it on yonder side of the Winding Waterway when the Eye of 1orus .eapt up on yonder side of the Winding Waterway and fe.. on %hothDs wing on yonder side of the Winding Waterway# O Iou gods who cross over on the wing of %hoth to yonder side of the Winding Waterway, to the eastern side of the sky, in order to dispute with 5eth about this Eye of 1orus J wi.. cross with Iou upon the wing of %hoth to yonder side of the Winding Waterway, to the eastern side of the sky, and wi.. dispute with 5eth about this Eye of 1orus#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ;>4 ' ;>,#

With 1orus, "1e upon high", a.. possib.e Enneads or companies of deities "e&isting" in the "Gep tepi" or Hirst %ime, are comp.eted# 3oth 1e.iopo.itan, 1ermopo.itan and /emphite schemes eventua..y end up with 1orus as king of the physica. universe# 1e is the "+6th", crowning actua.ity, the system of "sky", "Earth", "Duat" and "horiGon" 0what .ater Baba.ists wou.d ca.. "O.am ha'-ssiah", with its "/a.kuth" or "kingdom"2# -nd so, 1orus is the .iving king of Egypt, the "great house" or "$haraoh" of the %wo (ands, both a .iving 1orus and the uniBue son of :e# -s such, he offers /aat to his father, and as 1orus he keeps the .and pacified# 1e is the 7reat Eye that sees it a.., the abso.ute Witness within actua., re.ative and abyssima. e&istence 0a wor.d constant.y at the edge of the yawning space ca..ed "chaos"2# %he Egyptian te&ts about the conf.ict between 1orus and 5eth are dispersed over severa. different periods and form a mass of disCointed e.ements# n %he <ontendings of 1orus and 5eth, the .ongest of the "ew !ingdom stories, the centra. theme is 1orusDs superiority over his riva. 5eth in contending over the throne, usurped by his unc.e and previous.y occupied by his father Osiris# "0%here came to pass2 the adCudication of 1orus and 5eth, mysterious in their forms and mightiest of the princes and magnates who had ever come into being# "ow it was a young 0god2 who was seated in the presence of the Aniversa. (ord, c.aiming the office of his father Osiris, beautifu. in his appearances, the son of $tah ###" 1istorica..y, the Ho..owers of 1orus 01erak.eopo.is2 and the Ho..owers of 5eth 0"aBada2 probab.y represent two riva. Apper Egyptian kingdoms engaged in the batt.es terminating $redynastic Egypt 0cf# the %ermina. $redynastic $eriod, the .ast three hundred years before the unification dated at ca# 9666 3<E, if not a .itt.e ear.ier2# %he Ho..owers of 1orus fina..y won, marched "orth and united the country 0under -ha, /enes, "armer2# /emphis, situated at the point where the "i.e forks into the De.ta, represented the "3a.ance of the %wo (ands" 0cf# /emphis %heo.ogy2, the p.ace of coronation of the divine king, who is a .iving 1orus and the son of $tah# "1orus who is in 5othis" c.ear.y refers to the agricu.tura., 5othic cyc.e, crucia. to the economica. surviva. of Egypt and intimate.y inter.aced with the ideo.ogy of divine 0read J

magica.2 kingship# ndeed, on.y the .iving 1orus guarantees, year after year, a "good "i.e" 0or adeBuate f.ooding, i#e# not too much and not enough water2, conceived as originating in the cave of 1apy and surging up from the Duat# 3ut, the f.ood and the inundation, as in effect a.. waters, were assimi.ated to "un# n the story to.d by $.utarch, sis hid her chi.d in the marshes of the De.ta# %he high reeds of the river god 1apy protected him from 5eth# When he grew up, he cha..enged his murderous unc.e to morta. combat# %his cease.ess, monumenta. dua., .asting for eighty years and hinted at in a.. canonica. te&ts, was never fina.# 1orus .ost his .eft eye and 5eth his testic.es# -t the end of the day, the tribuna. of the gods had to decide who had won# %hey gave one part to 5eth and another to 1orus, but this did not sett.e the matter, for 1orus c.aimed the throne of Osiris, who had been king over the who.e of Egypt# Eventua..y they ceded the throne of Egypt entire.y to 1orus and so was Osiris avenged and /aat restored# 1owever, the "weary" Osiris had yet to be fu..y restored ###

6; %he restoration of Osiris by 1orus#

"What Iou 0Osiris king Anas2 have eaten is an Eye, and your be..y is rounded out with it# Iour son 1orus has re.eased it for Iou that Iou may .ive by means of it#"
$yramid %e&ts, * +>8#

"1orus has set for Iou 0Osiris2 your foe under Iou that he may .ift Iou up# Do not .et go of him ! Iou sha.. come to your 0former2 condition, for the gods have knit together your face for Iou# 1orus has sp.it open your eye for Iou that Iou may see with it in its name of DOpener of :oadsD# Iour foe is smitten by the chi.dren of 1orus, they have made b.oody his beating, they have punished him, he having been driven off, and his sme.. is evi. ###"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ,48 ' ,49#

"%o say J O Osiris king %eti, stand up ! 1orus comes and c.aims Iou from the gods, for 1orus has .oved Iou, he has provided Iou with his Eye, 1orus has attached his Eye to Iou# 1orus has sp.it open your eye for Iou that Iou may see with it, the gods have knit up your face for Iou, for they have .oved Iou# sis and "ephthys have made Iou ha.e, and 1orus is not far from Iou, for Iou are his !a# /ay your face be we..'disposed to him ! 1asten ! :eceive the word of 1orus, with which Iou wi.. be we.. p.eased# (isten to 1orus, for it wi.. not be harmfu. to Iou# 1e has caused the gods to serve Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ,6> ' ,++#

"%o say J O -tum, this one here is your son Osiris whom Iou have caused to be restored that he may .ive#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** +,7#

"1orus has revived Iou in this your name of -ndCeti# 1orus has given Iou his strong Eye# 1e has given it to Iou 0so2 that Iou may be strong and that every foe of yours may fear Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ,+4#

"1orus has caused the gods to mount up to Iou, he has given them to Iou 0so2 that they may make Iou i..umine your face# 1orus has set Iou in front of the gods and has caused Iou to take possession of every thing that is yours# 1orus has attached himse.f to Iou

and he wi.. never part from Iou#"

$yramid %e&ts, * ,+9#

"%o say J %he sky ree.s, the Earth Buakes# 1orus comes ! %hoth appears ! %hey raise Osiris from upon his side and make him stand up in front of the %wo Enneads#"
$yramid %e&ts, * >;,#

