Tuesday, November 30, 2010

pyramids notes

How The Pyramids Were Built: The Diamond Matrix and the Number 7

How The Pyramids Were Built: The Diamond Matrix and the Number 7One of the first questions that is asked when the topic of pyramids arises is “How did the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids?” We’ve explored a few of these theories in the six-part series here at Talking Pyramids – from the traditional theories to the more innovative ideas such as Jean-Pierre Houdin’s Internal Ramp thory.

Just when you thought you’d heard them all, up pops another new theory explaining how the pyramids were built. This new theory was developed by Ole Jørgen Bryn, Associate professor from the Faculty of Architecture and fine Arts at the Norwegian University of Sciense and Technology (NTNU) and was published earlier this year in a scientific article in the Nordic Journal of Architectural Research.

In the paper Bryn explains how the construction of most of the Egyptian pyramids could have been carried out using a simple grid and the number seven.

Here’s an exert from the NTNU’s website:

What Bryn discovered was quite simple. He believes that the Egyptians invented the modern building grid, by separating the structure’s measuring system from the physical building itself, thus introducing tolerance, as it is called in today’s engineering and architectural professions…

…Bryn has studied the plans from the thirty oldest Egyptian pyramids, and discovered a precision system that made it possible for the Egyptians to reach the pyramid’s last and highest point, the apex point, with an impressive degree of accuracy. By exploring and making a plan of the pyramid it is possible to prepare modern project documentation of not just one, but all pyramids from any given period.

As long as the architect knows the main dimensions of a pyramid, he can project the building as he would have done it with a modern building, but with building methods and measurements known from the ancient Egypt, Bryn says.

In a scientific article published in May 2010 (Retracing Khufu’s Great Pyramid in the Nordic Journal of Architectural Research, vol 22, no. 1/2, 2010) Bryn discusses aspects that can explain the construction of a multitude of the Egyptian pyramids by taking the building grid, and not the physical building itself, as the starting point for the analysis.

Could Ole Jørgen Bryn be right?

Download his paper to read more about the theory: Retracing Khufu’s Great Pyramid. The “diamond matrix” and the number 7 (right-click and ‘save as’).

Tags: Khufu

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Unique Crown suggests Arsinoë II ruled as King of Lower Egypt

A unique queen’s crown with ancient symbols combined with a new method of studying status in Egyptian reliefs forms the basis for a re-interpretation of historical developments in Egypt in the period following the death of Alexander the Great.

In the thesis 'The Crown of Arsinoë II', Maria Nilsson shows that Cleopatra VII was not the only Ptolemaic female pharaoh – Queen Arsinoë II came first, 200 years earlier. Nilsson argues that Arsinoë (316-270 BC) should be included in the official pharaonic king list as Ptolemy II's co-regent; her royal authority should be considered equivalent to Hatshepsut, Tawosret and Amenirdis II, as one of the most important royal women in Egyptian history.

Researchers largely agree on Queen Arsinoë II’s importance from the day that she was deified. The queen was put on a level with the ancient goddesses Isis and Hathor, and was still respected and honoured 200 years after her death when her better-known descendant Cleopatra wore the same crown. But the reasons behind Arsinoë’s huge influence have been explained in many different ways.

Maria Nilsson, from the University of Gotenburg in Sweden, has studied her historical importance by interpreting the Macedonian queen's personal crown and its ancient symbols. The crown, which has never been found but is depicted on statues and Egyptian reliefs, was created with the help of the Egyptian priesthood to symbolise the qualities of the queen. In her thesis 'The crown of Arsinoë II. The creation and development of an imagery of authority' (available online here), Nilsson questions the traditional royal line which excludes female regents, and defies some researchers’ attempts to minimise Arsinoë’s importance while she was still alive.

“My conclusion instead is that Arsinoë was a female pharaoh and high priestess who was equal to and ruled jointly with her brother and husband, and that she was deified during her actual lifetime,” says Nilsson. “It was this combination of religion and politics that was behind her long-lived influence.”

As early as Predynastic times, ancient Egyptian rulers depicted themselves, in line with their gods, wearing different crowns. Six main forms are documented from at least the early dynastic period, and still regularly depicted – although elaborated upon – in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods; the khepresh (or blue crown), the white crown, the red crown, the double crown, the double feather plume and the atef (or ostrich feather) crown. So far archaeologists have not found any physical royal crowns, and Egyptologists have to make do with studying depictions of the various crowns on tomb paintings and reliefs.

The crown became an ideal tool for communicating individuality and status when all the other elements were fundamentally locked in artistic tradition and strictly regulated

Until the Ptolemaic period, the double crown was the most important and powerful royal crown, rarely receiving any pictorial additions. However, Arsinoë II's crown was based on the composition of different pictorial elements; the red crown, ram horns, the double feather plume and the cow horns with solar disc. By wearing a traditional crown, the Ptolemaic queen would have associated herself with the previous pharaonic ruling couples, as well as the divine world of Egypt, but the new composition of elements can be seen as an expression of a more individualistic symbolic approach.

“The crown became an ideal tool for communicating individuality and status when all the other elements were fundamentally locked in artistic tradition and strictly regulated,” writes Nilsson.

Ann Wuyts

According to Nilsson, the crown was created for the living queen, and reflects the main three aspects of Arsinoë's positions – her royal position as King of Lower Egypt, high priestess and God's wife of Amun, and her status of goddess, both during and after her lifetime as thea Philadelphos – can be clearly identified in the crown's iconography. It indicates that she was proclaimed female pharaoh during her lifetime, and that she was regarded the female founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Arsinoë's crown can be found in at least 27 variations, and was later worn by Ptolemaic queens Cleopatra III and VII. However, it was not only Cleopatra who wanted to re-use Arsinoë’s important and symbolic crown. Male descendants – all named Ptolemy – used her crown as a template when creating a new crown which they gave to the goddess Hathor to honour the domestic priesthood and so win its support when Egypt was gripped by civil war.

