Category Archives: Egyptian Magic

The God posture and the sound of music

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The most important tool in the magician’s toolbox is his/her ability to create stillness within and without, listening and observation skills. One of the ways to achieve these skills is through a series of exercises and meditations. My favourite exercise was and still, is a meditation I learned at The Apophis Club as part of the First Head of The Dragon curriculum – The God Posture.

I love the God posture.

It seems to come naturally to me, I can sit in this posture and breath for ages. Maybe it’s because of my affinity to the Egyptian pantheon, trying Unveiling Isis all those years…   Or maybe it’s just that I like sitting on a chair and imagining I’m a goddess on a throne.  

Meditating in the god posture, made me think of sounds and music.

I think that a lot of people on this path (LHP), love to listen to metal (heavy, death, black etc) music, and I understand the psychology behind that; Metal music vibrates on an earthly frequency which is low and magnetic which affects us in the “here and now” and also have a strong effect on the Blood. Its vibration makes you excited and gives you an adrenalin and blood rush, the feeling of your heart pumping blood in your veins — a good and satisfying feeling… 

But can you meditate with this kind of sound in the background? And how will it affect our breathing rhythm?

It is always amazed me how the “high clerks” of all religions found out in very early stages of history the use of fine sounds, harmonics and higher notes to reach “the light” or God. Think of the beautiful sounds of Medieval chants and the angelic chants of Hildegard von Bingen, Gregorian chants, or the repetitive rhythm of the Hindu mantras.

The Shamans use in their rituals very specific sounds that vibrate with the higher frequencies, the sounds of overtones, feathers, leaves, and hypnotic drum beats, to awaken the higher consciousness/gods.

I’ve been very fortunate to be part of a community with some very gifted musicians.

We use lots of music and sounds in our rituals to guide us into the darkness and through it.

Can you imagine what darkness sounds like?

For me, it sounds like a big deep forest at night. Imagine the creepy crawlies, the night birds, the sounds of the trees and the wind and all the creatures of the night. These sounds will guide us through the darkness of the forest till we get to the darkest shores of the void. Where there are no sounds, and everything is quiet and still.

In the void, it feels like you are floating in the cool dark nothing of blackness. There is no day/night, and you don’t know if you are dead/alive. A feeling of being consumed by a big giant serpent. Only then do you start hearing again, the most beautiful sounds and it feels like it is the first time you ever used your ears. 

The inner knowing and understanding, that those harmonics vibrations you are hearing are the very first sounds of creation, leads to the realisation that to be able to create you need to listen…

Once you learn how to listen and you can really hear, you start to SEE beyond the illusions.

Imagine that.  

The Anubis ritual

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The Anubis ritual is based on an ancient Egyptian ritual which is similar to a seance. The priest/ess of Anubis invokes Anubis’s Godform into the medium which will channel Anubis’s knowledge concerning the other deities which will be invited into the “table”.

This year we invite to the table: Geb the God of the Earth, and Nuit – the Goddess of the sky (Geb & Nuit are lovers and the parents of Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephtis and Horus the Elder). As is the time of Green Magick we also think that we have to invite the God Min – which is the most ancient form of the God Pan.

Min

Min is an ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in the predynastic period (4th millennium BCE). He was represented in many different forms but was most often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his right hand and an upheld left arm holding a flail.

As the central deity of fertility and possibly orgiastic rites, Min became identified by the Greeks with the god Pan. One feature of Min worship was the wild prickly lettuce Lactuca serriola (the domestic version of which is Lactuca sativa (lettuce)), which has aphrodisiac and opiate qualities and produces latex when cut, possibly identified with semen.

Celebrations of Min’s birthday are recorded on Egypt’s oldest memorials such as the 1st Dynasty Palermo stone. But his cult is even older reaching back to the prehistoric era when he was a deity of fertility, sexual reproduction and natural phenomena such as storms. His erection is his most famous attribute — combined as it is with his raised arm and flail some have speculated that this is all part of an aggressive/protective posture. 

His main centres were Koptos (Kuft) & Panopolis (Akhmim). His symbols are the Thunderbolt, the White Bull, the Flail and the Phallus. Wallis Budge speculates there was also a lunar component to his cult. Min is also called ka-mwt-f “Bull of his mother” a reference to the incestuous impregnation of his mother, an epithet of various gods, including Horus, also Geb who kills his father Shu in order to ravage Tefnut. Before getting too outraged, it’s as well to remember this is an agricultural motif and refers to the reproductive activity of bulls and cows. Min’s archaic shrine was a phallic-shaped hut, woven from two significant and emblematic plants — the White Lotus & the (narcotic) Blue Lily (Nymphaea caerulea). 

The blossoms and foliage of these flowers are to be woven into a model phallus or perhaps a crown. The traditional hymns are referred to as “Danced”, implying they are rhythmic chants.

