Folklore, temple and tomb paintings, and hieroglyphic texts are drawn upon to explore the potent and pervading legacy of magic and ritual in ancient Egypt, a legacy that has survived to the present day. To the Egyptians, magic was an exact science with rules that were necessarily observed to placate the gods, ensure good fortune, cure the sick, and guarantee a safe passage through the underworld. This book provides insight into the full meaning of rituals that were designed to ensure health and happiness, preserve life, and smooth the moments of passage birth, marriage, death, and the continuum of years."
"[P.D. Ouspensky's] yearning for a transcendent, timeless reality—one that cancels out physical disintegration and death—figures into science at some fundamental level. Einstein found solace in his theory of relativity, which suggested to him that events are ever-present in the space-time continuum. When his friend Michele Besso passed on shortly before his own death, he wrote: 'For us believing physicists the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion, even if a stubborn one.'" —from Magic, Mystery, and Science The triumph of science would appear to have routed all other explanations of reality. No longer does astrology or alchemy or magic have the power to explain the world to us. Yet at one time each of these systems of belief, like religion, helped shed light on what was dark to our understanding. Nor have the occult arts disappeared. We humans have a need for mystery and a sense of the infinite. Magic, Mystery, and Science presents the occult as a "third stream" of belief, as important to the shaping of Western civilization as Greek rationalism or Judeo-Christianity. The occult seeks explanations in a world that is living and intelligent—quite unlike the one supposed by science. By taking these beliefs seriously, while keeping an eye on science, this book aims to capture some of the power of the occult. Readers will discover that the occult has a long history that reaches back to Babylonia and ancient Egypt. It proceeds alongside, and frequently mingles with, religion and science. From the Egyptian Book of the Dead to New Age beliefs, from Plato to Adolf Hitler, occult ways of knowing have been used—and hideously abused—to explain a world that still tempts us with the knowledge of its dark secrets.
An initiatic guide to temple construction on the spiritual and physical planes • Details the initiations for consecrating yourself as a divine vessel • Guides you in building a sacred inner temple for connecting with the gods of Egypt • Delivers shamanic journeys and initiations on ascension, shamanic death and renewal, soul retrieval and healing, multidimensional realities, and more Deep within each of us lives a primal memory of a time when the natural world was recognized as divine and our temples were built from sacred materials enlivened through magic. Temples were not places you visited once a week; they were centers of community, divine work, healing, and wisdom, places where Heaven and Earth meet. This union of Heaven and Earth--the sacred temple--is also a union of Thoth and Isis: the Egyptian god of wisdom and the creative cosmic force and the Egyptian goddess of civilizing knowledge. Their relationship established the celestial teachings on Earth, for Thoth taught Isis all the mysteries and magic she knows and Isis acted as Thoth’s instrument to deliver the teachings in a form humanity could use. In this initiatic guide to temple building on the spiritual and physical planes, Normandi Ellis and Nicki Scully explain how to create a communal spiritual structure for connecting with the ancient Egyptian pantheon as well as how to consecrate yourself and become a vessel suitable for divine wisdom and a home for your personal gods. The authors detail the construction, shamanic visioning, and ritual consecration of a Moon Temple dedicated to Thoth. They explore teachings that help you develop relationships with the Egyptian neteru and realize your place within the family of the Egyptian pantheon. They guide you as you create your inner heart temple, the adytum, a safe place in which to receive guidance and access your higher spiritual bodies and oracular gifts. They provide shamanic journeys and initiations on ascension, shamanic death and renewal, soul retrieval and healing, multidimensional realities, and more. By creating a sacred temple within and without, we each can take part in the union of Isis and Thoth and restore the magic of the Egyptian mysteries to our time.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile - their life source - was a divine gift. Religion and magic permeated their civilization, and this book provides a unique insight into their religious beliefs and practices, from 5000 BC to the 4th century AD, when Egyptian Christianity replaced the earlier customs. Arranged chronologically, this book provides a fascinating introduction to the world of half-human/ half-animal gods and goddesses; death rituals, the afterlife and mummification; the cult of sacred animals, pyramids, magic and medicine. An appendix contains translations of Ancient Eygtian spells.
You, who have dug deep and sifted hard for a story to read, have unearthed an ancient treasure: a mystery from the dusty ages, when a boy could be a hero and fight for the good of all . . .When Zet's father left home to fight the Hyksos, he left siblings Zet and Kat in charge. It turns out keeping food on the table is easier said than done. The family's market stall is empty--except for the dizzy array of unsold pottery. It seems adults don't approve of two children running the place.Back home, Zet and Kat's cupboards are growing bare. They need a solution and they need it now. When Zet learns of a reward for capturing a thief, he jumps at the chance.The siblings soon set off on a dangerous investigation--an investigation that brings them into forbidden temples, into chapels whispering with the voices of ancient gods, drawing them ever closer to a frightening truth that threatens to crush their family forever.