“Evidently, this crown was accepted throughout the ages as an individual attribute of Hathor of Dendera, while the crown of Arsinoë, in its original form, disappeared with Cleopatra VII,” writes Nilsson. “The most important conclusion that comes out of this study of the later Hathoric crown is that the Ptolemies found an Egyptian divine couple that could complement their claimed Greek divine ancestry, that Hathor of Dendera and Horus of Edfu signified and personified the male and female side of the Ptolemaic dynasty at the time of the crowns' introduction.”

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Nilsson's thesis is structured around the crown and includes its wider context in the reliefs (with a most fascinating chapter about size and position, relative scaling and the 'crown line' (p 343-392), demonstrating that Arsinoë 's crown placed the queen as the most important figure in a majority of scenes) and paves the way for future studies of Egyptian crowns as symbols of power and status – for instance the difference between crowns worn by Egyptian woman in their roles as queens and those worn by priestesses.

“The creation of Queen Arsinoë’s crown was just the beginning,” she says.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Notes on Magick in Egypt

Magic in Ancient Egypt
Geraldine Pinch
Papyrus Jumilhac
The Coffin Texts,
Book of Overthrowing Apep.
Book of Breakthing
Book of the Heavenly Cow
Papyrus Jumilhac
Turin Magickal Papyrus
The Book of Two Ways
The Brooklyn Magical Papyrus
The Contending of Horus and Setti
The Books of the End of the Year
The Book of the Last Day of the Year
Papyrus Westcar
Papyrus Lee
Papyrus Rolliri
Papyrus Vandief)
Papyrus Westcar
Bremner-Rhind Papyrus
ChesterBeatty
Papyrus Ebers
The Book of Two Ways







Heka could be identified with the creator himself, particularly when
the latter appeared in child form to symbolize the emergence of new life.
Heka is also described as the ba (the soul or manifestation) of the sun
god. He was the energy which made creation possible and every act of
magic was a continuation of the creative process.


Some Egyptian deities were merely personifications of abstract concepts
or natural phenomena and were never the focus of cult worship or
private devotion. No major temples were built for Heka, but he did have
a priesthood and shrines were dedicated to him in Lower (northern)
Egypt. There was also a goddess called Weret Hekau 'Great of Magic'.
Originally this was just an epithet, applied to a number of goddesses. As
a goddess in her own right, Weret Hekau was usually shown in cobra
form. She was one of the goddesses who acted as a foster-mother to the
divine kings of ancient Egypt and she was the power immanent in the
royal crowns. The snake-shaped wands used by magicians probably
represent her (fig. 3).
All deities and lesser supernatural beings, including the forces of
chaos, had their own heka. It was considered as much a part of them

The evil manifestations of
Seth are shown on a tiny scale compared with the commanding figures
of the god Horus and his mother Isis (fig. 6). From the artistic point of
view, the effect is ridiculous, but good had to be shown as triumphant.
Evil had to be shown as bound to fail. Reducing the power of the enemy
by reducing his scale was a magical technique as well as an artistic
convention.

'One is able to work magic
for a person by means of their name'. Blustering Seth calls himself by
grand names belonging to other deities. He claims to be 'Yesterday and
Tomorrow' and 'Pot of milk that flows from the breast of Bastet'. Horus
dismisses these and other names. Eventually, Seth admits that his name

is 'the evil day on which nothing can be conceived or born'. This name
expresses Seth's true nature, so Horus can then work his magic.
The spell requires the human patient to be identified with Seth, in
spite of this god's bad reputation. Seth was a force of chaos, but it was
not until a late stage in Egyptian culture that he was seen as totally evil. In
the Underworld Books, Seth defends Ra against Apep. One badly
preserved myth tells how the strength and cunning of Seth were needed
to save the goddess Astarte from a sea god who was demanding her as
tribute.

One of the basic principles of Egyptian
magic was that like should be fought with like.

R.o. FAULKNER The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts Oxford, 1969.
R.O. FAULKNER The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts 3 vols. Warminster,
1973 /1977/1978.
R.O. FAULKNER & C.ANDREWS The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead London,
1985.
M. LICHTHEIM Ancient Egyptian Literature Vols. I—II, Berkeley, 1973/1976.
H. TE VELDE Seth, God of Confusion Leiden, 1977

(The Contending! of Horus and Setti), Osiris threatens to send demon messengers from the Duat into the
realm of the gods if his son Horus is not made king of Egypt. This seems
to reflect an ancient view of Osiris as the grim ruler of a demon host
which posed a threat to the living.

The Book of the Heavenly Cow refers to chaos snakes living in the earth as
a danger to gods and humanity.

In magical papyri dating to Roman times, Anubis acts as the main enforcer of curses

These wands
are flat, curved objects usually made of hippopotamus ivory. They are
decorated with some of the earliest representations of a whole range of
supernatural beings and divine manifestations (figs 19, 20, 38, 70).
These objects are sometimes called magic knives, but they are nothing
like the knives held by protective deities. The shape may be derived from
a type of throwstick used against birds. Flocks of wild birds were a
symbol of the forces of chaos in Egyptian art, so the throwsticks used to
kill or stun them, or the clap-nets used to catch them, could symbolize
the victory of order over chaos. In private magic they were emblems of
the control a magician hoped to exercise over demons.

They describe how the donor has been 'made to see darkness by day' after offending a deity

demons with foreign
names are quite common in Egyptian magical texts. They are usually
hostile beings who have no useful function and must be driven away.
Nubian, Libyan and Syrian magicians are mentioned in spells, but
foreign demons nearly all have names derived from the Semitic
languages spoken in Syria-Palestine. A class of samana demons was
blamed for various types of sickness, particularly fevers and infectious
diseases. Knowledge of foreign myth and magic may have come to
Egypt with immigrants and captives from Syria-Palestine.

the word akh had become a
general term for demon. Earlier, it referred mainly to dead people who
had acquired the status of a transfigured spirit through the use of
funerary magic


The intervention of the dead in the affairs of the living was not always
benevolent. Letters to the dead sometimes accuse akhu of causing
sickness, legal problems, and other disasters. Emotional as well as
physical problems might be blamed on supernatural beings. One text
implies that akhu might be the cause of discord in the home by
possessing people and making them bad-tempered and quarrelsome.1

Another Egyptian word for the dead, mut, nearly always seems
to refer to jealous and dangerous ghosts. Many magical spells promise
protection against any male or female dead person who might try to
inflict harm. The female dead seem to have been particularly feared.

there was nothing heretical about believing in demons and
hostile manifestations of deities.

