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ancient egyptian
MICHAEL POE
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99 Beautiful Names
of God
* 1. Neter - Neter is the ancient Egyptian word, that we would
WCL Books-the
equate with God or Goddess. But Neter's exact translation is "Abstract
place for the latest
Principle" or "Divine Principle" and is not a male or female word.
frontier mission
* 2. Bennu on the Obelisk - the Bennu bird is the Egyptian resources
Phoenix, which lives in Arabia, and comes every 500 years to built a
nest on an obelisk where it lays an egg, and when the egg startswww.missionbooks.org
hatching, it dies in its own flames, and is reborn from the egg. The
obelisk is the Egyptian symbol of the first ray of sun light striking
the earth, and when built, is usually covered in gold or electrum. The
top of the obelisk is like a pyramid and is called the Pyramidion; and
Jewellery
the pyramids are all representations of the suns first light on Egyptian
the
Anciant Egyptian
Newly Born Earth.
Necklaces, Earrings
* 3. "He holds fast to the Neter's name and inspires othersand
to Bracelets - Buy
meditate on it." - In addition to the common name of any god, like
Online
Heru for Horus, they also have a hidden name, a name of power, that
the priest/esses use in ritual and meditation.
www.museumjewellery.com
---------PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES
How did a person become a priest/ess in ancient Egypt?
Well, each family had their own family worship area, the size of
which is wholly dependent upon the size of the house they lived in.
More about this when we get into the path of the Aait-Shesheta.
Therefore, in each family, someone had to act as the family priest/ess. If the father or mother was a priest/ess, then he or she was the
family religious leader, in charge of the family rituals. If the
parents were not initiated priest/esses, then usually the Elder Son
acted as the religious leader. However, in some nomes (or states),
matrilineal descent (through the female) was a tradition so the Eldest
Daughter was the religious leader.
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The only schools, including most crafts, were taught in the
temple colleges. A child would be sent to a college to learn a craft
between the ages of 6-10. If the family had a tradition of priest/esses then usually the children would go to the temple college to be
interviewed and tested for the priesthood. Exactly how the priest/esses at the college tested the would be initiate is not well known
yet, but we do know that usually the following priests would be
involved:
1. A Divine Scribe (reader and writer initiate)
2. A Prophet (who uses divination of some sort and inner visions)
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3. A Purification Priest
4. A Priest of Anubis (or some other sort related to traveling in
Egyptian heavens (astral plane directly related to Egyptian
heavens).
Every Egyptian temple had 2 types of staff, a magical one and a
working one (working meaning the scribes, bakers and people who run
the every day part).
If the would be initiate was found wanting in the magical staff
(called People of the Circle, which we will get to when we talk about
temple organization), the person may be sent back, or taught a craft,
or go into the working temple staff.
One of the first things that any initiate is taught is Egyptian
Philosophy, which is really less like Voltaire, and more like Ethics
and Conscious. The would be priest needs to come up with his own
ethics or philosophy before embarking on to magical training.
Therefore ethics and morals was the beginning of the training. If
one had to make a "Readers Digest Condensed" version of all of the
Egyptian ethics and philosophy teachings it would be; as one Egyptian
Philosopher put it (but not quite as well).
Do anything you want, but only in moderation, and while doing so,
do not harm anyone physically or psychology.
Almost exactly like the Wiccan motto : Do what they wilt, but
harm none.
But to the ancient Egyptian, theirs also says, "don't harm
yourself, and don't go overboard on anything: Moderation.
---------DIVINATION OF BES, BAST, OR HATHOR
(from Leyden Papyrus)
Use a divining bowl of pottery. Use green or some vegetable based
ink. Preferable to use hieroglyphics, but try it a few times without
them and use english (but if you can, do as the Egyptians do) Write
your request or formula in base and inner sides of bowl using the
vegetable ink. Also write in either Bes, Bast, or Hathor's name three
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times while meditating on the goddess and your request. (pick one
goddess, not all three)
Pour consecrated water in it to dissolve the writing.
Swallow water
Go to sleep
(If you can sleep in a temple, sacred area, so much the better,
otherwise at home, and record your dreams when you wake up.)
A divination bowl, in Egypt, was specially made for the purpose;
however, if you're not a potter, pottering around, find one out of
pottery, usable (no lead based paint or in the clay), about the size
of rice bowl. Consecrate and bless it, and viola, a divining bowl.
Back in those days, green paint was either a vegetable dye or
green ochre. They didn't use the ochre, but a vegetable dye would
work. Although I know of people who specifically prepare a vegetable
ink (macerated herbs in a small bowl of water), a food coloring would
be okey, but I would still suggest using a mortar and pestle and
grinding some herbs you specially selected, and putting it into the
food colored water and let it seep for a bit, and then use that. It
would definitely be closer to the spirit of the occasion. I know, next
you are going to ask, what herbs?
Well, the ancient Egyptians had comfrey and you can heal thyself
at the same time. Lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac, sacred to Min
(so if your request or question is along that line, add that); they
also used mint a lot.
----------
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material world in the center, and the layers going outward (or inward,
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or higher, or whatever). As most religions heavens are manifested in
the astral plane, they are also separate from each other.
This is also true in Egyptian heavens of the astral plane. The
Book of the Dead (a misnomer as the egyptians never called it that),
lists the sections of the Heaven of Osiris. As you read the book, you
also see that there is a specific way to get to the heaven and through
it.
There is an ancient Egyptian writing from a scribe that says, in
effect: "If you don't use the specific directions to get to a particular heaven, you won't get there but to a false heaven."
As most of us are aware, the astral plane is composed and made up
of the thoughtforms of mankind and of the gods, hence, there is an
Egyptian heaven that was formed by the thousands of people who have
conceptualized it since the beginning of the 1800's, made stronger
through the Rosecrucians and Blavatsky's, and into the modern metaphysical movement. But it is NOT the ancient Egyptian heaven. Hence, you
can't simply just astrally project in order to get to a real Egyptian
heaven.
You have to follow the directions by the ancient Egyptians in
order to make it to one of their specific heavens.
You may even have to change your astral form to conform to a
certain type in order to enter. For example, one of the ways to get to
the Horus heaven is to have project to the Nile, and do certain things
in order for a boat with a hawk on it to come over to the bank and
pick you up to take you to the Horus Heaven.
One of the things you have to do, and not the only thing, in
order to get into the Heaven of Isis is to change your astral body
into the shape of a bird, a Swallow!
So if someone, no matter how much you respect them, tells you
that they dreamed or astrally projected to astral Egypt, they are
wrong, unless they know the specific ways to do it. The Egyptians
then, have a sort of astral lock on the proverbial doors to the
entrance of their heavens, and you can't just blindingly end up there
without the right keys to get there. I can probably safely say that no
more than a couple of dozen people in the last century have been able
to enter these heavens, and no one who has written a book about
Egyptian metaphysics has (including Eliz. Hatch who wrote Initiation;
who knows nothing about Ptahhotep).
