Folklore of Ancient Egypt
Phaedron
Most of the questions I get pertain to ancient Egypt. The Egyptian formula of enlightenment is not difficult to understand, but it's difficult to find an accurate account.
One might think that some of the legends of ancient Egypt are merely hallucinations of a primitive society. However, the Egyptians were wise, their tales were not shallow rhetoric. When they first received their wisdom, they were living in harmony with nature. They put spirit ahead of all else. Their pursuit of enlightenment was the center of their lives. They devoted themselves to their gods and built entire cities of temples. They believed that every act should be magickal. Distractions from the path were rare in this pre-dynastic society. They left behind legends of their powerful gods that reveal the steps to enlightenment. They remain in the amazing ruins and writings that continue to be uncovered.
One can gradually acquire a thorough understanding of the ancient Egyptian principles leading towards attainment in a complete system of its practices. This introduction to the folklore of ancient Egypt may be useful in your own search for attainment:
Osiris and the Dead
This dark god was sometimes called Black God, God of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead. He rules over death and was a most important object of devotion. He bestows rewards or punishments in the afterlife to those who come before Him. Osiris was granted such authority because He conquered death. When He walked the earth, Set, His complementary brother (nature is always in balance in the Egyptian tradition) killed Him. Thoth (the god of science, reason, measurement, formula) gave magickal words to Isis (Nature) teaching Her how to resurrect Osiris. She performed them and the attained Osiris arose enlightened by the process. (This is the precursor to the story of Christ's resurrection that was to follow thousands of years later.) This tale has a deeper magickal meaning.
It is of utmost importance to understand that Osiris' bases His judgments not on social codes but on the balance or imbalance of magickal forces within the candidate. The serious aspirants who take the opportunities that deity gives them are judged (i.e., receive life's circumstances) differently than the idle ramblers who choose to reject them. The unfit attract a force represented by Ammit, a monster who devours the heart. Ammit was invincible, ferocious. He stood near Osiris, the judge of the dead, waiting for Osiris to condemn those who dwell in illusion and ego instead of reality.
Those whom Osiris judges as living in clear truth, receive the reward of initiation. Thoth records the deeds of such truth and illusion. These records have become known as the Akashic records.
The Hermetic Master teaches never to take any holy book literally. Look at some of the blinds in the Book of the Dead, the Bible, the Book of the Law, the Buddhist scriptures, etc. Thus, for further insight, here are a few interpretations to apply to the legend of Osiris. If you use this principle as you read Egyptian texts, their inner meanings may come out.
DEAD = children of darkness seeking the light. Darkness is ignorance, humans after the Fall, when souls descended into Elements (Element = anything without life which can be mistaken for life). It also represents the candidate for enlightenment.
UNDERWORLD = where the dead dwell; going through the practices in preparation for initiation.
AFTERLIFE = where the aspirant follows the paths to fulfilling karma and transcends mortality. (Mortality = living directed by circumstance instead of being master of all personal phenomena.) However, if the inertia of stagnation and the lower part of the soul (the Nephesch—see NMR 4:1) have not been controlled, the enterer will face the reaction of nature. Nature mechanically reacts; it does not discriminate.
EVIL = not a moral concept, but that which restricts one's Will and that which separates humans from God.
Thoth and
Revelations
When Horus (son of Osiris) finally captured Set to avenge His father's death, Thoth advised Isis (mother of Horus) to free Set so there would be equilibrium in the universe. Otherwise, the universe would have been thrown into a state of imbalance hitherto unknown to humans.1 We see Thoth is rational, without perturbation. His decisions are impeccable. He weighs and records the deeds of the candidate and reports them to Osiris.
Thoth gave the primitive Egyptians technology when they were barely learning how to capture food. Archaeologists concur that these tribespeople mysteriously learned mathematics, astronomy, building, speech and the most intricate hieroglyphics overnight.
Thoth is the Great Teacher that grooms humans for each approaching aeon so that the incumbent god may readily enter. Thoth later became Hermes to the Greeks (thus Hermetic refers to the sacred teachings derived from Thoth). He later became Mercury to the Romans, thus, He is called Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Great).
Thoth (as Hermes) engraved the Emerald Tablet that is really moldavite, not emerald. Alexander the Great discovered it. Etched upon it is the original alchemical formula from which As Above So Below derives.
Thoth is responsible for the Great Pyramid. Its designer is thought to be the mysterious Amenhotep, said to be a demigod. Debate surrounds who or what Amenhotep was, but he did exist and had some form of superhuman powers. Scientists today search for his resting place or remains. (We are now on the brink of such a discovery. I prophesy that this will trigger the apocalypse.)