n the te&ts, we often read how Osiris went away, fe.. as.eep and died# 1is sa.vation is described in comp.ementary terms J he came back, he awakened and .ives again# When 1orus resuscitates his father 0as it were empowering the vegetative sou. of Osiris with the Eye2, the .atter recogniGes 5ethDs rea. nature and does not .et him escape# 5eth, the inertia of Earth, is put underneath the ferti.e, b.ack Earth of Osiris, and has to carry the .atter# n the 4) th Dynasty, it was custom to make a figure of Osiris as a mummy from a .inen bag stuffed with corn# When watered, the corn sprouted through the meshes of the bag ### Osiris was seen to grow# Osiris, the dead king, was mummified and descended into the Duat# %here, he is the inert, potentia., vegetative power of nature# 1e is he.p.ess, and embodies inert, dormant, passive potentia.# 3y restoring Osiris, 5eth is made inert and subservient to his brother, who becomes an effective spirit of .ife# -fter 1orus vanBuished his enemies and ascended to the throne of Egypt, he visits his father in the Duat 0proof of the ecstatic this-life ritua.s invo.ving the netherwor.d K cf#"ayd.er, 866;2# 1e brings him the good news, name.y the re'estab.ishment of /aat, the order of things# %o his father, 1orus brings the "orth wind 0the prevai.ing wind in Egypt, which coo.s and hera.ds the annua. inundation2 and his Eye of We..ness# 1e a.so opens his mouth# %his is done with an adGe, representing the 7reat 3ear, a conste..ation of 5eth# %hen Osiris becomes one with the sou. of the origina. Osiris# 1e can send out his 3a and set himse.f in motion# 1is vegetative state is overwon, and Osiris becomes fu..y aware and who.e again# We see how the body of Osiris is subCected to three crucia. transformations# n the te&ts, these registers are often mi&ed and cross'referenced J +# dismemberment, scattering J death ? dispersa. of the actua. body of Osiris F 8# reassemb.y, reanimation J ritua. constitution of the mummy of Osiris, the "sah" F 9# restoration, spiritua.iGation J restoration ? transformation of the 3a of Osiris# %he restoration brought by 1orus, a..owed the "sah" 0the mummy of the body of the origina. Osiris2 to be fu..y restored to hea.th and ready for its ascension 0the transformation of the 3a of Osiris into an -kh, a .uminous, effective spirit2# %his was effectuated through the Eye of 1orus, at work on three registers 0a.ready in p.ace at the time of the $yramid %e&ts2 J +# sum tota. of offerings J a.. possib.e stuff p.aced on the tab.e of offerings F 8# offer of offerings 0offertorium2 J the Eye as the standard for a.. possib.e offerings F 9# offer of communion 0canon2 J the "embrace" as communion with the Eye#

%he power 0"sekhem"2 of the WedCat Eye, coup.ed with the magica. "5a" of the :itua. of Opening the /outh, raised the animated but vegetative, weary Osiris 0horiGonta.2 to fu.. waking consciousness 0vertica.2, preparing him for his fina. Courney to heaven, the p.ane of the -khu, the $antheon and the .uminous spirits# %he king, in mystica. embrace with the Eye, was addressed as "Osiris !ing """, and by the /idd.e !ingdom, everyman cou.d be an "Osiris """# <ommunion with the sou. of Osiris, abiding in its "sah", comes by receiving the Eye of 1orus, by Opening the /outh and by eating the Eye, as Osiris has# )his transformation makes one share in the salvation of Osiris. When Custified, the deceased, or the ecstatic, enter the heaven of Osiris# $erpetua. torment awaits the unCust ###

6, %he ascension of Osiris#

"%o say J %he sky thunders, the Earth Buakes, because of the dread of Iou, O Osiris, when Iou ascend#"
$yramid %e&ts, * ;4>#

"%o say J O Iou gods of the West, gods of the East, gods of the 5outh, gods of the "orth ! %hese four pure reed'f.oats which Iou set down for Osiris when he ascended to the sky, so that he might ferry over to the firmament with his son 1orus at his fingers, so that he might bring him up and cause him to appear as a great god in the firmament, set them down for me, king Anas !"
$yramid %e&ts, ** 4,4 ' 4,;#

":aise yourse.f, O Osiris, for 5eth has raised himse.f, he has heard the threat of the gods who spoke about the godDs father 0Osiris, father of 1orus2# sis has your arm, O Osiris# "ephthys has your hand, so go between them# %he sky is given to Iou, the Earth is given to Iou, and the Hie.d of :eeds, the /ounds of 1orus, and the /ounds of 5eth# %he towns are given to Iou and the nomes assemb.ed for Iou, says -tum, and he who speaks about it is 7eb#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** >,6 ' >,+#

"O 1eftenet, mother of the gods ! 7ive me your hand, take my hand and take me to the sky, Cust as Iou took Osiris to the sky#"
$yramid %e&ts, * +4+>#

"%he doors of the sky are opened# %he doors of the firmament are thrown open for Osiris# 1e goes forth at dawn and bathes in the Hie.d of :eeds#"
$yramid %e&ts, * >=4#

"3eho.d, he has come as Orion, beho.d, Osiris has come as Orion ###"
$yramid %e&ts, * =+>#

"O Osiris king %eti, Iou are a mighty god, and there is no god .ike Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts, * ,+>#

-s an -kh, the .uminous spirit of .ife and rebirth itse.f, Osiris the king ru.es over the Duat and represents a specia. dispensation within the order of nature ordained by the gods#

Once seated on his throne, he is ab.e to send his sou.s to his .iving son 1orus, the king of the %wo (ands# %his wi.., year after year, trigger a "good "i.e" and hence materia. p.enty for Egypt# %his fi..s the granaries of the temp.es and stimu.ates the divine king to erect monumenta. testimonies of the presence of the gods on Earth# - cyc.e of p.enty has come true and the %wo (ands are at peace and prosperous#

67 Offertory ? <anon#

%he magic at work in the (unar, horiGonta. cu.t of Osiris is sympathetic and communa.# %he former invo.ves a three'tiered dynamics of offering, starting with an end.ess variety of superb goods to be offered, and cu.minating in the Eye of 1orus as the standard of the act of offering 0the first two registers mentioned above, of which the second is the offertory2# %he .atter, the canon, is a reCuvenating communion 0a mystica. embrace2 with the Eye by consumption, for it represents the power of hea.ing and who.eness 0the third register2# +# a.. possib.e offerings J first register J offered by the .iving 1orus, the gods on.y consume the "kas" of the various stuff p.aced on the tab.e of offerings F 8# offer of offerings 0offertorium2 J second register J the Eye of 1orus represents a.. possib.e offerings 0the "ka" of the act of offering2 F 9# offer of communion 0canon2 J third register J the consumption of the Eye of 1orus restores Osires and enab.es him to send out his 3a# %he first step in the magic of offering, is the presentation and consecration of physica. stuff 0first register2# %hese are then set apart from a.. other things 0cf# " sacrum"2# 3oth physica..y 0they are p.aced on a tab.e of offerings2, as tempora..y 0they "e&ist" in the "Hirst %ime"2, the offerings are a rea.ity on their own, a piece of rea.ity who..y and free.y consecrated and returned to the deity# %he act of dai.y offerings is doub.e# On the hand, the best produce of Egypt is offered ? set apart, on the other hand, ritua. words ? actions empower these goods# %his ritua. intends on.y to offer the doub.e of these foodstuffs to the deities, for the .atter on.y consume their vita.ity or "ka"# -fter having enCoyed this, the food can be eaten by the priests and distributed among the peop.e, ca..ed the "reversion of offerings"# 5ub.imation, typo.ogiGation, subti.iGation or semiotic transference of offerings 0the second register2, are at work in both spiritua. economies# n the 5o.ar economy, which is an eterna.isation of the recurrent cyc.e of a.. photonic things, the divine king offers /aat to :e, and "/aat" becomes "a.. good things"# Osirian faith is a .inear approach of the cyc.e of .ife of every .iving thing# n his (unar ro.e, the .iving 1orus, entering the Duat, offers his father his Eye of We..ness, the archetype of "hea.ing"# 1enceforward, the .atter wi.. give his son a "good "i.e"# 5o /aat and the Eye of 1orus, at times eBuated, rep.acing all possible offerings, represent the synthesis of offerings# %hey operate on two different .eve.s of rea.ity, encompassing the %wo (ands# /aat returns a.. to :e, the day, whereas the WedCat is a gift to Osiris, the night# 3oth the Eye of 1orus and /aat are, .ike $haraoh, the "image of images", and the "power of powers" 0cf# <anniba. 1ymn2# "o .onger dependent on the physica. Buantity of the offerings 0the individua. "kas" of the foodstuffs2, Osiris receives the synthesis of all possible vital energy, visua.iGed as the Eye