Danced Hymn for Min 

who is on his staircase

Hail to you, 

Min, Min Ra

Welcome

On your staircase

Hail to you

Min, Min Ra

And the crown you wear 

on your forehead

Hail to you 

Mysterious Min

“Bull of his mother”

Much that you do remains in obscurity

You are unique

To whom praise is given

You have power to give life 

To those you love

Powerful to give him to be propitiated

He is unique here

To whom has been conferred the function 

of the unknown god

While you go out of the great door

And are standing on your stairway of truth

Speaking with Osiris hour by hour

See, that which you ordain

For protection

Against all bad things

Min justified before your enemies

In the sky and on the earth

By the judges of all the gods

And all the goddesses.

NWT/ NUT/ NUIT & GEB

Nuit is the daughter of Shu and Tefnut. Her brother and husband is Geb. She had five children – Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys and Horus the Elder. She is considered one of the oldest deities in the Egyptian pantheon, with her origin being found in the creation story of Heliopolis. 

Her name means “The watery one” which may also symbolize the uterus. She represents the sky but not as the lifeless roof of heaven but as a dynamic entity, creating and destroying. She also represented the entire sky. Night and day as well as large features such as the Milky Way.

The female sky is the realm of the dead, whereas the Earth is for the living. This perhaps explains the male rulership of the Earth.

Nuit is intimately connected with the stars, especially those that are close to and appear to envelop our world. According to The Book of NWT, creation begins with the ambisexual Amun-Ra or Sungod Ra. he has the power to emanate part of himself, creating other Gods and Goddesses. He starts with Shu and Tefnut, who represent the principles of air and fire respectively. The process of emanation continues and they generate NWT the sky Goddess and Geb the Earth.

Nwt and Geb are locked together in a sexual embrace, almost a single entity. It is Shu, the God of the winds and the air who separates them, creating a space between all these elements in which our world can exist.

Geb was the Egyptian god of the earth and a mythological member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He could also be considered a father of snakes. It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb’s laughter created earthquakes and that he allowed crops to grow.

The oldest representation in a fragmentary relief of the god was as an anthropomorphic bearded being accompanied by his name, dating from king Djoser’s reign, 3rd Dynasty, and was found in Heliopolis. However, the god never received a temple of his own. In later times he could also be depicted as a ram, a bull or a crocodile.

Geb was frequently feared as the father of snakes (one of the names for snake was s3-t3 – “son of the earth”). In a Coffin Texts spell Geb was described as the father of the mythological snake Nehebkau of primaeval times. Geb could also be regarded as personified fertile earth and barren desert.

In the Heliopolitan Ennead (a group of nine gods created in the beginning by the one god Atum or Ra), Geb is the husband of Nwt, the sky or visible daytime and nightly firmament, the son of the earlier primordial elements Tefnut (moisture) and Shu (“emptiness”), and the father to the five lesser gods of the system – Osiris, Seth, Isis, Nephthys and Horus the Elder. In this context, Geb was believed to have originally been engaged with Nut and had to be separated from her by Shu, the god of the air. Consequently, in mythological depictions, Geb was shown as a man reclining, sometimes with his phallus still pointed towards Nwt. Geb and Nut together formed the permanent boundary between the primaeval waters and the newly created world.

His association with vegetation, healing and sometimes with the underworld and royalty brought Geb the occasional interpretation that he was the husband of Renenutet, a minor goddess of the harvest and also a mythological caretaker (the meaning of her name is “nursing snake”) of the young king in the shape of a cobra, who herself could also be regarded as the mother of Nehebkau, a primaeval snake god associated with the underworld.

Sources: 

Egyptian magick (Morgan: 2021) 

Demonic Calendar (Morgan: 2021)

 

Invocation of The 7th Head of the Dragon

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The Seven Heads of the Dragon are the foundational system of philosophy and practice of Apophis Club Initiates. Each head symbolises and embodies a layer of the primordial power of the Serpent.

The 7th head invocation was inspired by the book Apophis by Michael Kelly and the work curriculum of The Apophis club which was and still is a big influence on my way of thinking and being. 

Xepher!

APOPHIS By Michael Kelly

A practical handbook of Draconian Left-Hand Path Initiation. The Primordial Serpent lurks in the deepest, darkest roots of human consciousness. Each of its seven heads embodies a power which may be awakened within the psyche. ‘Apophis’ outlines the transformative process whereby the human Initiate becomes something much more than human. It provides the weapons necessary to win the war of consciousness against conformity. It openly teaches the means of immortalising the Self.

Invocation of the Typhon (2018)

The head of the Typhon or the ‘7th head’ represents the future self, the guardian angel, or the demon, your personal demon if you like.  

The head of Typhon was something I thought nobody would ever go through with, that is to say, I never imagine that anyone I know, let alone me, will ever go through with the invocation of all of the 7 heads. 

A few days before I set for the invocation I prepared my space by cleaning and sorting out everything I might need for the ritual. Music always helped me to focus when I need to plan a ceremony or an invocation, something about the rhythms of the tune I chose that afternoon is that before invoking one of the heads it is recommended to do the ritual of ‘opening the eye’ and then invoke myfutureself… 

Just to make it clear, by the time I felt ready to approach Typhon in a ritualistic way and invoke the 7th head, a few years have passed by, and the intense days of study and practice of the Apophis Club curriculum, were long behind me, and I was no more an active member of the club.

