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ALEISTER CROWLEY ACROSS THE GULF

while my people laughed until they ached. at the term, indeed, with exhaustion and with loss of blood they died all; four hundred and two women perished in that great day s slaughter. so that the people of memphis had peace for awhile. but as for me, i mourned the loss of that young slave. i had his body embalmed as is not fitting for other than a king. and at the door of the temple i placed his sarcophagus beneath a hedge of knives and spears, so that there was no other access to my glory. like honour hath no slave had ever. thus then i abode three cycles of the season; and at the end of that time the high priest died. for mine was a strange and dreadful rite to do; none other, and none unfortified by magic power, could have done this thing. yet i too sickened of that everlasting sacrifi

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS

nally leopards. tales of cats and serpents are usually the other way round; it is the human (nearly always female) that assumes these shapes by witchcraft. but in ancient egypt they literally doted on this sort of thing. the papyri are full of formulas for operating such transmutations. but i think that this was mostly to afford some relaxation for the spirit of the dead man; he nipped out of his sarcophagus, and painted the town all the colours of the rainbow in one animal shape or another. 33 the only experience i have of anything of this sort was when i was in pacific waters, mostly at honolulu or in nippon. i was practising astral projection. magic without tears get any book for free on: www.abika.com 180 a sister of the order who lived in hong kong helped me. i was to visit her, and t

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE SWORD OF SONG

w at the end of the darkness a fire glowed: she would have hindered him: clung she to his neck and wept. but the fire grew and the light dazzled her; so that with a shriek she fell. but the beasts flung themselves against the burning gateway of iron, and it gave way. our father passed into the fire. some say that it consumed him utterly and that he died; howbeit, it is certain that he rose from a sarcophagus, and in the skies stood an angel with a trumpet, and on that trumpet he blew so mighty a blast that the dead rose all from their tombs, and our father among them. now away! he cried. i would look upon the sun! and with that the fire hissed like a myriad of serpents and went out suddenly. it was a green sward golden with buttercups; and in his way lay a high wall. before it were two chi

one none, as before hath been showed. and this enumeration is a great mysterium of our art. whence a light hidden in a cross. now therefore having brooded upon the ocean, and smitten with the sword, and the pyramid being builded in just proportion, was that light fixed even in the vault of the caverns. with one stroke he rent asunder the veil; with one stroke he closed the same. and entering the sarcophagus of that royal tomb he laid him down to sleep. four guarded him, and one in the four; seven enwalled him, and one in the seven, yet were the seven ten, and one in the ten. now therefore his disciples came unto the vault of that mystic mountain, and with the keys they opened the portal and came to him and woke him. but during his long sleep the roses had grown over him, crimson and flami

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 2

lind he shall dance to us and make sport. great clumsy time shall stumble and dance, who like to kill little children and can hurt even the daisies no longer. then shall our children laugh at him who slew babylon's winged bulls and smote great numbers of the elves and fairies, when he is shorn of his hours and his years. we will shut him up in the pyramid of cheops, in the great chamber where the sarcophagus is. thence we will lead him out when we give our feasts. he shall ripen our corn for us and do menial work. we will kiss thy painted face, o sphinx, if thou wilt betray to us time. and yet i fear that in his ultimate anguish he may take hold blindly of the world and the moon and slowly pull down upon him the house of man. dunsany. 208 the priestess of panormita hear me, lord of the sta

ALICE A BAILEY10 FROM BETHLEHEM TO CALVARY

f initiation, and was stretched on the ground with his arms extended, sometimes on a cross of wood, sometimes merely on the stone floor, in the posture of a crucified man. he was then touched with the thyrsus on the heart the `spear' of the crucifixion and, leaving the body, he passed into the worlds beyond, the body falling into a deep trance, the death of the crucified. the body was placed in a sarcophagus of stone, and there left, carefully guarded. meanwhile the man himself was treading first the strange obscure regions called `the heart of the earth' and thereafter the heavenly mount, where he put on the perfected bliss body, now fully organised as a vehicle of consciousness. in that he returned to the body of flesh, to re-animate it. the cross bearing that body, or the entranced and

while the man himself was treading first the strange obscure regions called `the heart of the earth' and thereafter the heavenly mount, where he put on the perfected bliss body, now fully organised as a vehicle of consciousness. in that he returned to the body of flesh, to re-animate it. the cross bearing that body, or the entranced and rigid body, if no cross had been used, was lifted out of the sarcophagus and placed on a sloping surface, facing the east, ready for the rising of the sun on the third day. at the moment that the rays of the sun touched the face, the christ, the perfected initiate or master, re-entered the body, glorifying it by the bliss body he was wearing, changing the body of flesh by contact with the body of bliss, giving it new properties, new powers, new capacities

BLAVATSKY H P ANTHROPOGENESIS

nd a smaller stature to the races which lived subsequently. as for the evidence furnished by ancient writers, we need not stop at that of tertullian, who assures us that in his day a number of giants were found at carthage- for, before his testimony can be accepted, his own identity* and actual existence would have to be proven. but we may turn to the scientific journals of 1858, which spoke of a sarcophagus of giants found that year on the site of that same city. as to the ancient pagan writers- we have the evidence of philostratus, who speaks of a giant skeleton twenty-two cubits long, as well as of another of twelve cubits, seen by himself at sigeus. this skeleton may perhaps not have belonged, as believed by protesilaus, to the giant killed by apollo at the siege of troy; nevertheless

its only aperture or door hung over with a curtain- also called the adytum- was common to all ancient nations. nevertheless, a great difference is found between the secret meanings of this symbolical place, in the esotericism of the pagans and that of later jews; though the symbology of it was originally identical throughout the ancient races and nations. the gentiles, by placing in the adytum a sarcophagus, or a tomb (taphos, and the solar-god to whom the temple was consecrated, held it, as pantheists, in the greatest veneration. they regarded it- in its esoteric meaning- as the symbol of resurrection, cosmic, solar (or diurnal, and human. it embraced the wide range of periodical and (in time) punctual, manvantaras, or the re-awakenings of kosmos, earth, and man to new existences; the su

wisdom. a word which had the meaning of the emblem of the female generative power, the arg or arca, in which the germ of all nature was supposed to float or brood on the great abyss during the interval which took place after every mundane cycle" quite so; and the jewish ark of the covenant had precisely the same significance; with the supplementary addition that, instead of a beautiful and chaste sarcophagus (the symbol of the matrix of nature and resurrection) as in the sanctum sanctorum of the pagans, they had the ark made still more realistic in its construction by the two cherubs set up on the coffer or ark of the covenant, facing each other, with their wings spread in such a manner as to form a perfect yoni (as now seen in india. besides which, this generative symbol had its significa

tations[[vol. 2, page] 462 the secret doctrine. chaldean kabala were identical. the latest renderings of the zohar are those of the synagogue in the early centuries- i.e, the thorah, dogmatic and uncompromising. the "king's chamber" in cheops' pyramid is thus an egyptian "holy of holies" on the days of the mysteries of initiation, the candidate, representing the solar god, had to descend into the sarcophagus, and represent the energizing ray, entering into the fecund womb of nature. emerging from it on the following morning, he typified the resurrection of life after the change called death. in the great mysteries his figurative death lasted two days, when with the sun he arose on third morning, after a last night of the most cruel trials. while the postulant represented the sun- the all-v

of nature. emerging from it on the following morning, he typified the resurrection of life after the change called death. in the great mysteries his figurative death lasted two days, when with the sun he arose on third morning, after a last night of the most cruel trials. while the postulant represented the sun- the all-vivifying orb that "resurrects" every morning but to impart life to all- the sarcophagus was symbolic of the female principle. this, in egypt; its form and shape changed with every country, provided it remained a vessel, a symbolic navis or boat-shaped vehicle, and a container, symbolically, of germs or the germ of life. in india, it is the "golden" cow through which the candidate for brahminism has to pass if he desires to be a brahmin, and to become dwija("reborn a secon

cies- the israelites- certain words of carlyle apply still more admirably; for them "religion is a wise prudential feeling grounded on mere calculation- and it was so from its beginnings. having burdened themselves with it, christian nations feel bound to defend and poetise it, at the expense of all other religions. but it was not so with the ancient nations. for them the passage entrance and the sarcophagus in the king's chamber meant regeneration- not generation. it was the most solemn symbol, a holy of holies, indeed, wherein were created immortal hierophants and "sons of god- never mortal men and sons of lust and flesh- as now in the hidden sense of the semite kabalist. the reason for the difference in the views of the two races is easy to account for. the aryan hindu belongs to the ol

allowed to remain in this state for three days and three nights, during which time his spiritual ego was said to confabulate with the "gods" descend into hades, amenti, or patala (according to the country, and do works of charity to the invisible beings, whether souls of men or elemental spirits; his body remaining all the time in a temple crypt or subterranean cave. in egypt it was placed in the sarcophagus in the king's chamber of the pyramid of cheops, and carried during the night of the approaching third day to the entrance of a gallery, where at a certain hour the beams of the rising sun struck full on the face of the entranced candidate, who awoke to be initiated by osiris, and thoth the god of wisdom. let the reader who doubts the statement consult the hebrew originals before he den

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

lars, instead of pooh-poohing that supposed[[footnote(s* one by one the claims become admitted, as one scientist after another is compelled to recognize the facts given out from the secret doctrine- though he rarely, if ever, recognizes that he has been anticipated in his statements. thus, in the palmy days of mr. piazzi smyth's authority on the pyramid of gizeh, his theory was, that the porphyry sarcophagus of the king's chamber "is the unit of measure for the two most enlightened nations of the earth, england and america" and was no better than a "corn bin" this was vehemently denied by us in isis unveiled just published at that time. then the new york press arose in arms (the "sun" and the "world" chiefly) against our presuming to correct or find fault with such a star of learning. on p

otus when treating of that pyramid "might have added that, externally it symbolized the creative principle of nature, and illustrated also the principles of geometry, mathematics, astrology, and astronomy. internally, it was a majestic fane, in whose sombre recesses were performed the mysteries, and whose walls had often witnessed the initiation-scenes of members of the royal family. the porphyry sarcophagus, which professor piazzi smyth, astronomer royal of scotland, degrades into a corn-bin, was the baptismal font, upon emerging from which the neophyte was "born again" and became an adept" our statement was laughed at in those days. we were accused of having got our ideas from the "craze" of shaw, an english writer who had maintained that the sarcophagus had been used for the celebration

type and symbol of evil, and of the devil, only during the middle ages. the early christians- besides the ophite gnostics- had their dual logos: the good and the bad serpent, the agathodaemon and the kakodaemon. this is demonstrated by the writings of marcus, valentinus, and many others, and especially in pistis sophia- certainly a document of the earliest centuries of christianity. on the marble sarcophagus of a tomb, discovered in 1852 near the porta pia, one sees the scene of the adoration of the magi "or else" remarks the late c. w. king in "the gnostics "the prototype of that scene, the 'birth of the new sun" the mosaic floor exhibited a curious design which might have represented either (a) isis suckling the babe harpocrates, or (b) the madonna nursing the infant jesus. in the smalle

EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD PAPYRUS OF ANI MALESTROM

1st of august he made his way into the sepulchral chamber, where, however, nothing was found but a rectangular stone sarcophagous[4] without the lid. the large stone slabs of the floor and the linings of the wall had been in many instances removed by thieves in search of treasure. in a lower chamber, connected by a passage with the sepulchral chamber, was found the greater part of the lid of the sarcophagus,[5] together with portions of a wooden coffin, and part of the body of a man, consisting of ribs and vertebrae and the bones of the legs and feet, enveloped [1. herodotus, ii, 129, 1; diodorus, i, 64, 9. the versions of the book of the dead. http//www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ebod03.htm (8 of 36 [8/10/2001 11:22:54 am] 2. according to diodorus, he died before it was completed (i, 64

contains thirty chambers of parti-coloured syenite full of precious gems and costly weapons anointed with unguents that they may not rust until the day of the resurrection. see howard vyse, the pyramids of gizeh, vol. ii, pp. 71, 72; and burton, the book of the thousand nights and a night; 1885, vol. v, p. 105, and vol. x, p. 150. 4 vyse, the pyramids of gizeh, vol. ii, p. 84. a fragment of this sarcophagus is exhibited in the british museum, first egyptian room, case a, no. 6646. 5 with considerable difficulty this interesting monument was brought out from the pyramid by mr. raven, and having been cased in strong timbers, was sent off to the british museum. it was embarked at alexandria in the autumn of 1838, on board a merchant ship, which was supposed to have been lost off carthagena

pyramid by mr. raven, and having been cased in strong timbers, was sent off to the british museum. it was embarked at alexandria in the autumn of 1838, on board a merchant ship, which was supposed to have been lost off carthagena, as she never was heard of after her departure from leghorn on the 12th of october in that year, and as some parts of the wreck were picked up near the former port. the sarcophagus is figured by vyse, pyramids, vol. ii, plate facing p. 84] p. xx in a coarse woollen cloth of a yellow colour, to which a small quantity of resinous substance and gum adhered.[1] it would therefore seem that, as the sarcophagus could not be removed, the wooden case alone containing the body had been brought into the large apartment for examination. now, whether the human remains' there

ry, 1881, m. maspero began to clear the pyramid, and soon after he succeeded in making an entrance into the innermost chambers, the walls of which were covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions, arranged in perpendicular lines and painted in green.[2] the condition of the interior showed that at some time or other thieves had already succeeded in making an entrance, for the cover of the black basalt sarcophagus of unas had been wrenched off and moved near the door of the sarcophagus chamber; the paving stones had been pulled up in the vain attempt to find buried treasure; the mummy had been broken to pieces, and nothing remained of it except the right arm, a tibia, and some fragments of the skull and body. the inscriptions which covered certain walls and corridors in the tomb were afterwards

found in the pyramids of unas and teta, but also contained a considerable number of additional sections of the book of the dead.[7] in the same neighbourhood m. maspero, cleared out the pyramid of mer-en-ra, the fourth king of the vith dynasty, about b.c. 3200;[8] and the pyramid of pepi ii, the fifth king of the vith dynasty, about b.c. 3166.[9 [1. the mummy of the king had been taken out of the sarcophagus through a hole which the thieves had made in it; it was broken by them in pieces, and the only remains of it found by m. maspero consisted of an arm and shoulder. parts of the wooden coffin are preserved in the gizeh museum. 2. the pyramids of gizeh, vol. iii, p. 39. 3. they were copied in 1882, and published by m. maspero in recueil de travaux, t. v, pp. 1-59. 4. the broken mummy of t

e vyse, pyramids of gizeh, vol. iii, p. 5 6. it had been partially opened by mariette in may, 1880, but the clearance of sand was not effected until early in 1881. 7. the full text is given by maspero in recueil de travaux, t. v, pp. 157-58, paris, 1884; t. vii, pp. 145-76, paris, 1886; and t. viii, pp. 87-120, paris, 1886. 8. it was opened early in january, 1880, by mariette, who seeing that the sarcophagus chamber was inscribed, abandoned his theory that pyramids never contained inscriptions, or that if they did they were not royal tombs. the hieroglyphic texts were published by maspero in recueil de travaux, t. ix, pp. 177-91, paris, 1887; t. x, pp. 1-29, paris, 1388; and t. xi, pp. 1-31, paris, 1889. the alabaster vase in the british museum, nq 4493, came from this pyramid. 9. this pyr

published by maspero in recueil de travaux, t. xii, pp. 53-95, and pp. 136-95, paris, 1892; and t. xiv, pp. 125-52, paris, 1892. there is little doubt that this pyramid was broken into more than once in christian times, and that the early collectors of egyptian antiquities obtained the beautiful alabaster vases inscribed with the cartouches and titles of pepi ii. from those who had access to the sarcophagus chamber. among such objects in the british museum collection, nos. 4492, 22,559, 22,758 and 22,817 are fine examples] p. xxiv summary of the monumental evidence. thus we have before the close of the vith dynasty five copies of a series of texts which formed the book of the dead of that period, and an extract from a well-known passage of that work on the wooden coffin the versions of th

yptians was originally a separate and independent composition, that it was written with a definite object, and that it might be arranged in any order in a series of similar texts. what preceded or what followed it was never taken into [1. a development has been observed in the plan of ornamenting the interiors of the pyramids of the vth and vith dynasties. in that of unas about one-quarter of the sarcophagus chamber is covered with architectural decorations, and the hieroglyphics are large, well spaced, and enclosed in broad lines. but as we advance in the vith dynasty, the space set apart for decorative purposes becomes less, the hieroglyphics are smaller, the lines are crowded, and the inscriptions overflow into the chambers and corridors, which in the vth dynasty were left blank. see ma

instruction. like many other mythological cities, such as abtu, tattu, pe, tep, khemennu, etc, the heavenly annu had no geographical position] p. xxviii the just were there united to their spiritual or glorified bodies, and that they lived there face to face with the deity for all eternity.[1] judging from the fact that the texts in the tombs of heru-hetep and neferu, and those inscribed upon the sarcophagus of taka, all of the xith and xiith dynasties, differ in extent only and not in character or contents from those of the royal pyramids of sakk ra of the vth and vith the versions of the book of the dead. http//www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/ebod03.htm (15 of 36 [8/10/2001 11:22:55 am] dynasties, it has been declared that the religion as well as the art of the first theban empire are noth

oon. those who believed that the sky was an iron plane imagined that the stars were a numbers of lamps which were hung out therefrom, and those who pictured the sky as a goddess studded her body with stars. one scene makes the morning and evening boats of ra to sail along the back of nut;[3] another depicts shu holding up the boat of the sun wherein is the disk on the horizon.[4] a third from the sarcophagus of seti i. represents nu the god of the primeval water holding up the boat of the sun, wherein we see the beetle with the solar disk facing it accompanied by isis and nephthys, who stand one on each side; behind isis stand the gods seb, shu, hek, hu, and sa, and behind nephthys are three deities who represent the doors through which the god tmu has made his way to the world.[5] the tua

zone, op. cit, tav. 155. 2. le livre de ce qu'il y a dans l'had s, p. 3 3 ibid, tav. 157. 4. ibid, tav. 158. 5 brugsch, religion und mythologie, p. 216] p. civ the egyptian heaven. round in a circle; the space enclosed by it represents according to dr. brugsch the tuat[1]or egyptian underworld, wherein dwelt the gods of the dead and the departed souls. this view is supported by the scene from the sarcophagus of seti i (fig. 1. in the watery space above the bark is the figure of the god bent round in a circle with his toes touching his head, and upon his head stands the goddess nut with outstretched hands receiving the disk of the sun.[2] in the space enclosed by the body of the god is the legend "this is osiris; his circuit is the tuat"[3] though nearly all egyptologists agree about the me

the destruction of the fiends of set when he worketh evil (3) a second time "hail, thoth, who madest osiris victorious over his enemies, make thou the osiris (4) ani to be victorious over his enemies in the presence of the great divine beings who are in tattu, on the night of making the tat to stand up in tattu [1. i.e, the fields of peace. 2. the words are explained to mean "the daybreak on the sarcophagus of osiris" 3. this section, omitted in the ani papyrus, is supplied from the papyrus of nebseni. 4. this god is omitted from the copy of this chapter given on plate xxiii] p. 302 b. vignette: the gods osiris, isis, nephthys, and horus. text (1) the great godlike rulers in tattu are osiris, isis, nephthys, and horus, the avenger of his father. now the "night of making the tat to stand (

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

blocks are hewn with a high level of precision. the pyramid is entered through a shaft on the north side, where a descending corridor leads to an unfinished chamber with a blind passage; an ascending corridor leads to what is called the queen s chamber, containing two-dead end shafts, and eventually to the grand gallery, 100 feet long and 30 feet high, and the king s chamber, containing an empty sarcophagus. it is thought that it originally contained a mummy, rifled by tomb robbers who surmounted the granite plugs, false passages and other precautions of the pyramid builders. occult speculations regarding the great pyramid have arisen mainly around its construction, dimensions, and possible use. it is certainly a remarkable engineering feat, and it has been suggested that it could have be

FRATER ELIJAH ANGELS OF CHAOS

and everything flowed more naturally. i started the dance for the dances sake and people progressed to get me things) i ran into this foreign couple from the netherlands and was treated to club (twilo. the energy there was up and i trance-danced into communion with az (i was completely sober and on an extreme fatigue gnosis. i saw a bat-like humanoid creature descending, and then the visage of a sarcophagus (coffin) like shape 8/14/99 i had a dream that the chaos-sphere tattoo on my leg just went away and i had new flesh covering my leg a black women with crazy eyes walked by me this morning and said in this deranged voice, you can t see him, but he loves you. 8/16/99 this initiation period is pure suffering. every facet of my life has changed. i see communications all around me all the t