of his son, destroyed 0as he was2 by 5eth, but restored 0as he was2 by %hoth 0who assisted sis2# %he Eye of 1orus is therefore the "ka" of a.. possib.e offerings, the offertory of gyptian religion. ndeed, to the e&ce..ent Buantity of the first register, a Bua.itative connotation or sub.imation is added J each and every act of offering is conceived as the .ikeness of 1orus giving his Eye to Osiris 0or of $haraoh offering /aat to :e2# %he variety of e&ce..ent physica. offerings are so many manifestations of the same filial principle J as 1orus, a son vindicates and restores his father, i#e# the effect returns to the cause to perpetuate the generative cyc.e, for a spiritua. father wi.. effective.y co'effect the success of his son ### %he canon, or third register, e&p.ains the fina. task of the Eye# Osiris, becoming one with the Eye of 1orus, eats the body of 1orus as we.. as its vita. !a'power, name.y the Eye as "offer of offerings" 0cf# the second register2# Each time the king assumes the ro.e of Osiris, he embraces the Eye, the body and !a of 1orus, and has his sou. restored and ready to be spiritua.iGed# %his .eve. is re.ated to the sou., the "3a"# 3ecause Osiris consumes the Eye, he is ab.e to set himself in motion, i#e# his spiritua. princip.e of moti.ity and transformation 0or sou.2 is activated# %his .ast effect of the Eye a..ows Osiris to transform his 3a into an -kh, and rise as a .uminous spirit# -s an -kh, Osiris is ab.e to send his 3a and cause a "good "i.e"# 3esides being proCected upon the (unar cyc.e, this process a.so refers to the 5othic year# %he Egyptian ca.endar had +8 months and 9,; days, divided in 9 seasons of 4 months of 96 days p.us five epagomena. days associated with "ut and the birth of her chi.dren 0Osiris, 1orus, 5eth, sis ? "ephthys2# %he first month was ca..ed "-khet" or "inundation"# t is the season when the "i.e was in f.ood 0mid Lu.y to mid "ovember2# "$royet" or "springing forth" was the time in which .and emerged to be p.anted 0mid "ovember to mid /arch2, and during "5homu" 0"deficiency"2 the .and dried up and harvest was necessary 0mid /arch to mid Lu.y2# Hu.. f.ood capacity was reached by -ugust 0in the 5outh2 and by 5eptember 0in the "orth2# n the 5o.ar ca.endar, the "ew Iear and the month of "-khet", inundation, began on the +>th of Lu.y# Hor a period of 76 days before the 5ummer so.stice of Lu.y, the stars of Orion 0"5ah", "%he 3uried One" or Osiris2 had been invisib.e and now reemerged in the (unar night sky# nfunerary theo.ogy, this wou.d be the time taken to transform the corpse into a mummy 0or "sah"2, a magica. ta.isman or interphase between the wor.d of the .iving and the rea.m of the dead# On.y after this period, cou.d the :itua. of Opening the /outh be performed# %he first sighting, before its disappearance in the g.are of a brightening dawn, of the star 5irius, the nose of the 7reat Dog, the brightest fi&ed star of the night sky c.ose to the conste..ation of Orion 0Osiris2, was the sing.e most important event in the Egyptian ca.endar# %his he.iaca. rising of the "Dog 5tar" or 5opdet 0 sis2 on the horiGon, about the time of the 5ummer so.stice, was awaited by a..# t hera.ded the steady rise of the "i.e# Hor nature synchroniGed this appearance with the 5ummer so.stice and the inundation, and so offered a nexus for ante'rationa. proCections ? identifications# %he "i.e began to rise on "%he "ight of the %eardrop", commemorating the event of sis discovering Osiris*s death# 1er sorrow precipitated the rise of the "i.e# During this period of surging waters, sis and "ephthys seek the dead body of Osiris, af.oat in them# %hey find it and bring it

ashore# "Osiris was drowned in his water# sis and "ephthys .ooked out, behe.d him, and attended to him# 0###2 %hey heeded in time and brought him to .and#"
/emphis %heo.ogy, .ines ,8',9#

%wo weeks after the f.oods reached their fu.. height in the De.ta, the waters wou.d begin to subside# %he -utumn so.stice of 5eptember marks the .engthening of night and the gradua. retreat of Orion in the sky# %he ru.e of the powers of darkness 05eth2 was incipient# 5ynchronous with the abating "i.e, returning to its bed by "ovember, the first crops cou.d be p.anted to be harvested by /arch, when the river dropped to its .owest# On the 8;th of "ovember, the festiva. of the Weeping of sis and "ephthys was he.d# 3oth sisters weep because Osiris died, but a.so because his body, once found, is again taken from them by 5eth and this time cut into +4 pieces 0cf# the waning Buaters of the (unar cyc.e2# n the month that fo..owed, these pieces are retrieved and the mummy made and animated# -t the end of these ritua.s, Osiris, as a mummy, an empowered "doub.e" of the actua. body, e&ists in a vegetative, Buasi dormant state# "everthe.ess, before .eaving for the Duat, Osiris, with his magica. penis made by his wife, inseminates sis ### -ccording to $.utarch, sis "at the Winter so.stice gave birth to 1arpocrates, imperfect and premature.y born, amid p.ants that burgeoned and sprouted before their season"0De side et Osiride, ,;2# 1e a.so adds J "Hor this reason they bring to him as an offering the first'fruits of growing .enti.s, and the days of his birth they ce.ebrate after the spring eBuino&# When the peop.e hear these things, they are satisfied with them and be.ieve them, deducing the p.ausib.e e&p.anation direct.y from what is obvious and fami.iar#" %he fo..owing seBuence is suggested J

5ummer 5o.stice J the Egyptian "ew Iear J sis ? "ephthys beweep the death of Osiris, seek his body a.. over the .and of Egypt and sis finds it in 3yb.os F -utumn EBuino& J after 5eth dismembers the body of Osiris, found by sis, the .atter reassemb.es and reanimates the mummy of Osiris F Winter 5o.stice J sis "embraces" the mummy of Osiris and gives birth to 1orus F 5pring EBuino& J the vindication and coronation of 1orus is ce.ebrated and the .atter brings his Eye of Osiris, who ascends to the heaven of the Duat, bringing the f.ood#

Hor -ssmann 0+>>82, Egyptian cu.t was based on a tripartite distinction, name.y between action, iconic representation and recitation# n the dai.y ritua., this corresponded to three .eve.s of symbo.iGation J 0a2 the priest officiating before a statue 0action2, 0b2 the king officiating before a god 0representation2, and 0c2 a god conversing with a god 0.anguage2# :egarding the .atter, it shou.d be remarked that as sacred communication cannot take p.ace between a god and a human being, the godDs ro.e is p.ayed by the king, who in turn is represented by the priest# On.y in the very short -marna period 0ca# +9;9 ' +99, 3<E2, this three'tiered symbo.iGation was abandoned, as we.. as a.. references to the Duat# Osiris, together with

