continuing exploration of ancient Egyptian religion
auf deutsch: Kuhgestaltige Gottheiten in Ägypten (übersetzt von Sati) Cow deities. What in the world were those ancient Egyptians thinking? “Cow” doesn’t have many positive associations for us today: fat, ungainly, clumsy. “Bovine” means stupid, dull, inert, stolid, and sluggish. “Bull” can have positive masculine associations, but also means destructive and angry. “Bull in a china…
In ancient Egypt, there was a well-established principle that a replica of something could be a magical stand-in for the real item. Tombs contained miniature houses and boats. Even servants- the ushabti, of course. In temples, the same principle applied. Menu lists of offerings, magically activated, could substitute for real ones if necessary. Important symbolic…
Nehetankh’s perspective on Ausir, in her blog Osiris, the Living God. I think she’s right on this. Can Ausir be more dead than the Akhu?
Here’s the start of an interesting series of reflections on the Wesir (Osiris) Mysteries: Day one:Day two:Day three:Day four:Day five:
Heru and Sutekh I often get the idea that people don’t understand Balance, and the roles of Heru (Horus) and Sutekh (Set). One of the reasons is undoubtedly that due to the Christian influence on Western civilization we tend to see things in Good/Bad polarities. It’s interesting that most of us can wrap our minds…
The Ausir Misteries – The exciting Bast conclusion! You might remember from the last entry that we made an Osiris Bed, with lush green wheat grass. The miracle of life from “dead” wheat grain. Now it’s time to offer it! On the offering table. Another view… Close-up And after the ritual.. These your divine offerings…
The Ausir Mysteries – Bast Side Project Begins! Remember a few posts ago, when I had deliberately made a few more sprouts? What happened to them? A shallow pot, and some potting soil. I had a spare bonsai pot sitting around, but you could use anything that will hold an inch or two of soil….
Ausir Mysteries – The Final Chapter? The Offering Bread is Baked! At last! Here’s the loaf. The top sunk a tiny bit, an indication that there was too much liquid, but at least it didn’t collapse. That’s a common problem when you’re adding ingredients with a liquid component. It might have helped if I had…
Ausir Mysteries – Sometimes You Need Some Dough! Again, the jar is full of sprouts. You can see the green grassy leaves. We take a few. I’m going to take a few of the sprouts to put in a whole wheat bread. You don’t want to use too many, or it will throw off the…
Ausir Mysteries – The Two Sprouts Day three. Way, way too many sprouts. It’s aliiiiive! As you can see, our little pile of wheat has grown. You can also see the roots, even at this distance. You can clearly see the roots. I took about half the sprouts out of the jar for the Bast…