GRAHAM HANCOCK FINGERPRINTS OF THE GODS

stalactites, and from whose floor arose thick stalagmites like the dripping of a candle. 3 the room, also roofed with a corbel vault, was 30 feet long and 23 feet high. around the walls, in stucco relief, could be seen the striding figures of the lords of the night the ennead of nine deities who ruled over the hours of darkness. centre-stage, and overlooked by these figures, was a huge monolithic sarcophagus lidded with a five-ton slab of richly carved stone. inside the sarcophagus was a tall skeleton draped with a treasure trove of jade ornaments. a mosaic death mask of 200 fragments of jade was affixed to the front of the skull. these, supposedly, were the remains of pacal, a ruler of palenque in the seventh century ad. the inscriptions stated that this monarch had been eighty years old

was a tall skeleton draped with a treasure trove of jade ornaments. a mosaic death mask of 200 fragments of jade was affixed to the front of the skull. these, supposedly, were the remains of pacal, a ruler of palenque in the seventh century ad. the inscriptions stated that this monarch had been eighty years old at the time of his death, but the jade-draped skeleton the archaeologists found in the sarcophagus appeared to belong to a man half that age.4 having reached the bottom of the stairway, some eighty-five feet below the floor of the temple, i crossed the chamber where the sacrificial victims had lain and gazed directly into pacal s tomb. the air was dank, full of mildew and damp-rot, and surprisingly cold. the sarcophagus, set into the floor of the tomb, had a curious shape, flared st

lid stone and was uncompromisingly horizontal. why, then, had the mayan artificers gone to so much trouble to widen its base when they must have known that it served no useful purpose? could they have been slavishly copying a design-feature from some ancient model long after the raison d tre for the design had been forgotten?5 like the beliefs concerning the perils of the afterlife, might pacal s sarcophagus not be an expression of a common legacy linking ancient egypt with the ancient cultures of central america? rectangular in shape, the heavy stone lid of the sarcophagus was ten inches thick, three feet wide and twelve and a half feet long. it, too, seemed to have been modelled on the same original as the magnificent engraved blocks the ancient egyptians had used for this exact purpose

egyptians had used for this exact purpose. 3 quoted in the atlas of mysterious places, pp. 68-9. 4 ibid. michael d. coe, the maya, thames and hudson, london, 1991, pp. 108-9. 5 fair gods and stone faces, pp. 94-5. graham hancock fingerprints of the gods 154 indeed, it would not have looked out of place in the valley of the kings. but there was one major difference. the scene carved on top of the sarcophagus lid was unlike anything that ever came out of egypt. lit in my torch beam, it showed a clean-shaven man dressed in what looked like a tight-fitting body-suit, the sleeves and leggings of which were gathered into elaborate cuffs at the wrists and ankles. the man lay semireclined in a bucket seat which supported his lower back and thighs, the nape of his neck resting comfortably against

ibed in chapter seventeen. it, too, had looked like a na ve depiction of a piece of technology. furthermore, man in snake had come from la venta, where it had been associated with several bearded figures, apparently caucasians. pacal s tomb was at least a thousand years younger than any of the la venta treasures. nevertheless, a tiny jade statuette was found lying close to the skeleton inside the sarcophagus, and it appeared to be much older than the other grave-goods also placed there. it depicted an elderly caucasian, dressed in long robes, with a goatee beard.8 pyramid of the magician uxmal, yucatan on a stormy afternoon, 700 kilometres north of palenque, i began to climb the steps of yet another pyramid. it was a steep building, oval rather than square in plan, 240 feet long at the bas

ll orthodox egyptologists the pyramids had been built as tombs and only as tombs for these three pharaohs. yet there were some obvious difficulties with such assertions. for example, the spacious burial chamber of the khafre pyramid was empty when it was opened in 1818 by the european explorer giovanni belzoni. indeed, more than empty, the chamber was starkly, austerely bare. the polished granite sarcophagus which lay embedded in its floor had also been found empty, with its lid broken into two pieces nearby.2 how was this to be explained? to egyptologists the answer seemed obvious. at some early date, probably not many hundreds of years after khafre s death, tomb robbers must have penetrated the chamber and cleared all its contents including the mummified body of the pharaoh. much the sam

must have penetrated the chamber and cleared all its contents including the mummified body of the pharaoh. much the same thing seemed to have happened at the smaller third pyramid, towards which santha and i were now walking that attributed to menkaure. here the first european to break in had been a british colonel, howard vyse, who had entered the burial chamber in 1837. he found an empty basalt sarcophagus, an anthropoid coffin lid made of wood, and some bones. the natural assumption was that these were the remains of menkaure. modern science had subsequently proved, however, that the bones and coffin lid dated from the early christian era, that is, from 2500 years after the pyramid age, and thus represented the intrusive burial of a much later individual (quite a common practice through

ood, and some bones. the natural assumption was that these were the remains of menkaure. modern science had subsequently proved, however, that the bones and coffin lid dated from the early christian era, that is, from 2500 years after the pyramid age, and thus represented the intrusive burial of a much later individual (quite a common practice throughout ancient egyptian history. as to the basalt sarcophagus well, it could have belonged to menkaure. unfortunately, however, nobody had the opportunity to examine it because it had been lost at sea when the ship on which vyse sent it to england had sunk off the coast of spain.3 since it was a matter of record that the sarcophagus had been found empty by vyse, it was once again assumed that the body of the pharaoh must have been removed by tomb

p. 54. 3 ibid, p. 55. 4 george hart, pharaohs and pyramids, guild publishing, london, 1991, p. 91. graham hancock fingerprints of the gods 286 believed to have died in 2528 bc.5 moreover it was assumed by professor i.e.s edwards, a leading authority on these matters, that the burial treasure had been removed from the famous inner sanctum now known as the king s chamber and that the empty granite sarcophagus which stood at the western end of that sanctum had once contained the king s body, probably enclosed within an inner coffin made of wood .6 all this is orthodox, mainstream, modern scholarship, which is unquestioningly accepted as historical fact and taught as such at universities everywhere.7 but suppose it isn t fact. the cupboard was bare the mystery of the missing mummy of khufu be

way that branched off from the ascending corridor) turned out to be completely empty just a severe, geometrical room.10 more disappointing still, the king s chamber (which the arabs reached after climbing the imposing grand gallery) also offered little of interest. its only furniture was a granite coffer just big enough to contain the body of a man. later identified, on no very good grounds, as a sarcophagus, this undecorated stone box was approached with trepidation by ma mun and his team, who found it to be lidless and as empty as everything else in the pyramid.11 why, how and when exactly had the great pyramid been emptied of its contents? had it been 500 years after khufu s death, as the egyptologists suggested? or was it not more likely, as the evidence was beginning to suggest, that

er third and fourth dynasty pyramids listed above. not a single one of these monuments had ever been found to contain the body of a pharaoh, or any signs whatsoever of a royal burial.14 some of them were not even equipped with sarcophagi, for example the collapsed pyramid at meidum. the pyramid of sekhemkhet at saqqara (first entered in 1954 by the egyptian antiquities organization) did contain a sarcophagus one, which had certainly remained sealed and undisturbed since its installation in the tomb .15 grave robbers had never succeeded in finding their way to it, but when it was opened, it was empty.16 so what was going on? how come more than twenty-five million tons of stone had been piled up to form pyramids at giza, dahshur, meidum and saqqara if the only point of the exercise had been

ng in the world. i looked slowly around the room, which reflected a yellowish-white radiance back at me. quarried directly out of the living bedrock, its walls were not at all smoothly finished, as one might have expected, but were noticeably rough and irregular. the floor too was peculiar: of split-level design with a step about a foot deep separating its eastern and western halves. the supposed sarcophagus of khafre lay near the western wall, embedded in the floor. measuring just over six feet in length, quite shallow, and somewhat narrow to have contained the wrapped and embalmed mummy of a noble pharaoh, its smooth red granite sides reached to about knee height. as i gazed into its dark interior, it seemed to gape like the doorway to another dimension. graham hancock fingerprints of th

ely 50 tons,4 the effect was of intense and overwhelming compression. at the chamber s western end was the object which, if the egyptologists were to be believed, the entire great pyramid, had been built to house. that object, carved out of one piece of dark chocolatecoloured granite containing peculiarly hard granules of feldspar, quartz and mica, was the lidless coffer presumed to have been the sarcophagus of khufu.5 its interior measurements were 6 feet 6.6 inches in length, 2 feet 10.42 inches in depth, and 2 feet 2.81 inches in width. its exterior measurements were 7 feet 5.62 inches in length, 3 feet 5.31 inches in depth, and 3 feet 2.5 inches in width6 an inch too wide, incidentally, for it to have been carried up through the lower (and now plugged) entrance to the ascending corrido

length, 2 feet 10.42 inches in depth, and 2 feet 2.81 inches in width. its exterior measurements were 7 feet 5.62 inches in length, 3 feet 5.31 inches in depth, and 3 feet 2.5 inches in width6 an inch too wide, incidentally, for it to have been carried up through the lower (and now plugged) entrance to the ascending corridor.7 some routine mathematical games were built into the dimensions of the sarcophagus. for example, it had an internal volume of 1166.4 litres and an external volume of exactly twice that, 2332.8 litres.8 such a precise coincidence could not have been arrived at accidentally: the walls of the coffer had been cut to machine-age tolerances by craftsmen of enormous 4 the pyramids of egypt, pp. 94-5; the great pyramid: your personal guide, p. 64. 5 the pyramids of egypt, pp

ures than those of petrie (quoted) for the internal and external dimensions of the pyramid. graham hancock fingerprints of the gods 320 skill and experience. it seemed, moreover, as flinders petrie admitted with some puzzlement after completing his painstaking survey of the great pyramid, that these craftsmen had access to tools such as we ourselves have only now reinvented. 9 petrie examined the sarcophagus particularly closely and reported that it must have been cut out of its surrounding granite block with straight saws 8 feet or more in length. since the granite was extremely hard, he could only assume that these saws must have had bronze blades (the hardest metal then supposedly available) inset with cutting points made of even harder jewels: the character of the work would certainly

must have had bronze blades (the hardest metal then supposedly available) inset with cutting points made of even harder jewels: the character of the work would certainly seem to point to diamond as being the cutting jewel; and only the considerations of its rarity in general, and its absence from egypt, interfere with this conclusion. 10 an even bigger mystery surrounded the hollowing out of the sarcophagus, obviously a far more difficult enterprise than separating it from a block of bedrock. here petrie concluded that the egyptians must have: adapted their sawing principle into a circular instead of a rectilinear form, curving the blade round into a tube, which drilled out a circular groove by its rotation; thus by breaking away the cores left in such grooves, they were able to hollow ou

meter, and from 1/30 to 1/5 inch thick..11 of course, as petrie admitted, no actual jewelled drills or saws had ever been found by egyptologists.12 the visible evidence of the kinds of drilling and sawing that had been done, however, compelled him to infer that such instruments must have existed. he became especially interested in this and extended his study to include not only the king s chamber sarcophagus but many other granite artefacts and granite drill cores which he collected at giza. the deeper his research, however, the more puzzling the stone-cutting technology of the ancient egyptians became: the amount of pressure, shown by the rapidity with which the drills and saws pierced through the hard stones, is very surprising; probably a load of at least a ton or two was placed on the

required throughout the operation. what sort of instrument was that? by what means would the pressure have been applied? how could sufficient accuracy have been maintained to scour parallel lines at intervals of just 1/30-inch? at least it was possible to conjure a mental picture of the circular drills with jewelled teeth which petrie supposed must have been used to hollow out the lung s chamber sarcophagus. i found, however, that it was not so easy to do the same for the unknown instrument capable of incising hieroglyphs into diorite at 2500 bc, at any rate not without assuming the existence of a far higher level of technology than egyptologists were prepared to consider. nor was it just a few hieroglyphs or a few diorite bowls. during my travels in egypt i had examined many stone vessel

with no tool marks visible. there was no technology known to have been available to the ancient egyptians capable of achieving such results. nor, for that matter, would any stone-carver today be able to match them, even if he were working with the best tungsten-carbide tools. the implication, therefore, is that an unknown or secret technology had been put to use in ancient egypt. ceremony of the sarcophagus standing in the king s chamber, facing west the direction of death amongst both the ancient egyptians and the maya i rested my hands lightly on the gnarled granite edge of the sarcophagus which egyptologists insist had been built to house the body of khufu. i gazed 20 for example, see cyril aldred, egypt to the end of the old kingdom, thames& hudson, london, 1988, p. 25. 21 ibid, p. 57

t and shadow, of course, but the king s chamber was full of such illusions. i remembered that napoleon bonaparte had paused to spend a night alone here during his conquest of egypt in the late eighteenth century. the next morning he had emerged pale and shaken, having experienced something which had profoundly disturbed him but about which he never afterwards spoke.22 had he tried to sleep in the sarcophagus? acting on impulse, i climbed into the granite coffer and lay down, face upwards, my feet pointed towards the south and my head to the north. napoleon was a little guy, so he must have fitted comfortably. there was plenty of room for me too. but had khufu been here as well? i relaxed and tried not to worry about the possibility of one of the pyramid guards coming in and finding me in t

and gave voice to a sustained low-pitched tone something i had tried out several times before at other points in the king s chamber. on those occasions, in the centre of the floor, i had noticed that the walls and ceiling seemed to collect the sound, to gather and to amplify it and project it back at me so that i could sense the returning vibrations through my feet and scalp and skin. now in the sarcophagus i was aware of very much the same effect, although seemingly amplified and concentrated many times over. it was like being in the sound-box of some giant, resonant musical instrument designed to emit for ever just one reverberating note. the sound was intense and quite disturbing. i imagined it rising out of the coffer and bouncing off the red granite walls and ceiling of the king s ch

