ZENET - Egyptian Game of Immortality
ISBN 9781409260158
Copyright Steve Nichols (Standard Copyright Licence)
First Edition
Publisher Steve Nichols Publications
Published 28 August 2009
Language English
Pages 134
Binding Hardcover (dust-jacket)
Interior Ink Black & white
Weight 0.27 kg
Dimensions (centimetres) 15.24 wide x 22.86 tall
ZENET - Egyptian Game of Immortality is the first in a series that will build over time to form an encyclopedia of the 5,000+ year old game of Zn.t or Senet. I have tried to strike a balance between readability, Egyptological scholarship and general usefulness. Key 1. introduces preliminary concepts, plus it provides translations of important Egyptian texts, together with plenty of illustrations. ZENET can be used as a divination Oracle, as a ritual game to communicate with the Dead, as an offering to the Gods or the Akhs, as a solar and lunar meditation, a conversation with your own bA-soul, or simply as a fascinating recreational board-game. Many crucial ritual Zenet texts are included here, together with full annotations, and some new theories about the nature of this system. This volume teaches rudiments of the Middle Egyptian language which is essential to opening up knowledge (hidden for millennia past) of this uniquely powerful game, brimful of deities.
HOUSE OF THOTH
Court of Amen 1
Starting in Senate (Senet or Zenet) - The EMBARKATION - ONE- Mansion of the Ibis
Thoth leads us by hand onto the Bark and registers our names. We will play with the Gods and Goddesses, fight alongside the Great Ones, and even sometimes lead them. We will sail with the Holy Mariners on their Bark of Eternity. "Free-movement" is also the object of strategy and tactics in Zenet; and is combined with the spiritual freedom of our bA soul (House 10) being able to travel where it wills, unheeded. The "passing" or passage" represented in Zenet is the passage of our bA through this life, and beyond through the duat, corollated by the final series of five squares. Our own fingers unite with causing the auspicious piece moves indivated the deity fingers as we gain their patronage, towing our solar bark, avoiding pitfalls, towards victory.
In the legend where Thoth plays the Moon god Khons, part of the Theban triad of Amen (Amn) and Great Mother, Nekhbet or Mut, his consort. Both players have their last piece on the House of the Two Gods. Khons casts first with a three so cannot move. Thoth casts a two and wins the game. Zenet One, p. 28 This references Rah and Atum (aka Tem) in Zenet reside in the House of the TWO GODS, penultimate sqaure, House 29.
The Great God Thoth has set a balance in order to make right measure on earth by it.
He placed the heart hidden in the flesh for the right measure of its owner.
If a learned man is not balanced, his learning does not avail.
The God lays the heart on the scales opposite the weight.
He who knows how to hold his heart has the equivalent of every teaching.
- Papyrus Insinger 4:17-19, 5:7, 8:3
++
I am Thoth, who journeyeth
I have come unto you, O Amen-Rah.
I am Thoth, who journeyeth at the two seasons to seek for the Eye of its Lord.
I have come, I have found the Eye, I have reckoned it up for its Lord.
Come to me, O Amen-Rah, guide thou me in the path whereon thou travellest;
make me to enter in the form of a bA bird, make me to come forth in the form of a Lion,
make me travel in the form of Ap-uati, and let me not be repulsed or turned back on the roads,
on this day, on this night, in this month, in this year.
Behold, come to me, O Amen-Rah and open thou for me the two doors of the sky,
and unclose for me the two doors of the earth,
and throw open before me the precincts of the divine house.
[extract from 17th Ceremony, Ritual of the Divine Cult, Dynasty 18th]
++
The FOUR BANDAGES (alt. bindings or precepts) of Thoth.
Come, let me cause you to know them,
Namely, the four bandages of the Successful life.
*Set your heart upon the god!
*Adhere to the law!
*Make restitution (alt. revenge)!
*Go in Maat!
Be small of conceit and praise!
Be a good person!
Do not (ignore) this which you have heard!
The-one-who-loves-knowledge, he says:
"O may your prophecy be eternally young!
O foremost one of the Mansion of Records [Seshat]
Begin with the children of your teaching!"
You have been for me a craftsmen.
You have diminished my trouble(s).
You have taken control of my (adversaries).
You have been for me a farmer,
I being like unto a field, I being dry.
You have been for me (irrigation alt. libation).
They have given me to you, I being worthy.
You opened me in your image … [….]
To cause it (alt. him) to live.
You have separated for me my tongue.
You have opened for me.
You have (granted) for me the possibility for coming and going.
You have lessened hatred of me.
You have brought love of me.
You have caused that my praise comes quickly.
You have caused that I achieve old age, I being still young.
I have written to those older than I through your effective magic.
You have given me high authority, although I am but a youth.
I have comforted the hearts of the great ones through your assistance.
You caused that I be abundant with companions, when I was alone.
You made for me a troop of youths.
You have given me living force of your mouth.
Reveal your sustenance (alt. spittle, liquid flame).
The beneficent power of your body has flowed over me.
[….] for me the benefaction.
You have acted for me, I being as a living image eternally.
I will stand as a statue (before you)
I will be for you a divine monument,
I being as an image of the foremost before (Thoth).
I have power over your papyrus roll.
I will worship your teaching(s),
I being protected (by saying) your beautiful name.
Above is my translation of Column 7 of BO2 from 'The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth' papyri in which Thoth continues instructing his disciple (a priestly scribe), see Jasnow & Zauzich p. 234. I have filled in a few gaps from their 2005 translation (my words in brackets) which represent my current best guesses.
++
Egyptian language is full of crypticisms and word-play; and the "fingers" in the Zenet game represent both the fingers of the Great Ones whose action (stochastically thrown) determines pieces movement in the game, and also carry allusions to the fingers of a player or scribe, Servants of Thoth, Lord of game play, speech and writing. In volume 1 we looked at the importance of hieroglyphics in Zenet. Egytpology has also established that verbal jousting (like sledging in cricket) was part of Zenet during certain periods of its long history, and several such Zenet sayings and exchanges have been preserved for us. These often play on mysterious puns and interplays between three and two (unspecified - most Egyptologists assume pieces - but I think also finger throw sticks). I will include Senet sayings in Zenet Three (The 31st God). This quote however concerns caligraphy, not throw sticks.
The-one-who-loves-knowledge, he says:
"Let one say to me the work of the fist, the hand which labors on the divine writings."
He speaks, namely, The One-of-Heseret, he says:
Your three fingers, place the brush between them. Your two fingers, let them make a grasping.
Place the one-tenth and one-twentieth for the Great of Five, Thoth, //
send "between them [the fingers]" the ink-holder before your fingers.
Be good with your hand! // Write with your fingers! //
As for movement and staying-still, make a commanding of them to your fingers!
Every type of free-movement (is) their (the fingers) share, //
excellence in writing (means) the collection of the praises, they
being quick.
(The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth, Jasnow & Zauzich I,
2005, p. 215/6).
++
PRAYER to THOTH Papyrus Anastasi V. 9,2 - 10,2. Gardiner, L.E.M. P. 60
This was used as a school-text in Ramesside Period, New Kingdom.
Come to me Thoth, O noble Ibis,
O God who loves Khmun;
O letter-writer of the Ennead,
Great one who dwells in Heliopolis!
Come to me and give me counsel,
Make me skillful in your calling;
Better is your calling than all callings,
It makes followers great.
He who masters your calling is fit to hold office,
I have seen many benefit by your action;
They are now among the Tribunal of Thirty,
They are strong and rich through your help.
You are the one who offers wisest counsel,
I am a servant of your house.
Let me tell of your valiant deeds,
Wheresoever I may be.
Then the multitudes will say:
"Great are they, the deeds of Thoth!"
Then they'll come and bring their children,
To assign them to your calling,
A calling that pleases the lord of strength,
Happy are they who perform it!
++
Setting up the Djed & Tiyt
Court of Amen 2
Square 2 - House of Setting up the Djed and Tiyt (Ptah/Osiris & Isis)
The djed (backbone as amulet) was a column, the symbol of
strength and suppport. The hieroglyph also means stability or
endurance. It later became seen as the backbone of Osiris, hence a
symbol of eternal life. In cetain religious cermonies when it was set
upright it signified the rising of the soul to life after having
overcome its enemies and the forces of death and decay.
The Tiyt was a knotted belt that became a symbol of the goddess Isis.
Because this amulet was normally made of red jasper, it specifically
meant the magical blood of Isis, and was believed to protect Osiris
(or the deceased) from harm in the netherworld (BD, 75, 156).
The dead person was instructed to set up the Djed and the Tiyt so that
he or she might sail with the sun god in his celestial ship wherever
he should go. (BD 100).
Originally associated with Ptah, the djed later became seen as the backbone of Osiris, hence a symbol of eternal life. In religious ceremonies when it was set upright it signified the rising of the soul to life after having overcome its enemies and the forces of death and decay.
There is no specific game function for this square in the records.
However, it is duplicated at Square 9 (vacant), which suggests to me
demarcation of a period of time or intermediate number of 6 squares.
Just as Houses 6 and 8 are symmetrical, maybe they designate start
and closure of a festival period, not two separate events.