J. BORGHOUTS 'The Evil Eye of Apopis.'Journal of Egyptian Anhaeo/ogy 59,
1973.

A story in Papyrus Jumilhac (c. 300 BC) explains the custom by relating
how Seth once turned himself into a panther after attacking the body of
Osiris.3 Anubis captured and branded the panther, creating the leopard's
spots. The jackal god decreed that leopard skins should be worn by
priests in memory of his victory over Seth.

A few personal letters from the late second millennium BC
preserve references to women who were called rekhet— 'knowing one'.5
These wise women were consulted as seers who could get in touch with
the dead. A magical text of the late first millennium BC features a wise
woman who is able to diagnose what is wrong with a sick child (see
Chapter Ten). The idea seems to be that the woman can sense which evil
spirit or deity is responsible. These wise women may have taken on the
role of 'seer' after their childbearing years were over.

A.M. GARDINER 'Professional Magicians in Ancient Egypt.' Proceedings of the
Society for Biblical Archaeology 39, 1917.
P. GHALIOUNGI The Physicians of Pharaonic Egypt Cairo/Mainz 1983.
M. LICHTHEIM Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol. in Berkeley, 1980.
S. SAUNRRON 'Le monde du magicien egyptien.' in Le monde du sorcier Sources
Orientales 7, Paris 1966.
S. SAUNERON (trans.A.Morrissett) The Priests of Ancient Egypt New York,
1960.

In another part of the rite, the names and forms were copied onto
papyrus before being sealed in a box and buried. This method of control
seems to be a forerunner of the Islamic tradition of sealing a djinn in a
Bottle

The modern superstition
that you can harm or even kill someone by writing their name on a slip of
paper and shutting it in a drawer is in the same tradition.

Wax figures were made of Apep and of the enemies of Egypt who
were held to be his associates. The humans figurines had their hands tied
behind their backs with red or black thread. The wax models were spat
on, trampled, stabbed with an iron weapon and burned. A similar fate is
shown for models of Seth and his followers in another magical papyrus
in the British Museum (fig. 30). Any remains were pounded in pots of
urine, which was both polluting and destructively acidic.


spell to counter the
poisonous efflux of a demon or ghost also uses a whole range of magical

It evokes the protection of Mafdet, a ferocious feline goddess,
and alludes to a myth in which Horus evaded the sexual advances
of Seth. The names of the supernatural enemy and his parents are to be
uttered, if known, in order to bring them under control. The rubric is
obscure, but it seems that the spell is to be said over a phallus-shaped
loaf inscribed with the names of the enemy. This loaf is to be wrapped in
fatty meat and given to a cat. As the cat devours the loaf so, on the
supernatural plane, the goddess Mafdet will destroy the enemy.


The rubric describes how the magician is to put a particular sort of
black Nile fish into the rose-scented oil. The fish is to be hung up for
some days and then placed in a glass vessel with some kind of plant that
was linked with Isis. The pounded flesh is mixed with the oil and an
incantation is to be said seven times over the mixture at dawn for seven
days running. The magician was to anoint his head with the oil when he
wanted to sleep with the woman he desired.
The remains of the fish were to be embalmed with myrrh and natron
and buried in the magician's house, or in any secret place. Burial of
magical objects or ingredients was a common method of perpetuating
the power of a spell in a particular place. An alternative was to bury the
magical objects or ingredients among tombs, or near a sacred place, so
that the heka of the supernatural beings who dwelled there could
continue to reinforce the spell.

divination through dreams or
manifestations of deities — the elaborate preparations seem designed to
put the magician's assistant into a trance.
In one such spell in the London-Leiden Papyrus, the magician is to take a
bronze bowl engraved with a figure of Anubis, fill it with water and cover
the water with a film of oil. The child medium is to be made to lie on four
bricks with a cloth over his head. The magician lights a lamp on one side
of the child and a censer on the other. He is then to burn exotic incense
and chant an invocation to Anubis over and over again. It is hardly
FURTHER READING
R.O. FAULKNER 'The Bremner-Rhind Papyrus i-iv.' Journal of 'Egyptian
Archaeology 22—24, 1936—38.
F. LEXA Magie dans I'Egjipte antique Vol. i, Paris 1925.
M.J. RAVEN 'Wax in Egyptian Magic and Symbolism.' Oudheidkundige
Mededelingen het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te I^eiden 64, 1983.
R.K. RITNP;R The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice Chicago, 1993.
89

Among the most sinister objects from the ancient world are
figurines in human shape which were used to cast a spell on the
people they depicted. Such objects only survive when they were
buried as part of the rite, usually in the vicinity of tombs. The British
Museum has a small figurine made in dark wax which dates to the period
when Egypt was under Roman rule (figs 46,47). It has strands of human
hair pushed into its navel and a scrap of papyrus inserted in its back. The
hair would transfer the essence of the person it belonged to into the
figurine. Rites performed over the figurine would then affect the owner
of the hair. In the Graeco-Egyptian papyri, some curse spells recommend
mixing the hair of the intended victim with the hair of a dead
person. The scrap of papyrus which contained the written component of
the spell is now unreadable, so the exact purpose of this wax figurine
remains unknown.
A more gruesome figurine, now in the Louvre Museum, Paris, is in the
form of a woman with her arms tied behind her back (fig. 48). Nails have
been driven deep into the clay body of the woman. Drawing on parallels
from European witchcraft or Caribbean voodoo, the obvious assumption
is that this figurine was intended to kill the woman depicted or to
cause her severe pain. However, written sources prove that figurines
were used in variety of ways in Egyptian magic. Objects found with the
Paris figurine make it clear that infliction of physical harm was not the
intention.1


The Paris figurine was buried inside a clay pot together with a lead
lamella inscribed with a love charm in Greek. The charm invokes Thoth,
Anubis, Antinoos (a lover of the Emperor Hadrian who was deified after
drowning in the Nile) and the spirits of the dead. Several spells in the
Graeco-Egyptian papyri for gaining the love of a man or woman
describe just this type of procedure. A magical papyrus in the Louvre
directs the magician or would-be lover to make a figurine in the form of a
kneeling woman with her hands tied behind her back. The names of
powerful demons are to be written on the woman's limbs. Possibly the
Paris figurine conceals a scrap of papyrus with such names written on it.
The lover then pierces the body with thirteen needles or nails, saying
each time 'I pierce the stomach or throat [etc.] of X, that she may think
of no-one but me'.

