Amduat & the mysteries of the self

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Last night listened to Diana Kreikamp’s presentation on The Amduat: the Great Awakening, for the Magical Woman’s Summer Salon. which is also the title of her book. See link below for recording.
Amduat Salon7 Recording

I learned how this important ancient text brings together two important threads of Egyptian magical religion – the cult of sun god Ra & cult of underworld deity Osiris. At the midnight hour of Sun’s journey, when he makes the transition and begins his regenerations. Here he meets with Osiris, and the two cults merge.

Later, when the existential threat comes in the form of personification of “evil”, the snake Apophis. The still frail sungod needs strong protections, which he gets from Goddess Isis and also her companion, the “Elder Magician” who use their magick to ward off the threats.

Then, as now, different people were supporters of the cults of different deities, all of whom are part of the drama in some way. The ancient Sethians, viewed the “Elder Magician” as an avatar of Seth.

Members of mystery cults identified with these underworld myths, looking for their true selves in the unconscious. Is there really the basis to the idea of an ancient mystery cult of the living, made up of priests and scribes? The archaeological evidence indicates this to be the case.
I also explored this phenomenon as background to “Isis goddess of Egypt & India”

Such ancient mystery cults in temples are mentioned in Great Hymn to Osiris as well as in other places.

“Praise to thee, Osiris! Thou Lord of eternity, king of gods! Those with many names and lordly of being! With mysterious ceremonies in the temples” Great Hymn of Osiris / Hymn of Amenmose

These were the precursors to the famous mystery cults of the classical world, a lively account of one dedicated to Isis & Osiris is found in Apuleius’s novel “The Golden Ass”.

The Lion Goddess serenades Min, the ithyphallic god in the morning

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A hymn for god Amun-Min on the final day of his lunar month. When Repyt, ancient lion goddess of Athribis,
hymns the god from the eastern gateway of her temple, greets him as he rises in the morning in his house on
the eastern side of the river at the “Horizon of Min” (Akhmin)

“May you be satisfied,
May you awaken in peace,
may you be awake,
the lord of the sanctuary,
who with great power of destruction against his enemies … now rise in peace

“May you be content,
may you awaken in peace,
awaken,
You who gives life to your father Osiris,
awaken in peace, wake up and be content.

“May you be satisfied,
may you awaken in peace,
awaken,
Awake leader awaken
The great Horus in Akhmin,
the nemesis for those who will suffer at your hand,
You who now sleep in peace.

“May you be content,
may you awaken in peace,
awaken with transfigured body
But awaken in peace.

May you be happy,
Your majesty awakened,
the living one who gives the air
to the one whose throat is constricted.
Awaken in peace,
To keep the one who is within him/her healthy, and in peace.

“May you be satisfied,
May you awaken in peace,
may you be awake,
lord of the sanctuary,
one with great power of destruction against his enemies .. . now rise in peace

“You who loves the beautiful day,
for whose soul the gods are in peace.
in whose hand is life and death, rise in peace.

Victories for you over all the of the rulers of the nine bows,
to you the gods bow, in peace.

You are called Lord by the kings of upper and lower Egypt,
the Lords of the two lands,
the chosen ones of ptah,
who moved by the image of Min-Re,
The sun god
And by Horus, the Lord of letopolis,
And all their names,
You are their truth

I offer you Myrrh and wine,
and all good things,
treating you like a king.
I see your morning glory
As on the first golden day
when our souls were united,
And we are are transfigured at the gate
forever, as gods

This land shall flame and glow …
You shall be the satisfied as one who is in the seat of the Bastet,
Where those of earth also sit,
Man, woman,
Enjoying the fiery warmth of Sekhmet,
the mistress of heaven …
The one whose cheeks glow red at a feast,
As she eats raw meat
To whom the gods pray when they see it,
Because the gateways are open
The heart melted by the mistress of the flame
Rejoice, for the mistress, clothed in red linen,
Loves her lover
Our destiny

Composed, based on translated fragments by Mogg Morgan for Diti

Typhonian – what does it mean?

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What is a Typhonian? A new magical tradition also a spiritual path but one with ancient antecedents. In this sense like Babalon, Baphomet, & Babi.

Typhon is name of ancient Greek evil supernatural entity used by them as an overlay onto Egyptian Seth. They didn’t have that much in common though at that moment at end of pharaonic culture they obviously thought they did.

The Egyptian scribe-magicians recorded the name Typhon in their spells alongside that of Seth whilst at same time indicating in code that Seth was the real name with power.

The move associated many attributes of Typhon, who is almost wholly negative with Egyptian Seth, who does or did have many positive roles as “Lord of power & might”.

His is an all seeing, powerful eye that makes him the only deity who can stare Apophis, the personification of chaos & destruction, in the eye & not be paralyzed by its evil void.

In the 20th century neopagan revival the ancient cult of Seth began to reemerge in the magical discourse but under the Greek name Typhon. Not too obvious in Crowley but his disciples, such as Kenneth Grant, thought they perceived his presence as a hidden god, which seems appropriate.

The revivalists also influenced by inspired but flawed interpretations of Egyptian culture from Victorian theosophical authors such as Gerald Massey who relied heavily on Greek pov – Egyptological material on these myths being less widely known at that time…

So, apart from historical stuff what does a post modern Typhonian actually believe or do – & how does Apophis fit into the picture? Is he or she yet another name for Seth?

“Be not unaware of me oh Seth, if you know me, I shall know you” is the ancient spell, his aloof secretive nature who knows not just what he knows but secret identities of all others.

Seth, being a monstrous soul, is the most psychologically important of the ancient ones, certainly those that have a name. His companions look like demons, but ultimately these are more useful to us than the angels, approached wisely that is.

Typhonian magick, purports to go beyond conventional morality and the politically correct, and this is reflected in the “demonic” systems with which it is often associated. The Picatrix would probably be a typical typhonian text but there again, as its Arabic title alerts us, beneath all this is the “Goal of the Wise” – an individual gnostic quest for wisdom, knowledge, self mastery, for which one must sometimes descend into hell, or the underworld, the territory of Seth.

So a Typhonian is one who descends into void, or into hell if you like, who explores the weirder byways of magick and enters the dark and the nightside, not just for the hell of it but on the firm conviction that there, and perhaps only there, will they encounter the knowledge, inspiration and love, they and their world needs. (Mogg Morgan)