-mun, were ousted# -marna spiritua.ity represents the "purest" historica. form of 1e.iopo.itanism, one c.ose to monotheism# n the O.d !ingdom, :e had a.ways been part of a conste..ation of deities# n the vision of -khenaten, this conte&t was e.iminated# %he king himse.f officiates, not to a statue, but to the ".iving -ten"# On the .eve. of .anguage, this reCection of intermediary symbo.ism goes hand in hand with the reCection of the magica. power of .anguage# 3ut by the time of 5eti 0ca# +8>6 ' +87> 3<E2 and :amesses 0ca# +87> ' +8+9 3<E2, a renewed trinity was deve.oped J -mun of %hebes, the hidden, :e of 1e.iopo.is, the .ight, and$tah of /emphis, the body# Osiris, the night 5un, was understood as the nocturna. comp.ement of :e, offering reCuvenation to the .atter by communion with "the image of Osiris", the mysterious tai.'in'mouth serpent# %o regenerate, i#e# return to the Hirst %ime 0cf#-mduat2, the corpse of :e abides in the coi.s of the Oroboros, the "image of Osiris"#

6= Escaping Osiris#

"### he wi.. never give me to Osiris, for horiGon ###"

$yramid %e&ts ' * 9;6#

have not died the death,

possess a spirit in the

":e'-tum wi.. not give Iou to Osiris, and he sha.. not c.aim your heart, nor have power over your heart# 0###2 :e'-tum wi.. not give Iou to 1orus, and he sha.. not c.aim your heart nor have power over your heart# O Osiris, Iou sha.. never have power over him, nor sha.. your son have power over him ###"
$yramid %e&ts ' ** +4, ' +4,#

"Osiris Wenennefer", he who e&ists in goodness ? beauty and "Osiris Onnophris", he who is in ever.asting.y good condition, are suggestive of the intrinsic goodness of Osiris# s this a comprehensive interpretation, or more .ike a pious wish K <.ear.y, once the devotee of the 5o.ar faith associated the rea.m of the dead with Orisis, he did not wished to be de.ivered up to the .atter# -.ready in the O.d !ingdom, we read the apprehension that Osiris might enter the pyramid with evi. intent# "/ay Osiris not come with this his evi. coming F do not open your arms to him ###"
$yramid %e&ts ' * +8,7#

ndeed, besides the heaven of Osiris, his rea.m a.so contained the "secret s.aughter chamber" in which the wicked were destined to be punished and devoured# 3esides imprisonment and enchainment, humi.iation, torture and muti.ation were inf.icted with great crue.ty# -t times, Osiris wou.d .et a.. the genies in his service torture one of the deceased# %hese had terrib.e names J "those who eat their father", "those who eat their mothers", "torturer", "murderer", "miscreant", "aggressor" etc# %hey were engaged in breaking bones, .iving on b.ood and swa..owing entrai.s 0cf# the canniba.ism Osiris stopped on Earth2# %he damned wa.ked on their heads and had to eat e&crement and drink urine# 5ome were forced to torture others# %he .ove of sadism avant la lettre disp.ayed in the he.. of Osiris is confusing# Even after successfu..y undergoing the many tria.s of the Duat, the dead continued to protect themse.ves with spe..s making sure they wou.d never be sacrificed by the guardians of Osiris, "those who make

massacres"# Why K 3ecause Osiris, even under norma. circumstances, cou.d disp.ay, not un.ike $.uto, great crue.ty# /oreover, his guardians were a.so Cai.ers# s the Duat a prison K "### OsirisDs bodyguards, who protected the god against 5eth and his rebe. band and were invested with a.. sorts of powers, were a.so charged with guarding the ba'sou.s of a.. the dead, ma.e or fema.e# %hey according.y strove to prevent them from f.ying off# (iberation for the ba meant escaping the uncertainties of the kingdom of the dead ###"
/eeks ? Havard'/eeks, +>>7, p#+4=#

n the -mduat, the dormant sou.s of the deceased and the inhabitants of the kingdom of Osiris eager.y awaited the dai.y passage of the 3arBue of the 5un# Hor a brief moment, they awoke and saw the .ight# %hey e&isted in the id.e hope of spending eternity in :eDs company, the u.timate rea.iGation, but cannot f.y off ! 3oarding the 5o.ar bark and ascending to the sky, was escaping the dangers and abuses of the Osirian kingdom# 3ut to do so, incredib.e obstac.es had to be faced and by'passed# n this, magic p.ayed a crucia. ro.e# %hepataphysics of magic ru.ed the universe, inc.uding the kingdom of Osiris# %he .atter had been given a Cudicia. dispensation, but not a variant onto.ogy# Without powerfu. (unar magic, a.. was .ost# 1ence, many books of the underwor.d add that the know.edge they contain, proven a mi..ion times, is beneficia. to the dead and the living alike. -symmetry between the two spiritua. economies is at hand# %he system is a hierarchy, with the Duat as the intermediate step .eading up to the sky of :e# %he (unar system provides to be an interphase connecting sky and Earth# %he Western horiGon gives access to the Duat, and the .atter .eads to the Eastern horiGon, the p.ace of transformation# 1ere, the sou. is transformed into a spirit 0from 3a to -kh2, rising to the sky as a .uminous spirit in the company of :e in the sky# We encountered four fundamenta. spiritua. stations J +# station of housing the doub.e 0!a2 J keeping in mind this .ife and the ne&t 0cf# the sapienta. tradition2, the fundamenta. task of the .iving is to make preparations for death ' the tomb is the house of the !a, the vita. imprint of the deceased in terms of his or her energy and its form F 8# station of keeping the heart 0 b2 pure J the .iving are priests and have to perform dai.y offerings ' this is a persona. responsibi.ity re.ative to physica. vita.ity 0!a2 ? socia. c.ass# /ind, conscience ? wi.. may advance a person far beyond the .atter F 9# station of the sou. 03a2 J (unar, ref.ective magic 0(rs Obscura2 J the Duat and the kingdom of Osiris ' inner psycho.ogy, imagination, the unconscious, the dreamwor.d F 4# stage of the spirit 0-kh2 J 5o.ar mysticism and creative magic J the sky and the rea.m of :e, reached after the transformation of the 3a in the Eastern horiGon# %he archetype evoked by the myth of Osiris is bi'po.ar J on the one hand, Osiris is the good king of the dead, who, regenerated by the Eye of 1orus, assures his son king 1orus a "good "i.e", and on the other hand, he is the stern ru.er of the kingdom of the dead and its secret s.aughter houses and pits of fire# f the weighing of the heart is suggestive of his Custice, his whimsica. crue.ty is the irrationa., "dark" side of the /oon# Osiris is the

kingdom of the common dead! not of +haraoh and his favorites. %hese e.ect only transit the Duat and are transformed in the Eastern horiGon to merge with :e# -s Osiris a.ways stays in the unconscious wor.d of shadows and regenerative archetypes, he is a formidab.e power, nobody, e&cept $haraoh, escapes#