The teachers are still pretty much in the Egyptian heavens,
waiting to teach the student who is able to get there.
Although the ancient Egyptians had the wherewithal to go into
drug induced states (they had mandrake and poppies for medicine), I
have yet to find one example of them using them for magic or astral
projection.
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Astral sight was taught before astral projection, using techniques that we still use today.
Several techniques that are used today in astral projection today
were also used in astral projection then, but usually, a priest led
the student in the first several experiences in order for the student
to get used to the experience and feelings associated with projection
to a particular heaven.
Therefore the guided trips were first used. Usually the first
trips were done in the temples (easier to do with all of the power
already resident in the temples). Some, like the priests of Horus were
also done by the Nile's edge, the student going into a sleep, the
priest astrally projecting and drawing the students astral body and
consciousness out doing what is necessary for the Horus boat to arrive
on the astral Nile, then going on the trip through the Horus heaven.
Sometimes it was done out in the desert.
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There was also the Souls of the West, Souls of the East; Lady of
the Evening, Calf of the Goddess (Morning Star), Souls of several
different cities for their special heavens; The Catcher of Gods, the
Divine Being who Examines Gods for Men, the God who Binds Gods.
THOSE THAT YOU WANT TO AVOID: The Unmentionable Terrible Serpent
(with Lovecraftian powers and would be great in his novels, like
Chuthulu or Hastor the Unspeakable, occasionally used in Black Magic,
which apparently was very uncommon in Egypt) I won't give you his
name.
There is of course, Apep, Apophis, and a few specific to each of
the heavens, but are usually particular to the Osirian heaven (Reading
the Book of the Dead will give you a great idea about them).
A zoomorphic projection is when you astrally project then change
your astral body into a zoomorphic figure in order to get to specific
egyptian astral heavens. An example is turning your astral body into a
swallow to get to Isis's heaven, or into a hawk to get to one of
Horus's heavens.
Following the Eastern Tradition of the astral plane, the Egyptians have an almost exact duplicate of the concept. Basically it says
that there is a plane of existence between the realm of the high gods
and earth, called the astral plane, which has layers like an onion.
The astral plane is made up of the mind stuff of heaven and earth
dwellers alike and is as real as both. To the Eastern people, all the
heavens of all the religions are there. To both Egyptian and Easter-
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Evolution
Destruction
Dissolution
Reintegration
Integration
=
=
=
=
=
Ignorance
Knowledge
Experience
Understanding
Wisdom
FROM:
JANA HOLLINGSWORTH
Dear Michael, Not only was this the usual excellent note on Egypt, but
I was most impressed by your concise description of failed initiations. You have touched on a topic only a few Pagans are willing to
think about. Too often initiation in Wiccan and other Pagan groups has
become a spiritually meaningless ritual, and the worst part is that
people don't even know the difference. Then there are all these
novices with no qualifications "self-initiating" themselves. I was
once initiated as a Dianic Witch, but it didn't "take." I never refer
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to myself as a Witch or a Wiccan. I am a Pagan, and I don't need to be
initiated for that.
So many who use the name Wiccan
Could use, in the pants, a good kickin'.
A Pagan I am!
I'd give each dam
Self-proclaimed Wiccan a lickin'.
Jana, Pagan and Proud!
FROM:
MICHAEL POE
Except for those very few hereditary witches, most of Wicca is
new (1940s and later) and as such, much of it is from books and people
who taught themselves from books and then taught others. All of the
spiritual exercises and goals that need to be done to be truly initiated are usually missing (unless you are lucky enough to be one of
the few who was disciplined enough to intuitively done all the right
things first. I have been to many Wiccan initiations and while a few
have been magical, none have been fully effective, and most have been
more like a Catholic mass, all pomp and circumstance and no magic.
That's also essentially true of white people learning shamanism, they
don't get the teachers that really know.
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fact, in the sanctuary part, if you observe the stones in the floor,
you see that two different stones were used. If you had an archaeological map of the temple with the floor stones shown, and color in the
darker stones, you end up with a huge side profile of a face! So the
Temple of God reflected the Temple of Man!
Ptah had other powers and attributes than just artists and
craftsmen (he was one of the Great Creator Gods), and was married to
Sekhmet (who was into other traditions including healing). Ptah is
also associated with the Science and Art of Alchemy. Their offspring
is Nefertum, the God of perfumes and aromatherapy, and of the Lotus.
As you will see in future discussions, more than one god/dess is
associated with a tradition. Ptah is one of the few gods who ever
since predynastic periods, was always portrayed as a human.
Remember that most of the popular literature is from material of
the New Kingdom and later periods. By then Horus was associated in the
popular ancient Egyptian mind as the son of Isis, and especially
popular as that during the Greco-Roman period.
---------RITUALS and RITUAL ELEMENTS
How many times do you get into a Book of Shadows and look at the
rituals? How many of these rituals are complete from opening or
drawing the circle, invocation of the four directions, blessings,
consecrations, invocation, and closing? And how many are incomplete;
in other words, missing some of the elements to the rituals, but maybe
referring to use a certain 4 direction invocation or closing rite? Or
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missing complete elements; such as a hymn or invocation to a Goddess
but no rituals around it?
To the major ancient Egyptian temple colleges, the elements of
ritual were emphasized. A magician, priest/ess, magic worker
at home would end up with several invocations to the four quarters,
several closings, etc.
To the Egyptian; The Way of the Ritual; it's chief god/dess to be
invoked and the way the ritual is to be directed (weather magic for
example) will determine which other ritual elements are used.
Also remember that the Egyptians had generic ritual elements,
usually blessings, consecrations and hymns. A generic hymn to a
goddesses will have spaces in which the goddesses name, titles and
some of her powers would be included.
There were more than one set of god/desses for the four
directions; and even the direction that you started your ritual
changes with the orientation of the ritual.
For example; if you wanted to do a ritual for fertility of the
land, you start off facing south (the Life Giving Nile), then West (to
appease the desert), then North (symbol of fertility), then the East
(rising sun, cosmic fertility), then back to South. Naturally if you
are solar oriented using gods like Amon, Ra, Horus, and goddesses like
Sekhmet or Bast, you started with the east and work your way around
(clockwise).
If you are invoking a goddess in your ritual you DO NOT invoke
the four sons of Horus, UNLESS it is Isis or Nepthys that you are
invoking. There are 2 sets of goddesses of the four directions, and
one of the sets would do better.
There are at least three different sets of gods for the four
directions, more, since Thoth has his own set, as does some cities.
I have a hand written 35 page list of powers and the god/desses
associated with them. It probably corresponds to a book listed in the
Library of the Temple of Horus called "The Book of God and Goddesses
and their Powers".
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Cats were found within the sacred temple area and were ritually
fed. Temple maidens carried cats or kittens in baskets. April and May
were the chief festivals and rituals for Bast.