An invocation to deities, demons and spirits was to be written on a
lead tablet and tied to the figurine with a knotted cord, or buried close to
the figurine in a graveyard. If possible, these objects were to be buried in
the grave of someone who had died young or through violence. Such
spirits were more likely to linger on earth and show malice against the
living, so they could be manipulated by the magician. The only pains to
be inflicted by the needles were the pains of love. The magician intended
to make his victim wild with desire.

Nectanebo is said to have repelled invasions by making wax
models of his own ships and men and those of the invaders. After
placing them all in a bowl of water, Nectanebo would wave his ebony
rod and invoke gods and demons to animate the wax models and sink
the enemy ships. This caused the real enemy fleet to founder, until the
day when the gods decreed that his reign should come to an end and
Nectanebo was forced to flee to Macedonia

In
The Book of Overthrowing Apep, wax models are made of current enemies of
the state, as well as of the eternal forces of chaos. These enemies were
identified by the use of their names and then destroyed in a variety of
ways. Similar rituals are known from other sites, such as the temple of
the goddess Mut at Heliopolis and the temple of Osiris at Abydos
(fig. 30). Magic of this kind can be traced back at least as far as the late
third millennium BC.
A spell in The Coffin Texts refers to the breaking of pots and figurines.
Archaeologists have found the remains of such rites at the royal cemeteries
of Giza, Saqqara and Lisht, and at several Egyptian forts in Nubia.
Broken pots and clay or stone figurines are inscribed in the hieratic script
with lists of the enemies of Egypt. The body of the figurine may be
flattened into a tablet shape to give more space for the text. On the back,
the arms, or the arms and the legs, are bound together. In the more
detailed examples, the heads display foreign features and hairstyles.

The Execration Texts provide valuable information on the foreign
enemies of Egypt, but the lists soon became fixed. Names were
repeated, sometimes in garbled versions, long after an enemy had ceased
to be a physical danger. The spirits of defeated enemies or executed
traitors were probably regarded as a continuing supernatural threat,
which needed to be met with magic. Some of the Execration Texts end
with a section mentioning every evil word, thought, plot or dream. The
wording is similar to that of contemporary spells on papyrus which
promise to protect against the malice of demons and ghosts. The
Egyptians named in the Execration Texts are referred to as mut, the same
word used of the troublesome dead in protective spells for private
persons.
The red pots on which execration texts were written were ritually
broken as part of the cursing ceremony in order to smash the enemy's
Power

There were various magical techniques for disabling the enemies
represented by such figurines. Some crude mud execration figures from
a cemetery at Lisht were found in a model sarcophagus (outer coffin).
The Cairo Museum has several boxes containing clay 'captive figurines'.
The Book of Overthrowing Apep also mentions burying figurines, or figures
drawn on papyrus, in boxes. This was presumably done within the
temple precincts where the gods could guard the boxes. The most
graphic ritual was the burning of wax figurines in special furnaces.
Traces of melted wax were found beside the skull of the sacrificed
Nubian at Mirgissa, and some magical papyri show the burning of
enemies in furnaces or cauldrons (fig. 30).

The principle of transference is sometimes mentioned in the rubrics
to spells. A spell to relieve stomach-ache in a papyrus of the late second
millennium BC: is to be said over a 'woman's statue of clay'. The rubric
goes on to explain that the affliction would then be sent down into the
'Isis statue'.


but the standard practice
was probably to absorb the statue's magic by touching it, or by drinking
water poured over it. One of the inscriptions describes the king as the
lion who chases away all (hostile) gods and spirits. The whole monument
seems to be emphasizing that it is the king who is providing this magical
service for his workforce and protecting the cities of Egypt from
incursions by desert creatures.

Temple statues of priests and officials also provided a public service.
To set up a statue of yourself in an Egyptian temple was a privilege
confined to temple personnel or granted to important officials as a mark
of royal favour. Such statues were thought to provide an alternative body
for the person's ka. The ka became a resident of the temple and could
share in the offerings made there to the gods. Temple statues of the early
part of the second millennium BC often have inscriptions which address
the staff of the temple, promising good fortune for them and their
descendants if they will make offerings to the statue-owner. Similar
inscriptions are found on the outer areas of tombs and are based on the
belief that the dead could act on behalf of the living, particularly in
celestial courts of justice

Texts of this era begin to describe the use of specific amulets. Some of
the passages in The Coffin Texts which mention amulets seem to be
adapted from everyday magic. A papyrus now in Berlin describes how to
make an amulet (wedja) for a baby. The spell is to be said over gold and
garnet beads and a seal with the image of a hand and a crocodile.4 Such
seals do survive. The hand and the crocodile will slay, or drive off, any
hostile spirits who approach the baby. The seal and the beads are to be
strung on linen thread and hung at the baby's throat. Many of the strings
of beads and seals found in children's graves had probably been used in a
spell of this sort, but with tragic lack of success.

Some amuletic jewellery of this era shows the same range of creatures
and symbols as the apotropaic wands. A gold and silver ornament,
perhaps designed to be placed around a child's neck, is decorated with
baboons, hares, hawks, snakes, a turtle, two finger amulets, the symbol
of the goddess Bat, wedjat eyes and ankh and djed signs (fig. 57). Its
purpose was probably to place the wearer within a protective circle.

The child is promised long life, good health and ample
possessions. Such things might be requested of a god in any religious
text, but the amuletic decrees also portray the dark and dangerous
aspects of the Egyptian pantheon. They promise to protect the child
against harmful manifestations of deities such as Isis and Thoth, as well
as against demons, foreign sorcerers and the Evil Eye. Particularly
dreaded were Sekhmet and her son Nefertem. The amuletic decrees
claimed to be able help their owners to cheat fate. Any divine messengers
coming to kill or injure the owner of the amulet would be
persuaded or tricked into attacking a substitute.