6> -ssuming the godform of Osiris#

"O king Anas, Iou have not departed dead, Iou have departed a.ive 0to2 sit upon the throne of Osiris, your -ba'scepter in your hand, 0so2 that Iou may give orders to the .iving, your (otus scepter in your hand, 0so2 that Iou may give orders to those whose seats are hidden#"
$yramid %e&ts ' * +94#

n a nonfunerary interpretation 0cf# "ayd.er, 866;2, these te&ts 0a.though found in a tomb2 e&p.ain how the ecstatic, living 1orus departs to the Duat# On Earth, he sits upon the throne of Osiris 0as the vindicated ru.er2, and grasps two sacred sceptres in either hand# With the sceptre of authority and consecration 0"ab-", .ater a.so "s&m", "sekhem"2, 1orus, .ord of the %wo (ands, ru.es the .iving, and with the (otus'staff, he ru.es the dead 0the (otus being a symbo. of rebirth2# 1e departs a.ive# " t wou.d seem that the destination of the king is the rea.m of the dead, but he is Courneying into it a.ive#"
"ayd.er, 866;, p#868#

n Egyptian re.igion, assuming a god or goddess form invo.ved a transformation 0"4pr"2# 3y transforming the speaker into a specia. creature 0.ike the 3enu bird, or a kite2, a god or a goddess, magica. spe..s offer a by'pass# n this higher state, the magician undergoes the semantic fie.d and the typica. process of the archetype at hand, and benefits from this momentary resonance with "pure" power# <ertain types of energies are harvested, other avoided# %he -mduat is suggestive of a comp.ete spatiotempora. evocation of the unconscious patterns of regeneration 0the (rs Obscura2, a.ready at work in the tomb of Anas and in its $yramid %e&ts# 5o.utions, insights ? i..uminations resu.t from this purging of the persona. mind 0heart and doub.e2 by the 3a trave..ing into the Duat and, via the Eastern horiGon, fuga..y Coining the -kh p.ane of the deities, to return as a young, vigorous, .iving 1orus# n utterance 8+>, the identification is more dramatic and, interesting.y, the .iving Osiris is introduced J "O -tum, this one here is your son Osiris whom Iou have caused to be restored that he may .ive# 1e .ives ! %his king .ives ! 1e is not dead, this king is not dead ! 1e is not destroyed, this king is not destroyed ! 1e has not been Cudged, this king has not been Cudged ! 1e Cudges, this king Cudges !"
$yramid %e&ts ' * +,7#

%his affirmation is made twe.ve times to maCor deities such as -tum, 5hu, %efnut, 7eb, "ut, sis, 5eth, "ephthys, %hoth, 1orus, the 7reat Ennead ? the (esser Ennead and repeated twe.ve more times to twe.ve manifestations of Osiris# n his ro.e of Osiris, king Anas escapes the fate of being Cudged, for he is not yet dead, but on.y in a dead posture#

n this form of Osiris, the king is himse.f the Cudge# 3ut the semiotic is doub.e, for even dead, the son of :e cannot be Cudged# n his ritua. ro.e of Osiris, the king receives the Eye of 1orus and is reCuvenated# 1e is ab.e to awake, turn around and move as himse.f again# 1e eats and returns to himse.f# "-wake, king Anas ! %urn yourse.f about, king Anas ! 5o shout D D ! O king Anas, stand up and sit down to a thousand of bread, a thousand of beer, roast meat of your rib'Coints from the s.aughter'house, and bread from the Wide 1a..# %he god is provided with a godDs offering, king Anas is provided with this bread of his# <ome to your 3a, O Osiris, O 3a among the -khu, mighty in your p.aces, whom the Ennead protect in the /ansion of the $rince# O king Anas, raise yourse.f up to me, betake yourse.f to me, do not be far from me, for the tomb is your barrier against me# give Iou the Eye of 1orus, have a..otted it to Iou F may it be p.easant to Iou# O king Anas, arise, receive this your bread from my hand# O king Anas, wi.. be a he.per to Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts ' ** 8+4 ' 8+7#

-.though on.y fragmentary, and certain.y not c.ear'cut, we do observe the three fundamenta. stages of ecstasy, a.so found in Apper $a.aeo.ithic cave mysteries J +# departure from the p.ane of 7eb J in trance, the .iving 1orus'king enters the Duat F 8# identification with Osiris in the Duat ? resurrection J in the Duat, the ecstatic king embraces the ritua. "sah" 0mummy2, the second transformation of the "body" of Osiris, and undergoes the stages of the Osirian drama 0cu.minating in his consumption of the Eye of 1orus and his resurrection2 F 9# empowered return to the p.ane of 7eb J the king "awakes" out of his trance with more magica. power 0"5a"2 at his command# "%o say J O -tum':e, this king Anas comes to Iou, an mperishab.e 5pirit, .ord of dispensation in the p.ace of the four papyrus co.umns# Iour son comes to Iou, this !ing Anas comes to Iou# /ay 0both of2 Iou traverse the sky, being united in the darkness# /ay 0both of2 Iou rise in the horiGon, in the p.ace where it is we.. with Iou#"
$yramid %e&ts ' * +;8#

%he .iving 1orus, assuming the godform of Osiris, trave.s with -tum':e "united in darkness" to reemerge on the Eastern horiGon# %he .iving king is an -kh, a god by birth# 1ence, his c.aim is Cust and, if a.. magica. pathways are c.ear, his ascension to the sky of :e guaranteed# n the ,th 1our of the Duat, the 3a of :e unites with the "image of Osiris", to find regeneration and renewed momentum# 1ere, we read how the king trave.s with :e in the Duat, and participates in the .atterDs reCuvenation#
Egyptian Levels of Reality heaven of Re lightland of the Akhu the realm of the Akh Decad of Pythagoras Worlds in Qabalah At iluth ! 1 " # " $ origination %ire " &od

the hori on lightland of the transformation of the 'a heaven of )siris kingdom of )siris Duat ' rea.m of the 3a .eb/ the Earth * 0ons of (orus realm of 1b 2 3a

#"$

'riah J 4 ' ; ' , creation Water " (e &et irah J 7 ' = ' > formation Air " -au Assiah J +6 manifestation Earth " (e

*"+",

4 " 5 " 6 " 17

%he assumption of the godform of Osiris serves severa. goa.s J

rep.enishing king.y powers J because the f.ow of time dep.etes the energy of .ife 0the 7o.den -ge of p.enty, or "Gep tepi", being past2, the .iving 1orus regu.ar.y reassures the protection of the gods over himse.f and Egypt# -.. the forces are invoked to keep the sacred order of /aat# %hree main moments are J 0a2 succession 0death and funera. of the predecessor and the enthroning of the new 1orus2, 0b2 annua. confirmation 0through symbo.ic death and rebirth2 and 0c2 periodica. reCuvenation 0after 96 years or ru.e or at the age of 96 a 5ed festiva. was he.d2# Each time, the "sah" of Osiris p.ayed an essentia. ro.e, representing the magica. condition of the body prior to its reCuvenation 0thanks to the Eye of 1orus2# t was the most appropriate godform for the king to reenact, for Osiris had been a .iving king, had died, had been mummified, reanimated and resurrected F preparation for physica. death J after its destruction and dismemberment 0first transformation2, the transformation of the scattered body of Osiris into a mummy occurs# %his change is crucia. to bui.d an interphase between this wor.d and the Duat# %he "sah" is the actua. body, a.beit in a new symbolic ,imaginal- unity. %he actua., bio.ogica. unity was e&p.icit.y destroyed by 5ethDs scattering# %he mummy, "sah" ormagical body of Osiris is reanimated by sis, activated by the :itua. of Opening the /outh and restored by the Eye of 1orus# %his third transformation spiritua.iGes the "sah" and enthrones Osiris as the universa. spirit of .ife# %o assume the death'posture is a way to prepare onese.f for what is the inevitab.e conc.usion of physica. .ife J the death of the body 0of the actua. Osiris, cf# first transformation2# t is a way to a.ready acBuaint onese.f with the e&traordinary magica. wor.d of Osiris 0in his second and third transformations2 F enhancement of magica. power J as sub.unar magic is (unar, the rea.m of Osiris is a necessary step on the way to master the secrets of creation# /arsha.ing the ref.ection of the 5un, the /oon represents the imagina., invisib.e ? si.ent F the unconscious rea.m comp.ementing the conscious bri..iance of the 5un and its spiritua. economy 0:e2# %he mind 0%hoth2 is a.so (unar, for in tune with the tides and dependent of the rhythms of the Earth# %he 5o.ar magician is a protector of the Cust order of things# 1is supreme ritua. is the Offering of /aat to :e, the natura. orders of things to their u.timate, creative source# 1is ro.e is deterministic and monarchic# %he (unar magician, .ike a hea.er, is a restorer of /aat# Demons are part of creation and the divine order# %hey are ca..ed "a yawning space" 0chaos2 because their functioning is inimica. to .ife and its photonic patterns# %he