++
House of Neith
Court of Amen 3
HOUSE THREE - Neith
The image is of the goddess Neith next to the symbol of the town of
Abydos. She was mother of the sun god, Re. She also was the ancient goddess of Sais, a city in the Nile delta. House of Neith in Zenet is square three. She holds a fetish of Abydos & Osiris, indicating communication with the dead.
In the hieroglyph she appears to be motioning toward the fetish of
Abydos, which was also a symbol of Osiris. The town of Abydos was the traditional burial place of the dead god. It was also the centre of Osiris worship, and place of the major festivals of the dead. Neith is one of the true immortals whose origins (like Zenet) pre-date the written word.
The 'ntr' glyph is associated particularly with the marker pole found outside the doors of her temple from pre-Dynastic times.The fetish itself consisted of a box, decorated with a serpent and two plumes, mounted atop a pole. Neith was mother of the sun god, Re; the ancient goddess of the city Sais. Neith is paired with Nephthys in the canopic shrine quadrants, as Isis is associated with Serket (said to be an aspect of Isis).
++
#zenet #senet #posthumanuniversity
......
THE MISSING HOUSE
Court of Amen 4
Square Four, the "Missing" House, is so called since no
records are extent of what was on this square. The vulture and
scratches simply are a hieroglyph added by a later scholar, and
literally mean "bald" or missing square.
From the Senet games texts, I hazard two possible guesses .. one
possibility might be that Heka (aspect of Ma'at), Sia and Hu are
associated with the square, as they are mentioned specifically, and
quite early, in the description alongside the other Senet squares.
Another guess, which fits well magickally also, is the four sons of
Horus, as the operational table mentioned might be the table they
stand on before throned Osiris.
In "The Splendor that was Egypt," Murray makes a comment that there is an interesting coincidence that the four Sons of Horus (Canopic deities) and the four Living Creatures of the Bible each have a being with the head of a man and a being with the head of a bird.
++
#zenet #senet #posthumanuniversity
HOUSE OF MAAT
Court of Amen 5
HOUSE FIVE - Maat
Ma'at is shown with the hieroglyph meaning "beautiful." She is Goddess
of truth, world order, justice, and righteousness. Her headband is the
symbol of these attributes, and the ostrich plume is that feather
against which the hearts of newly deceased were weighed before Osiris.
The heart could not outweigh the feather if eternal life was to be acheived.
The Weighing of the Soul is of pivotal importance to Senet (see House of Thoth and Hall of Two Truths) and I have others have written elsewhere how the Ten Commandments of Judaism was likely derivative on Ma'at and her 42 Admonitions. Likewise the bible stories about Judgement, and many Proverbs, as well as the Golden Rule (Jesus' version Love thy neighbour as Thyself) being previously spoken by The Eloquent Peasant.
FIRST HOUSE OF TENET
Court of Amen 6
HOUSE 6 & 8 TENET
We see on this square a hieroglyph that spells the name "tenet"
followed by a sign meaning festival. Heliopolis/ Anu.
The precise nature of this festival isn't clear. But if we consider
the Senet board's aspects as a calendar, the sixth square is
associated with the sixth day of the month (and the eight square,
Second House of Tenet, has the same sign), then a reasonable
assumption is that the major festival held in honour of Osiris in
the city of Heliopolis is probably what is inferred by this square.
(BD 1 S3, 65 S2, 80, S2, 134 T4).
House of the THirty
Court of Amen 7
This square is inscribed with the numeral 30. Traunecker and Lorton note that the Court of Amen comprised of a mabait, a total of thirty deities. These thirty were comprised during Theban times of the Two Enneads, both numbering fifteen from Karnak.
My research identifies these two Enneads with the first 15 squares (15 House of Rebirth), and the second series of 15 finishing at square 30.
Various soul transformations (Khephering) are related to ritual Zenet:
From Zenet One (which gives a fuller analysis)
May he see the sun, may he mingle with the stars, may he unite with the
gnh-stars of heaven.
May he follow Osiris in Ra-pekau at the Wag-feast.
May he act as steersman in the divine boat in which he is ferried.
May he grasp the md3.t.
May he take the stick to the stt of the snw.
May he rejoice the thirty with the s.nt-game,
the Mehen before him, his opponent has entered the Pr-nfr,
he hastens to go forth, for he has entered the lucky h3, and his heart is on the
House of the Gods;
he descends to the water.
He knows his strength (or "while he knows that he has strength [the
advantage?]").
He comes forth from the houses,
he hands over the dd and puts the tj.t in ….. of the lord of eternity.
He petitions the god on account of his opponent.
Seele: [B]
… work
Thou playest, thou goest forth …
thou reachest (?) (passest over to) pure august Mehen, son of Wnw.t.
You lift 2, and you find 3, while [his!] way is open, so that you may reach the deceased,
and everyone spits upon the pr-nfr.
Hasten thou, pour a libation at the pr-mw opposite to your second (opponent?)
for [me].
Seele: [C]
…. in the feast of his [lord],
the song which is sung in Thebes, while his lord entertains himself … T3-nfr,
…. T3-nfr, mayest thou be triumphant among the Thirty.
Mayest thou descend [to] thy pool; Ma'at …
Mayest thou move freely in the divine bark which travels to the T3-dsr.{t}
… Two Truths.
Mayest thou address those who are in it.
This is the square of the Phoenix and royal regulatory priesthood when
representing the Great Thirty, and is the square that reminds us why
we should win at Senet. It is also worth bearing in mind the importance of the number seven, which is the number of the souls in Egyptian philosophy.
Seven parts of the soul in Egyptian metempsychosis can also be represented by the Seven games pieces of both players in Zenet . Variations of these exist, also Zenet has been played with five pieces each at certain times and places in Ancient Egypt.
Ka, the principle of the body:
Ba, the soul of the breath;
Khaba, the Shade or astral likeness
Akhu, the Intelligence or perceptive power;
Seb, the ancestral soul;
Putah, the leader, or intellectual father;
and the Atmu, the divine or eternal soul.
Second House of TEnet
Court of Amen 8
TENET houses
On these first and second Houses of tenet, the name for that place is
followed by glyphs meaning festival. I might have something else about
these squares - possibly the 6th and 8th days of the month are
indicated, eg. Heliopolis festivals BD 1 s 3, 65 s 2, 80 s 2
A reasonable assumption about this square is that it represents
closure of the Osirian festival opened on square/day 6.
Tiyt and djed
Court of Amen 9
Second House of setting up (or dismantling/ detaching) the Tiyt and the Djed.
We need to decide why the two amulets are the other way round to sq 2, The First House of D & T. Probably these two squares create a zonal demarcation? Or start and close of a festival.
++
#zenet #senet #posthumanuniversity
HOUSE of edjo
Court of Amen 10
Square 10 FIRST TURNING SQUARE
House of Goddess Edjo (Wadjet and other names), of the Delta and lower Egypt. Her symbol the Cobra is worn on the king's brow (alongside her sister, Mut or Nekhbet) , and on the Crown of Osirus. His number is 10, and from this Osirian tradition, which is also associated with Amen.
This square is the final of the first row, before a change of direction on the Senet board. The middle Register can be considered as the Nile running between the two banks (and other things also).
House of Nekhbet
Court of Amen 11
2nd Turning Square - 11 Nekhbet or Mut
The main temple complex at el-Kab within the massive mudbrick wall that encompassed at least part of the ancient town, contains many different structures and is difficult to understand without a ground plan. In fact, there appears to be little serious investigation of this complex. These structures are built against and into each other. This region was sacred to the goddess Nekhbet, "She of Nekhen", who became the tutelary goddess of Upper Egypt while Wadjit was her counterpart in Lower Egypt.
A 'Vulture Text' passage from the AE Book of Thoth was explored these lines more fully in Zenet 1 book .... the first 'register' that begins square 1, 'House of Thoth', ends with the Wadjit square 10, and progresses to the 'House of the Vulture' (Nekhbet/ Mut) sq 11.
The close proximity of Temples of Thoth and Nekhbet in the Nectanabo complex reinforces these links between these two deities. Thoth seems to often be understood as a unifier of the Two Lands.
House of orion
Court of Amen 12
This constellation, represented by the Egyptians by a star and
sceptre, is called Sah. The man, usually standing in a boat as here,
looks backward - he holds a star or ankh, the sign of life, in his
left hand, and a sceptre, sign for 'dominion,' in the other. Amongst
other things, the constellation of Orian is associated from earliest
times with Osiris. See also text BD 69, Orion passes some of the year under the horizon, which is identified with his travelling in through the netherworld.
My name lives in the House of Orion
My heart is cunning, it is not negligent.
My heart is observant, leading the opponent's play towards me.
I guide his draughtsmen for him.
His fingers are troubled,
his heart removes itself from its place
and he does not know how to respond.
My name lives in the House of Orion;
I live forever and ever.
I proceed as one who is rightly guided,
together with the sun disk to the House of Regeneration.