 Once you ‘open the eye’ and invoked your futureself it is the time to call upon one of the heads. There is no point leaving the eye open with no one to guide you through it – and by having your futureself about, the sense of security and reassurance to cross the abyss and reach out to the final head. I was a little nervous I must admit.

Am I really going to invoke the 7th head? 

It’s a myth, isn’t it? 

Deep breath, and here I am, getting ready to call upon Seth, the lord of darkness, the principle of ​Isolated intelligence, god of the Unknown future. 

Before midnight I started with banishing and soon realised I needed to repeat it a couple of times. Before I noticed I got carried away, and end up doing three different kinds of banishing — just to be on the safe side…  

You can take the girl out of the chaos, but you can’t take the chaos out of the girl… 

I went out to the garden altar and lit a candle and burned some incense and made a small offering of beer and bread. I put a little ​cake of light on the incense burner and looked up to the sky for the Ursa Major constellation. As soon as I saw Him, I stood in the Apophis and Typhon posture and chanted IAO for a little while. Satisfied, I went back inside and started singing and dancing, Open Up by P.I.L. Leftfield’s remix is always a favourite in raising the energies.  

 Earlier in the day I drew the sigil of the 7th head and mixed Dragon’s Blood powder into some red wine, I never tried it before, but what can be more symbolic than drinking actual dragon’s blood, especially when part of the invocation reads:  

‘Here I stand, initiate of the Dragon Mysteries…  And I am as you are, a void dweller.  The blood of the Dragon pulses through my veins;  My bones and flesh are of your substance’   

So I call upon my futureself, charge the dragon blood wine and drank it. 

It is stronger than I thought, the tingling sensation rushing through my veins. It’s time to invoke the Typhon.

I stare at the sigil and start chanting the words of the invocation. 

Everything becomes quiet for a few seconds, minutes, dead quiet. I’m not sure for how long I stood there until I felt something behind me.  It didn’t spook me, which is surprising.  

Seth is present in the room, I felt Him immediately, strong, stable and daring. Everything I say, he’s daring me to question and think it over. I find myself saying laud what needs to be done, speaking in such a confident way, using some hands and arms mudras like I was casting a spell. This led to a very bizarre conversation, between me, myfutureself and the Typhon. I started by saying all I needed to say to the Mighty Seth, and for one second, a thought crossed my mind — what are you doing woman? 

It was like staring into a mirror, into the void. I was staring into the eye, and I knew that now is the best time to say things as they are, that there is no god, apart from that I am a god/ess. We are partners in this journey, I do my bit, and you do yours. 

 I was trying to think about how I’m going to end this conversation when He just says; ‘Drink, Partner!’ and I’m thinking to myself, yes, ‘Partner’ sounds so much better than ‘My Lord’ or ‘Prince of Darkness’!  

 This might sound weird to you, but I’ve let you into my head now, and that’s the way things are in there.  

 Everything around me is slowing and quietening down, like I’m watching it all in slow motion, at times the sound of silence is quite alarming, my heart racing and then Typhon says, ‘I need some beer, so drink!’ 

​I knew I just did something incredible, but not sure what it was. We had some beer by the altar, then He said go, go and feel what it is like… 

 My blood is tingling and the music sends me far, far away. I lie on the sofa, I’m flying high with the music. The room is pretty dark but new thoughts and ideas keep bubbling up in my mind. I write them in my journal, like little messages, some private, some to share later.

I wait for the playlist to finish, before getting up and consigning the 7th head back to whence it came from. The circle is closed with as many banishings as I could remember and do. It is 4 am, and the sun is just coming up. I wind my whistle to the four corners, welcoming the new dawn. 

It is done!

***

That was a year ago, and what a year it was!

Soon after the invocation, I decided to leave my old job and at the same time, I got an offer for a much better one ( a dream job in a way at the time ). Before starting the new job I took a little holiday and went to Stonehenge for the Summer solstice, and what an amazing experience that was! A beautiful golden dawn, a good omen I would say. I found love, a soulmate and a magical partner and all in the same person! 

I went on the most fantastic holiday to Cairo, where we were very lucky to have the Red Pyramid at Dahshur to ourselves. We were the only people inside, so we took our chances and did a little ritual (our version of the open-the-mouth ritual) in the King’s chamber, at the heart of the pyramid!

We have been experimenting with crazy dream work, which gave us some very interesting results. And oh yes, there’s a book nearly finished,  in which you will find much more of my magical adventures in hyperspace reality…

So, it Is Done!

Xepher!

The Hierophant – Love and do what you will

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Chapter 3, verse xi: “Let the woman be girt with a sword before me”.

The symbolism of Crowley’s Thoth tarot is much more profound than the usual tarot meanings and symbolism. Crowley had a wonderful underlined subtext and messages communicating his ideas and beliefs through the Thoth tarot deck. I find his ‘secret’ symbolism and messages fascinating. 

Before we start to explore the symbolism of this card, remember we are only approaching it from the Crowlian point of view and a very specific one – which is mine. 

Let us understand first who is the Hierophant and what it represents.

The Hierophant is a person, especially a priest, who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles. 