All cats were revered in the Temple of Bast. Now the question is,
what kind of cats did the Egyptians have?
Orange cats
Orange stripped cats
A Tabby Type
Black Cats
Gray cats
And an Abyssinian (I used to do well in spelling!) type.
Of course, Bast is also associated with Lioness, so small cubs and
adult lionesses were also sacred to her.
Of the principal Egyptian festivals, that of Bast was one of the
most popular. Herodotus describes how, in April and May, thousands of
men and women set off on the pilgrimage in parties which crowded into
numerous boats. The voyage was gay if not positively orgiastic. Men
played the flute, women a type of cymbal called crotala, and all
joined in singing and hand-clapping. As they passed towns, the boats
drew near to the banks and the women shouted bawdy jokes, often
flinging their clothes up over their heads.
Eventually they arrived at Bubastis, sacrificing many animals,
and consuming vast quantities of wine.
Cats were portrayed in every conceivable activity, sculptured
every material from gold to mud, and in every size from colossal to
minute size.
A orange brown cat is depicted on tomb walls, and so is a ginger
cat, and grey tabbies.
During the Bubastite period (XXII dynasty), cat cemeteries became
popular, and a huge profusion of cat amulets were being made.
During the entire time of Egypt, household cats were treated with
the greatest respect. Many of them were bejewelled, and they were
allowed to eat from the same dishes as their owners. Sick cats were
tended with solicitude, and stray cats were fed with bread soaked in
milk and with fish caught in the Nile and chopped up for them.
Cats love basking in patches of sunlight, and Bast was first
worshipped as a form of the sun, the source and sustainer of life and
light. Some of the Egyptians believed that when the Sun went down, a
combat of cosmic proportions took place in the underworld. One of the
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legends had a persea tree with a cat with a knife leaping on a spotted
serpent and cutting off its head. During solar eclipses people would
gather in the streets and shake knives and rattle sistrums in an
effort to spur on the celestial cat and to terrify the threatening
serpent in their struggle beside the Tree of Life.
From the cat's identification with the sun arisen the "cat's
cradle", a name given to certain string-games. The cats cradle was
used to control the movement of the Sun through sympathetic magic.
Sekhmet was combined with Bast and Ra for a triparte goddess
combining the attributes and powers of all three. It was a combination
made for ceremonial magic only, as there is no public worship of
Sekhmet-Bast-Ra at an individual level.
Are you soaking this all in with no questions?
Remember the story about the cat and the Persea
tree that I just related? You should have asked
about the Persea tree and if this Egyptian Tree of
Life is or can be grown in the U.S. and if we know
it by another name.
Come on, ask, come on,
come, after all, its the Cat's Meow!
There are two sacred trees in ancient Egypt. I
mean SACRED! One is the acacia (which varieties
grows all over the US.
The other is the Persea. There are only 2 variet-
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the entities!
A LIMERICK FROM JANA HOLLINGSWORTH
The five cats of Michael were named
For five Gods of Egypt far-famed.
Each suited its title
In character vital.
A five-year-old boy can be blamed.
2054
---------FROM LDE BLACK
Cat Fancy March 1993 pg 13, at bottom.
.
A French scientist has found evidence confirming that the domestic cat
existed 4,000 years ago. During excavations of ancient Egyptian burial
chambers, Alain Pierre Zivie, an Egyptologist, found a network of
tombs that contained stacks and stacks of cat mummies. "Some historians believe the first house cats were wild with long coats," Zivie
said, "but these cat mummies have short hair and look much like modern
cats." Zivie made his discovery in Sakkara, 20 miles south of Cairo.
---------FROM BRENDA RYAN I have a set of hieroglyphic stamps put out by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Have you seen these? Are they useful at
all for actual writing, are they accurate translations, or are they
toys?
FROM MICHAEL POE The hieroglyphic stamps are very
useful, extremely accurate of the hieroglyph. If
using them in magic, be sure to bless and consecrate them first, along with the ink. You can
use henna as an ink.
Michael
FROM ANDY BALESTRACCI Did Hieroglyphics play a
similar role in the Temple philosophy(ies) as seed
syllables, i.e., that symbolized and embodied the
first levels of creation(for lack of a better
word) such as the Sanskrit alphabet of Hinduism (&
maybe others)?
FROM MICHAEL POE
Hieroglyphics did play a part
in the Temple teachings, as symbols of the god/desses, of power objects, of inter-relations. They
themselves had power within them and the mere act
of writing them down (or using a rubber stamp in
today's world) would give the spell more power. As
for being seed syllables, I'm not sure; you will
have to give a few more examples, but there are
hieroglyphics that do stand for and embodied the
levels of creation, but not all of them were
syllables or letters.
Remember that while a
number of hieroglyphics stood for letters, and
some syllables, most of them stood for showing
what the letter/syllable was for; so that if two
objects were spelled the same, another hieroglyphic of the object would be inserted. Example:
Aunt and ant. In Egyptian Aunt would have a female
human figure next to it, and in Ant, an ant would
be next to it.
FROM: ELLEN GUSTAFSON I was just wondering if you
ever checked out the Stele of Revealing and stud2055
ied It in relation to Its time frame, etc. Crowley's intent never was to reproduce the ancient
Egyptian religion, as you know. In fact, the
A:.A:. has as a guideline, that all cultural
references are incidental, not to be taken literally. The Aeon of Horus is a new aeon, and not
meant to return to the beliefs of ancient Egypt. I
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3,000 rooms; 1,500 above, and 1,500 below ground that was so sacred,
no one but high priests could enter the underground rooms. Extremely
magical, and what is better, almost no tourists, even at the height of
the tourist season! Initiations took place here.
Temple of Hathor at Denderah. Magical place with secret chambers
and passageways, Initiation center of Hathor. The Zodiac ceiling was
found in the Temple of Hathor at Denerah (original in British Museum,
replica in temple).
Osirieon at Abydos: Center of the highest initiations of Osiris
(his tomb is located nearby but has not yet been discovered). You can
visit the once underground chambers where the initiations took place,
surrounded by a pond, with a secret passageway (now underwater) supposedly going to Osiris's tombs.
The Ramesseum: west bank of Thebes; Luxor. Sit on the stone
throne of Rameses, feel the power, or go find the initiation chamber
there (the only one that utilizes a coffin). Highly magical.
The Temple of Hatshepsut, same general area.
Temples of Amon and Mut at
this will! The courtyard itself
many tourists, but seek out the
doing rituals there, Sekhmet is
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The Ways to God are as many as the breaths in the bodies of men.
Quote from the entrance to the College of Priests, Temple of Horus at
Edfu, Egypt:
"Knowledge is the Way to Life;
The Way to Life leads to the Way to God.
The Way to God leads to Inner Knowledge.
Inner Knowledge leads to Wisdom.
Wisdom becomes Life."
The Egyptian word "Neter" is neutral and literally translates as
"Abstract Principle" or "Divine Principle."