(Piankoff, The Great Game text).
house of life
Court of Amen 13
Square [13] is symbolised by the Ankh, cosmological ankle strap that
connects us with this world. Each great Aegyptian city had a place
called Per Ankh, House of Life. In addition to acting as a repository
for knowledge about the Gods; it was also used for religious
festivities and ceremonies, and for the practice of medicine and
magic. Khemites thought that recorded words and stories retained
`life' and should be perpetually preserved.
The deceased player of Senate - who aspires to become Osiris
(Osirified) and thus live eternally - by landing on this House of Life was
said to have learned that magic formula by which this could be attained.
The first mentions of the Name of Isis /Aset are from the Pyramid Texts from the 5th
Dynasty. In Utterance 4, the earliest place where her name appears, it says:
Utterance 4
Recitation by Nut:
"...O King, I have given to you your sister Isis, that she may lay hold of you
and give to you your heart for your body."
§ 210
Ascend and descend; descent with Nebt-Het, sink into darkness with the
Night-bark.
Ascend and descend; ascend with Aset, rise with the Day-bark.
Utt. 406
§ 707
Bring me the milk of Aset, the flood of Nebt-Het, the overspill of the lake, the
surge of the sea, life, prosperity, health, happiness, bread, beer...
Utt. 535
§1280-1
Thus said Aset and Nebt-Het: The 'screecher' comes, the kite comes, namely Aset
and Nebt-Het; they have come seeking their brother Wesir, seeking ther brother
the King.... Weep for your brother O Aset; weep for your brother, O Nebt-Het;
weep for your brother! Aset sits down with her hands on her head, Nebt-Het has
grasped the tips of her breasts because of her brother the King...
The Coffin Texts
This is a collection of over thousand texts inscribed on coffins during the
Middle Kingdom, especially the 11th and 12th Dynasties. They were derived from
the Pyramid Texts and the purpose was to guarantee survival in the Afterlife.
In CT Spell 24 we get an idea of Aset´s role in the funerary context:
"...the arm of your foe is chopped off for you, the Two Kites, who are Isis and
Nephtys, scream for you, striking for you on two gongs in the presence of the
gods..."
The Book of Going forth By Day, or more popularly; the Book of the Dead,
appeared during the New Kingdom (foundcd by Ahmose I of Thebese.
BD Spell no: 142:4 can be read following, which gives us an idea of
the many epiteths that Aset was given:
"...Aset the great, Mother of the God; Aset the Divine, Aset the daughter of
Nut; Aset the Great of Magic; Aset the possessor of magical protection, Aset the
possessor of rolls; Aset who protected her Father, Aset the Ruler of rolls; Aset
in Asyut, Aset as ruler of (the city of) 'Shesmin', Aset in Bahbit (Iseum); Aset
in Pe, Aset in Dep, Aset in Coptos, Aset 'in charge of' Pe, Aset in Akhmim, Aset
in Abydos, Aset in King´s House; Aset in the Sky, Aset in the earth, Aset in the
southern (and northern) chapel (of Sais), Isis in the northern chapel (of Sais);
Asset in all her Manifestations, Aset in all her characters, Aset in all her
Aspects, Aset in (every) place where her Spirit desires to be;..."
( see T.G. Allen´s translations of the Book of Going Forth By Day)
passing with the sun
Court of Amen 14
House of Passing with the Sun
On this square the red sun is shown over the hieroglyph meaning
"heaven" with a star below. It seems to be an allusion to the hope of
the dead (as written often in their tombs and papyri) that they
might travel daily through the heavens on the solar boat in adoration
of Re and become members of his divine crew.
We see a red sun (meaning 'heaven') over a star. The heiroglyph
probably expresses the wish of the deceased to travel daily on the
solar bark in presence and adoration of the sun god as members of his crew. BD 15. On this square the red sun is shown over the hieroglyph meaning "heaven" with a star below. It seems to be an allusion to the hope of the dead (as written written in their tombs and papyri) that they might travel daily through the heavens on the solar boat in adoration of Ra and as members of his divine crew. See also square 29.
House of
Repeating life
Court of Amen 15
Square 15 is an important house with unique rules, and is halfway between two groups of 15 squares. Because the frog Goddess Heqet helped Osiris become
resurrected from the dead, she was also thought to help mortals in the
same way. The Bennu Bird/Phoenix also represents rebirth and
resurrection, but out of fire and air rather than from earth and water.
The frog, an aspect of the Goddess, Heqet, is shown atop a sign meaning
"mistress". Some interesting comments are made about the mid-board Frog square (Rejuvination or Ressurrection) by Timothy Kendall.
"It may in fact be the fact that lunar eclipses occurred on
the 15th day of the lunar month (i.e., during the full moon). "
Peter Piccione points out that the solar and lunar cosmologies seem, according to the Great Game Text, to be reconciled at Repeating Life, depicted usually as the frog Goddess Heqet -
The sudden appearance of many frogs on the banks of the nile from out
of apparently lifeless desert sand (following the annual deluge and
innundation of rain) made them become the symbol for resurrection,
birth, fertility and regenerated life.
Because the frog Goddess helped Osiris become resurrected from the
dead, she was also thought to help mortals in the same way. The
Phoenix in many ways also represents rebirth and resurrection, but out
of fire and air rather than earth and water.
This is the first square we have reached that is known to have a
special function in the game, for on this square are re-entered those
counters that fall into the Abyss (square following the Beautiful
House). So in a very literal sense this is the square of repeating life.
The frog symbol continued to be used in the same way even into early
Christian times in Egypt. It frequently appears as am oil-lamp design
of that era marked "I am the Resurrection" -- having now been employed
as a symbol of Christ.
One possible reason for the frog's placement on this particular square
might be the fact that lunar eclipses occurred on the 15th day day of
the lunar month (during the full moon). This assumes Square one,
Thoth, is the start of the lunar cycle. The sudden darkening of the
disk and its quick recovery of brightness may have been seen as a
renewal of life for the moon, and perhaps a sign of hope for the
deceased halfway through their journey.
House of netting
Court of Amen 16
House of the Net, Square 16
The figure holding a net may allude to BD 153, "Spell for
escaping from the Net within the Valley." It is a celestial fish net
"whose floats are towards the sky and whose sinkers towards the
earth," and was said to be manned by "earth gods" and "catchers who go
about in the midst of the waters."
The purpose of this net was to snare wandering souls that did not know
the correct pass-words and magic formulae. If this particular spell
was repeated over a model of the decead seated in a boat, it was
said that "his soul shall stay alive forever and not die again."
Also see BD 113.
I think there may have been a rule specific to the game-play if you landed on this square in some versions - is discussed further in THE 31st GOD.
++
Souls of Nekhen and the Hands of Horus.
There are several examples of the Fish motif in Dynastic Egypt. But I
think some closely resembling Christ on the fishing boat, fishers of
men theme, can be found in ancient "fish-trap" texts such as the following:
Knowing the Souls of Nekhen.
I know the mystery of Nekhen; it is the hands of Horus of his mother's
making which were thrown into the water, she saying "You shall be the
two severed portions of Horus after you have been found."
[snip]
And Sobek from the back of the waters said: "I have fished and ?I have
sought; they slipped from my hands upon the banks of the waters, but I
fished them up in the end with a fish-trap. Tat is how the fish-trap
came into being.
Knowing the mystery of Nehken.
Thus said Rah: "Has Sobek any fish as well as finding Horus hands for
him?" ... "Hidden are the mysteries concerning this fish-trap which
brought to us Horus's hands; the sight is made clear because of it in
the monthly and the half-monthly festival in this Tr-rmw."
[snip]
O you who are in Nekhen, power is given to me, and I know the mystery
of Nekhen; it is in the hands of Horus and what is in them, for I have
been introduced to the Souls of Nekhen. Open to me, that I may join
with Horus. CT 158.
house of netting implements
Court of Amen 17
This square portrays the 'adj' - a spool or cleat; and the 'medjat' -
an unknown implement, both of whose names in hieroglyphs appear in the hands of a kneeling figure. The stick of wood simply indicates both the
implements were made of wood! They were probably tools used for either
fishing or fowling with nets.
In Book of the Dead (Anu,153 & 153 B) the celestial netting tools had
names that were parts of the bodies of different Gods of the underworld.
The 'adj' is also called "The thumb of Sokar" and "The Finger of
Shezmu", while the 'medjat' was also known as "The Hand of Isis"
or "The Fingernail of Ptah."
The deceased (or initiate priest in ritual Senet) could use these
arcane and secret names to be kept safe from the danger of being caught
in the net.
house of Ro-peqer
Court of Amen 18
Shown is an abbreviated spelling of "Ro-Peqer", the name of a sanctuary at Abydos. Osiris was the chief God at Abydos, and is said to have been buried at this site. Ro-Peqer is the place from whence he first descended into the underworld after his kliing by Set. Kendall points out that it was also an important festival site (Wag festival) for the dead, celebratedon the eighteenth day of the month of Thoth, and the 18th square in Zenet.
house of navigaTION
Court of Amen 19
To the Middle-Kingdom Egyptian, the phrase to "walk on his water"
refered to being a "servant" or follower of a King or noble,
dedicated to his cause, and perhaps receiving grace or bounty in
return. By the time of Khemetic New Kingdom, the phrase "who walks on his water"
had come to mean follower of a particular deity rather than a king,
in a new era of "personal piety" that had no precedent in earlier
times. Although there is no exact AE term for "personal piety" or
indeed "religion", nevertheless such phrases as "to put (named deity)
into one´s heart" does indicate such.