According to Wikipedia, a hierophant (Ancient Greek: ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy.  As such, a hierophant interprets sacred mysteries and arcane principles. In Attica, Hierophant was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries. It was an office inherited within the Philaidae or Eumolpidae families. The office of Hierophant, High Priestess and Dadouchousa Priestess were all inherited within the Philaidae or Eumolpidae families, and the Hierophant and the High Priestess were of equal rank. It was the task of the High Priestess to impersonate the roles of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone in the enactment during the Mysteries.

The Hierophant is associated with the element of earth.

From the above, we can understand that the hierophant is a top religious figure like the Pope, or the chief Rabbi if you like, whose job was to be a conductor, a channel, funnel or mediator between the gods and the people. In this particular card, focusing only on the hidden symbolism, the hierophant is the representation of the goddess Nuit.

Nuit represents the element of infinite space. The mother of all stars – after all – “Every man and every woman is a star” (chapter 1, verse 3). Nuit is also the place each star is return to when his or her light diminishes. She is also the divine law. The law that the hierophant needs to transmit to her followers. 

 “Let the woman be girt with a sword before me” 

At the front of the card, before the hierophant, we can see the woman girt with a sword. 

According to The Book of Thoth, “she represents the Scarlet Woman in the hierarchy of the new Aeon” or in other words, representative of the ‘new woman’, ie, no more just a housewife or a pretty decor on the arm of her husband or boyfriend, but armed and militant, seeking her truth and equal rights. 

We can see how all of this manifests in the feminist movement of the 70s and the Me Too movement of our days. 

The woman girt with a sword , “The woman is the priestess; in her reposes the mystery. She is the mother, brooding yet tender; the lover, at once passionate and aloof; the wife, revered and cherished. She is the witch woman.” (Freedom is a two-edged Sword, Jack Parsons)

The deeper you look into the hidden symbolism and meaning of this mysterious woman, the clear it gets, that she can be Nuit herself, guarding the divine law.  

The law is simple and clear and it’s the hierophant’s job to pass it to his congregation:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”

“Love is the law, love under will”

Or in our words 

Love and do what you will

***

“The symbolism of the Wand is peculiar” – Solve et Coagula

Crowley describes the three interlaced rings of the wand, as a “representative of the three Aeons of Isis, Osiris and Horus”. However, on a closer look, we see that the hierophant holding the wand with its three rings aspiring upward, in his right hand (solve).  

As a Setian/Typhonian, I couldn’t help the thought that the three interlaced rings, would be much more comfortable in the right hand of destruction (solve) as a representative of Set, Osiris & Ra. 

Set and Osiris are both Ra’s grandsons and make a sacred triad. Both brothers have to sacrifice themselves for the continuation of Ra — of life — Osiris by getting killed by his brother Set, and Set killing his brother and becoming the ‘outcast’ God. (Aromagick)

The demonstration cycle of life through destruction and creation is continued with the symbolism of the hierophant’s left hand.

His left hand (coagula) is pointing downward in the Shamak mudra hand position. I must admit that this never occurred to me before, but once I become aware of it, I could not un-see it. 

The Shamak mudra also calls the kidney mudra, is the perfect hand position to deliver the message of Solve et Coagula (destruction and creation). In the beginning, I couldn’t see the connection between the kidney mudra to the word coagula and what it represents in the occult symbolism, especially here, to the hierophant and his wand. 

Coagulation means The action or process of a liquid, especially blood, changing to a solid or semi-solid state.
“a supplement that inhibits blood coagulation”

The main function of the kidneys is to cleanse the blood of toxins and transform the waste into urine.

The hierophant’s right hand in the Shamak mudra, suggests that before we can coagulate, we must be cleansed and purified of all toxins. Only then can we coagulate into our new and transformed selves. 

“The Throne of the Hierophant is surrounded by elephants, which are of the nature of Taurus; and he is actually seated upon a bull.”

At first look, the card seems to resonate with the symbolism of the zodiac sign Taurus, which is an earth sign. The element of earth is represented in this card as the Bull Kerub and symbolises the earth element at its most balanced and strongest. If we look at the symbolism of the bull from the Setian perspective, it takes us back to the cattle cult which is probably the oldest cult in the world. 

Cave painting from the Tassili n’Ajjer mountains

All Egyptian male deities have bull avatars. The Bull of Ombos is the avatar of Set. The Bull Cult probably sprang out of the Cattle cult linking deities like the Heavenly Cow/Hathor which represents the female aspect of the cult. 

The bull symbolises male fertility and potency and is connected with energy, stamina, endurance, protection, and aggression. As a symbol of strength, the bull was worshipped throughout the ancient world. From the astrological point of view, the zodiac sign of Taurus is linked to Spring in the agriculture calendar. Symbolising the season of rebirth, wealth and abundance. The bull also stands as a symbol of stubbornness, ferocity, tyranny and brutality, all the characteristics of a powerful God/s, and will make an honourable sacrifice for the almighty.

We might think, that we have moved on from the religious practices and worship of the bull’s cult, but today, the cattle cult assumed a different structure — the dairy and meat industry, that most of us are pretty much worshipping still.