Ancient Egypt had no conception of the Ultimate as being either
male or female, for to them, the Ultimate Deity combined both sexes.
It's only when the "Divine Principle" starts descending down through
the planes that male and female deities begin.
Ancient Egypt, for those who don't know, may have had a god, or a
goddess as a national deity (worshipped during national holidays,
etc), and a god or a goddess has head of a city or nome (state); such
as Bast, head of Bubastis; but to the Egyptians, god and goddess were
CO-PARTNERS, were in reality none was above the other (exceptions
might be during certain festivals, or the Sun goddess rules during the
day, the Moon God during the night; that's right, many male moon gods
and many female solar goddesses!).
ps. Although that inscription was found at the College of the Temple
of Horus, it did not directly refer to Horus, or Heru by name, therefore, "Divine Principle" is the logical translation since they did use
the word "neter" in the saying.
----------
clappers
clappers
handle
These were used by women only, and only during ceremonies and
ceremonial singing. We have made several reproductions, most don't
sound very well. But I was able to "rattle" an original and it sounded
wonderful. Something of a cross between a babbling brook and wind
chimes. Developed by the Egyptians to help bring on trance states and
whatever other emotional responses prior to and during ritual, it may
very well have worked, especially with half a dozen or more going at
once.
---------THE METAPHYSICAL PARTS OF MAN
The material body: the spirits of the heart is called Hati. Of hearing, Setem; of sight, Maa; of taste, Hu; of touch, Saa; of the material body, Khat.
The astral or Inner Self: Setem, compassion, the ability to feel
rightly. Maa, justice, the ability to perceive rightly. Hu, command,
divine utterance. Saa, perception, knowledge, understanding. Heka,
magic. Ab, the seat of life, source of will and intentions. Ka, the
astral body; principle of the body and protective genius. Khu, the
intellect; low form Khu, highest intellect.
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Then we have the Khaibit, or Dweller; the Shadow, the part before, at
and after the Dweller of the Threshold.
Higher up, the Ba, soul, sublime, and multi-leveled.
Next comes the Sahu, part of the spiritual self and is the spiritual
body otherwise called the spiritual body.
There is also the sekem; lower force; the power of forms, names, and
life.
There is also the Sa, the higher force, essential energy of all.
To give you an idea of the complexity of it all:
Touch: Saa (Sia) god of feeling, knowledge, understanding, intelligence. Personification of perception, to feel, to understand (comes
from Memphis and the Ptah/Sekhmet/Nefertum triad).
As Saau-ur "The Great Intelligence: the cognitive reception of a
situation, object or idea. Saau-ur is mentioned as early as the Vth
dynasty.
As Saa Amenti-Ra "The Intelligence of the Amenti of Ra" god of
conscience and character.
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Sa is a god of protection within his functions and is associated
with Hu, taste. Oddly enough Sa is associated also with the heart. Hu
and Saa together are the Eyes of Horus. More importantly they are the
tongue and heart of Ptah; as such it is thur the heart that men relate
their lives to moral precepts, and to be craftsmen.
---------EGYPTIANS AND THE TAROT
The first Tarot cards known were found in Italy. A reproduction
of them has been done and is usable. I believe that they were nailed
to something. Perhaps someone can fill in where it was found and the
time period they were made.
Bernard Bromage, in his book, which I can't recall the exact
title of (it was years ago), but is something like The Secret Wisdom
of the Egyptians (I'll look it up). Basically the book is fairly
uninteresting as it relates to how ancient Egyptian traditions really
worked. But there was, in one paragraph, something that struck my eye.
In discussing, I believe, the Tarot he says (and despite not remembering the title, I do remember the sentence) "The Tarot, of course,
originated from the Temple of Serapis in Naples, Italy." Well, here is
something specific. Now to find a picture or reference from another
source on a Temple of Serapis in Naples. Ancient Egypt did expand
their temples outside of Egypt, and had temples and sanctuaries in
Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and other places. To make a long story longer, it took about five years before I
finally found a reference to the Temple of Serapis in Italy. The
reference referred to the excavation report done early in this century; that the temple is now pretty much at water level, that the
illustrations on the wall were destroyed by WWII. That means that if
the Tarot came from a chance find, it would be in the excavation
report, if it came from illustrations on the walls, it would still be
in the report. A friend of mine was in Naples and took a picture of
the temple, and indeed, it was awash with water and the illustrations
were definitely not there. Was Bromage right? Did there exist a pretarot illustrations in either wall form or chance papyrus? If true,
did it include the minor arcana as well? If only the major arcana,
what was it supposed to portray at that period of time? Perhaps the
path of the initiate as supposed today? And whose initiate; a Roman/Egyptian one or an Egyptian one? Where indeed is the excavation report? It was printed in Italian, but is there illustrations or photos
of the illustrations? Is there a reference to cards or a papyrus or
manuscript? Are there English translations? How did the Tarot get from
a 3-5th century ad temple to 13-14th century cards? We know that the
Italians were interested in retrieving Greek and Roman statues and
works during that period; was that why and when the transition was
made? All of these things depended on finding the excavation report.
And if the report confirmed it, then did it mean that an even earlier
version existed in Egypt? Lo and behold this could take forever (like
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this note is). But finally, voila! The French Institute of Archaeology
in Cairo found the report for me and sent me a translation of the
illustrations found on the wall. The report consisted of, among other
things not particularly germane here, of descriptions of the illustra2062
tions, and a statue standing in the entrance. There are 20 illustrations that were on the wall prior to their destruction during WWII.
Assuming for a moment that Major Arcana card number 0, which is
the fool and generally interpreted as the initiate starting out on his
journey, it would follow that, given the sequence of illustrations on
the temple's walls, that indeed the ) card would be the initiate of
Serapis.
Card One: Magician:
Found at the entrance to the temple, just inside, was a partially
damaged statue of the god Khnemu, and in front of him, an altar. The
god Khnemu is the only god in ancient Egypt that is shown (and even at
that, rarely), and applies in this case, with one hand pointed towards
the sky, the other towards the earth. Khnemu is the god of the Nile,
and since in the major arcana, water in the cards represents the flow
of consciousness, it follows that the flow starts from Khnemu, the
Nile (at least for Egyptians it would). The ritual equipment would
have been placed on the altar.
Card II: High Priestess:
The first illustrations, the first one on the left side is of
Veiled Isis (also one of only two Egyptian goddesses ever shown veiled). The illustration was between two pillars, the lotus and a papyrus
pillar, and in the illustration Isis is seated, holding a lotus. Crown
of sun and crescent moon.
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reveal the morning sun) with the initiate now in the light (symbolically and realistically).
Card XX: Judgement:
Illustration scene of initiate, hand in hand with the god Thoth,
being led away from the Weighing of the Heart scene. His heart has
been found true and just, in balance.