The Middle Kingdom ideal of a Heart-Guided individual was replaced by New Kingdom "God-guided heart."
This House of Navigation or "Steering Oar" in Senate embodies this
notion, cite the teachings of Amenemope, later Ramesside Period:
"Make yourself heavy in your heart, make your heart steadfast,
Do not steer with your tongue.
(Accepted) the tongue of man is the rudder of the boat,
But the God-of-All (Amen-Ra) is its steersman."
Amenemope XX 3-6, Grumarch, Untersuchungen, 124-128.
So I would speculate that the Christian story Jesus of "walking on water"
comes from the Khemetic notion of service and loyalty to a noble, and in
later times a (city) god. The notion of ´passing over water´in the
burial boat might also contribute to the imagery of this phrase.
The "walk on his water" implies to follow your leige to eternity.
"Who follows him will be a tomb owner,
death reaches him not.
He dies sated with life and reaches the burial
who walks on his water.
One recognises the praised one by his great name, (Amen-Ra I think)
his reward is that of a blameless transfigured one."
CGC 42 K Jansen -Winkeln, Aegyptische Biographien 22 & 23 Dynasty
(Wiesbaden 1985) Vol 1, 194, Vol II, 543.
house of bread
Court of Amen 20
Bread of Everlastingness. The "2nd Kether," arrival square. enlightenment can occur at this stage. Third turning square.
Offering of sepulchral food is indicated by the glyph. In my Enochian Chess series, in Book Two "Qabbalah Deconstructed" and in Zenet Three - THE 31st GOD) I look at how Western Cabbalists seemingly copied most of their key concepts from Egyptian sources, Zenet in particular, all of which predate the bible, let alone the Zohar and Sepher Yetsirah.
Amongst the ordinary people it seems the Osirian/Elysian vision of continuation of this lifetime more-or-less but reunited with passed on friends and family was most popular. Amongst intellectuals and the elite priesthood of Amen (Amen Ra) existence in the afterlife was conceived of as being more etherial, bodies or spectators of light, rather than the more human-shaped resurrection envisaged by both Osirians and mystical Christians.
How the beautified (Justified) passed their time in the Kingdom of Osiris
may be seen from the pictures cut on the alabaster sarcophagus of
Seti I, now preserved in Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn
Fields. Here we see them occupied in producing the celestial food on
which they and the god lived. Some are tending the wheat plants as
they grow, and others are reaping the ripe grain. In the texts that
accompany these scenes the ears of wheat are said to be the "members
of Osiris," and the wheat plant is called the maat plant. Osiris was
the Wheat-god and also the personification of Maat (i.e., Truth), and
the beautified lived upon the body of their god and ate him daily,
and the substance of him was the "Bread of Everlastingness," which
is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts.
In Chapter XLII (Book Coming Forth into Day) every member of the
deceased is put under the protection of, or identified with, a God or
Goddess, e.g., the hair with Nu, the face with Aten (i.e., the solar
disk), the eyes with Hathor, and the deceased exclaims triumphantly,
"There is no member of my body which is not the member of a god."
One of McGregor Mather's (Golden Dawn founder) favorite sayings.
In the Book of the Dead CXLVIII, The Chapter of Providing the Deceased
with Food in Khert-Neter [the Afterlife]: The God addressed is Osiris,
himself also the Bull of Amenti, so the food that Osiris is asked to
give is himself. Herein lies the very root of Christianity.
It is clearer if you also read end of the preceding chapter 147:
There is joy of heart for the Bull, and for the celestial beings, and
for the Company of gods. I am the god, the Bull, the Lord of the gods,
who maketh his way over the [sky]. O wheat and barley of the nome of
the god, I have come into thee. I have come forward. This maybe also alludes to the sepulchural bread
When CXLVIII concludes it is the Osiris aspect of Ani that is being
addressed, and he is also the narrator from the start of the chapter:
The Osiris Ani whose word is truth saith: ..... Let the Osiris Ani,
whose word is truth, have glorious power in the Beautiful Amentet."
Ra is acknowledged also, but not as a self-sacrificing food-providing God.
++
Coffin Text,' 330, contains a clear identification of the soul
(Osiris) with grain/ food and the act of digestion.
Whether I live or die I am Osiris,
I enter in and reappear through you,
I decay in you, I grow in you,
I fall down in you, I fall upon my side.
The gods are living in me for I live and grow in the corn
that sustains the Honoured Ones.
I cover the earth,
whether I live or die I am Barley.
I am not destroyed.
I have entered the Order,
I rely upon the Order,
I become Master of the Order,
I emerge in the Order,
I make my form distinct,
I am the Lord -of the Chennet (Granary of Memphis?)
I have entered into the Order,
I have reached its limits. . .
house of the ba
Court of Amen 21
HOUSE of the bA (transliteration).
The incense pot with flame is a hieroglyph to be read bA. Sometimes on
this square both male and female Ba figures are illustrated, each with
a pot of incense and standing atop their tombs.
This bA or "breath soul" is second stage of seven in the Aegyptian
metempsychosis. The symbol combines a human head (often of a deceased
person) with the body and wings of a bird. Freedom of movement is just
one property indicated by this final, and most important, turning square.
"We have every reason to stress this dynamic character of bA, for an
inadequate understanding of it has evidently contributed much to the
understanding of bA as "soul," according to the traditional western
dualistic way of looking at things. A statement such as the following
from the Book of the Dead, your bA belongs to the sky, your
corpse to the netherworld," undeniably could easily be explained
according to this dualistic scheme. And when Plutarch asserts in De
Iside et Osiride that the Egyptians kept the bodies of the gods
amongst themselves, while their souls (psychai) shone as stars in the
sky, we might seem to hear an echo of such a concept. Let us,
however, consider that in a Coffin Text we find the phrase, "your bA
is in the earth, your body is in the netherworld," and in a tomb
text from Dynasty 18, the formula, "your body belongs to the earth,
your bA is in the netherworld."
This warns us against fixing the location of bA. A number of representations of the tomb also illustrate the bA bird on its way from or to the tomb. Dualistic statements of the first type must therefore be balanced by texts and pregnant expressions(114) evoking the union bA–body, which were produced thanks to the mobility and activity of bA. Further, the
circumstance that such corporeal things as food and drink, along with
sexual potency, are so often connected with bA, should have
constituted ample warning against playing body and bA against one
another, as also often occurs in the Egyptological literature.
++
I will praise God(s) for you,
O foremost one of the temple of Ptah
In the festival of iy-m-Htp before Wsir-nA-nfr-Htp.
I will cause your name to live beside the living bA.
I will divinize your ba before the ba of his divinity.
A Htp-(ti-)nswt to your kA at your altar.
A worshipping of your name before the sacred images.
Come you, o one who lives as a craftsman of Isten [Thoth]
O praised one of the heart of Rah, may he cause that you 'recite'.
May I praise God(s) for you.
May I cause that your name be eternally youthful.
May I cause your ba to enter before my father.
I am with you as an heir like a son of land of the fathers.
May your teaching act as a nursemaid for me.
You have made me a ruler through the raising of the hand of the one who created me, so that I may become an heir of your divine instructions.
O honoured one! Let one cause that my name remain.
Let me enter among the nobles.
Let one place me on the bark of the divine bau (bA's),
The wise ones who are in the setting forth.
May I gather in as a Seer!
May I become like unto a monument {oracle}
So that I become one with the assistants of Thoth.
I have completed the funerary offering
Through pronouncing my name in the darkness,
While I fight with the bas.
May one open for me the path of going-and-coming.
Let me show the way to the hall with my own feet.
I have completed the action of the funerary offering
Through pronouncing my name in the darkness,
While I fight with the bau.
Two more lines are of interest to us:
May one open for me the roads of going to the House of Life,
I will spread myself out on my belly before Shai (Seshat).
The AE Book of Thoth, Jasnow & Zauzich, vol 1, p.111
House of spitting
Court of Amen 22
HOUSE OF SPITTING
Extensive ideas about this square included in The 31st God.
22 (34) purification of the mouth by Upper Egyptian natron
Cream, cream, splits open your mouth !
O King Unas,
-Upper Egyptian natron of Nekheb, 5 pellets-
taste its taste in front of them of the divine chapels.
What Horus spits out is cream.
What Seth spits out is cream.
What reconciles the two gods is cream.
To say the words four times :
"You are purified in the company of the Followers of Horus."
23 (35) purification of the mouth by Lower Egyptian natron
Your purification is the purification of Horus.
Your purification is the purification of Seth.
-Lower Egyptian natron of Shetpet, 5 pellets-
Your purification is the purification of Thoth.
Your purification is the purification of the god.
Your purification is also among them.
Your mouth is the mouth of a sucking calf on the day he is born.
24 (36) final censing and declaration of purity
Your purification is the purification of Horus.
Your purification is the purification of Seth.