(unar ro.e brings in uncertainty and individua. free wi..# magination constitutes the rea.m of freedom and opportunity, comp.ementing the unchanging, recurrent cyc.e of the 5un and its eterna.iGations# 3oth are the two sides of the same magic F

(unar i..umination J to gain tota. freedom in the dream wor.d, is nothing .ess than a comp.ete understanding of the conditions 0variab.es, constants, parameters2 pertaining to the ego# During his coronation, Osiris comes to himse.f as himse.f# -fter three transformations of his physica. body, this process is tota. and spiritua.# %he rea.m of Osiris has to be crossed before, in .ight.and 0in the horiGon2, the human sou. is transformed into a divine spirit#

+6 Osirian faith and <hristianity brief.y compared#

"%he .iving are not at the mercy of the dead F the shades are without force and without consciousness# %here are no ghost.y terrors, no imaginings of decomposition, and no c.atterings of dead bones F but eBua..y there is no comfort and no hope# %he dead -rchi..es brushes aside OdysseusD words of praise, saying J DDo not try to make .ight of death to me F wou.d sooner be bound to the soi. in the hire of another man, a man without .ot and without much to .ive on, than ru.er over a.. the perished dead#D n the dreary monotony everything becomes a matter of indifference#"
3urkert, +>=;, p#+>7, my ita.ics#

E.sewhere, the crucia. difference between Egyptian and 7reek initiation and re.igion came to the fore# n the 7reek mysteries, the after.ife was depicted as a rea.m of shadows and any hope of individua. surviva. was deemed ephemera.# "obody escaped destiny, e&cept the deities and the .ucky few e.ected# %he .atter "escaped" from the wor.d and its sordid entropic fate, misery and possib.e "eschaton" J a wor.d'fire invoked by these wrathfu. deities themse.ves, unforgiving of manDs tragi'comica. sins, but ab.e to recreate the wor.d in a whim ! Escape from this fated comedy was offered through the mysteries# %hey wou.d erase the cause of the heaviness of the sou. and its attachment to Earth, and, for $ythagoras and his schoo., end the cyc.e of metempsychosis, the successive return of the sou. in other physica. bodies# Egyptian initiations, un.ike the 7reek, were not meant to re.ease the app.icant from the so.id chains of the wor.d and its destiny, Buite on the contrary# %he Egyptians maintained a series of ritua.s aimed at "a constant.y renewed regeneration" 01ornung, 866+, p#+42# -t best, the 7reeks 0.ike the Egyptians2 induced the point of death in order to g.impse into its darkness, to "see the goddess" and renew 0cf# the death posture2# 3ut they had no "science of the 1ades" as in the -mduat# %he active continuity between .ife and death found in Egypt, contradicts the c.osed and separated interpretation of the 7reeks, fostering "escapism" 0the "body" as a "prison" out of which one needs to escape2# n Egypt, no "new" .ife was necessary# Death cou.d bring "more" .ife# Hor both .ife and the after.ife depended on identica. conditions J offerings F either direct.y to the deities through $haraoh or indirect.y to the !a of the deceased# f dua.ism fits the 7reeks, triadism is Egyptian# f 7reco':oman cu.ture introduced a negative view on Earth.y e&istence, one ca..ing for a

movement away from physica. .ife, fostering a disincarnate return to the wor.d of ideas 0as in $.atonism2, introducing a maCor c.eavage between, on the one hand, the ante' rationa.ityof the cu.tures of -ntiBuity and, on the other hand, rationa. 7reek thought, then Ludeo'<hristian be.iefs added to this a fundamenta. reversa. of the spiritua. economy dominating -ntiBuity# Grosso modo, -ntiBuity proposed a natura.istic e&change between the sphere of humanity and that of the deities# n Egypt, sacrifice was intended to feed 0through ascension2 the !as of the gods, which gratified their 3as# n return, precise.y by way of sou.s ? doub.es, these -khu wou.d send b.essings down to the physica. p.ane# %he gods never incarnate and no human being cou.d become divine without .oosing the "sou." of humanity 0to be transformed into a spirit2# n'between, the innocent victim is sacrificed by way of offerings# %hrough this, the deities are appeased and the circu.ar sacrificia. movement is kept in p.ace# -.though the mechanism may differ, but a.. re.igions of -ntiBuity 0the 7reco':oman inc.uded2 operated a.ong these .ines J the summum bonum was sacrificed to satisfy the deities and so modify the i.. fate they had in sta.. for the worshippers# "DDonDt hurt the boy or do anything to him,D he said# D"ow know that Iou honour and obey 7od, because Iou have not kept back your on.y son from 1im#"
7enesis, 88J+8#

%he natura.istic e&change imp.ied by sacrifice was overturned by Ludaism# 7od was no .onger "in need" for the son of -braham# %he on.y thing that mattered was the .atterDs tota. surrender to the wi.. of 7od# %he moment 7od knew -braham wou.d have ki..ed saac, 1e stopped the sacrifice# %he innocent victim is no .onger a currency f.owing between 7od and humanity# %he convenant initiated a sacred history, defined by manDs obedience# $unishment comes when one returns to the o.d ways, as the story of the 7o.den <a.f makes c.ear# n Ludaism, the core of the re.ationship between man and 7od is .ega.istic, no .onger natura.istic# <hristianity wi.. e&ha.t this new way, but in a dramatica. fashion, for no .onger is the re.ationship mediated by a .ega. system, but by a mora.ity founded on a persona., direct contact with 7od ncarnate ! -t the moment when 7od 1imse.f, as <hrist, has become the innocent victim, the need for a b.oody sacrifice is fina..y over and the book of -ntiBuity and natura. re.igion is c.osed# ndeed, if 7od is a..owed to become fu..y human, the onto.ogica. divide between both has been crossed# " have said, Iou are gods F and a.. of you are chi.dren of the /ost 1igh#"
$sa.ms, =8J,#

When discussing the impact of Egyptian re.igion on 0-.e&andrian2 <hristianity, in particu.ar<hristo.ogy ? %rinitarism, an issue part of the .arger conte&t of Egyptian inf.uences on 1e..enism, two positions are avoided# On the one hand, .itera.ism, the one'to'one identification of themes is no .onger tenab.e# $au. and the writers of the gospe.s did not study -ncient Egyptian to invent <hristianity# n a period when Ludaism was strong.y inf.uenced by 1e..enism, <hristianity started as a conservative Lewish sect keeping circumcision sacred# -nd a.though $hi.o of -.e&andria .ike.y inf.uenced $au., and we are to.d by /atthew 08J+42 that the infant Lesus escaped to Egypt 0for "out of Egypt have ca..ed my son" ' 8J+;2, an immediate inf.uence is possib.e but not .ike.y 01ow .ong did Lesus stay in Egypt K2#

nstead, .inguistics, semiotics and symbo.ism enab.e us to identify standard .iterary themes through time, .ike the e&traordinary birth of a hero or a god, his return from the dead, the consumption of transformed stuff, the sending of the he.ping hand etc# %hey a.so aim to identify obCective cyc.es and their synchronous timing and semiotic para..e.s 0cf# synchronous proCections on the (unar and 5te..ar cyc.es2# %he stronger these themes resonate, the more .ike.y that the o.dest strand contains the origina. freBuency# On the other hand, skepticism 0disguised as 1e..enocentrism2, negating the possibi.ity itse.f of a powerfu. mediating and genera. impact of Egyptian cu.ture, in particu.ar its re.igion andwisdom, on a.. cu.tures touching the /editerranean, in particu.ar the 7reek, is refuted by the evidence discussed e.sewhere# " t is crucia. to the DdifferenceD of <hristianity, that is, to its uniBue consideration of the re.ationship between the human and the divine, that the figure of <hrist partake of both the human and the divine, and that he therefore suffer death upon the cross, and it is no .ess crucia. that the <hristian be.iever gain access to the divine through the DincorporationD of the body and b.ood of <hrist#"
1are, +>>>, p#88;#