Just to remind you, a hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy.  As such, a hierophant interprets sacred mysteries and arcane principles.

In this card, the hierophant symbolises the link to the secret of the rhythm of time and the ancient practice of the worship of the bull. 

The secrets of the time lords are encoded in the divine law which is guarded by Nuit/NWT and delivered by the hierophant.

Timelord (?)

Overcoming Apep

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Part of my day job is reading and editing books, recently I was preparing the ebook edition of Seth & The Two Ways (Morgan 2019). Reading Appendix 2 – Book(s) of Overthrowing Apep (Bremner Rhind Papyrus 3), a papyrus found in Thebes (in Upper Egypt), probably from the tomb of a priest from the Ptolemaic period, filled with the most powerful and hostile of curses. To get the editing job done, I had to read the nine books in one go. Working on these texts I noticed a strange feeling creeping over me. As I read the first two books, I felt upset and unsettled, as if the disturbing words of the text caught me off guard and were now literally directed toward me. By the time I got to book three, the heavy feeling of despair changed to something else, difficult to describe. By books three and four, I could feel a surge of energy shooting up and down my spine and I could sense a powerful circle forming around me. When I started book five, The Book of Knowing The Creation Of Ra And Of Overthrowing Apep, I could almost see the circle of power enclosing me, on all sides. I felt protected and at the same time strong and ready, but for what?

By the time I finished reading book six, I had an insight into the nature of cursing and the importance of the god Seth in Egyptian Cosmology and its pantheons.

The ninth book vibrates the victorious rhythms of mission accomplished, the priest ferried through the most horrendous and atrocious curses, his spirit never failing, his heart never broken, his body fully charged with the primaeval power of the ancient serpent that vibrates with the secrets of creation. He is one with the Dark Lord, with the Red God, with the Black power of the North, he is ready to take on the ancient worm.

By the time I finished reading the ninth book, I felt powerful, strong, determined, and mighty. I was ready to slay a dragon.

Most of the curses and “grimoires” we are familiar with are working on a very specific psychological level – earthy and primal, to intimidate and bully a person, in the most extreme and influential ways, to make them believe they are cursed. As we know, this power is indisputable and when a person believes in something, it can be nearly impossible to argue with them or to change their minds.

This type of cursing is directed straight to the emotional centre, resonating with the lower and earthly vibrations to cause fear and upheaval in the lives of the ‘victim’. On the other hand, the person who does the cursing is as much trapped in the emotional realm of aggression and intimidation as the target is. 

In order to curse an awesome and primaeval power such as Apep, the priest who conducted the ritual, needed to be as strong and as powerful as Apep, probably stronger. 

I have come to believe that the Book(s) of Overthrowing Apep was meant to be read and performed as one ritual without a break. Like many other Egyptian texts, the Bremner Rhind Papyrus 3 is a text that takes us on a journey of becoming. The priest or priests build up their mental and physical resilience by vibrating those hostile words, channelling the power and assimilating them into themselves, transforming those nine books of curses into a powerful and mighty weapon of protection and strength. 

I mentioned above how these texts were probably found in the tomb of a priest. They were included in the funeral rites and preparation for the underworld or night journey. Whichever way one looks at it, one can’t avoid the awareness that Apep is eternal, bornless and cannot be killed. This realisation could cause a psychological battle in the mind of the priest, leading to doubts, despair and resentment of his beliefs, and losing their ability to perform their roles properly in the temple. By turning the tables and learning the secrets powers of the curse, the priest acquires a tool of power, channelling the powers of the cursed one onto himself, freeing himself from the mundane state of existence, transforming and attuning his mind into the cosmic rhythm of the eternal.

Being equipped with such a papyrus, with such a powerful curse, in the tomb on your final journey, would be like the ultimate insurance policy against the immense forces of Apep the eternal, to protect his “soul” (Ba, Ka, Akh) on the final journey.

The Names Of Apep Which Shall Have No Existence – Book nine is like a repetitive mantra to be chanted and written on papyrus and to be burned in the fire. In the mantra, the name of Apep is repeated twenty-nine times! Each repetition is written with one of his terrible and horrific powerful characteristics, for instance – (21) Apep Kher Amam (Apep, The Fallen, The Devourer) (25) Apep Kher Kenemmti (Apep, The Fallen, The Dark One) (28) Apep Kher Sekhem-her (Apep, The Fallen, The Potent of Glance). Ostensibly it looks as if the priest is chanting and writing a very fierce curse. From my personal experience with mantra chantings, I can say that the more you repeat the same word,  vowel or seed mantra, the more one can actually feel the energy gathering, charging and vibrating around and within you. You are becoming one with the rhythm, like the physical vessel of the mantra vibrations. The repetition of Apep’s name is the way in which the priest channels and charges the power into himself. 

According to the instructions on the Abydos Temple walls, the daily temple ritual was performed three times a day.  Based on information from Temple Ritual at Abydos by Rosalie David (2016), before entering the temple, the priests had to purify themselves in the water basins, the sacred lake or any other convenient pure water source. Weapons must be left outside the temple and only then can they approach the shrine door. 