Your purification -incense, one pellet- is the purification of Thoth.
Your purification is the purification of the god.
Your purification is the purification of your Ka.
Your purification is the purification of your purification,
and this purification of yours also is among your brothers, the gods !
Your purification is on your mouth :
You should clean all your bones,
and end what is against You.
O Osiris, I give You the Eye of Horus !
Provide your face with it, spread through.
PYRAMID TEXT OF UNAS
I Preliminary Purifications
House of greeting
Court of Amen 23
Square 23 House of LIBATIONS
may also have been called "House of Greeting" as there is a
pun for the hieroglyphic for 'water' that flows over the mans hands,
and is indicated by the mans posture also. The serpent Mehen, on one
account of the Netherworld, is here said to have given cool waters or
'Libations' to the deceased.
Amememopes 23rd Chapter - 23 House of Libations
Do not act out of place in the presence of a Justice,
Nor be determined to speak the first.
If you are satisfied with false words,
Then you enjoy spittle instead of food.
Look at the cup in front of you,
And let it suffice for your need.
The noble person is important in his function,
He draws forth knowledge from a bountiful well.
19 (23) purification by water
Osiris, seize all those who hate King Unas -pour water- and who speak
evil against his name. Thoth, go, seize him for Osiris. Bring him who
speaks evil against the name of King Unas. Put him in your hand.
To say the words four times :
"Do not let go of him !
Beware, do not let go of him !"
-pour water-
20 (25) censing Ka-rite
Someone has gone with his Ka.
Horus has gone with his Ka.
Seth has gone with his Ka.
Thoth has gone with his Ka.
To say the words four times :
-burning incense-
"The god has gone with his Ka.
Osiris goes with his Ka.
Eyes-Forward has gone with his Ka.
You also have gone with your Ka."
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the arm of your Ka is behind You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is before You !
O King Unas, the foot of your Ka is behind You !
O Osiris King Unas, I have given You the Eye of Horus !
May your face be adorned with it !
May the perfume of the Eye of Horus diffuse over You !
21 (32) pouring of libation under the feet
This is your libation, Osiris.
This is your libation, O King Unas, have gone forth -libation & two pellets of natron- to your son, have gone forth to Horus.
I have come and I bring You the Eye of Horus, that your heart may be
refreshed with it. I bring it to You under your feet.
Take the outflow that comes out from You. Your heart will not be weary with it.
To say the words four times :
"Come, (for) You have been invoked !"
Pyramid Texts, King Unas.
house of towing
Court of Amen 24
Here is an interpretation of the 24th glyph - the jackal stands on
the symbol for 'heave' that we also see Square 14. The ship of the
sun God was often seen as being a barge towed with ropes pulled by
strange god-like beings. Jackals and cobras-with-arms are quite
common.
They walk on the banks of a celestial stream, as if towing a barge
upriver on the Nile. See BD 15B 3 E, 89 S 2, 99, 100, 133a.
In the referenced text, the Senet player's pieces are likened to
these jackals that pull the tow-ropes of the sunboat, moving
inexorably down the final row to total victory.
By this towing, the pieces themselves acquire a life and strength of
their own. Such is their eagerness to complete their course, it now
seems that they seem to be pulling the fingers (sticks) of Fste,
rather than vice-versa.
Anubis is the Jackel-headed God of the Underworld,ruling over the mummification process and assisted with rites in the Underworld. His wife is Anput,which is a feminized version of his name, his father was Ra, the solar creator god, his mother is Hesat, Ra's wife. His sometime daughter is Kebechet, the Goddess of the purification of the organs to be placed in Canopic jars during mummification. After Osiris died and became more popular Anubis gave up being the God of the Underworld, a graceful and friendly change of the guard, but retained his position at The Weighing of the Heart. He became the Gatekeeper of the Underworld, protector of Souls traveling in the Underworld, patron of lost souls. As God not of death but of dying, he ruled over funeral rituals and practices of embalming, with the help of Nepthys and Isis.
papyrus thicket
Court of Amen 25
25 PAPYRUS THICKET
This vacant square is important as the final, 25th, square of Life
before the final 5 steps of Senet, which signify the Netherworld.
1. As for every kind of writing, their rapid approach means their becoming a craftsman quickly. Do not turn away!
2. The-one-who-loves-knowledge, he says: "What is its nature?
What is the shape of the papyrus plant, O excellent of love?"
3. He speaks, namely, The-one-of-Heseret, he says:
"They have named it the 't-plant, namely, the 't-plant of life,
which the land of mooring will touch it (the brush)."
4. The-one-who-loves-knowledge, he says:
"Let one command for me the word which gives birth to the prophets that I may cause that they become pregnant in my flesh.
5. Let one open for me the well which unites with the wise ones
that I may drink from its sweet water.
AE Book of Thoth,Jasnow & Zauchich 2005, p. 226
++B01, 1/12 to B01, 2/1 from the AE Book of
Thoth, pp. 172-3, Jasnow & Zauzich, 2005
They ... the field ... , while the lamp is before them, they being as a living image of the foremost one of the temple of Heseret ... the ... off-spring (or "offerings") being before them ... in the jar of the (or "spell of the") incense, the bread and beer ... before ... the sustenance entirely.
The one from whom they are, the heart of Rah is that which gives the wise ones [...] ... him ...
His sons of the wn-ima.w are the ones whom he will raise up in his (?)... the sons of Seshat {goddess mistress of writing and libraries]
bends his heart ... the praises of Isten, ruler (?) ... his ... in his limbs after him. ... Is his heart that which is upon them?
The collection of the reeds, which are gathered together (as) a teaching, they make a treasury in the house of books. They reveal another box of divine secrets. Their craftsman is the one who interprets (or "prophesizes") about them ... an old one from ... to a ... box of the papyrus-rolls entirely, at his side.
++
... words which cause a youth to learn and a son of (Thoth) to question.
1. "The words which cause a youth to learn and a son of Wn-imA to question."
2. "[....]... protection(?) of purity of Osiris Naneferhotep, the great god, the (?)... lord (?).
3.[...] unification of his body for (?) the lords of offerings ... before the goddess Shai (=Seshat) in the name [..].
4. [...] ... which is Sekhefabwy, ritual of (?) of the regulation of entering the Chamber of Darkness."
To continue:
Line 5. [...]... they lacking one and a half (?), they ... with the utterance of your mouth.
6. [...]... four .... upon their foundation (?), small, difficult
7. [...] ... as far as ... of the divine writing (?)
8. [...] they raising up ... very greatly (?) ... not [...] lifting...
9. [...] twice, lords of offering ... If you wish to hear them, set your ears to hear them.
10. [...] day in thoughts (?) ... to hasten (to) the place (?) ... May you experience their taste (?).
11. [...] I have [...] it concerning ... its ceremony concerning the teaching of the writing.
NOTES for lines so far:
1. Rubric or heading for section, and indeed possibly the beginning of the Book of Thoth! Hieratic form of seated child might indiccate schooling oir an initiation ceremony. Wn-imA is an epithet of Thoth. Son of Wn-imA could be the king, but here more likely non-royal priest.
2. The deity Naneferhotep appears in Greek magical texts as Nephotes. Associated perhaps with Neferhotep, one of Khonsu's titles, a divine child also used of Osiris. J&Z p. 242
5. Reading of fraction 1 1/2 is probable, significance uncertain but might be addressed to the disciple.
10. J & Z understand tpy (with tongue determinative, not the cobra) to be dp, "to taste."
11. Damaged nature of this line makes translation problematic, for 'tbty' J & Z translate "ceremony."
++
Academics and thinkers might be attracted to square 25, House of the
Papyrus Thicket. The Gods guarding the gates are uneasy and demand to
know not only the name of the intruder approaching the Hall of Two
Truths, but also issue a series of obscure passwords and and
difficult questions that can only be known to initiates. BD 125, c 6.
The Thothian priest associated with this square would be scribe & record-keeper, and knower of the initiatory passwords and so on that protected the approach to the Hall of Two Truths. An important square. Steve
The Transition, Amenemope Instruction 25 - 26
Do not jeer at a blind man nor tease a dwarf,
Nor make fun of the condition of a cripple;
Do not taunt a man who has mental illness,
Nor reprimand him for his errors.
Man is but clay and straw,
And Khnemu is his potter;
He throws new clay and he builds daily,
Khnemu impoverishes a thousand if he wishes.
He makes a thousand into Courtiers and Examiners,
When Khnemu is in his hour of life.
How fortunate is he who reaches the West,
Then he is safe in the hands of Osiris
THE beautiful house
Court of Amen 26
Square 26 Heart of Osiris
The keeper of the inventory of what exists
I am that great Benu bird which is in Iuna,
The keeper of the inventory of what exists -
'It means Osiris' -
What exists means the Time-cycle and the Time-line.
Coffin Text 335
++
On some early Senate boards, a Phoenix/ Bennu Bird is shown on Square 25, The House of Beauty.
A reason for this is because the Bennu or Phoenix is the bird form
of the ba of Osiris when he visits the realm of the Living.