An entertaining and informative introduction to how ancient Egyptians practiced magic in their daily lives. In the ancient world, if you needed a love charm, wanted to contact your dead wife, or needed the ability to fly like a bird, the magicians of Egypt were the ones who could make it happen. In Ancient Egyptian Magic, Christina Riggs explores how the Egyptians thought about magic, who performed it and why, and also helps readers understand why we’ve come to think of ancient Egypt in such a mystical way. Readers will learn how to cure scorpion bites, discover why you might want to break the legs off your stuffed hippopotamus toy, and uncover whether mummies really can come back to life. Readers can also learn how to save a fortune on pregnancy tests—urinating on barley grains will answer that question— as well as how to use the next street parade to predict the future or ensure that an annoying neighbor gets his comeuppance. Was magic harmless fun, heartfelt hope, or something darker? Featuring demons, dream interpreters, the Book of the Dead, and illustrations from tomb paintings and papyrus scrolls, Riggs breathes new life into ancient magic and uses early texts and images to illuminate the distinctions between magic, religion, and medicine.
The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she’s not sure they have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard, Melanie and April decide it’s the perfect spot for the Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians, and they all meet to wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on their secret code. Everyone thinks it’s just a game until strange things start happening. Has the Egypt Game gone too far?
Kid Detective Zet must unmask a jewelry forger's ring to save his best friend in this gripping case. 12-year-old Zet is on the trail of his latest mystery: priceless amulets are disappearing all over ancient Egypt. Worse, his best friend is being treated more like a prisoner than a student at a secretive jewelry apprentice school. Are the evil teachers and jewel thefts related? When Zet receives a desperate message hidden inside an amulet, he's determined to rescue his friend. Armed with a brainy sister who can read and write hieroglyphics, Zet searches for clues. Can he expose the wicked plot and take down the criminals before it's too late? Find out in this page-turning mystery! From the creator of over 300 museum and science center exhibits worldwide comes a story that brings ancient civilizations and Egyptian mythology to life. What kids are saying: "I am 11 years old. I could not put this book down." What parents are saying: "has reread them more than once!" What teachers are saying: "students ask to borrow the book" Perfect for fans of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles, and for all kids who love ancient Egypt. Plunge into action in a land that's home to pyramids and tombs, mummies, the Sphinx, Cleopatra, King Tut, and a pantheon of fascinating gods. Don your detective hat, pack your bags, and set off for ancient Egypt!
Ancient Egyptso familiar and yet so distant. In this new compendium in the popular Seventy series, an international team of Egyptologists and archaeologists probes the most compelling mysteries in the light of recent research and discoveries. First, there are the puzzles that set the ancient Egyptians apart from other cultures. Where did these people come from originally, and why did they believe their king was a god? Why did they mummify their loved ones in deathand then write letters to them? Some mysteries revolve around Egypt's relations with other peoples such as the lost African kingdoms of Yam and Punt, the Israelites and their exodus to the Promised Land, or the Sea People warriors of the ancient Mediterranean. Even today, Egyptologists continue to unearth new mysteries: evidence that Tutankhamun was murdered, unexplained shafts inside the Great Pyramid that seem to align with the stars, and a massive mausoleum built for the sons of Rameses II. All the famous people and places of ancient Egypt are discussedRameses the Great, Cleopatra, Akhenaten, the Great Pyramid, the Valley of the Kingsas well as fascinating but shadowy figures such as Senenmut, Smendes, and Khababash. Hundreds of evocative photographs and specially commissioned diagrams, maps, plans, and reconstructions complement the intriguing texts. 420 illustrations, 354 in color.
Egypt, 1233 BC Neti-Kerty's reputation as Egypt's first female mummifier has apparently reached all the way to the Pharaoh. Neti-Kerty and Shabaka, Special Investigator and Prefect of Thebes, are astonished to be summoned to the palace of Ramses II to investigate the sudden death of the Vizier Khay. Thanks to her powers of deduction and knowledge of the dead, Neti soon determines that something is amiss. As more people disappear during the investigation, the situation increasingly gets out of handl and before long Neti and Shabaka find themselves peering into the deepest recesses of the human soul.... Princess of Egypt returns us to a land steeped in gods, god-kings, ritual and magic. It paints for the reader a detailed picture of Pharaonic Egypt in all its shadowed glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt's history, bestselling author Nathaniel Burns weaves a shudderingly ominous tale of ancient Egypt's mysteries revealed through a cast of characters the modern reader will recognize even though millenia have passed. So light up the incense, sit close to the light and draw back the curtains on the shadowed past with this gripping tale of love and intrigue among the living and the dead in one of history's most intriguing civilizations.