Card XXI: World:
The last illustration is somewhat damaged but clear enough to
show the famous Nut, Geb, Shu scene. This scene is of the goddess of
the Heavens, Nut, over the god of earth, Geb, with the god of space,
Shu, in between. This is the classic Egyptian motif of all the world,
heaven, earth and everything in between. The initiate is now one with
ALL.
Now, although all of the above scenes are for initiates, this
could mean two things:
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1. This is a "storyboard" set of illustrations of one, albeit,
long and very involved type of initiation.
2. This is a "storyboard" set of illustrations of a series of
steps and initiations of any initiate of Serapis and could conceivably
take a lifetime to achieve.
It is important to note that this room does not have one illustration of Serapis himself in it! He shows up on the outside of the
temple in illustrations! The excavation report concluded that this
room was either a special place of initiations or a special place of
worship. During the 10th-16th centuries, when the Europeans were
rediscovering Greek and Roman statues, books, etc., this temple could
very well have been recovered and uncovered. In fact the illustrations
were partially still open to view before the excavation! I have traced
several temples of Serapis, and have been trying to get notes on their
illustrations as well. Two temples of Serapis in Egypt, one during the
Greek/Ptolemaic period, and one of the 19th dynasty also show like
illustrations, getting more and more Egyptian as the temples got
older.
Did the Egyptians actually have tarot cards of the major arcana?
Not likely, as papyrus would be pretty much impossible to shuffle!!
But here is the initial result of my study, it took years to find this
material. Did the Temple of Serapis inspire the Italians to make the
Major Arcana of the Tarot? It certainly contained the elements and the
interpretation! Perhaps Bromage, who is rarely right, was right about
this one. Further studies on Serapis temples that I did seem to keep
the illustrations in order, but we do have a big gap between the
temple and the first known cards!
The tradition of Serapis starts from an early age, from the 1st
dynasty of about 3,100 bce with Seken-ka as the first master of the
tradition. In the XVIII dynasty Amenhotep enhanced the tradition, as
did XIX dynastic Khawmwese, XXVI dynastic Amen-em-apt, XXXth dynastic
Nectanebus, the last native king of Egypt, who ordered the spread of
Egyptian temples throughout the known world.
During the Roman period, Psoiphis and Chaeremon were leaders in
the tradition.
We have possible other sources of the ancient origin of Tarot
including the ancient book, "78 Phases of Ra," the Book of Gates (it
has 21 gates).
There are
phis. The nome
Apis, from the
derived. There
sekha-hera.
temples of Serapis at Alexandria, Naples, Rome, Memstate of Ament's capital was sacred to Serapis, called
pre-Serapis tradition of Apis, from which Serapis is
is a temple of Serapis in northern Amant called He-t
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Now, is the word Tarot actually Egyptian or a derivation of an
ancient Egyptian word or words? It very well could be. Ta and ro or
rot are two Egyptian sounds.
Ta = the following words:
thou
bread, cake
staff (wand)
this
land/earth
TO JOURNEY
earth god
time
essence of a god
glory
to give
moment/time
THOTH
forms/likeness/image
the
a covered court
words, acts
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long out of print, very expensive), it is THE magical texts and divination.
---------RESOURCES
I am familiar with the Church of Light organization in Los Angeles. They are no help in assistance, as all of their information is
of Greek/Roman period and doesn't go any further back, and I already
have the Greco/Roman period down. It's true that Iamblichus did write
about Egyptian initiation, but the translations of his work do not
include any descriptions of Tarot-like illustrations. Unlike what the
Church of Light says, the translations are readily available. One must
remember that initiations done in the 4th century do not and will not
accurately reflect the initiations that took place in ancient Egypt.
Egypt took a profound change in the late dynastic period prior to the
Greeks, and even more during the Greek and Roman periods. Much of the
magic, mysteries were lost and new ones invented or gaps were substituted by current thought. It was a decaying period for Egypt,
adopting to Greek ways and then to Roman ones. The mysteries and
initiations became an echo of what they once were.
The Church of the Eternal Source, also in Los Angeles, on the
other hand, is a very Egyptian mystery oriented organization, but
centers around the Old, Middle and New Kingdom, using the original
papyrus and temple inscriptions for their mysteries and initiations.
But still, in both cases, their knowledge is limited by what has been
published and available. The translations and the original documents
about such things are either not published, or published in limited
editions and not available in most libraries. The French Institute of
Archaeology in Cairo has the most complete library of all published
and unpublished material related to ancient Egypt. I use them extensively.
The Church of Light, on the other hand, uses adapted to modern
symbolism, not ancient ones. The Tower card would never have been done
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in ancient Egypt like the Church of Light did it. In essence the
Church made up a Neo-Egyptian religion incorporating ancient symbols
and modern thought, when they just could have used the ancient symbols
as is. In other words, they tried, without much research, to make a
modern Tarot deck using ancient symbols out of place, rather than
making an ancient tarot deck using ancient symbols in place. Then they
think that this is going to get you in touch with ancient Egypt.
Wrong! It may get you in touch with modern man's (since the time of
Blavatsky) metaphysical idea of what ancient Egypt was, but to get in
touch with ancient Egypt, you need to use ancient Egyptian methods.
Kind of like getting a model airplane and putting it together without
a picture to go by or the guide to do it right.
---------THE INHERENT DIFFICULTY OF STUDYING
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION
Throughout its 4,000 odd year old history there is no systematic
account of the doctrines used. Different men living at different times
do not think alike; and no college of priests had formulated a system
of beliefs that was received by all clergy and laity alike. 42 nomes;
42 religions in 4,000 years! Changes were extent, differences, even in
the same periods, were great. But all had one thing in common, Organic
Totality.
Organic Totality: the physical environment, human organizations,
conscience, language and ultimate goals, all make up Egypt's totality.
Egypt did not have a central dogma or sacred book. But the one thing
that prevented them from losing their individuality and from coalescing into a common unit is the belief in more than one set of gods.
The Egyptian religions were both personal and nationalistic. It was
personal to each individual or family; private, interwoven with a
sense of personal right and wrong, with a personal shrine or "niche"
in every house to their personal gods/desses. It was nationalistic
because usually the place of the national seat of government determined, for the most part, the overall thought of the period, the
morality of the period. The Egyptian religion offers a variety of
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were they qualified, where was it taught, what differences are there
between personal worship at home and temple worship, etc.?
---------There was a note about religions borrowing elements from others
and that it happened for millennia. Such is definitely not the case.
Granted it is easy to find a few that did, Christianity, Islam, Roman.
And granted it is easy to find more that borrowed SOME of its tradition, but let's look at a couple of those.
There is no evidence that the Ancient Egyptian religion came out
from somewhere else. From pre-dynastic to the Middle Kingdom there
were only one or two examples where borrowing took place, but in each
and every case, they adopted THE ENTIRE SYSTEM. In fact in almost
every case of a pagan religion part of another system, they almost
invariably adopted the priesthood with it, or had the priesthood teach
them, Or made it a part but separate from the main religion. This is
totally different from today's pagans. Instead of being taught from
the priesthood of the other religion or adopting the entire priesthood, they take bits and snatches that they don't understand and adopt
it.