And so the Beautiful House, both death & rebirth, is associated with
our totem creature the Phoenix (shown on its bark List logo). It
also symbolises the Heart of Osiris - from Mysteries of Abydos.
[B o D CHAPTER LXXXIII.]: THE CHAPTER OF CHANGING INTO A BENNU.
Saith Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant in peace:
"I came into being from unformed matter, I created myself in the
image of the god Khepera, and I grew in the form of plants.
I am hidden in the likeness of the Tortoise.
I am formed out of the atoms of all the gods.
I am the yesterday of the four [quarters of the world], and I am the
seven uræi which came into existence in the East, the mighty one who
illumineth the nations by his body.
He is god in the likeness of Set; and Thoth dwelleth in the midst of
them by judgment of the dweller in Sekhem and of the spirits of
Annu.
I sail among them, and I come; I am crowned, I am become a shining
one, I am mighty, I am become holy among the gods. I am the god
Khonsu who driveth back all that opposeth him."
Appendix: The following rubric to this chapter is found in a papyrus
at Paris; see Naville, Todtenbuch, Bd. II., Bl. 185:--
If this chapter be known, the purified one shall come forth by day
after his burial, and he shall change his forms at his heart's
desire. He shall dwell among the servants of Un-nefer, and he shall
be satisfied with the food of Osiris, and with the meals of the
tomb. He shall behold the disk of the Sun, and shall travel over the
earth with Ra. He shall be triumphant before Osiris, and there shall
no evil thing get dominion over him for ever and for all eternity
and for ever.
Hymn To Osiris (BD)
"Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the Gods, whose
names are manifold, whose forms are holy, thou being of hidden form
in the temples, whose Ka is holy. Thou art the governor of Tattu
(Busiris), and also the mighty one in Sekhem (Letopolis). Thou art
the Lord to whom praises are ascribed in the nome of Ati, thou art
the Prince of divine food in Anu. Thou art the Lord who is
commemorated in Maati, the Hidden Soul, the Lord of Qerrt
(Elephantine), the Ruler supreme in White Wall (Memphis). Thou art
the Soul of Ra, his own body, and hast thy place of rest in Henensu
(Herakleopolis). Thou art the beneficent one, and art praised in
Nart. Thou makest thy soul to be raised up. Thou art the Lord of the
Great House in Khemenu (Hermopolis). Thou art the mighty one of
victories in Shas-hetep, the Lord of eternity, the Governor of
Abydos. The path of his throne is in Ta-tcheser (a part of Abydos).
Thy name is established in the mouths of men. Thou art the substance
of Two Lands (Egypt). Thou art Tem, the feeder of Kau (Doubles), the
Governor of the Companies of the gods. Thou art the beneficent
Spirit among the spirits. The god of the Celestial Ocean (Nu)
draweth from thee his waters. Thou sendest forth the north wind at
eventide, and breath from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of thy
heart. Thy heart reneweth its youth, thou producest the.... The
stars in the celestial heights are obedient unto thee, and the great
doors of the sky open themselves before thee. Thou art he to whom
praises are ascribed in the southern heaven, and thanks are given
for thee in the northern heaven. The imperishable stars are under
thy supervision, and the stars which never set are thy thrones.
Offerings appear before thee at the decree of Keb. The Companies of
the Gods praise thee, and the gods of the Tuat (Other World) smell
the earth in paying homage to thee. The uttermost parts of the earth
bow before thee, and the limits of the skies entreat thee with
supplications when they see thee. The holy ones are overcome before
thee, and all Egypt offereth thanksgiving unto thee when it meeteth
Thy Majesty. Thou art a shining Spirit-Body, the governor of Spirit-
Bodies; permanent is thy rank, established is thy rule. Thou art the
well-doing Sekhem (Power) of the Company of the Gods, gracious is
thy face, and beloved by him that seeth it. Thy fear is set in all
the lands by reason of thy perfect love, and they cry out to thy
name making it the first of names, and all people make offerings to
thee. Thou art the lord who art commemorated in heaven and upon
earth. Many are the cries which are made to thee at the Uak
festival, and with one heart and voice Egypt raiseth cries of joy to
thee.
"Thou art the Great Chief, the first among thy brethren, the Prince
of the Company of the Gods, the stablisher of Right and Truth
throughout the World, the Son who was set on the great throne of his
father Keb. Thou art the beloved of thy mother Nut, the mighty one
of valour, who overthrew the Sebau-fiend. Thou didst stand up and
smite thine enemy, and set thy fear in thine adversary. Thou dost
bring the boundaries of the mountains. Thy heart is fixed, thy legs
are set firm. Thou art the heir of Keb and of the sovereignty of the
Two Lands (Egypt). He (Keb) hath seen his splendours, he hath
decreed for him the guidance of the world by thy hand as long as
times endure. Thou hast made this earth with thy hand, and the
waters, and the winds, and the vegetation, and all the cattle, and
all the feathered fowl, and all the fish, and all the creeping
things, and all the wild animals therof. The desert is the lawful
possession of the son of Nut. The Two Lands (Egypt) are content to
crown thee upon the throne of thy father, like Ra.
"Thou rollest up into the horizon, thou hast set light over the
darkness, thou sendest forth air from thy plumes, and thou floodest
the Two Lands like the Disk at daybreak. Thy crown penetrateth the
height of heaven, thou art the companion of the stars, and the guide
of every god. Thou art beneficent in decree and speech, the favoured
one of the Great Company of the Gods, and the beloved of the Little
Company of the Gods.
His sister [Isis] hath protected him, and hath repulsed the fiends,
and turned aside calamities (of evil). She uttered the spell with
the magical power of her mouth. Her tongue was perfect, and it never
halted at a word. Beneficent in command and word was Isis, the woman
of magical spells, the advocate of her brother. She sought him
untiringly, she wandered round and round about this earth in sorrow,
and she alighted not without finding him. She made light with her
feathers, she created air with her wings, and she uttered the death
wail for her brother. She raised up the inactive members of whose
heart was still, she drew from him his essence, she made an heir,
she reared the child in loneliness, and the place where he was not
known, and he grew in strength and stature, and his hand was mighty
in the House of Keb. The Company of the Gods rejoiced, rejoiced, at
the coming of Horus, the son of Osiris, whose heart was firm, the
triumphant, the son of Isis, the heir of Osiris."
In the House of Beauty your PASSED life, your 'yesterdays', are examined. Looking back over your past is a chief function of Senate.
From my research - the Senate Pavilion may well resemble the Tent or
Pavilion in which embalming and mummification process took place. The
Pavilion (26 House of Beauty) stage in the game is where you switch
state from 'alive' to blessedly 'deceased'. In Senate our task is to communicate with all parts of ourselves, past and future. And sometimes with other people too, living or dead.
Lake of truth
Court of Amen 27
Signified by the hieroglyph for "water" (alt title House of Water), Kendall thinks the square proabvly represents the Nile, "across which one was ferried to his tomb after death, and ther so-called Lake of Truth across which one's soul passed in the underworld in order to reach the "Hall of the Two Truths." Some special game features of this square are examined in The 31st God.
Hall of the two truths
Court of Amen 28
Square, 28, House of the THREE GODS (alt. title) is also known as Hall of the Two Truths, since both Maat and Shu (dual Maat or two aspects) are shown. The double-image of Maat (Truth and Justice, daughter of Thoth) is accompanyed by Thoth himself. He wears the moon as a crown to show his role as guide of the dead. He is the
intercessor and advocate of the deceased during judgment, and regulates
the fateful balance himself. Only if the deceased was (figuratively
speaking) without sin could thge feather and heart be of equal weight.
See Book of the Dead BD, 125.
This Judgement Hall (Neophyte ritual, GD) was also called "House of the
Three Gods" representing the Trinity, number 3, and three squares to
bearing-off in Senet. If the deceased, at this place, is "true of
voice" or "justified" he was united with Osiris as a God. Both Maat and Thoth have their own squares, but Shu (male counterpart of Maat, also wearing an ostrich feather) is only depicted here.
SPELL FOR THE SOUL OF SHU and for becoming Shu
I am the soul of Shu the self-created God
I have come into being from the flesh of the self-created God
I am the Soul of Shu, the god invisible of shape
I have come into being from the flesh of the self-created God
I am merged in the God
I have become he.
I am he who calmed the sky for himself
I am he who reduced the Two Lands to order for himself
I am stronger and more raging than all the Enneads.
I am he who foretells him when he ascends from the horizon
I am he who puts the fear into whoever would search out his name
I am he who is amongst the Chaos-Gods and who hears the words of the
Chaos-Gods
I am he who despatches the word of the Self-created to the multitude
I am he who captains the Bark and its crew
I am stronger and more raging than all the Enneads.
Part of Spell 75 Coffin Texts.
The Pillars of Shu are the Four Winds. Continuing about Shu, an important
Zenet deity, the next extract is from The Book of Coming Forth into Day BD:
Papyrus of Nebseni, Sheet 17
What thou wishest that do thou, O Lord of the Winds.
I shall be a spirit therein.
I shall eat therein.
I shall drink therein.
I shall plough therein.
I shall reap the grain therein.
I shall be strong therein.
I shall make love therein.
My words shall be strong therein.