They open that door while saying: “I remove the finger of Seth from the Eye of Horus” step into the shrine and look at the God, saying whatever comes into their mind as a greeting. Perhaps something like this: “Be not unaware of me (Ra), If you know me, I will know you”. They

move into the shrine and stand before the altar and clean away any debris, tidy the place, lighted the fire and anointed all the deity’s statues and figurines with the daily perfume and made an offering of food etc saying: “Hetep di nesew asir neb djedu neter Aa neb Abdu” Which was the standard offering formula in Egyptian rites and can be adapted to any deity. Once all this was done, the priest positioned himself in front of the offering table and started to read the Book(s) of Overthrowing Apep, building up the energy to the triumphant crescendo of the chanting the words of book nine – The Names Of Apep Which Shall Have No Existence, finishing the rite by throwing the papyrus into the purifying flames of the temple fire. 

One can almost see the rite taking place, almost feel the vibrations of the chants resonating within the temple.  Now imagine how would it feels to visit that temple when the ritual of Overthrowing Apep has been performed a myriad times, since the Middle Kingdom when its existence was first recorded. For the uninitiated and the laymen, the temples in which this rite has been regularly performed must have been the most forbidding and eerie of places, haunted by wild-eyed priests. For the cult and its initiates, this was a place of power, a place to immerse yourself and to be charged with the endless baraka of the eternal one.

The Sethian myth is established on the sacred triad: Ra, Seth & Apophis, none could exist without the others. It is the battle-dance of creation, one dies, another must kill and one must shine.  

 The complete version of the Books of Overthrowing Apep (The Mother of all Curses) is reproduced in Mogg Morgan’s Seth & The Two Ways

Seth & The Two Ways
Ways of seeing the demon god of Egypt
Mogg Morgan
Format: Softcover/illustrated/many in colour.
ISBN: 9781906958831
£18/US$26
Subjects: Ancient Egypt/Egyptian Magick

Click HERE for Seth & The Two Ways / UK / £18

Click HERE for Seth & The Two Ways / USA and Worldwide / US$26

 

Set, Maat and Origins of Evil

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Set, Maat and Origins of Evil

“The gods of Egypt can be terrifying, dangerous and unpredictable, but they cannot be evil. Originally this was true even of Seth, the murderer of Osiris. Battle, constant confrontation, confusion, and questioning of the established order, in all of which Seth engages as a sort of ‘trickster’; are all necessary features of the existent world and of the limited disorder that is essential to a living order. But the gods and people must ensure that disorder does not come to overpower justice and order; this is the meaning of their common obligation towards Maat.” (Hornung 1982 : 213)

“Originally this was said, even of Seth” … says Hornung, acknowledging that only in the late period was Seth demonized and sometimes viewed as the equivalent of Apophis. 

There are three main contexts said to be evidence of Seth’s evil nature. There are far more examples, outside of these, including medicine, where Seth is upholding order against decay but the three we must consider are:  

  1. The Murder of Osiris
  2. His Sexuality, principally his Homosexual side.
  3. The idea that evil came into existence with his birth, bursting forth from the womb of his mother Nwt.

Disposing of points two and three first. It is debatable whether even in ancient times, homosexuality was seen as an evil practice that threatened the cosmic order of things. In our own times, such a view is entirely untenable.

Secondly then is this famous birth of Seth on the third of the epagomenal or liminal day in the Egyptian calendar. Five gods were born in this order, Osiris, Horus, Seth (all male) followed by Isis and Nephthys. If the birth of Seth on day three is disruptive then why not equally so Osiris who starts the process on the first day? Although Plutarch is responsible for this interpretation it is not really sanctified by Egyptian magical texts themselves. Eg Seth birthday is said

“ third: the birth of seth. words to be said on it:

oh, seth, Son of Nwt, great of strength, save me from bad and evil things and  from any slaughter, protection is in thy, the hands of thy holiness. I am the offspring of your offspring. 

the name of the day : It is powerful of heart. ” 

These words, which round off an almanac of lucky and unlucky days is similar in tone to that for his five siblings, and doesn’t mention anything other than Seth’s protection against the bad vibe of all these liminal days. 

So that brings us to the main issue of his murder of Osiris. Noting that in some sources it is Shu rather than Seth, who kills Osiris and brings him back to life. But even here we might argue that Seth’s role as challenger of Osiris is a necessary, realistic and inevitable part of the ruthless nature the “race for power”. 

“… one may venture in seeing Seth as someone who challenges the authority of the establishment, the status quo, social conventions, etc. He may represent a principle through which society keeps itself open to criticism and challenges, so as to amend or prune itself, and also enables itself to integrate or tolerate a certain level of disorder; and this is not a bad thing. He may also represent a reason why … the establishment have to undergo a continual process of self-legitimization, purification and reinvention. … to quote Te Velde ‘the pharaoh is a Horus reconciled to Seth or a gentleman in whom the spirit of disorder has been integrated’ “  (Kembole 2010 : 244)

For all these reasons, Seth does uphold Maat, and so do his companions. 