Hor $au., <hristian faith and the resurrection of <hrist form an indivisib.e unity# n .ater fundamenta. theo.ogy, this event becomes the pi..ar of orthodo&y# $au.Ds message ### " t is about 1is 5on, our (ord Lesus <hrist J as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David F as to 1is Divine 1o.iness, 1e was shown with great power to be the 5on of 7od by being raised from death#"
:omans, +J9'4#

"Lews want mirac.es for proof, and 7reeks .ook for wisdom# -s for us, we proc.aim the crucified <hrist, a message that is offensive to the Lews and nonsense to the 7enti.es#"
+ <orinthians, +J88'89#

Hor a host of fundamenta. <hristian theo.ogians 0.imited by scripture2, the resurrection of <hrist is the bedrock of <hristianity# During :oman /ass, <hristDs death, resurrection and second coming are confirmed Cust after the transsubstantiation of the offerings 0the third register2# 1owever, the newness of this faith .ay not in the fact a man, a god or 7od dies and returns from the dead# "ot even in the story <hrist did so in a specia., renewed, spiritua. body 0+ <orinthians, +;J442# "or in the $resence of the Divine in the b.ood.ess sacrifice of the f.esh and b.ood of <hrist# -.though, in <atho.icism, the 1ost and the <up are the on.y loci of Divine $resence, and intimate.y connected with the $assion ? the :esurrection of <hrist, semiotica..y, this sacramenta. thanksgiving ows its newness primari.y because of the ncarnation# - point which cannot be stressed enough, given the predominance of the narrative, tempora. interpretation 0.inking the Eucharist with the (ast 5upper and the Lewish $esach2# n -ntiBuity, before rationa.ity was common, as the myth of Osiris amp.y demonstrates, resurrection and magica. bodies were part of the re.igious 0astra.2 paradigm# %o conBuer death was not the monopo.y of Lesus <hrist, and count.ess mythica. ? .egendary heroes ? magicians pre'dating <hrist .eft us their wonderfu. stories# %he new window introduced by <hristianity is the idea that God 'imself .ncarnates in this world as /esus 0hrist # n Egypt, the supreme god 0-tum':e2 and his retinue never manifest on Earth as such, and certain.y not as a human being ! With the e&ception of $haraoh, the -khu never .eave

the sky of :e and communicate top'down by way of their sou.s ? doub.es# 7ods communicate with gods# 1umans hide or acBuire godhood# With this e&traordinary notion of the ncarnation of 7od in a human being, <hristianity introduced a new vertical dimension and co're.ative dispensation# 1umanity as such was raised to Divinity in <hrist# n this perspective, the sa.vic, sacramenta. $resence of Lesus <hrist, is c.ear.y .ess important than the historical fact of the <oming of 7od as a human being, as the M'peop.e and the Didache testify# Hor with the birth of <hrist, so the 7ospe. of %homas te..s us, the !ingdom of 7od arrived# %he ncarnation is nothing .ess than 7od becoming human f.esh ? b.ood in Lesus <hrist# God becoming human and also remaining God# $haraoh, a.so a godman, was more "god" than man# 1is -kh was divine, for he was the son of :e# 1is human appearance was a "form", an "image"# Lesus <hrist is Divine and fully human, two natures and two wi..s ! %his supernatura. <hristo.ogy is the maCor weak spot of the who.e <hristian edifice, and cause of end.ess, ongoing disputes# %he "humanity" of <hrist is difficu.t to define, for it is "without sin" and so undefi.ed 0-damic2# Does this humanity' before'the'Ha.. not .ead to monophysitism K n other words J how can "sin" be removed from the concept of "humanity" without idea.iGing humanity K f the ncarnation is the Divine becoming human f.esh ? b.ood, then the :esurrection is human f.esh and b.ood becoming Divine# -s the .atter is impossib.e without the former, <hristianity is rooted in the ncarnation# 5o if Lesus <hrist did not ncarnate in this wor.d as 7od, i#e# 7od never became fu..y human, then <hristianity .acks nove.ty# ndeed, comparing <hristian <hristo.ogy and %rinitarism with some of the semiotic c.usters characteriGing Osirian faith, brings common themes to the fore# -s Ear.y <hristianity was strong.y inf.uenced by monotheist Lewish aniconicity and 7reek 1e..enism, any direct comparison with the ante'rationa., pictora. henotheism of Egypt is futi.e and wi.. not be attempted# /oreover, Lesus <hrist is put forward as a sing.e Divine $erson, whi.e Osiris, 1orus and sis are three deities# "ote these pertinent resonances J

Osiris is the good king of Egypt, <hrist is the anointed king of srae. F Osiris and <hrist are murdered by usurpers F Osiris and <hrist are resurrected F Osiris is resurrected in the Duat, <hrist on Earth F Osiris is resurrected by 1orus, his son, <hrist by 1is Hather F Osiris ascends in a resurrected body, <hrist ascends in a body of g.ory F Osiris gives sa.vation to everybody, <hrist is the 5avior of 1umanity F the death of Osiris regenerates, the death of <hrist redeems F the body of Osiris is .ost and then mummified, the body of <hrist buried and gone F

1orus is born of the magic of sis ? <hrist is born of the 1o.y )irgin F <hrist and 1orus are both born at the Winter 5o.stice F <hrist resurrects around the time that 1orus is vindicated F 1orus is the divine son of the god Osiris, <hrist is the uniBue son of 7od F the resurrected <hrist sends 1is 5pirit, the resurrected Osiris a "good "i.e" F sis is the mourning mother as /ary is the &ater Dolorosa F sis protects her chi.d against 5eth, /ary f.ees to Egypt F sis 0a goddess2 brings 1orus to adu.thood as /ary 0a Lewish gir.2 raises Lesus F 1orus fights 5eth as Lesus rebukes 5atan F Osiris eats the Eye of 1orus, <hrist consecrates bread and wine at the (ast 5upper F Osiris is the .ord of wine ? corn, bread ? wine become the f.esh ? b.ood of <hrist F etc#

-t the end of the -posto.ic -ge 0ca# ++6 <E2, the Buest for a coherent orthodo& core for <hristianity was a.ready afoot# <.ement enthroned :oman orthodo&y and had, as ear.y as ca# >6 ' >>, defined "aposto.ic succession" and the primacy of :ome ! When counter movements emerged 0cf# 7nosticism, /arcionism ? /ontanism2, the centrist orthodo& core invented heresy# - .asting mperia. <hristianity wou.d be the outcome 0cf# <onstantine the 7reat and the <ounci. of "icZ of 98;2# %he ideo.ogica. schism with the Eastern <hurches became irreversib.e 0cf# monophysite <hristo.ogy ? the 1ilio2ue of %rinitarism2# n the East, the Hather is the core, whi.e the 5pirit proceeds on.y from 1im# n the West, the 5on is foca., and the 5pirit is the dynamica. (ove between Hather and 5on# %his difference had and has tremendous conseBuences, sp.itting <hristianity and invoking $rotestantism, added to the mess# -.ready at an ear.y stage of canoniGation, <hristian unity was .ost# 3etween -ncient Egypt and 5emitic Ludeo'<hristian cu.ture 0a synthesis of Lewish, 1e..enistic and <hristian components2, maCor incompatibi.ities prevai. J