The Birth of Horus
After Isis found and resurrected Her husband, Osiris, they had a mystical union and She became pregnant. She was advised to hide (with Osiris' unborn child) from Set in the reeds. Set was on Her trail and closing in quickly!
Seven scorpions safely escorted Isis as She traveled without resting deep into the wilderness to give birth. Finally the exhausted Isis approached a house, hoping to stay the night. The woman who answered the door arrogantly slammed it in Her face. Soon, a scorpion mortally stung the woman's son. Meanwhile, Isis continued Her journey to the field of reeds and a compassionate fisher woman offered Isis her humble abode.
The woman who had rejected Isis rushed to town with her lifeless son where she was denied help. Isis learned of the attack and was sympathetic. She told the woman She would remove the venom because the boy was innocent.
The dumbfounded woman was filled with remorse for the way she had treated the pregnant Isis. The woman made it her duty to provide for the fisher woman's meager home.
Isis resumed Her journey to the field of reeds. In the delta region of Egypt, She gave birth to Harpokrates (Horus the babe). He would later grow to be Horus, His father's avenger.
Isis cared for Her child with all She had. She tied Her clothes around Him into a knot, for protection. This is known as the knot of Isis. It was in the shape of an ankh, or a tet.
Isis dedicated Herself to Her newborn infant, but they had no food and the child became hungry. She put on Her clothing that had formed the knot, and left the naked babe alone so She could go to town where She begged all day for food. When She returned She found Harpokrates still. She desperately ran to Him, crying here I am oh child, here I am! She tried to suckle Him, unsuccessfully. She couldn't call the gods because Set would have heard Her. She could only call upon the local people who, of course, were unable to reviving Him. Then, a wise woman came to Her and told Her that Set was responsible and had sent a scorpion after Harpokrates. Isis could not cure Her own son, as She had the other woman's son.
Without hope, Isis cried in sorrow. Nephthys (Her twin sister) and Selket heard Her. Together, They hailed Ra, in His boat that carries the light (sun) around the world. Immediately He stopped, leaving the world in darkness, and went to cure the child.
The Story of Sekhmet
The lion headed goddess is the scorching aspect of natural forces. Here is Her amazing story:
As Egypt grew more technical, people started to stray from the roots that made them so fruitful. They took spirituality for granted and enlightenment took a back seat to more sensual pursuits. People grew debauched.
Ra saw this and to save His creation, was forced to order Sekhmet to infiltrate and eliminate the adversaries of His creation. She did so, but as is Her nature, Her thirst for blood would not be quenched until all were slain. Ra respected Sekhmet, and still granted Her great power over humanity, yet He had to stop Her slaughtering somehow. He had red dye made from certain substances and beer poured into the Nile. He intended to trick Sekhmet into believing it was the blood of all the people. On the day of His trick, She went to the waters of the Nile and saw they were reddened with blood. Thinking She had slain all the people, Sekhmet relaxed and celebrated by drinking beer and became intoxicated to the point of losing Her power of vengeance. Thus, the people who were true of heart survived without those who had been destroying Ra's kingdom.
Sekhmet, meanwhile, had no more power to hunt and kill. Ra awaited Her and said: You come in peace, sweet one. Peace be with You and a new name. No longer are you Sekhmet the slayer: You are Hathor the Lady of Love. Yet Your power over humanity shall be greater even than it was—for the passion of love shall be stronger than the passion of hate and all shall know love, and all shall be your victims!
Notes:
1) I have heard the claim from those of an intellectual disposition, that they must explore the evil so as not to become overly pure. One must concentrate on balancing oneself. Magickally, humans are imbalanced by birth into darkness (the gross Elements) and certainly are far from any worry of obtaining too much light.
2) The seven scorpions that surrounded and protected the fleeing Isis while She was pregnant are attributed to the seven stars of the Pleiades constellation. This close constellation sends a strange radiance and many meteorites to earth today. Mysteriously, astronomers cannot figure out reports that, at certain times, this aberrant constellation has one star missing, leaving only six observable companions.
1993 The Holy Order of the Winged Disk, All Rights Reserved.
Phaedron is the G. H. Hierophant of the Holy Order of the Winged Disk, Director of its International Academy of Hermetic Knowledge and author of The Practica Arcanum. For more information call (800) 827-6843, or write: PO Box 4384, Charlottesville, VA 22905. | 