GRERALD SCHUELER AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO ENOCHIAN MAGICK

houghts. i give you this body and pass through salman-lukiftias (sah-leh-mah-neh-luekee- feh-tee-ah-seh) i now pass through the house of brightness. part 6. let your mental body be given unto the king of air. assume your spiritual body and pass upward through a narrow shaft in the ceiling. rise up until you arrive at a fiery red chamber at the geometric center of the pyramid. let there be a stone sarcophagus along the south wall. let the sarcophagus be lidless and let it contain the eternal flame. face the flame in the sarcophagus. hold the talisman of the watchtower of fire in your left hand and your wand in your right hand and say, edlprnaa (eh-del-par-nah-ah) great king of fire, come, accept my offering. o-prge bitom (oh-par-geh bee-toh-meh) fire to fire. here within the five-walled par

HANDBOOK OF EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

this was a moment of triumph and hope, but it was still not intended to be seen by any but the highest grade of priests. the murder of osiris was not shown on the walls of seti s temple, but he was celebrated as a dead god in a remarkable building known as the osireion (see figure 6).52 this was built in the style of an ancient royal tomb. a long passage leads down to an underground hall where a sarcophagus once stood on an artificial island surrounded by water, providing a symbolic tomb for the king. an adjoining chamber is inscribed with the images and texts that form the book of nut, a major source for reconstructing egyptian cosmology. a hymn inscribed on a new kingdom private stela from abydos provides the most detailed account in egyptian of the osiris myth.53 after the usual lists

sna commemorated neith saving the newborn ra from her children (the crocodiles or the chaos serpent) by carrying him across the waters. neith, mistress of the bow, was depicted holding a bow and arrows. the arrows of neith were used to strike down the enemies of the sun god, including her offspring apophis. in the pyramid texts, neith was named as one of the four goddesses who protected the royal sarcophagus and canopic chest. this protective role was later extended to all the dead. see also apophis; cattle; horus the child; mehet-weret; nun; sobek references and further reading: r. el-sayed. le d sse neith de sa s. bietud 86. cairo: 1982.b. s. lesko. neith, lady of sais and creator of all. in the great goddesses of egypt. norman, ok: 1999, 45 63. primary sources: pt 362, 555; ct 669, 820;

izon. pyramid complex a royal burial area consisting of a tomb under or inside a pyramid and two temples for the cult of the dead ruler. pyramid texts royal funerary texts inscribed inside pyramids of the late old kingdom and the first intermediate period. royal titulary the long sequence of names and titles adopted by an egyptian king at the start of his reign. 230 handbook of egyptian mythology sarcophagus an outer coffin, usually made of stone. scarab a seal or amulet shaped like a dung beetle; a symbol of the perpetual renewal of life. scribe an official capable of reading and writing one or more of the ancient egyptian scripts. sed festival see heb sed. serekh a rectangular hieroglyph symbolizing the palace as the domain of horus. some royal names were written inside a serekh instead

HEAVEN HELL

slations and descriptions. the illustrations of the former work have been specially traced from the plates of the excellent edition of the tomb of seti i. published by mm. g. lef bure, u. bouriant, v. loret, and e. naville, in the second volume of the m moires de la mission arch ologique fran aise au caire, paris, 1886. the illustrations of the book of gates have p. xiii been traced from bonomi's sarcophagus of oimenepthah i, london, 1864, but for certain scenes i was permitted by the late mr. g. birch, keeper of sir john soane's museum, to compare the tracings with the scenes on the sarcophagi-is itself. a copy of the scene on the portion of the cover, which i acquired for the trustees of the british museum a few years ago, has also been included. the plan followed has been to devote a ch

n sarcophagi, papyri, etc. the "summary" or short form of am-tuat, was first published in a complete form, with variant readings, by m. g. j quier (see his le livre de ce qu'il y a dans l'hades, paris, 1894. in prof. maspero's work mentioned above he also discussed and analysed the earlier sections of the book of gates, of which m. e. lef bure published a translation of the texts, as found on the sarcophagus of seti i, in the records of the past, vol. x, pp. 79-134, london, 1878, and vol. xii, pp. 1-35, london, 1881. in preparing the present edition of the two great books of the other world i have availed myself of these works, and also of the valuable editions of the texts from the royal tombs at thebes, p. xv which m. e. lef bure has published in the first and second fasciculi of the thi

y of the menthu-heteps was well established. menthu-hetep ii, we are told by an inscription set up in the wadi hammamat by his officer amen-em-hat, caused to be quarried a block of stone which measured eight cubits, by four cubits, by two cubits, i.e, about thirteen feet six inches long, six feet six inches wide, and three feet six inches thick, and it is probable that he required p. 8 this for a sarcophagus. this king is also famous as the maker of a well in the desert, the mouth of which was about sixteen feet six inches square; and at one time he employed several thousands of men, including three thousand carriers or boatmen, in his stone-works. his successor, menthu-hetep iii, continued the work in the quarries, and built himself a pyramid, called khu-ast, in the mountain of tchesert a

utside was closed by a thick wall" between this wall and the edge of the platform on which the building stood was an outer colonnade of square pillars, but the pillars no longer exist. in the rock below the pavement of this colonnade a number of tombs were hewn; each consisted of a pit from twelve to fifteen feet deep, which led to a small rectangular chamber, wherein originally stood a limestone sarcophagus. in these tombs women who were both priestesses of hathor and members of the royal harim were buried, and further excavations will no doubt reveal the fact that menthu-hetep's high officers of state were buried in somewhat similar tombs in the immediate neighbourhood of the remarkable monument which the egypt exploration fund has brought to light through the exertion of prof. e. navill

racts from several chapters of that work were inscribed. seti i. went a good deal further, for although fully illustrated copies of divisions i.-xi. of the book "am-tuat" were painted on the walls of his tomb, he took care to have a complete copy of the book of gates, 1 with full illustrations, and copies of the lxxiind and lxxxixth chapters of the book of coming forth by day cut on his alabaster sarcophagus. the chapter which thothmes iii. believed to be all-powerful is entitled "chapter of not letting the body perish" and if its words really express his convictions, he must have been terrified at the idea of his material body falling into dust and decay, and must have hoped for its resurrection through osiris. the chapters which seti i. had cut on his sarcophagus are entitled the "chapte

e any form he pleases at will. in the latter he calls upon certain gods to make his soul rejoin its body, and, addressing the gods who tow the boat of millions of years, he asks them to cause him to be born from the womb of the sky-goddess nut in the eastern horizon of heaven [daily] for ever. it has already been said that a complete illustrated copy of the book of gates was also inscribed on the sarcophagus of seti i, and it is not easy to explain this fact until we remember the important position which it makes osiris to hold in the other world. that the book is formed of very ancient materials is evident from the last sections, which certainly contain magical texts and pictures specially prepared with the object of making the sun to rise, and there is little doubt that the latter are re

book of coming forth by day. the net result of the facts stated in the last two paragraphs proves that seti i. relied for salvation upon the protection, part magical and part religious, afforded by the sacred writings of two great schools of religious thought, the leaders of which in his day preached opposing and contradictory doctrines. it may be argued that by filling the walls of his tomb and sarcophagus with the texts of such books he was merely acting from the point of view of religious expediency, wishing to indicate his impartiality in respect of the followers of amen and the followers of osiris, and his respect for the ancient traditional beliefs, however material, crude, and impossible they may have appeared to him personally. this, however, is unlikely to have been the case, and

of osiris, and his respect for the ancient traditional beliefs, however material, crude, and impossible they may have appeared to him personally. this, however, is unlikely to have been the case, and it is far more probable that he believed every religious or funeral text to have its own special value as a means of p. 26 salvation, and that he selected for inscribing on the walls of his tomb and sarcophagus those which he thought would bc the most likely to secure for him in the next world an existence which would be at once happy and everlasting. therefore seti i. provided himself with amulets, ushabtiu figures, magical formulae, pictures of gods and fiends to be used in working sympathetic magic, religious formulae and copies of hymns and funeral works, an inscribed tomb and sarcophagus