!emet is iconica., Ludeo'<hristian thought is aniconica. F in Egyptian thought 7od is One and /any, in 5emitic thought 7od is singu.ar F $haraoh was a god in the body of a man, <hrist has two natures J human and Divine F in 7reek thought evi. is deficient ? absent, whi.e 5eth is a deity F human nature is to be transformed, whi.e Lesus <hrist, is both human and 7od F gods on.y communicate with gods, whi.e 7od ncarnated as a human being F

etc#

"1orus has comp.ete.y fi..ed Iou with his Eye in this its name of D7odDs OfferD#"
$yramid %e&ts, ** ,+4#

%aking these and other incompatib.es into consideration, ponder for a moment on the <hristian ritua. par excellence J thanksgiving 0"berakot"2, part of the <hristian Eucharist# %he core of this interesting ritua. is ca..ed the "<anon", which starts with a preface .eading up to the consecration, the actua. changing of wine ? bread into the b.ood and body of <hrist, invoking the :esurrected <hrist# %he study of the <hristian Eucharist is a subCect on its own 0its ear.iest catechism is found in the Didache2# %he register of the actua. $resence of Lesus <hrist, the 5on of 7od, in f.esh ? b.ood, was added to what origina..y was a thanksgiving reply of the /ews to God for having freed them from +haraoh and his yoke. %hanksgiving is an acknow.edgement of .iberation from s.avery# %his prayer became the "preface" of the <hristian <anon 0cf# the " 3ere dignum"2, for the <hristians gave thanks to 7od for having given them 1is 5on and the spiritua. .iberation of humanity# " speak to Iou as sensib.e peop.e F Cudge for yourse.ves what say J %he cup we use in the (ordDs 5upper and for which we give thanks to 7od J when we drink if it, we are sharing in the b.ood of <hrist# -nd the bread we break J when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of <hrist# 3ecause there is the one .oaf of bread, a.. of us, though many, are one body, for we a.. share the same .oaf#"
+ <orinthians, +6J+4'+7#

%he importance of thanksgiving has been dea.t with e.sewhere# %he Lewish prayer of thanksgiving forms a continuous rep.y to the origina. Divine speech, using the words of that origina. speech, and thus re'enacts the e&perience initiating the covenant between I1)1 0-donai2 and humanity# Of this practice, many Egyptian para..e.s e&ist 0cf# the return to the Hirst %ime, the importance of divine speech, etc#2# 5aying grace before a mea. was not unknown in Egyptian re.igion 0nor was $haraohDs baptism2# n Egypt, $haraoh 0as 5hu, .ife2 offered on a divine a.tar, for the tab.e of offerings was -tum himse.f ! n Egyptian thought, a stronger bond between sacrifice and the origina. beginning of time 0or "Gep tepi"2 cannot be conceived# %he Egyptian eBuiva.ent of saying grace is found in the second register on the inner face of the northern section of the gird.e'wa.. of the temp.e of 1orus at Edfu# %he tab.e of offerings is identifed with the creator -tum, and $haraoh with his e.dest son 5hu, created by spitting sa.iva# %he a.tar is thereby associated with the Hirst %ime# -tum':e produces food and materia. p.enty# %he king offers them back on the a.tar 0so that their kas may be fed2, and u.timate.y consumes them 0known as the reversion of offerings or communion2# 1is thanksgiving is content worshipfulness. "O %ab.e'god 0-tum2, Iou have spat forth 5hu from your mouth 0###2 O %ab.e'god, may he 0the king as 5hu2 give to Iou a.. that he wi.. have dedicated, since he has become a god who is an emanation, a.ert, worshipfu. and powerfu.# 0###2 /ay he dedicate to Iou every good thing which Iou wi.. give him, since he has become 1eka# /ay he dedicate to Iou every good thing, food'offerings in abundance# /ay he set them before Iou and may Iou be content with them, may your !a be content with them 0###2

3e satisfied and worshipfu., O (iving Ha.con, (ord of the %wo (ands, (ord of the "ob.es, (ord of the common fo.k, (ord of the 5eat of :e, (ord of gods, through the offerings which this son of yours brings to Iou, this Worshipfu.ness of yours, this !a of yours, this 1eka of yours, this $tah of yours, this 5hu of yours, this %hoth of yours, this abundance of yours upon Earth# /ay Iou be content and worshipfu. with them# /ay your !a be content with them, and Iour heart be content with them for ever#"
7race before a /ea. ' %emp.e of Edfu 0gird.e'wa..2#

s there a semiotic resemb.ance between the second part of the <anon 0in particu.ar the consecration and the communion2 and the third register of the Eye of 1orus K %he issue is .eft open# +# sum tota. of a.. offerings J bread, wine, water, .ight ? incense J the end.ess variety of Egyptian offerings is reduced to five F 8# offer of offerings 0offertorium2 J bread 0$aten2 and wine V water 0<up2 J $aten ? <up ho.d the offer of offerings J the human body of <hrist F 9# offer of communion 0canon2 J thanksgiving, consecration and communion J the spiritua. body of <hrist# "%o say J O Osiris king "eferkare, 1orus has fi..ed Iou with his comp.ete Eye#"
$yramid %e&ts, *8+c#

"O Osiris king Wenis, take the Eye of 1orus and absorb it into your mouth# ' the morning mea.#"
$yramid %e&ts ' * ,6#

<hristian consecration is said to contain the e&act words of Lesus <hrist during the (ast 5upper# n the East, the sacramenta. gifts are transubstantiated by the 1o.y 5pirit, and not by these words of <hrist# 3ut in both cases, the ritua. is supposed to invoke the $resence of 7od the 5on de opere operato# (ife'restoring communion with the f.esh ? b.ood of <hrist offers a direct contact with this $resence of 7od# %he <anon is ncarnationa.# During the consecration of the 1ost, the priest says J "%his is my body"# %he priest is acting in the $erson of <hrist, "in +ersona 0hristi"# n Egypt, the ecstasy of the .iving 1orus enab.es the king and every magician to enter the Duat, see Osiris and become Osiris the king 0cf# "ayd.er, 866;2# %his "seeing" is observing the mummy of Osiris 0the second transformation of Osiris2# t itse.f, this is a.ready a symbolical form 0a "sah"2, but in a vegetative, inactive state# 3ecause of the Eye of 1orus, given to him by his son, Osiris is raised 0third transformation2 and represents the spirit 0effective power2 of vegetation, growth, ferti.ity and .ife# -ssuming the king of the dead, $haraoh receives the Eye of 1orus and is regenerated by it# When 1orus brings his Eye of We..ness to his father, he gives his own hea.ed body, vindicated doub.e 0!a2 and roya. sou. 03a2# %hen an embrace fo..ows 0the Eye is eaten2 and Osiris is reCuvenated# %his a..ows him to transform his sou. into a divine spirit and ascend to his own, netherwor.d.y sky# Hrom there he sends a "good "i.e" to the divine king and makes his magic work# When Osiris the king, ritua..y assuming the ro.e of Osiris, is restored by the Eye, he ru.es the Duat and returns to Earth 0waking consciousness2 as an empowered .iving 1orus#

%hen he tru.y is the .ord of the %wo (ands J 1orus for the .iving 0East2 and Osiris for the dead 0West2, 1orus of the "orth and 5eth of the 5outh#