Some present-day Indian temples contain stelae to
cure snakebite, just as Horus cippi were set up in Egyptian temples

One spell in Papyrus
Leiden 1348 offers protection from head to foot. Each part of the body is
assigned a deity who will be its protection (so). The deities chosen may
evoke particular mythical events or images, transforming the patient's
body into a kind of cosmic map.
The patient's right eye is identified with the solar eye of Ra-Atum and
his left eye with the lunar eye of Horus (see Chapter Two). His back is
Geb and his belly is Nut (see fig. 9). His penis is the baboon god Baba, his
thighs are Isis and Nephthys, and his feet are those of Shu. The text ends
by promising that there isn't a single part of the body which has not been
sealed by a deity. The rubric reveals that all this protection was against
sickness inflicted by hostile ghosts, particularly female ones.

To drive a person mad, it was only necessary to tie a hair
from the victim to a hair from a corpse and fasten them both to the body
of a hawk. A noble spirit might be summoned by invocations from the
necropolis to haunt the dreams of an enemy of the magician. Letters
were written to the dead in order to compel, rather than request, them to
carry out the magician's will

In one example, a curse against a man or woman is written on papyrus
and bound with an iron ring. The papyrus is to be buried when the moon
is waning, in the grave of someone who has died an untimely or violent
death. This gives the victim into the power of the dead person, so that
the latter will enforce the curse. The openly expressed malevolence of
these spells seems unEgyptian, but similar desires may lie behind some
of the earlier letters to the dead. These do not specify exactly how the
akhu are to deal with the writer's enemies.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dream 11-5-2010

I was taking classes. It was one of those closed communities - in a bubble so to speak. My freind (I dont know who they are)- were exchanging books on witchcraft. Even the cool lauri cabbot book was featured - its orrange. When classes were over, we left to go hang out at a coffee shop, but I had forgotten someting. I really didnt intend to go hang out as I had something else to do, but I had forgotten something. So I went back to look for it in my desk. At the last moment I decided to take my laptop as well.

In my class was a guy - small of stature. And he had been picked on by the other guys. Ususally he had just been ignored by everyone, he was the smartes kid in the class. I rememmber he had dark hair and his uniform was black. I cant remember what the girls wore. I had already changed. He stumbled back in class and kinda fell down beside me. He didnt say anything but I remembered he had such a sad looking expression, it almost made me cry. I had always liked him, but he wasnt known for talking to other people, so we had never talked before. I wrapped my arms around him for a few moments, neither of us saying anything.

I eventually got up to leave, but first had a look around the class. I then went home and went home to start my project. My studdy was very well lit. I remember I recieved a call. In the dream I was doing readings like I normally do in rl. But I hadnt logged in which I thought was odd. I stumbled over my greeting, the caller hung up.

There was something I didnt feel right about so I went back to the class room, stopping first at a book store to pick something up. When I finnally reached the class room some of my freinds came in = muttering about how something was odd about me when we left, but they decided it was fine now. but === there was somethign weird going on .

They were all going somewhere to hide because it seems like mr smart kid was capturing people's consciousness and puting them in andriods. And the andriods were wandering about capturing other people. There was a door in the back of the room that lead to a kind of fall outshelter with one of those humongous computers that tied into the security sys of the entire commune/dome. So we decided to go there.

At one point I saw a tripple headed one and one of my friends was telling me who it was before opening fire and destroying it. Then we reached the shelter and locked ourselves in and I was about to hook up my laptop.

I remember thinking about going to talk to him because for some reason I was convinced he wouldnt make me into an android.

I woke up.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Egyptian Oracle Houses

Geb - He is the first house, the cause and basis of current situation or the premise upon which the situation is based. In an analysis of any situation or project, it is essential to understand its beginnings. If a situation based on a lie or faulty premise, it can not succeed or prosper until the truth is revealed or the calculations corrected. Regardless of strong and positive signs in other houses, no lasting good can come when aspects of the first house are weak or harmful. If the tile shows a strong and beneficial influence, the foundation is firm, the situation or project may well be worth pursuing, or the relationship worth salvaging. If all other character tiles show neg influences, you might consider waiting until a later time when the indications are more favorable.

Nut - What sustains or nurtures you or the issue. Any situation must have appropriate nurturing to grow to a fruitful outcome. If the nurturing is inadequate or its source blocked, the result will not be what it could have been the proper support been there in the beginning. The tile will show the degree and quality of energy that feeds the issue or relationship, or what is holding the current situation in place. They can also show what is interfering with that nurturing, or what effects that nurturing has on you and the present situation.

Wsr -
Early vegetation ntr. Cycle. Rebirth. He taught agriculture and domestication of animals. He represents you or the question. Shows your current state of mind or state of being, or the nature of the issue under consideration.

Set - aridity and storms - fixation - This position shows what is in the way. They show the guise in which opposition is cloaked so that it might, bring disaster. By considering the nature of it, you can nullify it or avoid the worst part. for further details check the house or heru.

Auset - Mastery - All feelings of the issue also suggestions on how to manipulate the situation - the quality, nature and depths of feelings, they reveal hidden motivations and driving forces of the participants.

Nebt-Het - the things that are dark coming into light. Dreams, things that have not yet come into being or are not yet apparent. What you dont know or see is most often what causes you the greatest difficulty. The resources that you dont recognize that make you miss the opportunities to make your project or relationship prosper. Reveals what is working against you, your own subconscious or issues and calculations you have misjudged or failed to recognize. Reveals hidden sources of strength and assistance that need to be recognized and encouraged.

Heru - home and environment, not only relatives and blood kin but also close friends that are part of your spiritual or emotional family. This is your personal nitch in the world. Shows you the greatest source of strength or your most fatal personal weakness. Counterbalance the forces of set.

Sekhmet - The Powerful. active, fiery principle of the sun and the defender of universal order. divine fire animating creation. mistress of demons who caused and could cure illnesses. Patron of physicians. The powers and forces available to you, your personal powers and inner fire, your force of will. The tiles that fall in this house indicate whether you have sufficient skill and resources to deal with the issue at hand on your own or whether you should seek outside help. The state of your personal health and how it affects and is affects by the subject of the reading.