493. 67:1 see recueil, 1904, pp. 67-72, and la r union de la famille, by m. j. baillet, in journal asiatique, x me s rie, tom. iv, p. 307, where a rendering of the chapter into french will be found. 67:2 they bear the numbers 28083 and 28087. 67:3 a name of the underworld. 67:4 perhaps "his uncles and aunts" or "foster-parents" 67:5 or "connexions" 69:1 or, it is seb who is the funeral chest, or sarcophagus, the allusion being to the fact that it was in the body of seb, i.e, the earth, that the deceased was laid. 69:2 the meaning of this line is not clear to me. the word khet is often applied to wheat or barley, as the "wood" or "plant" of life. by "great field" i understand sekhet-hetep. 70:1 i.e, shu and tefnut. next: chapter iv. the book am-tuat and the book of gates. sacred texts egyp

am-tuat shows us that the egyptians treated it as they treated their older books of the dead; they first copied it on the walls of tombs, then on the sides of stone sarcophagi and wooden coffins, and next on rolls of papyrus. we have seen how the kings of the xviiith and xixth dynasties had it copied on the walls of their tombs, and it must now be noted that rameses iii. decorated his red granite sarcophagus with scenes relating to the course of the sun in the other world. 4 this sarcophagus is preserved in the museum p. 83 of the louvre in paris, and its cover is in the fitzwilliam museum, cambridge. among other sarcophagi inscribed with text and pictures from the book am-tuat may be mentioned those of: 1. horus, son of tarut-en-sekhet; 1 2. tchet-hra, a priest of ptah; 2 3. qem-hap, 3 th

rlasting. the book am-tuat practically ignores osiris, and is silent even concerning the doctrines of the judgment and sekhet-hetepet, and in fact about all the fundamental principles of the religion of osiris as regards the dead, which had been universally believed throughout egypt for thousands of years. the most complete copy of the book of gates known to us is found inscribed on the alabaster sarcophagus of seti i, 1 king of egypt about b.c. 1375, p. 86 and it consists of two parts--1. a series of texts and pictures which describe the progress of the boat of the sun-god to the kingdom of osiris, the judgment of the dead, the life of the beatified in sekhet-hetepet, the punishment of the wicked, and the foes of the sun-god. 2. a series of texts and pictures which represent the magical c

ient egyptian religious beliefs and traditions is evident, but it is. quite certain that it never became as popular as the book am-tuat; it must always be a matter for wonder that seti i, having covered several walls in his tomb with the texts of this book, should fill several more with sections of the book of gates, and then have a complete copy of it cut and inlaid on the sides of his alabaster sarcophagus and its cover! we may now consider the region through which the sun-god passed during the hours of the night, and the descriptions of its divisions and their inhabitants which are furnished by the book am-tuat p. 87 and the book of gates. this region was called by the egyptians "tat" or "tuat" or "tuaut; the oldest form of the name, and that which is met with in the earliest of the pyr

ure, op. cit, tom. iii, fasc. 1, p. 48 ff. 82:4 see e. de roug, notice sommaire des monuments gyptiens expos s dans les galeries du mus e du louvre, paris, 1876, p. 51. 83:1 see e. de roug, notice sommaire, p. 52. it contains the figures of the eleven divisions, with very few inscriptions; see j quier, le livre de ce qu'il y a dans l'hades, p. 25. 83:2 see e. de roug, notice sommaire, p. 52. this sarcophagus is made of basalt, is beautifully cut, and was brought to france by champollion. see also sharpe, egyptian inscriptions, vol. ii, plates 1-24. 83:3 see sch fer in j quier, op. cit, p. 26, notes 3 and 4. 83:4 see catalogue des manuscrits gyptiens, paris, 1881, p. 15. 83:5 see pierret, tudes gyptologiques, tom. ii, p. 103-148. 83:6 see lanzone, le domicile des esprits, paris, 1879, folio

103-148. 83:6 see lanzone, le domicile des esprits, paris, 1879, folio. 83:7 see catalogue du mus e gyptien de leyde, pp. 253-255. 83:8 see j quier, op. cit, p. 27. 84:1 papyrus fun raire hi roglyphique, sha-am-tua (t. 71. publi dans la 32i me livraison des monuments gyptiens du mus e, leyden, 1894. 84:2 see dev ria, catalogue, sect. ii, le livre de l'h misph re inf rieur. 85:1 see the alabaster sarcophagus of oimenepthah i, king of egypt, now in sir john soane's museum, lincoln's inn fields, drawn p. 86 by joseph bonomi, and described by samuel sharpe, london, 1864. a description of the pictures and texts was given by m. pierret in the revue arch ologique for 1870; small portions of the text were discussed by goodwin and renouf in aeg. zeit, 1873, p. 138, and 1874, p. 101; and an english

s v g tant" next: seventh division of the tuat. ii. kingdom of osiris according to the book of gates sacred texts egypt ehh index index previous next seventh division of the tuat. ii. kingdom of osiris according to the book of gates. the seventh division, or hour, is entered by the gate pestit, which is guarded by a monster serpent called akha-en-maat; the pictures and texts are incomplete on the sarcophagus of seti i, and those which are given in vol. ii, p. 190 ff, are taken from m. e. lef bure's les hypog es royaux de th bes, tom. ii, part ii, pl. 11 ff. the boat of afu-ra is, as before, p. 167 towed by four gods of the tuat. the procession of the ministers of the god consists of twenty-four gods, twelve of whom have their hands and arms hidden; these last "are invisible beings, but tho

egypt ehh index index previous next p. 182 chapter xiii. ninth division of the tuat. ii. kingdom of temu-khepera-ra according to the book of gates. the ninth, tenth and eleventh divisions of the book of gates contain series of pictures and texts which are very hard to explain satisfactorily, and the difficulty is further increased by the fact that only one copy of them is known, i.e, that on the sarcophagus of seti i. it is quite certain that they cannot refer to the kingdom of osiris, and we are driven to conclude that they are intended to illustrate and describe the region of akert, which, as has already been said, formed the tuat to which the worshippers of the sun-god of heliopolis relegated the spirits of their dead. the first division of this remarkable region, i.e, the ninth in the

HOWE THE ALCHEMIST OF THE GOLDEN DAWN

fied with it. use my name if you do apply. this, if you do, will occupy you till i am less occupied, and then you will be better prepared for what i have to say. h.p.b. is quite right as to piazzi smythe's [i.e, smyth's] mistakes. he is, i think, not an occultist, nor even a freemason, and therefore he must fall into error [see footnote on p. 26 above. as a freemason, you would see the use of the sarcophagus or coffin, in which the initiate would [symbolically] lay three days and 3 nights in darkness. i have ceased to trouble myself about piazzi smythe. no doubt a certain scale of measurement is used throughout, but it was mere assumption to make it the source of the british inch. 32 thealchemist of the golden dawn split between h.p.b. and m.b' and the defection of harbottle, which grieved

HP LOVECRAFT A DARK LORE

n cipher that both father and physician paused in awe before breaking the seal. this read as follows: castle ferenczy 7 march 1928. dear c- hadd a squad of 20 militia up to talk about what the country folk say. must digg deeper and have less hearde. these roumanians plague me damnably, being officious and particular where you cou'd buy a magyar off with a drinke and food. last monthe m. got me ye sarcophagus of ye five sphinxes from ye acropolis where he whome i call'd up say'd it wou'd be, and i have hadde 3 talkes with what was therein inhum'd. it will go to s. o. in prague directly, and thence to you. it is stubborn but you know ye way with such. you shew wisdom in having lesse about than before; for there was no neede to keep the guards in shape and eat'g off their heads, and it made m

ISIS UNVEILED

n the gabb op a hagiaan im hieropliaiits and adepts of sorcery and black magic. so apuleius, vho had been initiated, was likewise accused of witchcraft, and of carrying about him the figure of a skeleton a potent agent, as it is asserted, in the operations of the black art. but one of the beat and most un- questionable proofs of our assertion may be found in the so-called museo gregoriano. on the sarcophagus, which is paneled with bas- reliefs representing the miracles of christ" may be seen the full figure of jesus who, in the resurrection of lazarus, appears beardless "and equipped with a wand in the received guise of a necromancer [f] whilst the corpse of lazarus is swathed in bandages exactly as an egyptian mummy" had posterity possessed several such representations executed during the

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

ythic pillars, the sun becomes a portent. fig. 57 is an egyptian seal, copied by layard (nineveh and babylon, p. 156. subject: the egyptian god harpocrates, seated on the mythic lotus, in adoration of the yoni, or hwj, or havah. the druidical circles, and single stones standing in solitary places, are all connected with the mystic speculations of the rosicrucians. fig. 58. figures on the egyptian sarcophagus in the british museum. fig. 59. the eminences, st. michael's mount and mont st- michel, were dedicated by the phoenicians to the sun-god fig. 57. 212 the rosicrucians (hercules, as the hydra or dragon-slayer. these mounts in the channel are secondary hercules pillars, similar to calpe and abyla. figs. 60, 61. heads of ships: a. fiddle-head; b, c, d. gondola; e. ceres reaping-hook, also

KETAB E SIYAH

that fatal mace. ten thousand voices acclaimed the king as the hero of his race for they knew not of his perfidy upon the field and indeed much that his hand wrought was good and, in life, his the greater part of his action had been noble in intent and conclusion. gladly did i recall his spirit to me. as the people mourned the fallen king his body was brought into the tomb and laid out in a rich sarcophagus, carved of red quartz and made bright by twenty rubies of most worthy size and a thousand studs of amber in which the eye descried others entombed as now lamech was entombed within the earth, ancient beastlings of ancient days caught within the glassy sepulchre. when the body had been anointed with precious oils to preserve the noble flesh from death's corruption and rightful libations

LEADBEATER CW GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

f down upon a wooden cross, made hollow to receive and support his body. his arms were lightly bound with cords, the ends of which were left loose to typify the voluntary nature of the sacrifice. the candidate then passed into trance, left the physical body and passed in full consciousness on to the astral plane. his body was carried down into a vault below the temple and was placed in an immense sarcophagus, where it lay for three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 198. during the mystical death of the body the candidate passed through many strange experiences in the astral world, and preached to the spirits in prison, to those who had recently left the body in death and were still fettered by their passions and desires. 199. on the morning of the fourth day of his burial, t

emple fresco at knossos and of several late minoan and mycenaean shrines. the triple gold shrines of mycenae are also coupled with seated doves. 244. the seated birds, as already observed, symbolize in this and other cases the descent of the divinity into the possessed object. at times, as in the above instances, it is the baetylic pillar or the cell that enshrines it. the celebrated scene on the sarcophagus of hagia triada shows raven-like birds brought down by ritual strains and libations on to the sacred double axes, which are thus charged as it were with the divinity. the doves on the gold chalice from mycenae and of nestor s cup repeat the same idea. 245. but it was not only the cult object itself that could be thus sanctified by the descending emblem of spiritual indwelling. in the c

LIBER LXVII THE SWORD OF SONG

w at the end of the darkness a fire glowed: she would have hindered him: clung she to his neck and wept. but the fire grew and the light dazzled her; so that with a shriek she fell. but the beasts flung themselves against the burning gateway of iron, and it gave way. our father passed into the fire. some say that it consumed him utterly and that he died; howbeit, it is certain that he rose from a sarcophagus, and in the skies stood an angel with a trumpet, and on that trumpet he blew so mighty a blast that the dead rose all from their tombs, and our father among them .now away. he cried .i would look upon the sun. and with that the fire hissed like a myriad of serpents and went out suddenly. it was a green sward golden with buttercups; and in his way lay a high wall. before it were two chi

one none, as before hath been showed. and this enumeration is a great mysterium of our art. whence a light hidden in a cross. now therefore having brooded upon the ocean, and smitten with the sword, and the pyramid being builded in just proportion, was that light fixed even in the vault of the caverns. with one stroke he rent asunder the veil; with one stroke he closed the same. and entering the sarcophagus of that royal tomb he laid him down to sleep. four guarded him, and one in the four; seven enwalled him, and one in the seven, yet were the seven ten, and one in the ten. now therefore his disciples came unto the vault of that mystic mountain, and with the keys they opened the portal and came to him and woke him. but during his long sleep the roses had grown over him, crimson and flami