I shall not be in subjection therein.
I shall be a man of might therein.
Thou hast made me strong the mouth and throat.
Hetep Qettbu is its name.
It is established upon the pillars of Shu,
and is linked with the joyous things of Rah.
The winds encompassed the whole cycle of weather and seasons, and are
the very breath that sustains life - the Aegyptian Ba or breath soul
is shown as a human-faced bird that exists within the invisible body
of Shu.
house of the two gods
Court of Amen 29
Ra-Atum (Tem, Temu) is a composite ram-headed God by the era of
Seti 1st (circa 1300 B.C.), and was said to traverse the waterways of the
netherworld in a ship called the "night bark." His crew included Ma'at
(truth and order), Sia the lookout on the prow (perception or
intelligence), Heka (the personification of 'magic'), Hu (the god
of 'authorative utterance'), and the divine bodyguard, the serpent
Mehen. See discussion of the various Game Texts in Zenet One.
On the senet board, the separate images of Atum and Ra on their
square evokes the identity of the two aspects of the sun, the God who
passes from old age and death at sunset to new life and
eventual rebirth as he approaches the eastern horizon through the
underworld, gaining strength and power through his victories.
By playing ritual Zenet, we have our Solar and Lunar cycles reconciled.
The eye of Ra-Atum, mentioned above, is the mythological symbol for
the sun. At one point, Shu and Tefnut, twin children of Ra-Atum,
were separated from him. He sent his eye to find them. While the eye
was searching, Ra-Atum replaced the eye with another. When the eye
returned with Shu and Tefnut, Ra-Atum wept with joy, and the tears
created humankind. However, the eye was enraged at having been
replaced. Ra-Atum placed the eye on his forehead so that the eye
could rule the world; thus becoming associated with the sun. The
second eye is associated with the moon.
SPELL TO BECOME A MAGICIAN
O you who are in the presence of the nobles of Atum
Behold, I have come to you, respect me in proportion to what you know.
I am he whom the Sole Lord made
Before there came into being the two meals on earth,
When he sent his Sole Eye when he was alone,
Being what came forth from his mouth;
When his myriads of spirits were the protection of his companions,
When he spoke with Khepri, with him,
That he might be more powerful than he;
When he took authoritative utterance upon his mouth.
I am indeed the son of Her who bore Atum,
I am the protection of what the Sole Lord commanded,
I am he who caused the Ennead to live,
I am 'If-he-wishes-he-does',
The father of the gods.
The standard is high,
The gods are endowed in accordance with what the eldest god commanded,
In accordance with the command of Her who bore Atum,
The august god who speaks and eats with his mouth.
I have kept silence, I have bowed down,
I have come shod into the presence of the Bulls of the Sky,
I have seated myself in the presence of the Bulls of the Sky,
In this my dignity of 'Greatest of the owners of doubles',
The heir of Atum.
I have come that I may take possession of my throne
And that I may receive my dignity,
For to me belonged all before you had come into being,
You gods; go down and come upon the hinder parts,
For [insert name] is a noble magician.
CT Spell 261. Middle Kingdom. After Faulkner.
Another mythological symbol associated with the Creation Myth is the
Phoenix. The Phoenix was said to travel from Arabia to Heliopolis
once every five hundred years. The cycles of time were said to be
set by the Phoenix, also known as the Benu bird, and the temple of
the Phoenix became the "centre of calendrical regulation (Clark,
1960)." During the Middle Kingdom, it became the soul of Osiris and
it was also at this time that it became associated with the planet
Venus, the morning star, which was said to be the sun's guide. All
of the above representations were minor associations, however. The
Phoenix's main role was as the one who created himself, thus
symbolizing Ra-Atum.
Atum, the bearded man wearing the double-crown, was the primeval
creator god of the universe and ancestor of the gods, who as "the aged
one" was seen as the dying sun at sunset.
Re, Rah or Ra, who became the preeminent solar deity, was seen as the
vigorous sun at the zenith of its strength at mid-day. He has a falcon
head, and sailed the heavens in his day-bark, his name literally
meaning 'rays' or the sun.
As the composite God, Ra-Atum, it was thought he also traversed the
waterways of the Netherworld in the night-bark. Alongside hime were
Ma'at (truth), Sia, the look-out on the prow personifying
'perception', Heka, personification of magickal energy, Hu, god of
'authorative utterance', and the divine bodyguard, Mehen (patron God of
Senet, protector of Ra).
++
And as for the holy door, it is the door of the pillars of Shu
I have gone on the way; I knew the head of the Island of Truth. What
then is this? As for Rah-Stau, it is the southern door of the Land
where Nothing Grows, and the northern door of the tomb.
And as for the the Island of Truth, it is Abydos; otherwise said, it
is the way, it is the going of his father Atum upon it when he
journeys to the Field of Reeds, where the food of the Gods is produced
behind the shrines.
And as for the holy door, it is the door of the pillars of Shu; it is
the northern gate of the underworld; otherwise said, the two leaves of
the door though which Atum journeyed when he journeyed [to] the
eastern horizon of heaven.
You who are in the presence there, give me your arms; I am that God
who came into being among you. What then is this? It is the blood
which comes forth from the phallus of Rah after he went away to
perform the mutilation of himself. And it became as Gods in the
following of Rah, Hu and Sia who are in the following of Atum every
day. BD Chapter 17
++
The Pyramid texts predate New Kingdom Senet, but the Two Sisters theme is continued, albeit with Theban era sisters, Mut and Edjo. Square 29, House of the Two Gods, does not always (although usually) depict Rah and Atum. Some New Kingdom sets mention the "Two Sisters" refering to this square, Isis and Nephthys. More than one set depicts these two. Pyramid Texts (after S. Mercer's translation) Ut. 619
Utterance 619.
1747a. To say: Raise thyself up, N.; raise thyself up, great nwȝ;
1747b. raise thyself up from (lit. on) thy left side, place thyself on thy right side.
1748a. Wash thy hands with this fresh water which I have given thee, my (lit. thy) father Osiris.
1748b. I have tilled the barley; I have reaped the spelt,
1748c. with which I made (an offering) for thy feasts, which the First of the Westerners offered for thee.
1749a. Thy face is like that of a jackal; thy heart is like that of, Ḳbḥ.t, thy seat is like that of a broad-hall.
1749b. A stairway to heaven is built (for thee), that thou mayest ascend.
1750a. Thou judgest between the two great gods,
1750b. who support the Two Enneads.
1750c. Isis weeps for thee; Nephthys calls thee;
1751a. as for ’Imt.t she sits at the feet of thy throne.
1751b. Thou seizest thy two oars
1751c. of which one is of pine, the other of id;
1752a. thou ferriest over the lake of thy house, the sea;
1752b. and thou avengest thyself against him who did this against thee.
1752c. O, Ho, may the great lake protect thee!
The Zenet player is exhorted to associate with and unite with the two.
The lamentations of Isis and Nephthys are specific to the ressurection
of Osiris, and House 29 is a prelude to House 30, the Eye of Horus,
with its inscription "May your joy be with Horus."
House of horus
Court of Amen 30
HOUSE OF HORUS 30th and final square. Ra-Horakhty, (Rah of the horizon) is the newly coroneted Pharaoh, the sun at dawn. Out of the 30 squares, this is the only one facing against the direction of play, and Horus can be seen as the highest of 30. The numeral 'one' is often indicated on this square on boards where only the final squares are marked. The moment of the Sun's triumphant rising and rejuvenation at dawn.
But a central aim of Senet is for the human player to 'become a god'
either as the 31st god, leader of the Tribunal of 30; or as one of the
groups of Assessors of the three great centres, each sending 10
representatives (e.g. the souls of Heliopolis/ Anu).
Horus, defender of the dead and avenger of osiris, was a sky or heaven
god associated with the rising sun, as Ra (Ra-Atum, square 29) was
associated with the aging sun at sunset.
By passing beyond this (eighth, invisible soul) and safely off the
board the player representing the deceased had acheived their goal of
rising with the sun and "going forth by day" as a living soul.
Note how the Senet Gods and figures generally face the direction of the
game-procession .... except for this final House where Horus faces
back, suggesting an eternal cycle.
Changing into a Divine Hawk
I am master of his crown.
I am master of his radiance.
I advance towards the Henti boundaries of Heaven.
Horus is upon his thrones.
My face is like that of a divine hawk.
I am one who is equiped like his lord.
I shall come forth to Tetu (Busiris).
I shall see Osiris.
I shall live in his actual presence beneath Nut.
They shall see me.
I shall see the gods and the Eye of Horus burning with fire before me.
They shall reach out their hands to me.
I shall stand up.
I shall be master of him that would subject me to restraint.
They shall open the holy paths to me, they shall see my form, they
shall listen to my words.
++
ADORATION OF AMEN WHEN HE RISES AS RAH-HORAKHTI
by the brothers Suti and Hor, Thebes stela, 18th Dynasty.
Hail to you, Rah, perfect every day
Whose rise creates the dawn and creates the day
Like Khepri [scarab beetle] who toils endlessly.
Your rays will shine on faces of generations yet unborn
Finest gold does not compare with your splendor.