Anpu - a result of the union with you and your hidden self. As a guide he can be regarded as thus through all life passages. Like a road map, the house of Anpu gives guidance by supplying the insight or information you may need to apply to the issue under consideration. The character tiles in this house often bring all the others into focus and resolve what seems to be confusing elements by revealing their true connection. They may show an aspect of the issue you have not previously examined or give you an idea of where to look to find what you need. They can indicate whether you should trust guidance offered to you from an outside source or heed the voice of your own better judgment and instinct ts. IF the character Ma'at and Uadj are in this house they are good indicators that you should trust your inner feelings and be guided by your intuition. If pyramid or scarab it indicates that the issue at hand is of major significance in your fate or destiny.

Het-Heru - The great mother of the world. Fertility as she constantly brings forth new life. holds ruler ship over cyclical natural changes that are necessary elements of growth. creativity for artists and artisans, and success for enterprises and commercial ventures. Omens for growth and development of the issue under consideration. Indicates the degree to which an issue or relationship will flourish given the current circumstances. Show what is needed and what is hampering the desired development. If subject is a person or relationship. this house can tell you about love and partnerships; what their quality is, how you affect or are affected by them.

Djehuti - the heart, mind and reason of Ra. He spoke the words of Ra's will in order for it to be carried out. Created mdu ntr. All sciences. How to make the best of the situation at hand. The advise not only represents wisdom and understanding but also their application. Tiles in this house show what wisdom can be gained from the experience, or they may advise a course of action.

Ma'at - principle of law, ethical judgment and social order/ harmonious balance of the universe as a whole. Justice. Genuine. Reality in its purest sense stripped of all delusions and facades. Balance, harmony, grace, and order. This is the determination or outcome of the issue in question. This outcome is the synthesis of all influences and powers revealed in the previous houses. In general readings intended to determine the influences prevailing in your life, tiles in this house show the direction your life is going and the probable best one that can come of the forces currently in motion. They also reveal the worst that can come of all the influences because this house also contains what is most feared.

Egyptian Oracle Numbers

One
absolute unity, essence of life, and pure potential as expressed by the qualities of that element. One is conscious existence that has not yet acted or manifested

Two
duality and polarization that produces dynamic tension. The static principle of the potential of completely equal, balanced forces.

Three
the principle of dynamic attraction btwn polarities. three is the passion of the dualities that results in their annihilation, as in the meeting of matter and antimatter. It is the act of reconciliation that results in pure creation.

Four
pure, manifested potential of creativity. a double duality and the four essential elements that are further acted upon to produce realization

Five
union of dynamic tension with active fire. The desire for continuance, instinct for survival, the spirit's search for the infinite. This dynamic results in ever-expanding activity and creativity.

Six
manifestation in the physical world, power of achievement and fulfillment in which survival and continuance are assured and manifested in a kaleidoscopic variety of resulting forms. The Cube representing volume and perfectly balanced solid physical space in which all sides and angles are equal. Equilibrium and stability of physically manifested space.

Seven
signifies the summation and unification of the first six numbers. Seven contains them all, just as pure white light contains all six colors of the spectrum. By manifesting the other numbers simultaneously, seven achieves a distinct identity that brings their diverse natures into resolution is known as the sevenfold unity or harmony. Seven is the ultimate union of spirit with matter and, as the sum of one and six, represents true growth and evolution, enabling true realization.

Egyptian Oracles Elements

Air - Hapi- circulation- move necessary elements to permeate and fill an area so that all parts of an organism or issue can share their qualities. This defines its basic nature and the way in which it will behave or grow. Essential elements or qualities before an action is taken place or form is achieved. Air represents the most basic qualities of thought, consciousness and beginnings. Motion.

Fire - Quebsenuf - the fiery activity and primal motion. Energy, vigor and passion. When the qualities of fire are applied to the conscious identity of air, new combinations and partnerships are possible, engendering strength and protection. When sudden action or danger is precipitated by the acceleration of energies, its forces are transmuted by the strength of fire to allow healing. the information gained from the is transmutational process is assimilated to become wisdom, allowing you to achieve triumph through the results of action.

Water - Imset - the sorting function, the ability to separate a thing or issue into its basic elements. The tiles illustrate watery motion and coalescence. The motion of water moves and lifts all elements then heavier parts sink to the bottom, while lighter ones are carried by the force of the current. Water represents the qualities of nourishment, intuition, and the subconscious transformed by the atma.

Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

Divination Studdy 1

Egytian Oracle


Single Omen
(specific question)
potential

Three For Tomorrow

Sa (body) Adaptability
Triumph and Mastery - the strongest benevolent influence
You are in the most advantageous influence

Seshen (Inspiration)
the energies of chaos and negative influence are not focused and diffused. There will be more like a disruption of alliance than a huge disaster.

Ankh (life)
Uadejet - health and influence - protection

Houses One and Two - What has initially caused or generated the current issue and what nurture or holds it in place.

-- House Reading--

Basis

Geb - He is the first house, the cause and basis of current situation or the premise upon which the situation is based. In an analysis of any situation or project, it is essential to understand its beginnings. If a situation based on a lie or faulty premise, it can not succeed or prosper until the truth is revealed or the calculations corrected. Regardless of strong and positive signs in other houses, no lasting good can come when aspects of the first house are weak or harmful. If the tile shows a strong and beneficial influence, the foundation is firm, the situation or project may well be worth pursuing, or the relationship worth salvaging. If all other character tiles show neg influences, you might consider waiting until a later time when the indications are more favorable.
a. Foundation
Water - the sorting function, the ability to separate a thing or issue into its basic elements. The tiles illustrate watery motion and coalescence. The motion of water moves and lifts all elements then heavier parts sink to the bottom, while lighter ones are carried by the force of the current. Water represents the qualities of nourishment, intuition, and the subconscious transformed by the atma.
17 - aat - initiation
3 - the principle of dynamic attraction btwn polarities. three is the passion of the dualities that results in their annihilation, as in the meeting of matter and antimatter. It is the act of reconciliation that results in pure creation.