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

t in each case, with a flat roof consisting of nine great stones, the largest in the pyramid. above the king's chamber are five low compartments (l, generally termed construction chambers. in the lowest of these the so-called hieroglyphs of the pharaoh cheops are located. the roof of the fifth construction chamber is peaked. at the end of the king's chamber opposite the entrance stands the famous sarcophagus, or coffer (i, and behind it is a shallow opening that was dug in the hope of discovering valuables. two air vents (m, n) passing through the entire body of the pyramid ventilate the king's chamber. in itself this is sufficient to establish that the building was not intended for a tomb. between the upper end of the grand gallery (g. g) and the king's chamber is a small antechamber (h

ted the bull as an important religious symbol. the assyrians, phoenicians, chaldeans, and even the greeks reverenced this animal, and jupiter turned himself into a white bull to abduct europa. the bull was a powerful phallic emblem signifying the paternal creative power of the demiurgus. at his death he was frequently mummified and buried with the pomp and dignity of a god in a specially prepared sarcophagus. excavations in the serapeum at memphis have uncovered the tombs of more than sixty of these sacred animals. as the sign rising over the horizon at the vernal equinox constitutes the starry body for the annual incarnation of the sun, the bull not only was the celestial symbol of the solar man but, because the vernal equinox took place in the constellation of taurus, was called the brea

hich had its roots in adam's skull. in a.d. 600 appeared ahmed (mohammed. again the phoenix suffered, this time from the poison of kheibar, and from its charred ashes rose to spread its wings across the face of mongolia, where in the twelfth century genghis khan established the rule of wisdom. circling the mighty desert of gobi, the phoenix again gave up its form, which now lies buried in a glass sarcophagus under a pyramid bearing upon it the ineffable figures of the mysteries. after the lapse of six hundred years from the death of genghis khan, did napoleon bonaparte--who believed himself to be the man of destiny--contact in his wanderings this strange legend of the continual periodic rebirth of wisdom? did he feel the spreading wings of the phoenix within himself and did he believe the

MEANING OF MASONRY

the postulant had to pass, but in a condition of ease and liberty. this was to symbolize the condition of illumination and expanded intellectual liberty associated with the fellow-craft degree. it ended at a place where the candidate once more had to force his way on hands and knees through the smallest aperture of all, one that led to the central chamber in which stood and still stands the great sarcophagus in which he was placed and underwent the last supreme ordeal, and whence he was raised from the dead, initiated and perfected. the title of admission communicated to the candidate for the third degree is noteworthy, as also the reason for it. it is a hebrew name, said to be that of the first artificer in metals and to mean" in worldly possessions" now it will be obvious that the name o

MICHAEL TSARION ATLANTIS ALIEN VISITATION AND GENETIC MANIPULATION

ried in cir-cular cairns or mounds called sidhes (pronounced she. this word connotes femalebreast and the burial chambers actually look like such from outside. the implication isthat the dead are placed again inside the womb, the breast, the symbols of renewedlife. the egyptians used to place their dead within sarcophagi that were symbols of thefemale body. in fact, the interior of the lid of the sarcophagus had the image of thenight sky as the over-arching body of the mother goddess nuith.clearly, the monarchies of any age have been responsible for atrocious crimes. and yet, themonarchs themselves claim rulership by divine right. james vi of scotland becamejames i of england and was the main proponent of this. the origins of the sanctity of kingsgoes back to pre-diluvian times, however.th

elated to joseph, son of jacob, who was sold into slavery. but was there perhaps agrand vizier who fathered a pharaoh a prestigious governor after whom a canal might have beennamed and who would have ridden in the kings second chariotindeed there was: a vizier who, con-trary to normal custom, was embalmed like a pharaoh (precisely as described in the last verse of gene-sis) and entombed in a fine sarcophagus in no less a place than the royal burial groundthe v alley ofthe kings at western thebes (modern luxor (p. 183)the inscription on his tombegyptian tomb inscriptions usually relate, in one way or another, to the godhead under which the occu-pant was placed in life, using deiform names such as ra, amen, and ptah. in this case, the unusual tombinscriptions of the grand vizier do not relat

MORALS AND DOGMA

s wife, the moon: and his history recounts, in poetical and figurative style, the annual journey of the great luminary of heaven through the different signs of the zodiac. in the absence of osiris, typhon, his brother, filled with envy and malice, sought to usurp his throne; but his plans were frustrated by isis. then he resolved to kill osiris. this he did, by persuading him to enter a coffin or sarcophagus, which he then flung into the nile. after a long search, isis found the body, and concealed it in the depths of a forest; but typhon, finding it there, cut it into fourteen pieces, and scattered them hither and thither. after tedious search, isis found thirteen pieces, the fishes having eaten the other (the privates, which she replaced of wood, and buried the body at phil; where a temp

s represent the conjunctive sun and moon; and when placed on the head of the zodiacal bull, the commencement of the cycle termed saros by the chaldeans, and metonic by the greeks; and supposed to be alluded to in job, by the phrase "mazzaroth in his season; that is to say, when the first new moon and new sun of the year were coincident, which happened once in eighteen years and a fraction. on the sarcophagus of alexander, the same symbol appears on the head of a ram, which, in the time of that monarch, was the leading sign. so too in the sculptured temples of the upper nile, the crescent and disk appear, not on the head of taurus, but on the forehead of the ram or the ram-headed god, whom the grecian mythologists called jupiter ammon, really the sun in aries. if we now look for a moment at

s of iran changed to gloom. ganymede and adonis, like osiris, were hurried off in all their strength and beauty; the premature death of linus, the burthen of the ancient lament of greece, was like that of the persian siamek, the bithynian hylas, and the egyptian maneros, son of menes or the eternal. the elegy called maneros was sung at egyptian banquets, and an effigy enclosed within a diminutive sarcophagus was handed round to remind the guests of their brief tenure of existence. the beautiful memnon, also, perished in his prime; and enoch, whose early death was lamented at iconium, lived 365 years, the number of days of the solar year; a brief space when compared with the longevity of his patriarchal kindred. the story of osiris is reflected in those of orpheus and dionusos zagreus, and

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

y while they lived. the mummification had as its purpose to delay the dissolution of the astral body of the deceased so that as much of it as possible went with him or her in the next incarnation, thus providing continuity of consciousness through the lives. but this was a gross artifice, not to be compared with our way, for which see liber aleph, chapters 192-193. the book was put in the tomb or sarcophagus because supposedly the owner had used it constantly, which provided a further link. but in practice, just as few people studied it as study the bible today, although you find the damn silly thing all over the place "single robe: an aura clean and whole, without any leak of force anywhere "rich headdress: the sahashara activated "put on the wings: awaken the ajna, which when active has

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

ierogylphs knew the ankh symbol. the ankh may represent the sunrise or rebirth. many ancient gods carried ankhs and often blessed pharaohs with an ankh, symbolizing the act of giving them the breath of life. among the gods often seen with ankhs are osiris, isis, ra, hathor, and anubis. as a result the ankh not only represented worldly life but the afterlife. in fact, the ancient egyptian term for sarcophagus or coffin was neb-ankh, meaning possessor of life. the ankh s popularity has reached beyond egypt s borders and around the world into the twenty-first century. whether it is the appeal of an ancient symbol for life or an interest in ancient egypt, the ankh remains a popular decoration. the remains of civilization the most obvious symbols of both mesopotamian and ancient egyptian religi

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

ul of one man than the vicissitudes of the whole globe! child of heaven, and heir of immortality, how from some star hereafter wilt thou look back on the ant-hill and its commotions, from clovis to robespierre, from noah to the final fire. the spirit that can contemplate, that lives only in the intellect, can ascend to its star, even from the midst of the burial-ground called earth, and while the sarcophagus called life immures in its clay the everlasting! but thou, zanoni, thou hast refused to live only in the intellect; thou hast not mortified the heart; thy pulse still beats with the sweet music of mortal passion; thy kind is to thee still something warmer than an abstraction, thou wouldst look upon this revolution in its cradle, which the storms rock; thou wouldst see the world while i

etists have (however impotently) sought to imitate, is to the effect that 'the sphere of the soul is luminous when nothing external has contact with the soul itself; but when lit by its own light, it sees the truth of all things and the truth centred in itself, why descendest thou from thy sphere, why from the eternal, starlike, and passionless serene, shrinkest thou back to the mists of the dark sarcophagus? how long, too austerely taught that companionship with the things that die brings with it but sorrow in its sweetness, hast thou dwelt contented with thy majestic solitude" as he thus murmured, one of the earliest birds that salute the dawn broke into sudden song from amidst the orange-trees in the garden below his casement; and as suddenly, song answered song; the mate, awakened at t

us agency of that great principal of life, which, if drawn from the universe, would leave the universe a grave, were but the code in which the theurgy of old sought the guides that led it to a legislation and science of its own. to rebuild on words the fragments of this history, it seems to me as if, in a solemn trance, i was led through the ruins of a city whose only remains were tombs. from the sarcophagus and the urn i awake the genius (the greek genius of death) of the extinguished torch, and so closely does its shape resemble eros, that at moments i scarcely know which of ye dictates to me, o love! o death! and it stirred in the virgin's heart, this new, unfathomable, and divine emotion! was it only the ordinary affection of the pulse and the fancy, of the eye to the beautiful, of the

TEXE MARRS CODEX MAGICA SECRET SIGNS MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS AND HIDDEN CODES OF THE ILLUMINATI

hose novels on horror and terror invariably go to the top of the bestseller's list. the caption of this photo, published in newsweek (august 28, 2000, p. 45) reads "it's good to be king" 222 codex magica these ancient egyptian figures demonstrate how prevalent was osiris' sacred sign "x "cross my heart and hope to die" 223 the mummy of ramescs the great (1279-1213 b.c) was found in this cedarwood sarcophagus. this pharaoh is thought by egyptologists to be the ruler who enslaved the israelites and forced them to build cities. 224 codex magica painting from the tomb of rameses i, valley of the kings, west thebes, in egypt. the figure at right (luriferian angel) has wings crossed in "x" fashion. this is said to be a secret, coded alphabet used by the clandestine templars order (from secret so