Now it is agreed by both Egyptologists, The Church of the Eternal
Source (see Drawing Down the Moon), and many Hermeticists that in the
Late Period of ancient Egypt, the priesthood not only started forgetting the important esoteric side of their own religion, but started
adopting others bits and pieces, without the total integration that
they practiced earlier. It resulted in a almost total breakdown of
usefulness in practicing magic, mumbling now meaningless phrases, and
effectiveness in their magic and rituals.
One can count numberless examples of just how much one can be
effective when you only know a small part of the whole (kind of like
driving a car for the first time when the only thing you know about is
the trunk).
Also in ancient Egyptian, Hindu, Buddhism, and many American
Indian religions (and paganism in the 1950-1970's) there was a belief
that a symbol, if believed in by a large number of people over a large
span of time, is far more effective than a symbol that is used by a
small group over a short period of time. Does it not hold true that a
magical object is imbued with more magic every time it is used?
Thus, then how effective can a system be if it is 20-30 years old,
practiced by 500 people, using symbols that are either brand new or
misunderstood? (Like using a red pentagram for bring forth the earth
element; how less effective is it as opposed to a green one which has
been used by millions of people for thousands of years?)
Occult philosophy by these groups and many others maintain that
the more powerful an object is based on the formula: # of people using
it + # of years in use + the ability of the individual to use it + the
correctness in its use. The astral plane is exclusively made up by
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just this principle, and it's this plane where much of the magic is
done.
The effectiveness of the individual to practice his magic or
religion is also directly proportional to the abilities and effectiveness of his/her teacher, and the degree of success in achieving the
goals in his/her training.
FROM MARK REYBURN
On borrowing, syncretism is and was
common among many religions, including Egyptians, as you
note. It tends to occur most frequently in cultures with
regular contact with different practices. One of the Sun
Dances, I think it's the Cherokee, is supposed to be syncretic. Who they got it from escapes me, my anthro classes
are practically history themselves by now! Selective borrowings are, as you note, tricky things. But, we would be
poorer without it. And ceremonial magic aside, symbol use is
more free-form than most of us would prefer. Not quite,
words mean what I want them to mean, but symbols are much
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ALCHEMY
There are some definite misconceptions expressed here on Alchemy.
Alchemy is not about transmuting lead into gold (that was, at the
most, a test on your elixir), it does not involve using electricity,
it is not part of tantric.
One of the problems involved is that people get a tradition that
they don't understand and misuse the term until it loses almost all of
its original meaning.
Alchemy is a spiritual experience that is a combination of two
things, the transmutation of the workers spirit with the transmutation
of physical substances (which creates the Elixir of Life).
while in the broad sense that Alchemy is a transmutation, it has
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no part in Tantric.
The physical and metaphysical process has always been described
in allegories, hence the confusion of work with metals.
In order to practice alchemy today, you need to read only about 2
or 3 good books on the subject
"Gold of a Thousand Mornings" is a non-fiction book describing
alchemy by a man/wife team in France. It dwells on both the spiritual
and physical aspects and describes the work that they did.
"An Alchemists Handbook" has a brief description of the meaning
and the "Great Work" (as it is called), and gives you in great detail
how to do the physical work.
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In order for alchemy to work, you need to do both at the same time
as you need self transformation to work in order for the physical
transformation to work.
the chemical side of work delves mainly into herbs, and if you use
herbs in your regular work, then you will have real use with alchemy.
In the chemical aspect, the herb's essence is extracted (the gold
from the dross), as well as yourself (your essence is purified). To do
so, you usually need chemical glassware such as a condenser, or
soylent extractor. This is a typical operation when making perfume
from flowers or making an herbal extraction. The main difference is
that the extraction takes place with a magical bent to it. rituals are
done during the extraction process, timing is essential (astrological,
lunar, and solar, and seasonal timing) .
So, since you may already be familiar with blessing and consecration of magical tools, and putting power into them, a very
similar thing is done to yourself (an human vessel) and your herbal
product during the alchemical process.
also, there are two existing alchemical schools, one in France,
one in Utah (of all places!)
If you already use herbs in your other work, following this
process will net you much more powerful herbal concoctions as well as
a more powerful and spiritual self.
I myself use the process. One of the aspects in alchemy is that
one gathers certain herbs, minerals to produce an elixir that will
extend life (as one of it's benefits). but before ingesting it, an
alchemist would sometimes test it by adding a pinch of it to lead, and
if it turned into gold, then your elixir is finished and can be used.
However, turning lead into gold was never the end product for the
work, but merely a test. You can make other useful herbal/concoctions
without achieving the 'Elixir of Life.'
Since alchemy is non-denominational, it can be used with practically any tradition.
The source of the word Alchemy has had a lot of discussion among
alchemical writers and alchemists. Although chemy did eventually
become chemistry, the origin of the word did not.
The most agreed upon definition of the term Alchemy is this:
Al
(arab word meaning THE) Khemia; meaning Egypt, which comes from the
ancient Egyptian word for Egypt meaning "black land"
thus:
The
Black Land
since Alchemy does originate in Egypt, it makes sense.
The first alchemical work is called the Emerald Tablet, written by
Thoth, or Hermes Trismigistos.
the father of alchemy is Zoismos, an Egyptian.
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the mother of alchemy is Marie, the Egyptian, who describes in her
works the actual equipment used. (the only person who does!!!!).
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---------ISIS
The Fellowship of Isis is the only group that I am aware of that
worships only Isis and is not a Wiccan group. Their headquarters is on
the British Isles but has many members in the US. They do, however,
use almost exclusively late Dynastic and Greco-Roman Isis rituals,
which many people believe are disbased and not well understood (true
of most of the Egyptian traditions at that time).
The Church of the Eternal Source uses rituals from the Old to New
Kingdom ( I-XXIst. Dynasty) and includes Isis. It is a federation of
Egyptian temples, so there are Priests of Horus, Thoth, Ptah, Priestesses of Bast, Sekhmet/Bast, Hathor and Isis. And, oh yes, a priest
and priestess of Osiris. They are currently looking at an initiation
plan based on ancient Egyptian sources to possibly adopt as their own.
If there is a group by the name that the person mentioned, it may
be either a new Egyptian traditions group, or an eclectic Wiccan
group.
Isis was never worshiped by Wiccans prior to the 1950's and should
best be worshipped by people acquainted with the ancient Egyptian
Traditions related to her. Isis went through many changes, adding more
powers and attributes as time went on. She wasn't even called a Mother
Goddess for the first 2,000 years of her worship.
Most people who don't know ancient egyptian traditions don't get
the response from Isis that they expect (or a totally different
response). Isis is very powerful, but exacting. It's always best to
know what power relates to which of her forms in order to invoke her.