 

(From imaginal constitution of Companions of Seth Mystical Society)

 

Mystery Cults of Egypt

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Image

Source: Traunecker, Claude., and David Lorton. The Gods of Egypt. Ithaca, N.Y. ; London: Cornell UP, 2001. Print.

Mystery cults in Late Egypt – met in crypts beneath temple of Khonsu- on the cusp of Corpus Hermetica & PGM, it’s practical side. An example of their mysteries – the ten souls of Amun

1. The Sun  (right eye)
2. The Moon (left eye)
3. Breath & space
4. Water
5. Fire
6. Humanity (the Royal Ka)
7. Large & Small Cattle
8. Flying Creatures
9. Aquatic creatures
10. Forces of plant growth (the serpent provider of kas) 

Some may find the image provokes nervous laughter  and is disturbing. This sketch is based on special photographic imaging, of otherwise now invisible images. The intention is that they look something like the image of the androgrynous Nile god:

Image result for nile god egypt

Unsettling because these are hidden aspects of Egyptian magical-religion, suppressed by previous commentators, the #tantrik #tankhem. An important part of my own research, viz “Egyptian Magick, a spirited guide”. I’ve always been interesting in this theme – the sketch is from the Opet shrine adjoining temple of Khonsu at Karnak. Which can be difficult to visit, I managed to photograph some of it, but the crypt itself is off limits.

I wrote about the theme of initiation in “Isis in India” with the pictures I have. There is also theme of “Sexuality and Religion” in a chapter in the new one “Egyptian Magick” – keep finding more data – so often comes up … one day might have to do a compilation.

But it seems to be intentional, sexuality is key component of images for meditational in the ancient mystery cult. There are lots more. Imagine what those candidates for initiation took from it before entering trance for the night journey?

Since writing this I’ve been in touch with Claude Traunecker and have a copy of his long article on the crypt – together with more photographs to share. 

Shu – “The Breath of Life”

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I learn how this is a central concept in the old Egyptian Magical religion – proto Tantra.

There’s a thing called the Shu theology- Atum the creator, but then two children, Shu & Tefnut who do all the life giving stuff – like an ancient Shiva-Shakti. And think prana, the breath in Tantra. 

Shu, Tefnut & Amarna religion
“The Shu theology of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, as far as it can be reconstructed from the Coffin Text spells (75-80), distinguished between cosmology and biogony, creator god and life god. Atum was the creator of the world and life according to this theology, but the task of life-giving and developing both fell to his two children Shu and Tefnut. In this capacity Shu received the name Ankh “life” and was called “endless time” , while Tefnut was called Maat “truth /justice/order” and dt “invariable permanence”. Life, truth and time were the energies that perpetuated the world created by Atum. Akhenaten must have known about this theology. It offers the only example of a triad with the structure, 1:2 (father/two children) – so in Amarna, Akhenaten and Nefertiti assume roles of Shu and Tefnut.” #tankhem #prana 

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)

Don Webb

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Interviewed by John Wisniewski

Could you tell us about writing your latest Vampires psychic energy. What interested you in this subject?

My first serious interaction with the “occult” was the popular neo-shamanism of the 1980s – glowing light bodies perceived with the aid of drugs and a rather media-driven idea of energy (owing more to Star Trek than say the Vedas). When I had cleaned up my life, foresworn chemical aides and was seeking to explore human potential while keeping jobs and marriage I began exploring ritual magick in the context of the Temple of Set. The Temple’s Order of the Vampyre utilized “empty hand” methods involving attention, passion, glamour, atmosphere etc. The earlier (somewhat manic) methods I had used were directly applicable here WITHOUT drugs. I began a hybrid method of the Order of the Vampyre’s approach, legitimate scholarly studies of shamanism and my wild youth to develop an eclectic and pragmatic approach to the notion of energy magick. I taught it privately to my own students (beginning about 1991) and decided to teach it to a larger group.

When did you become interested in occult subjects, Don?

The Unknown knocked on my door three times. As a child I was entranced by occult media and became proficient in scaring my chums by performing seances. Puberty came and with other interests. In my early twenties I played with neo-shamanism – with mixed results. The most disappointing thing was seeing that all the humans I met with similar interests either were without morals, mentally ill or rationally impaired. I performed a Working of the Intention, “Send me to a Teacher or I’m done.” When I was 23. Economic circumstances sent me to Austin, Texas. I foreswore any occult/esoteric activities for six years, then a set of coincidences lead me to meeting. Dr. Stephen Flowers.

When did you write your first book?

My first book was Uncle Ovid’s Exercise Book which won the Fiction Collective prize in 1989, judged by Rodolfo Ayana. My first occult book was The Seven Faces of Darkness a study of Set-Typhon in the Greek Magical Papyri which came out in 1994.

Please tell us about Overthrowing the Old Gods Aleister Crowley and the Book of the Law? What did Aleister want to tell us about writing Book of the Law?