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 1

he t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d 262 mystery religions and cults death or lord of the west, referring to his mastery over all those who had traveled west into the sunset of death. an initiate into the cult would be led at dusk into the lower crypt of the temple by four priests carrying torches. in a corner of the crypt was an open marble sarcophagus supported by four pillars placed upon four sphinxes. the chief priest of the mystery would advise the aspirant that no man could ever escape death, but every soul who died was also destined to be resurrected and to receive life anew. those who would be a priest of osiris must enter the tomb alive and await his light. he must spend the night in the coffin and enter through the door of f

the chief priest of the mystery would advise the aspirant that no man could ever escape death, but every soul who died was also destined to be resurrected and to receive life anew. those who would be a priest of osiris must enter the tomb alive and await his light. he must spend the night in the coffin and enter through the door of fear to achieve mastery. the initiate would lie down in the open sarcophagus and be left alone in the crypt. the priests would leave him a small lamp which would soon use up its reservoir of oil. from somewhere outside the tomb, he would be able to hear priests chanting his funeral song. then he would be alone in the darkness, feeling the cold of the grave close in upon him. perhaps the initiate would experience a life review or begin to see colors and lights a

w or begin to see colors and lights appear around him. this illumination, he believed, was the light of osiris come to bring him visions. some aspirants might claim to have had conversations with isis or osiris. others might visualize themselves in the land of the dead, walking and talking with departed spirits and receiving special teachings from osiris. those who survived the night alone in the sarcophagus were awakened by the priests who proclaimed the initiate s resurrection and who brought him refreshing food and drink. later, at an appropriate time in the temple of osiris, the newly initiated member of the cult would be asked to describe any visions that he experienced or any prophetic messages that he received while on the journey of light with osiris. the theology of osiris that pr

as the sabbath, or day of rest from work and for religious worship in christianity, and saturday is the sabbath as observed by judaism and some christians. santeria from spanish santeria meaning holiness. a religion which originated in cuba by enslaved west african laborers that combines the west african yoruba religion with roman catholicism and recognizes a supreme god as well as other spirits. sarcophagus from the greek sarkophogos, which literally means flesh-eater and probably refers to the kind of limestone that was used in the making of coffins thought to decompose bodies rapidly. spell a formula or word believed to have magical power. a trance or a bewitched state. vision from the latin vis, to see. faculty of sight or a mental image produced by imagination. can refer to a mystical

d fifth centuries b.c.e, it has been considered and maintained as a priestly and literary language of the sacred veda scriptures and other classical texts. santeria from spanish santeria meaning holiness. a religion which originated in cuba by enslaved west african laborers that combines the west african yoruba religion with roman catholicism and recognizes a supreme god as well as other spirits. sarcophagus from the greek sarx meaning flesh, and greek sarkophogos, literally meaning flesh-eater. originally a kind of limestone that had properties to aid in the rapid decomposition of the deceased bodies and was used in the making of coffins. eventually came to mean any stone coffin, especially one with inscriptions or decorated with sculpture and used as a monument. sauropod any of various l

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 3

d fifth centuries b.c.e, it has been considered and maintained as a priestly and literary language of the sacred veda scriptures and other classical texts. santeria from spanish santeria meaning holiness. a religion which originated in cuba by enslaved west african laborers that combines the west african yoruba religion with roman catholicism and recognizes a supreme god as well as other spirits. sarcophagus from the greek sarx meaning flesh, and greek sarkophogos, literally meaning flesh-eater. originally a kind of limestone that had properties to aid in the rapid decomposition of the deceased bodies and was used in the making of coffins. eventually came to mean any stone coffin, especially one with inscriptions or decorated with sculpture and used as a monument. sauropod any of various l

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL

god, according to the old testament, as they wandered in the wilderness during their flight from egypt. spiritual nourishment or something of value received of divine origin or unexpectedly. t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d 210 objects of mystery and power theearliest known swastikas date from 2500 or 3000 b.c.e. in india and central asia. sarcophagus from the greek sarx meaning gflesh, h and greek sarkophogos, literally meaning gflesh-eater. h originally a kind of limestone that had properties to aid in the rapid decomposition of the deceased bodies and was used in the making of coffins. eventually came to mean any stone coffin, especially one with inscriptions or decorated with sculpture and used as a monument. t h e g a l e e n c

ty that may have numbered as many as 90,000 people. palenque is among the centers in the middle area of the mayan region, where the rain forest is thickest. among the finds there is the temple of inscriptions, a 65-foot-high pyramid. a secret passageway was found by archaeologists in 1952 that led to an elaborate tomb. riches of jade, finely carved, life sized statues, and an elaborately sculpted sarcophagus were discovered. when modern archaeologists finally mastered mayan hieroglyphics in the 1970s, inscriptions on the wall of the temple were deciphered. they identified the corpse as sun lord pacal and described his life. tracing references of dates with the mayan calendar, another example of mayan achievement, archaeologists were able to determine that sun lord pacal was t h e g a l e e

limestone bricks, workers doused them with cold vinegar, creating cracks in the pyramid that allowed the caliph fs men to break through a wall and discover a passageway that led upward to the original entrance of the pyramid. turning around, they descended until they located rooms identified as the king fs chamber and another as the queen fs chamber. in the king fs chamber they found an elaborate sarcophagus, but nothing was inside, as if it had never been used. the tombs had been looted, or they served as a purposeful deception, with the bodies and treasures located somewhere else in the pyramid. the mystery of the missing bodies and treasures continues to perplex to this day. subsequent findings and theories during the twentieth century tend to confirm astronomical and calendrical orient

ifth centuries b.c.e, it has been considered and maintained as a priestly and literary language of the sacred veda scriptures and other classical texts. santeria from spanish santeria meaning gholiness. h a religion which originated in cuba by enslaved west african laborers that combines the west african yoruba religion with roman catholicism and recognizes a supreme god as well as other spirits. sarcophagus from the greek sarx meaning gflesh, h and greek sarkophogos, literally meaning gflesh-eater. h originally a kind of limestone that had properties to aid in the rapid decomposition of the deceased bodies and was used in the making of coffins. eventually came to mean any stone coffin, especially one with inscriptions or decorated with sculpture and used as a monument. sauropod any of var

THE TAROT OF C C ZAIN

e domestic circle which more than compensate them for material hardships. the 20 flowers signify the potency of domestic harmony to awaken and resurrect the spiritual flora of the soul. this ensemble personifies the fact that when the sexes are truly wed, and the triple laws of harmony are obeyed, that their lives are a constant round of happiness and joy, even amid adversities and privation. the sarcophagus--arcanum xx. in divination, arcanum xx may be read as an awakening or resurrection. arcanum xx is figured by a sarcophagus on whose side is pictured a scarab. above this tomb a genie sounds a trumpet, whereupon it opens and a man, woman and child rise from it, still dressed in their winding sheets. the sarcophagus is the tomb through which man ascents to a higher life. the scarab is sy

THE BOOK OF GATES

ncludes a short summary of the book of am-tuat, the longer version of which comprises the first volume. title page note contents the short form of the book of am-tuat the first hour the second hour the third hour the fourth hour the fifth hour the sixth hour the seventh hour the eighth hour the ninth hour the tenth hour the eleventh hour the twelfth hour the book of gates chapter i. the alabaster sarcophagus of seti i. chapter ii. the ante-chamber of the tuat chapter iii. the gate of saa-set: the second division of the tuat. chapter iv. the gate of aqebi. the third division of the tuat. chapter v. the gate of tchetbi. the fourth division of the tuat chapter vi. the gate of teka-hra. the fifth division of the tuat chapter vii. the judgment hall of osiris. the sixth division of the tuat. cha

s copy of what is in the ament of the tuat [which] cannot be looked at or seen, and whosoever shall know these secret images shall be in the condition of the spirit who is equipped [for journeying, and shall come forth [from] and shall descend into the tuat, and shall hold converse with the men and women who live [there] regularly and unfailingly, millions of times. next: chapter i. the alabaster sarcophagus of seti i. sacred texts egypt ehh index index previous next p. 43 the book of gates chapter i. the alabaster sarcophagus of seti i. the text of the "book of gates" printed in the following pages, is taken from the alabaster sarcophagus of king seti i, b.c. 1370, which is preserved in the museum of sir john soane, at 13, lincoln's inn fields. this sarcophagus is, undoubtedly, one of the

orridor led him to a square chamber which, being thirty feet deep, formed a serious obstacle in the way of any unauthorized intruder, and served to catch any rain-water which might make its way down the corridors from the entrance. beyond this chamber are two halls, and from the first of these belzoni passed through other corridors and rooms until he entered the vaulted chamber in which stood the sarcophagus. 1 the sarcophagus chamber is situated at a distance of 320 feet from the entrance to the first corridor, and is 180 feet below the level of the ground. belzoni succeeded in bringing the sarcophagus from its chamber into the light of day without injury, and in due course it arrived in england; the negotiations which he opened with the trustees of the british museum, to whom its purchas

ow the level of the ground. belzoni succeeded in bringing the sarcophagus from its chamber into the light of day without injury, and in due course it arrived in england; the negotiations which he opened with the trustees of the british museum, to whom its purchase was first proposed, fell through, and he subsequently sold it to sir john soane, it is said for the sum of 2000. an examination of the sarcophagus shows that both it and its cover were hollowed out of monolithic blocks of alabaster, p. 45 and it is probable, as mr. sharpe says, 1 that these were quarried in the mountains near alabastronpolis, i.e, the district which was known to the egyptians by the name of het-nub, and is situated near the ruins known in modern times by the name of tell al-'amarna. in the yet-nub quarries large

es by the name of tell al-'amarna. in the yet-nub quarries large numbers of inscriptions, written chiefly in the hieratic character, have been found, and from the interesting selection from these published by messrs. blackden and fraser, we learn that several kings of the ancient and middle empires carried on works in them, no doubt for the purpose of obtaining alabaster for funeral purposes. the sarcophagus is 9 ft. 4 in. long, 3 ft. 8 in. wide, in the widest part, and 2 ft. 8 in. high at the shoulders, and 2 ft. 3 in. at the feet; the cover is 1 ft. 3 in. high. the thickness of the alabaster varies from 21 to 4 inches. the skill of the mason who succeeded in hollowing the blocks without breaking, or even cracking them, is marvellous, and the remains of holes nearly one inch in diameter s

rs, and 2 ft. 3 in. at the feet; the cover is 1 ft. 3 in. high. the thickness of the alabaster varies from 21 to 4 inches. the skill of the mason who succeeded in hollowing the blocks without breaking, or even cracking them, is marvellous, and the remains of holes nearly one inch in diameter suggest that the drill was as useful to him as the chisel and mallet in hollowing out the blocks. when the sarcophagus and its cover were finally shaped and polished, they were handed over to an artisan who was skilled in cutting hieroglyphics and figures of the gods &c, in stone, and both the insides and outsides were covered by him p. 46 with inscriptions and vignettes and mythological scones which illustrated them. both inscriptions and scenes were then filled in with a kind of paint made from some

the vivid bluish green colour of this paint must have formed a striking contrast to the brilliant whiteness of the alabaster when fresh from the quarry. at the present time large numbers of characters and figures are denuded of their colour, and those in which it still remains are much discoloured by london fog and soot. the first to attempt to describe the contents of the texts and scenes on the sarcophagus of seti i. was the late samuel sharpe, who, with the late joseph bonomi, published "the alabaster sarcophagus of oimenepthah i, king of egypt" london, 1864, 4to; the former was responsible for the letterpress, and the latter for the plates of scenes and texts. for some reason which it is not easy to understand, mr. sharpe decided that the hieroglyphic characters which formed the prenom

he late samuel sharpe, who, with the late joseph bonomi, published "the alabaster sarcophagus of oimenepthah i, king of egypt" london, 1864, 4to; the former was responsible for the letterpress, and the latter for the plates of scenes and texts. for some reason which it is not easy to understand, mr. sharpe decided that the hieroglyphic characters which formed the prenomen of the king for whom the sarcophagus was made were to be read "oimenepthah" a result which he obtained by assigning the phonetic value of o to the hieroglyphic sign for osiris. the prenomen is sometimes written, or, and, and is to be read either seti-men-en ptah, or seti-men-en-ptah. mr. sharpe did not, apparently, realize that both the signs and p. 47 were to be read "set" and he gave to the first the phonetic value of a