One thing to remember. Isis belongs to several ancient Egyptian
traditions. As such, you won't be aware of her powers and attributes
unless you are familiar with the Egyptian traditions.
For example, as an Enchantress, she is invoked with a special form
in mind (holding specific objects, in specific positions, wearing
specific clothes). Not to have that form in mind, according to ancient
Egyptian tradition, is to negate your entire ritual, or to degrade it
(it won't have the effect as much as if you did it the right way), or
to have an effect entirely different.
Isis, for one, has many powers and attributes, and many forms.
Just invoking her in a different direction invokes a power you may not
be aware of. As such she can appear to be both benign or terrible (she
is one of the Dweller of the Door, or Threshold goddesses).
Even during the Egyptian period, 4,000 bce (predynastic) to 641 ad
(the closing of her last temple) she went through many modifications
and changes. She wasn't even known as a mother goddess for at least
1,500 years!
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It's too bad that people borrow god/desses from traditions that
they know little about, to use in ritual. If they knew the tradition
better, their ritual would be better.
There is also an Isis heaven to astral project to, but again, in
Egyptian tradition, you must know the way, the form to use to get
there, otherwise you go to a false one.
She also appears as an astral guide, but again, only assumes a
specific form.
Unfortunately there is little written about how to actually practice Egyptian ritual (although the Church of the Eternal Source
knows). That is a gap that I hope to fill one day, having spent over
30 years studying ancient Egypt, worked there for several years in the
tombs and temples, and have the best resources available to me in the
term of published and unpublished material. I am currently working on
what could be
several volumes on the Theory and Practice of the Ancient Egyptian
Traditions (good title!)
----------
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INFORMATION ON BAST
from ancient Egyptian sources
Powers and Attributes of Bast:
Lady of the East (IVth Dynasty on)
Female Personification of Fire
the Light Bearer
Female power of Light, Heat, Sun, Fire, Mild Heat of the
day and Year
Power of germination of seeds
Power of early Summer
Goddess of the Birth Chamber
Goddess of Full Moon
Goddess of Cats
Protection
Bast festivals occur in April and May in her temple at Bubastis,
facing east.
The Greeks associated her with Diana.
Bast was also used to learn words of power to vanquish the powers of
darkness (IVth Dynasty).
Bast attributes are also related to cats.
Bast had at least four different forms (and no breastplate related by
another, more contemporary book)
FROM BRANDY WILLIAMS
Ref.: THE BOOK OF GODDESS &
HEROINES by Patricia Monaghan. "She originated in
the Nile delta, but by 930 B.C., the power of Bast
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was acknowledged by all Egyptians. At first she
was a lion-goddess of sunset, symbolizing the
fertilizing force of the sun's rays. Later her
image grew tamer: she became a cat carrying the
sun, or a cat-headed woman who bore on her breastplate the lion of her former self." Bast ruled
pleasure and dancing, music and joy. At Bubastis
("House of Bast"), the center of her worship,
great celebrations were held. Boatloads of worshipers - hundreds of thousands of them, Herodotus
said - were greeted by pleasant flute melodies as
they debarked for a worship service combined with
a vast trade fair. Bast's followers believed that
in return for this reverent celebration Bast
bestowed both mental and physical health.
As a cat goddess of the moon she lit up the night, throwing light
on things which would otherwise be concealed. Moon lights up a world
hidden in darkness, and the cat gives us insight with her light of the
under, or inner world. The Moon is the searcher, a seeker of Truth.
Bast is known as the Lady of Truth. Beams of the moon point the way
and a narrow path called a cat walk, usually called in Egyptian as the
Middle Way or Path.
When a cat curls up with its head touching its tail, it forms a
circle, symbol of eternity.
Bast also symbolizes sensuality, grace, coordination of movement.
Bubastis (town of Bast) also called Per-Bast, Pa-Bast, Pibeseth,
Tell-Basta
Location: lower Egypt, northern kingdom and capital of the 18th
nome or state, Am-Khent.
time Period of Bubastis:
IInd Dynasty to at least 640 ad.
IInd Dynasty: "in the reign of the 1st king, a chasm opened up
and many people perished."
IV: Khufu (builder of the Great Pyramid) built here.
XXII: Libyans ruled Egypt here
640 ad: Bubastis still alive and worshipping cats here.
Temple of Bast on an island with only an entranceway bridging it.
There is also a Temple to Thoth, and a shrine to Temit. Minor gods:
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Temit: Lady of the Two Lands and Osiris: the thigh of Osiris is in a
hidden chest at Netert.
Triad at Bubastis: Bast, Osiris, Heru-hekennu, and to a lesser
extent: Nefer-tem.
Invoke the cat Bast to learn words of power to vanquish the powers of
darkness (IVth dynasty on)
Bast attributes related to cats;
refusal to take things overseriously
science of relaxation, never waste energy
accepts the nature of things, superb indifference to opinion,
refusal to be at beck and call
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insistence of complete freedom of expression
when a cat curls up with its head touching its tail, it
forms a circle, symbol of eternity
luxuriating sensuality, grace, coordination of movement
Egyptian cats are typically orange-brown, ginger and a gray tabby.
As a lioness, (her earliest forms), painted green, she personifies the
Sun. As a cat, she has connections with the moon.
Mother of lion god Ari-hes of Aphroditopolis, Mother of Sekhem, of
Denderah
Bast is also considered to be the Soul of Isis.
Forms usually seen:
1. Upright cat, holding a sistrum and aegis, surrounded by four
protector cats.
2. woman's body, head of lion or cat, holding sistrum and either a
basket or a aegis (can hold uatchet)
3. Aegis of Bast sometimes has a head of a cat crowned with solar
disk and uraeus, emblems of Sekhmet.
4. Lion headed woman, oldest form of Bast. In 5th Dynasty temple
called, "Bastet, Lady of Ankh-Taui."
Also associated with:
Mut-Bast: personification of the moon in Thebes, she is a woman
wearing horns on her head with a sun's disk between them. Mut-Bast is
the counterpart of Amen-Ra-Temu-Khepera-Heru-Khuti
Sekhmet, as a counter-part
Assessor Thenemi (he who goes backwards) and who comes forth from
Bast.
Assessor Basti
A good description of the Festival of Bast, called the Festival
of Lights, has been described by various Greek and Roman writers.
The temple of Bast in Bubastis, while on a island, is lower than
the rest of the city, and therefore, is the only temple that the
people can see into the courtyard. Also there is a sacred grove of
trees in the courtyard (the only one known of all temples in Egypt).
At the festival of Lights, all light in the city is extinguished. then
a new fire is made in the temple and the priests come out to light the
torches of the people who then parade throughout the city to relight
all the home fires. by the Greek/Roman period there was also a kind of
sexual license at the time at the festival. Food and drink for all
(which is typical of the temple festivals).
Speaking of cats!