Tile- R -

Delay. A waste of time. A depressing errand. This initiation will be a distressful struggle. Change comes from force of necessity not inner growth.




Nut
What sustains or nurtures you or the issue. Any situation must have appropriate nurturing to grow to a fruitful outcome. If the nurturing is inadequate or its source blocked, the result will not be what it could have been the proper support been there in the beginning. The tile will show the degree and quality of energy that feeds the issue or relationship, or what is holding the current situation in place. They can also show what is interfering with that nurturing, or what effects that nurturing has on you and the present situation.



b. Nurturing -
Fire - Quebsenuf - the fiery activity and primal motion. Energy, vigor and passion. When the qualities of fire are applied to the conscious identity of air, new combinations and partnerships are possible, engendering strength and protection. When sudden action or danger is precipitated by the acceleration of energies, its forces are transmuted by the strength of fire to allow healing. the information gained from the is transmutational process is assimilated to become wisdom, allowing you to achieve triumph through the results of action.

10 Maau - Lion/Guardian
3 - the principle of dynamic attraction btwn polarities. three is the passion of the dualities that results in their annihilation, as in the meeting of matter and antimatter. It is the act of reconciliation that results in pure creation.

Tile - R -
When Reversed, the forces of the house are weak and vulnerable. You must draw strength from other houses to shore up this weakened aria. The aspect of the issue at hand represented by this house is the area where other negative or harmful energies will enter the situation. This is the place where you are most vulnerable

Elements of The Question
They illustrate you or the issue. The are the current core elements of the matter

Subject of the Divination
Wsr
Early vegetation ntr. Cycle. Rebirth. He taught agriculture and domestication of animals. He represents you or the question. Shows your current state of mind or state of being, or the nature of the issue under consideration.

Fire - Quebsenuf - the fiery activity and primal motion. Energy, vigor and passion. When the qualities of fire are applied to the conscious identity of air, new combinations and partnerships are possible, engendering strength and protection. When sudden action or danger is precipitated by the acceleration of energies, its forces are transmuted by the strength of fire to allow healing. the information gained from the is transmutational process is assimilated to become wisdom, allowing you to achieve triumph through the results of action

12 - Uadjet - eyes of heru/ healing
5- union of dynamic tension with active fire. The desire for continuance, instinct for survival, the spirit's search for the infinite. This dynamic results in ever-expanding activity and creativity.

Tile - R -
ill health and weakened defenses due to an imbalance in your lifestyle either on a physical, emotional, or spiritual basis. You have put too much emphasis in only one area of your life and have left the others unattended. the diminishing of a project or relationship. A warning in the house it occupies, you should examine your efforts immediately so that balance and strength can be restored.


Opposition
Set - aridity and storms - fixation - This position shows what is in the way. They show the guise in which opposition is cloaked so that it might, bring disaster. By considering the nature of it, you can nullify it or avoid the worst part. for further details check the house or heru.

Water - the sorting function, the ability to separate a thing or issue into its basic elements. The tiles illustrate watery motion and coalescence. The motion of water moves and lifts all elements then heavier parts sink to the bottom, while lighter ones are carried by the force of the current. Water represents the qualities of nourishment, intuition, and the subconscious transformed by the atma.
16-Sma-balance/weight/unification
2 - duality and polarization that produces dynamic tension. The static principle of the potential of completely equal, balanced forces.

Tile - R-
the scales are weighted and out of balance. Reevaluate your priorities and attitudes so that a more effective course of action can be taken.


Emotions - Mastery - All feelings of the issue also suggestions on how to manipulate the situation - the quality, nature and depths of feelings, they reveal hidden motivations and driving forces of the participants.

Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

27 - Khepri - rebirth transformation
6 - manifestation in the physical world, power of achievement and fulfillment in which survival and continuance are assured and manifested in a kaleidoscopic variety of resulting forms. The Cube representing volume and perfectly balanced solid physical space in which all sides and angles are equal. Equilibrium and stability of physically manifested space.

Tile
Renewing growth in the hosue in which it falls. Issues and forces that have been dormant are awakening in new forms. This is a good omen for stalled projects and undeveloped relationships. Kehpri may also indicate a transforming rebirth for you, especially when found in either the house of wr or ma'at. blocked energies are freed to flow and blocked paths are freed for travel. This may be in a worldly, mental or spiritual sense.


Hidden Forces
Nebt-Het - the things that are dark coming into light. Dreams, things that have not yet come into being or are not yet apparent. What you dont know or see is most often what causes you the greatest difficulty. The resources that you dont recognize that make you miss the opportunities to make your project or relationship prosper. Reveals what is working against you, your own subconscious or issues and calculations you have misjudged or failed to recognize. Reveals hidden sources of strength and assistance that need to be recognized and encouraged.


Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

28 - truth, harmony, justice
7- signifies the summation and unification of the first six numbers. Seven contains them all, just as pure white light contains all six colors of the spectrum. By manifesting the other numbers simultaneously, seven achieves a distinct identity that brings their diverse natures into resolution is known as the sevenfold unity or harmony. Seven is the ultimate union of spirit with matter and, as the sum of one and six, represents true growth and evolution, enabling true realization.

Tile - R -
Order is scattered if not overturned. When order doesnt turn to chaos, it solidifies and becomes a narrow prison. Legal judgments go against you. Steps should be taken immediately to restore the balance, or ruin will result. The strings of the harp are out of tune, and the song does not agree or harmonize with the listeners.

Effects - how the issue will be affected or how it will affect you

Home and Environment
Heru - home and environment, not only relatives and blood kin but also close friends that are part of your spiritual or emotional family. This is your personal nitch in the world. Shows you the greatest source of strength or your most fatal personal weakness. Counterbalance the forces of set.

Air - Hapi- circulation- move necessary elements to permeate and fill an area so that all parts of an organism or issue can share their qualities. This defines its basic nature and the way in which it will behave or grow. Essential elements or qualities before an action is taken place or form is achieved. Air represents the most basic qualities of thought, consciousness and beginnings. Motion.