th the signs and p. 47 were to be read "set" and he gave to the first the phonetic value of a and to the second the value of o; he next identified "aimenepthah" or "oimenepthah" with the amenophath of manetho, and the chomaepthah of eratosthenes, saying "hence arises the support to our reading his name (i.e, the king's) oimenepthah" passing over mr. sharpe's further remarks, which assert that the sarcophagus was made in the year b.c. 1175, we must consider briefly the arrangement of the texts and scenes upon the insides and outsides of the sarcophagus and its covers. on the upper outside edge of the sarcophagus runs a single line of hieroglyphics which contains speeches supposed to be made to the deceased by the four children of horus; this line is in two sections, each of which begins at

hildren of horus; this line is in two sections, each of which begins at the right hand side of the head, and ends at the left hand side of the foot. below this line of hieroglyphics are five large scenes, each of which is divided into three registers, and these are enclosed between two dotted bands which are intended to represent the borders of the "valley of the other world" on the inside of the sarcophagus are also five scenes, but there is no line of hieroglyphics running along the upper edge. on the bottom of the sarcophagus is a finely cut figure of the goddess nut, and round and about her are texts selected from the theban recension of the book of the dead; on the inside of the cover is a figure of the goddess nut, with arms outstretched. on the outside of the p. 48 cover, in additio

nd round and about her are texts selected from the theban recension of the book of the dead; on the inside of the cover is a figure of the goddess nut, with arms outstretched. on the outside of the p. 48 cover, in addition to the texts which record the names and titles of the deceased, are inscribed two large scenes, each of which is divided into three registers, like those inside and outside the sarcophagus. the line of text on the upper outside edge reads- p. 50 i. speech of mestha "i am mestha, i am [thy] son, o osiris, king, lord of the two lands, men-maat-ra, whose word is maat, son of the sun, seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat, and i have come so that i may be among those who protect thee. i make to flourish thy house, which shall be doubly established, by the command of ptah, by

king, lord of the two lands, men-maat-ra, son of the sun [proceeding] from his body, loving him, lord of crowns (or, risings) seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat, before the great god" to be said "ra liveth, the tortoise dieth! strong are the members of. osiris, king men-maat-ra, whose word is maat, for qebhsennuf guardeth them. ra liveth, the tortoise dieth! in a sound state is he who is in the sarcophagus, in a sound state is he who is in the sarcophagus, that is to say, the son of the sun, seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat" speech of nut: nut, the great one of seb, saith "o osiris, king, lord of the two lands, men-maat-ra, whose word is maat, who loveth me, i give unto thee purity on the earth, and splendour (or, glory) in the heavens, and i give unto thee thy head for ever" ii. spe

hou who] liv[est] for ever" to be said "ra liveth, the tortoise dieth! let enter the bones of osiris, king men-maat-ra, whose word is maat, the son of the sun, seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat, let them enter into their foundations. pure is the dead body which is in the earth, p. 53 and pure are the bones of osiris, king men-mast-ra, whose word is maat, like ra [for ever" on the bottom of the sarcophagus is a large, full-length figure of the goddess nut who is depicted in the form of a woman with her arms ready to embrace the body of the king. her face and the lower parts of the body below the waist are in profile, but she has a front chest, front shoulders, and a front eye. her feet are represented as if each was a right foot, and each only shows the great toe. one breast is only show

r straps, each of which is fastened with a buckle on the shoulder. she has anklets on her legs, and bracelets on her wrists, and armlets on her arms. the inscriptions which are cut above the head, and at both sides, and under the feet of the goddess contain addresses to the king by the great gods of the sky, and extracts from the book of the dead; they read- p. 55 inscription on the bottom of the sarcophagus of seti i. i. the words of osiris the king, the lord of the two lands, men-maat-ra, whose word is maat, the son of ra (i.e, the sun, seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat, who saith "o thou goddess nut, support thou me, for i am thy son. destroy thou my defects of immobility, together with those who produce them" ii. the goddess nut, who dwelleth in het-hennu, saith "this [is my] son os

bers of him that is seti mer-en-ptah, whose word is maat, shall never lack strength" on the outside of the cover, beneath the two scenes and texts which occupied the upper part of it, was a horizontal line of hieroglyphics which contained two short speeches, the one by the goddess nut, and the other by thoth. the speech of nut is a duplicate of the opening lines of that found on the bottom of the sarcophagus (see above v, p. 55; the speech of thoth is much mutilated, and can have contained little except the promise to be with the king, and a repetition of the royal name and titles. on the inside of the cover were texts, many portions of which are identical, as we see from the fragments which remain, with the chapters from the book of the dead which are found on the bottom of the sarcophagu

ess which was cut on the breast was a figure of the god thoth, who is seen holding a staff surmounted by the symbol of "night. when the cover was complete there were probably four such figures upon it, and the texts which accompanied them were, no doubt, p. 70 identical with those found in chapter clxi. of the book of the dead. the scenes and inscriptions which cover the inside and outside of the sarcophagus are described and transcribed in the following chapters. p. 71 appendix to chapter i. belzoni's account of his discovery of the tomb of seti i "on the 16th (of october) i recommenced my excavations in the valley of beban el malook, and pointed but the fortunate spot, which has paid me for all the trouble i took in my researches. i may call this a fortunate day, one of the best perhaps

r hollow inside, as if to contain a roll of papyrus, which i have no doubt they did. we found likewise fragments of other statues of wood and of composition "but the description of what we found in the centre of the saloon, and which i have reserved till this place, p. 78 merits the most particular attention, not having its equal in the world, and being such as we had no idea could exist. it is a sarcophagus of the finest oriental alabaster, 9 ft. 5 in. long, and 3 ft. 7 in. wide. its thickness is only 2 in, and it is transparent, when a light is placed in the inside of it. it is minutely sculptured within and without with several hundred figures, which do not exceed 2 in. in height, and represent, as i suppose, the whole of the funeral procession and ceremonies relating to the deceased, u

sion and ceremonies relating to the deceased, united with several emblems &c. i cannot give an adequate idea of this beautiful and invaluable piece of antiquity, and can only say, that nothing has been brought into europe from egypt that can be compared with it. the cover was not there; it had been taken out, and broken into several pieces, which we found in digging before the first entrance. the sarcophagus was over a staircase in the centre of the saloon, which communicated with a subterraneous passage, leading downwards, 300 ft. in length. at the end of this passage we found a great quantity of bats' dung, which choked it up, so that we could go no farther without digging. it was nearly filled up too by the falling in of the upper part. one hundred feet from the entrance is a staircase

untain. i measured the distance from the entrance, and also the rocks above, and found that the passage reaches nearly halfway through the mountain to the upper part of the valley. i have reasons to suppose, that this passage was used to come into the tomb by another entrance; but this could not be after the death of the person who was buried there, for at the bottom of the stairs just tinder the sarcophagus a wall was built, which entirely closed the communication between the tomb and the subterraneous passage. some large blocks of stone were placed under the sarcophagus horizontally, level with the pavement of the saloon, that no one might perceive any stairs or subterranean passage was there. the doorway of the sideboard room had been walled up, and forced open, as we found the stones w

i am inclined to believe, that whoever forced all these passages must have had some spies with them, who were well acquainted with the tomb throughout. the tomb faces the north-east, and the direction of the whole runs straight south-west" footnotes 44:1 as belzoni's narrative is of interest, his account of his discovery of seti's tomb is given in the appendix to this chapter. 45:1 the alabaster sarcophagus of oimenepthah i, king of egypt. london, 1864, p. 14. 59:1 this is chapter lxxii. of the book of the dead. 61:1 pe and tep formed a double city in the delta. 63:1 the kher-heb was the priestly official who read the funeral service. 63:2 i.e, the field of reeds. 63:3 i.e, the field of peace. 63:4 i.e, shu and tefnut. 65:1 this is chapter lxxxix. of the book of the dead. next: chapter ii

ly official who read the funeral service. 63:2 i.e, the field of reeds. 63:3 i.e, the field of peace. 63:4 i.e, shu and tefnut. 65:1 this is chapter lxxxix. of the book of the dead. next: chapter ii. the ante-chamber of the tuat sacred texts egypt ehh index index previous next p. 80 chapter ii. the ante-chamber of the tuat. in the first division of the "book of gates of the tuat" according to the sarcophagus of seti i, we see the horizon of the west, or the mountain of the west, divided into two parts, and the boat of the sun is supposed to sail between them, and to enter by this passage into the tuat. on the right hand is fixed a jackal-headed standard, and on each side of it kneels a bearded god; one god is called tat, and is a personification of the region which is beyond the day, and t

TWO ESSAYS ON THE WORSHIP OF PRIAPUS

the ancient artists as a symbol of the sun;1 and i am inclined to believe that it was to express this destroying power, no less requisite to preserve the harmony of the universe than the generating. in most of the monuments of ancient art where the lion is represented, he appears with expressions of rage and violence, and often in the act of killing and devouring some other animal. on an ancient sarcophagus found in sicily he is represented devouring a horse,2 and on the medals of velia in italy, devouring a deer;3 the former, as sacred to neptune, represented the sea; and the latter, as sacred to diana, the produce of the earth; for diana was the fertility of the earth personified, and therefore is said to have received her nymphs or productive ministers from the ocean, the source of fec

WALLIS BUDGE E A LEGENDS OF THE EGYPTIAN GODS

ongues, and cont heka blindeth your eyes. these are the four great gods who protect osiris by their magical power, and they effect the protection of him that is on the water, of men and women of every kind, and of beasts and animals of every kind which are on the water by day. protected are those who dwell in the waters, protected is the sky wherein is ra, protected is the great god who is in the sarcophagus, protected is he who is on the water "a voice [which] crieth loudly is in the house of net (neith, a loud voice is in the great house, a great outcry from the mouth of the cat. the gods and the goddesses say 'what is it? what is it [it] concerneth the abtu fish which is born. make to retreat from me thy footsteps, o sebau fiend. i am khnemu, the lord of her-urt. guard thyself again fro

of water and a stream of the inundation was i. the child was the desire of my heart, and i longed to protect him. i carried him in my womb, i gave birth to him, i endured the agony of the birth pangs, i was all alone, and the great ones were afraid of disaster and to come out at the sound of my voice. my father is in the tuat,[fn#233] my mother is in aqert,[fn#234] and my elder brother is in the sarcophagus. think of the enemy and of how prolonged was the wrath of his heart against me [when] i, the great lady, was in his house [fn#231] i.e, to be my advocate [fn#232] literally "his thing [fn#233] tuat is a very ancient name of the other world, which was situated either parallel with egypt or across the celestial ocean which surrounded the world [fn#234] the "perfect place" i.e, the other

ise. horus is protected as the great hawk[fn#248] which flieth through heaven, earth, and the other world (tuat; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. horus is protected as the holy beetle, the mighty) wings of which are at the head of the sky;[fn#249] and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. horus is protected as the hidden body,[fn#250] and as he whose mummy is in his sarcophagus; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. horus is protected [as the dweller] in the other world [and in the] two lands, who goeth round about 'those who are over hidden things; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. horus is protected as the divine bennu[fn#251] who alighteth in front of his two eyes; and he who is under the knife is protected likewise. horus

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