In 2004 a rather silly thread of emails appeared on an internal mailing list of the Temple of Set abut Crowley. In order to clear up some misinformation I responded with 31 short essays about notions that I perceived as important but overlooked or misunderstood about Aleister. I assumed that would be more or less my final word on the subject. My Teacher, Dr. Flowers ran a small press (then called Runa Raven Press) and I brought out a chapbook of these essays called The Fire and the Force. Dr. Flowers had a rather unscrupulous associate who told me that almost no copies of the chapbook sold and I pursued other lines of study. However a small group of Setians wanted to explore the notions in my mini-book and asked me to provide a platform to explore these ideas. I created a temporary study group (called an element in Setian jargon) to explore these ideas from the point of view of philosophy, pragmatics (or in today’s lingo “success magic”), and scholarly Egyptology. We did a 93 day working (31 days for each facet) and shared our results with the Temple. The members asked for a second 9g3 day Working, devoted to Set, Horus and Mehen (one of the forms of the conjoined Set-Horus entity). . I upgraded the Element into a permanent group the Order of the Hawk Faced Lord. I pitched a book on our ideas to Inner Traditions including a commentary on the Book of the Law, one of the few forbidden acts in Thelema.

Aleister needed a message from Beyond – he was about to give up the occult and start a normal married life. His honeymoon in Cairo was a last fling. Yet going to the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid with its airshaft aimed at the Big Dipper, or as the Egyptians would say the Thigh of Set, he aligned his inner needs and a cosmic purpose perfectly. Getting a revealed text is the first part. Changing your life by decoding such a text through word, thought and especially deed is the second part. Teaching others your insights is the third part. Then presenting them with your text is the fourth part. If your students can then use the text is the fifth part. Only in all of these can we say Aleister was trying to tell us something – the same message he was trying to tell himself. His message was:

a. Work on developing yourself, be hard
b. Use the fruits of your labor to improve mankind
c. While you do this, the universe will present you mysteries
d. Pursue those with the same unbending intent as in “a” above
e. Eventually an infallible internal oracle will arise
f. Trust that oracle over social conventions and received ideas
g. If you do so Victory is inevitable although difficult
h. Methods of the East (especially yoga) and the West (Especially Golden Dawn) will help. Drugs and dirty, dirty sex will also help.
i. In the meantime let me have your wallet, arse and girlfriend
j. I am a better poet than Yates
k. Spell “magic” as “Magick” there’s some great multi-lingual puns and numerology involved – trust me I am the Great Beast
A-G is pretty dead on. I-K is a little questionable.

When did you join The temple of Set, and could you tell us about writing
Mysteries of The Temple of Set?

I joined the Temple of Set in 1989. The Temple takes years to work through its grades, with the exception of Dr. Flowers, who obtained the Grade of Magus in seven years and – um me, who obtained the Grade of Magus in seven years and became the High Priest in 1996. The Temple had shunned publicity – so when an anti-esoteric backlash called the “Satanic Panic” began there was nothing about us in the world – making us a target for the most lurid tabloid remarks. As High Priest I decided to address some misconceptions plus add certain aspects of my Utterance of Xeper, the eternal word of Set, I wrote a few essays plus added a selection of my columns from the church newsletter the Scroll of Set. _Mysteries of the Temple of Set_ is the third volume of my Teachings as Magus. The others are The Seven Faces of Darkness, Uncle Setnakt’s Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path, and Uncle SetNakt’s Nightbook_. The first deals with Set and Set-Typhon in Antiquity, the second with the transcendental branch of the Western Left Hand Path, the third with the basic theology and ontology of the Temple of Set, and the last deeply esoteric related to the other three as well as an examination of my own revealed text, The Book of the Heb-Sed. With _Overthrowing the Old Gods_ I began a new set of Teachings connected with my role of Ipsissimus.

Please tell us about writing Starry wisdom. What interests you about
the writings of H. P. Lovecraft?

In 1982 I took a class called “Writing the Science Fiction Story.” You could get an “A” by writing a story or doing a research paper. I found writing a story to be much easier so I produced a dreadful Lovecraftian pastiche “Diary found in an Abandoned Jeep.” Submitting to a magazine brought an instant offer of publication – which never actually occurred, but did lead me to try my hand at Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror writing Over the years I’ve stories in Amazing, Analog, Asimov’s, Interzone, Weird Tales (and hundreds of other places). Lovecraft appealed to me deeply because he: A) wrote in a variety of styles from lyric fantasy to science fiction B) utilized the idea of forbidden books and forgotten ruins C) helped put other writers D) created strange hoax-like situations by putting his ideas into the stories of other writers, borrowing other writers’ mythologies, and letting us friends use his and E) using a character named Webb in “The Call of Cthulhu.”

Lovecraft’s highly alien, beyond good and evil, blend of weird magick and strange science is very appealing for the human magician bored with conventional occultism. I have had a few collections of my Lovecraftian tales issued. The Washington Post said you should read my latest collection Building Strange Temples and frankly who am I to argue with the Washington Post?

What will your next book be about, Don?

I just turned in the manuscript for _A Year of Living Magically_ to Inner Traditions, It is a year-long training manual. I am working on a book of magical theory and a biography of Dr, Michael A. Aquino as my next two esoteric projects, although I may write a book on writing horror fiction based on my horror class that I’ve taught annually since 2002 at UCLA Extension.