6- Nefer-beuty/maturity
6 - manifestation in the physical world, power of achievement and fulfillment in which survival and continuance are assured and manifested in a kaleidoscopic variety of resulting forms. The Cube representing volume and perfectly balanced solid physical space in which all sides and angles are equal. Equilibrium and stability of physically manifested space.

Tile - R -
things may seem fine on the surface but that beauty only goes skin deep. you should look deeper into the issue; plans or persons may not be what they seem to be. Your plans have been hastily conceived and carelessly executed. you may be indulging in trivialities and neglecting more important , deeper issues or aspects of the situation.

Querrents Personal Powers
Sekhmet - The Powerful. active, fiery principle of the sun and the defender of universal order. divine fire animating creation. mistress of demons who caused and could cure illnesses. Patron of physicians. The powers and forces available to you, your personal powers and inner fire, your force of will. The tiles that fall in this house indicate whether you have sufficient skill and resources to deal with the issue at hand on your own or whether you should seek outside help. The state of your personal health and how it affects and is affects by the subject of the reading.

Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

24-Sa- Papyrus-shelter-adaptability
3 - the principle of dynamic attraction btwn polarities. three is the passion of the dualities that results in their annihilation, as in the meeting of matter and antimatter. It is the act of reconciliation that results in pure creation.

Tile
the enviornment has provided all the materials necessary for your productive survival. However, it requires action to put thse resources to use. Examine the house occupide by sa to discover what these resources are and the best way to use them. you must remain both adaptable and aware of changing conditions. All elements necessary for a successful outcome are present, and you have all the skills to make the best use of what the environment provides.

Guidance
Anpu - a result of the union with you and your hidden self. As a guide he can be regarded as thus through all life passages. Like a road map, the house of Anpu gives guidance by supplying the insight or information you may need to apply to the issue under consideration. The character tiles in this house often bring all the others into focus and resolve what seems to be confusing elements by revealing their true connection. They may show an aspect of the issue you have not previously examined or give you an idea of where to look to find what you need. They can indicate whether you should trust guidance offered to you from an outside source or heed the voice of your own better judgment and instinct ts. IF the character Ma'at and Uadj are in this house they are good indicators that you should trust your inner feelings and be guided by your intuition. If pyramid or scarab it indicates that the issue at hand is of major significance in your fate or destiny.

Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

23 Menyet- counter poise/ joy/pleasure
2 - duality and polarization that produces dynamic tension. The static principle of the potential of completely equal, balanced forces.

Tile - R -
loss, sorrow, poverty and illness. Infects the houses around it. Abundance becomes a glut, pleasures and luxuries become a burden. Redirect your energies toward a more productive goal.

Love and Pleasure
Het-Heru
The great mother of the world. Fertility as she constantly brings forth new life. holds ruler ship over cyclical natural changes that are necessary elements of growth. creativity for artists and artisans, and success for enterprises and commercial ventures. Omens for growth and development of the issue under consideration. Indicates the degree to which an issue or relationship will flourish given the current circumstances. Show what is needed and what is hampering the desired development. If subject is a person or relationship. this house can tell you about love and partnerships; what their quality is, how you affect or are affected by them.

Earth - Transmutation - Rebirth - the ability to change raw material into usable form. transfiguration, transmutation and condensation as truth, harmony and reality being revealed.

3 -Nef- air/movement/communication
3 - the principle of dynamic attraction btwn polarities. three is the passion of the dualities that results in their annihilation, as in the meeting of matter and antimatter. It is the act of reconciliation that results in pure creation.

Tile - R -
motion is impeded. Travel is delayed. Communications are garbled and missed. Logic and reason are muddied, leading to the blind alleys. Characters in the other houses should be consulted to discover the cause and or remiedy for the impediment. If non seem apparent, you should examin your own goals and motivation to see if the resistance is self-generated.

Probable Outcome

Wisdom and Advise
Djehuti - the heart, mind and reason of Ra. He spoke the words of Ra's will in order for it to be carried out. Created mdu ntr. All sciences. How to make the best of the situation at hand. The advise not only represents wisdom and understanding but also their application. Tiles in this house show what wisdom can be gained from the experience, or they may advise a course of action.


Water - Imset - the sorting function, the ability to separate a thing or issue into its basic elements. The tiles illustrate watery motion and coalescence. The motion of water moves and lifts all elements then heavier parts sink to the bottom, while lighter ones are carried by the force of the current. Water represents the qualities of nourishment, intuition, and the subconscious transformed by the atma.

18 - Sobek - destruction and negativity
4 - pure, manifested potential of creativity. a double duality and the four essential elements that are further acted upon to produce realization

Tile - R -
negativity is diffused and less focused. A general disruption rather than a specific disaster. The position its in should be carefully considered to discern any mediating forces that may be available.

Determination and Synthesis
Ma'at - principle of law, ethical judgment and social order/ harmonious balance of the universe as a whole. Justice. Genuine. Reality in its purest sense stripped of all delusions and facades. Balance, harmony, grace, and order. This is the determination or outcome of the issue in question. This outcome is the synthesis of all influences and powers revealed in the previous houses. In general readings intended to determine the influences prevailing in your life, tiles in this house show the direction your life is going and the probable best one that can come of the forces currently in motion. They also reveal the worst that can come of all the influences because this house also contains what is most feared.


Water - Imset - the sorting function, the ability to separate a thing or issue into its basic elements. The tiles illustrate watery motion and coalescence. The motion of water moves and lifts all elements then heavier parts sink to the bottom, while lighter ones are carried by the force of the current. Water represents the qualities of nourishment, intuition, and the subconscious transformed by the atma.

20 - Ab/heart/conscious
6 - manifestation in the physical world, power of achievement and fulfillment in which survival and continuance are assured and manifested in a kaleidoscopic variety of resulting forms. The Cube representing volume and perfectly balanced solid physical space in which all sides and angles are equal. Equilibrium and stability of physically manifested space.

Tile - R -
when it is reversed, ab indicates that you have been def to your true feeling s and the voice of your conscience. you have denied your inner knoledge of what is right and healthy. YOu are not learning the lessons fo that house occupied by the ab can teach you. If you do not heed your inner voices, nothing of value can result.