Self-made, you passage creates time
Creator uncreated.
Sole, solar, one. You traverse eternity.
You are above the ways. Overseeing the millions below.
Your splendor is that of the heavens
Your colour brighter than all others.
All watch while you cross the sky
When you set you are hidden from their sight.
Daily you show yourself at dawn
Protected are those who sail beneath your majesty.
In a brief day you complete your circuit
Hundreds, thousands, millions of miles
A moment to you is a day to us
It has passed when you depart our horizon.
You also support the hours of night
You command it without pause in your labour.
Through your light do all eyes see
They lack clarity when your majesty sets.
When you rise again at dawn
Your brightness illumines the eyes of creatures
When you set in the western mountain
They sleep as in a state of death.
++
SPELL FOR ENTERING INTO THE FIRE AND FOR COMING FORTH FROM THE FIRE
BEHIND THE SKY (related to Spell 247 I posted yesterday).
I am this one invisible of form in the midst of sunshine,
I enter into the fire, I come forth from the fire,
The sunshine has not pierced me,
Those who find the Great One have not burnt me,
Mine is the knife which cuts down him who is in the hand of Thoth.
I will not travel around and I have not traveled around,
For your arm is that of Horus,
Your arm is that of the Great One,
While the Sacred Eye, the Lady of Provisions, is powerful.
I enter into and come forth from the fire,
The sunshine has not pierced me,
Those who find the Great One have not burnt me,
Mine is the knife which cuts down him who is in the hand of Thoth.
I travel around her who is opposite to me,
For your arm is that of Horus the Great One,
And the Sacred Eye has power.
CT Spell 246, after Faulkner's transl.
++
Becoming Horus.
There is tumult in the sky, and we see something new,
say the primeval gods. Rah shines as Lord of the sunlight, he has put
the lords of the terrible ones into dread. The Enneads of Rah serve
him, they hear the voice of Rah when hew shouts with a voice of great
roaring.
I have taken possession of the sky, I have divided the firmament, I
will show the paths of Khepri, and the dwellers of the Netjerworld
will follow me. I shine and am seen in the east of the sky, I go to
rest in eternity, and I have acclaim when I have taken possession of
the horizon.
Spell 326, CT.
++
UTTERANCE 587. Pyramid Texts.
(An address to the Sun)
Hail to thee, Atum.
Hail to thee, Khepri, who created himself.
Thou art high, in this thy name of "Height" (Kah)
Thou comest into being, in thy name of "Khepri."
(An address to the Eye of Horus)
Hail to thee, eye of Horus, which he restored with his two hands
completely.
He does not make thee hearken to the West;
He does not make thee hearken to the East;
He does not make thee hearken to the South;
He does not make thee hearken to the North;
He does not make thee hearken to those who are in the middle of the land;
But thou harkenest to Horus.
It is he who restored thee; it is he who built thee up; it is he who
has set thee in order;
That you may do for him everything which he says unto thee, in every
place where he goes.
Thou carriest to him the all the waters which are in thee;
Thou carriest to him the fowl-bearing waters which are to be in thee;
Thou carriest to him the gifts which are in thee;
Thou carriest to him every tree which is to be in thee;
Thou carriest to him the bread and beer which is in thee;
Thou carriest to him the bread and beer which is to be in thee;
Thou carriest to him the gifts which are in thee;
Thou carriest to him the gifts which are to be in thee;
Thou carriest to him everything which is in thee;
Thou carriest to him everything which is to be in thee;
Thou carriest it to him to every place wherein his heart desires to be.
The doors stand fast upon thee like Inmutef;
They open not to the West; they open not to the East;
They open not to the North; they open not to the South;
They open not to those who are in the middle of the land;
But they will open to Horus.
It was, he who made them; it was he who made them stand fast;
It was he who rescued them from every evil which Set did to them;
It was he who settled thee, in this thy name of "Settlements";
It was he who went, doing obeisance; after thee, in this thy name of
"City";
It was he who rescued thee from every evil which Set did to thee.
Turn back, go, O Nut.
Geb commanded that thou go, in this thy name of "City."
THE KING SPEAKS
I am Horus, who adorned his eye with his two hands completely.
I restore thee with an adornment; thee who should be restored.
I set thee in order, for thee are his settlements;
I built thee as a city of mine,
That thou mayest do for every good thing which the heart of Horus loves,
That thou mayest do good for him, in every place where he goes.
Thou shalt not hearken to the West; thou shalt not hearken to the East;
Thou shalt not hearken to the North; thou shalt not hearken to the South;
Thou shalt not hearken to those who are in the middle of the land;
But thou shalt hearken to Horus; it is he who restored thee;
It is Horus who built thee; it is he who settled thee.
Thou doest for him everything which he says unto thee in every place
whither he goes.
Thou shalt lift up to me all the waters which are in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me the fowl-bearing waters which are to be in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me every tree which is in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me every tree which is to be in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me the food which is in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me all food which is to be in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me the offerings which are in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me the offerings which are to be in thee;
Thou shalt lift up to me everything which is in thee;
Which thou carriest to me at any place my the heart desires to be.
The doors stand fast upon thee like Inmutef;
They open not to the West; they open not to the East;
They open not to the North; they open not to the South;
They open not to those who are in the middle of the land;
But they are open to me.
It was I who made them; it was I who held them fast;
It was I who rescued them from all the evil which men did to them;
It was I who set thee aright, in this thy name of "Settlements";
It was I who went, before and after thee, in this thy name of "City";
It was I who rescued thee from all the evil which men did to thee.
Hearken to me alone; it is I who made thee.
Thou shalt not obey (or hearken to) the malefactor,
Him-of-the-sharp-knife.
This iss one of the texts from burial chamber of Pepi II, East Wall.
Yes, very sonorous. It was definitely recited by lector priests at the
burial, probably chanted as a litany, but perhaps there may have been
followers of Hathor with musical instruments as part of the funerary
rites.
Allen translates the title as "Address to the Sun at the Door of the
Duat," which is the most accurate. But I rather like Mercer's earlier
translation using archaic English, since the PT are very archaic texts
in their nature. Allen begins: "Greetings, Horus's eye, which he has
replaced by means of both his arms, &c." and I think he loses some of
the poetry, for which the extra clarity gained doesn't quite suffice.
++
THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTERS OF THE CEREMONIES OF THE GOD WHICH ARE TO BE PERFORMED IN THE HOUSE OF AMEN-RAH, THE KING OF ALL THE GODS, DAILY BY THE CHIEF Ab PRIEST IN HIS DAY
From the First Ceremony
"The Chapter of Striking a Fire"
[The following shall be said]
"Come thou, come thou in peace, O glorious Eye of Horus;
Be strong, renew thy youth in peace.
It shineth like Rah in the double-horizon,
And the power of Seth hiddeth itself straightway
before the Eye of Horus,
Which seizeth it and bringeth it,
And setteth it upon the seat of Horus.
The word of Horus is Ma'at by reason of his eye.
The Eye of Horus destroyeth the enemies of Amen-Rah,
The Lord of the Throne of the Two Lands,
In all their places.
{Suten cha hetepu}
I am pure."
I have more to say about this series of 53 ceremonies and formulae in The 31st God.
++
HORUS - The Saviour aka Heru-pa-khered (Horus the Younger)
Horus the Younger, Harpocrates to the Ptolemaic Greeks, is represented in the form of a youth wearing a lock of hair (a sign of youth) on the right of his head while sucking his finger. In addition, he usually wears the united crowns of Egypt, the crown of Upper Egypt and the crown of Lower Egypt. He is a form of the rising sun, representing its earliest light. During the New Kingdom the deity Horus the Younger (or Child) became popular, and he acted often as a saviour in the Kemetic afterlife.
Hymn to Horus to transfigure him, spoken on water or on land.
Words spoken by Thoth the nurturer of the God of Pe.
Hail God son of a God!
Hail heir son of an heir!
Hail bull son of a bull! born of the Goddess
Hail Horus emerged from Osiris,
Born of Isis the Goddess.
I have spoken with your name,
I have recited from your words of power,
I have spoken with your words of light,
I have conjured with your speech,
created by your heart.
It is your formulae which come from your mouth,
commanded for you by your father Geb
given to you by your mother Nut,
taught by your brother Khentykhem
to make your guard,
to repeat your protection,
to seal the mouth of every serpent of those in the sky,
those on the land,
those in the water,
to make people live,
to make the gods content,
to transfigure Rah in your glorifications.
Come to me quickly today
as you have made a boat sailing.
Repel for me every lion on the desert slope
every crocodile on the river,
every biting mouth in their cavern
Do it for me like the stone of the desert mountain,
Like the sherd edge in the street.
Remove for me the posion of the bite which is in every limb of the patient,
so that your words are not rejected on account of it.
See, your name is called today.
May you create the raising of your renown,
when you have lifted by your words of light.
May you cause the sufferer to live for me,
so that adoration is given to you by the populace.
The two Goddesses Right are adored in your forms,
All Gods are called in your likeness,
See, your name is called today.
I am Horus the saviour.
[Translation from the Horus Stelae, Late Period]