I had a request from Jennifer about Wadjet,
the rearing cobra, sometimes lioness. Good observation, most people
don't know that Wadjet is VERY occasionally depicted as a Cat. Here is
the answer.
Wadjet, the cobra depicts two things: the real snake (in the proverbial papyrus grass) with it's dangerous forms and powers. And 2, the
Kundalini, or Serpent Fire of the human body coming out of the third
eye! That's why the serpent is always on the crown or is the crown
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over the
that the
have you
Wadjet's
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third eye. It's also symbolic of the sun. I know, you think
Kundalini comes out of the top of your head, as Hindus would
believe. Could be true, but in Egypt, when one works with
fire, you direct the route to the third eye (the burning,
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ses at night and vice versa. The thoughts or reasons behind it is that
mixing and matching causes:
a. The ritual will not be as effective.
b. The ritual may not be effective.
c. The ritual or the residue afterward will have powers that weren't
intentioned by the person, but was part and parcel to the god/dess
invoked.
d. The ritual will backfire.
e. The ritual will have residue that will be uncomfortable.
f. It's warps the lines of power (more shamanistic thinking than
Egyptian, who says that it warps the Sa, which translates as spiritual
power).
Many shamanistic religions do not ground their power after the
ritual (after all, it usually is being held at a sacred spot). They
feel that either because the power will be contained at the power
spot, or the powers you invoked were clear enough not to leave a side
effect. Still, I am not proposing to not ground yourself afterward.
2084
So, what I do propose is to not try to associate one god/dess
with another. None of them will have the exact same attributes or
powers. And invoking Pan and Bacchus at an Egyptian temple, or Pan at
Stonehenge is just as bad as invoking Gabriel at the Great Pyramid!
It won't work, you won't get the power from the spot you want, only
your own, or negative power.
Isis, for instance is considered by most Wiccan's as one of the
Great Mother Goddesses. yet in ancient Egypt, out of her 3,000 year
history, most of the time she was not known as a Mother Goddesses.
At the Church of the Eternal Source (federation of Egyptian
temples) Isis Priest/esses rarely held out for very long. All kind of
terrible things generally happened to them. The main reason is that
all of them used part of Isis's powers, and would not work, or refused
to recognize her other powers. Eventually though, they seeped in
anyway and to their detriment. Had they recognized all of her powers
in the first place, things might have been different.
Perhaps your basic misconception is that all goddesses represent
the same forces; they don't; and neither do the gods.
Yes, basically there is one great force that encompasses both
male and female powers. This basic force, as it filters down, differentiates into different types of forces, and these forces are the
god/desses that we know.
Isis doesn't have the same powers as Sekhmet or Hathor or Bast.
they may share some of the powers, but they have powers unique to
them.
Kind of like Leonardo De Vinci knowing a lot about everything, but
Cellini was an excellent goldsmith, Van Gogh a painter, Perot a
businessman.
Hence, not all goddesses are the same, nor do they have the same
powers.
You might consider it like rivers and oceans in reverse. The ocean
has all the attributes, and it drains it attributes into separate
rivers (some swift, some calm, some wide, some narrow, some short,
some long.
In Egypt the ultimate deity was called "Neter", which translates
as "Divine Principle" and the work is neuter, having both male and
female principles within. The next in order is a male neter and a
neteriat, a god and a goddess. Below that comes numerous god/desses
which more specific powers and attributes.
Now the question is, where these receptacles of specific powers
invented by mankind or higher powers? In the long run, it doesn't
matter as long as they work.
2085
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through to Cleopatra VII, last ruler of Egypt. There are famous women
who were not rulers who were thus canonized.
If you want to read more about Osiris, I suggest you read:
Henri Frankfort: Ancient Egyptian Philosophy
E. Wallis Budge: Osiris (not great, but comprehensive)
W. Faulkner: The Egyptian Book of the Dead
Rundle:
Ancient Egyptian Religion
Sigmund Morenz: Ancient Egyptian Religion
Klaus Baier: Osiris, His Tomb in Abydos (article in the
French Institute of Archaeology of Cairo, if you read
French).
---------Have you gotten a newsletter in May?
The CES is currently
undergoing a restructuring, there should be 4 newsletters and 1 to 2
Khepera (journals) per year. I will be contributing to both. In past
newsletters I have contributed some spells, rituals, and many hymns
that have been translated from temple walls or papyri or osteraca. I
will be doing more extensive articles for the magazine, like one that
will be on the metaphysical parts of man in ancient Egypt. Much of the
material are extracts from my Magnum Opus. 90% of it is on paper as
notes, and 1st drafts. Only 10% currently on computer, and that is
where the future time will go. As putting it on computer, the notes
will become 1st drafts; the 1st drafts will become more finished and
polished to the 2nd draft stage (with additional notes added in; isn't
computers a wonderful tool; insert note between sentences or add a
paragraph without having to retype the entire page!). The 3rd and
probable final draft will be adding last notes, final polishing,
footnotes, indexing, and grammar and sentence checking.
the Rituals, hymns, spells, blessings, consecrations, 4 directional rituals, initiations are complete on paper, with about 10% of
that on computer. Basically all of this is going into a data base, so
cross referencing can be done.
Although it may not be needed (but you may want to think about doing
it) in Wicca, in Egyptian it is essential because of the traditions
and large time frame involved.
Example:
Type: Blessing, Consecration, astral projection, mantras (yes,
even mantras in Egypt).
Main God/dess or Goddess: Main goddess invoked, plus any others,
also there are some generic rites.
Traditions:
identifies the different traditions this particular
ritual comes from.
Source: Where did I acquire this? Much is from translations from
published books (like Excavations at Abydos by Petrie (translations of
hymns on temple walls), or from the French Institute of Archaeology in
Cairo.
2090
Time Period: important occasionally because the god/dess powers
and attributes changed over time.
Form: what does the god/dess look like, stand/sit, hold during
this spell/ritual. Visualizing one form of Isis that naturally invokes
one set of specific powers, but using a ritual that invokes another
set of powers creates conflict, and at best, won't be effective, and
at worst, down right dangerous.
Corresponding Codes: Since most Egyptian rituals are composed (as
are wicca) of elements, such as drawing the circle, consecration,
blessing, hymns, etc.; in Egypt they were given to the individual in
parts. the individual was already trained on how to put the parts
together. Hence, he or she may have 5-6 ways to invoke the 4 directions, using three sets of god/desses. He/she may also have 10 blessings, 20 hymns, etc to different gods/goddesses. He has to know (like
a alchemist) how to successfully match the parts together to make a
successful whole.
---------Recommendations on books on ancient Egypt and it's practices:
Priests of Ancient Egypt: Serge Sauron (last word is probably
misspelled.)
Egyptian Religion:
by Morenz
Ancient Egyptian Thought and Culture: Henri Frankfort
Egyptian Temples: by Margaret Murray
Isis in the Greco-Roman World: probably by Michael Hoffman.
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