PLEASE NOTE: Information circulated on the cambridge-conference network is for scholarly use only. The attached text may not be reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the copyright holder. * CCNet ESSAY: THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW ------------------------------------------ THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW: AN IMPACT AT THE CITY OF HERAKLEOPOLIS (HENSU) CA. 3114 BCE AND THE UNIFICATION OF EGYPT E.P. Grondine copyright @2003 Hello Benny - It is often said that fools rush in where wise men fear to tread. I suppose that given that I have been researching historical impact events for some five years now, I may be excused for just beginning with an examination of Egyptian mythological records relating to impact events. In other words, this is my first shot at Egyptian myth materials, as my commentary on the Egyptian historical records relating to Joshua impact event of 1588 BCE under Thutmose I http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc012102.html dealt solely with Egyptian historical records, and not their myth materials. As a further sign of my growing folly, I now wish to share with those CC participants so inclined a previously un-noted ancient Egyptian document "The Book of the Celestial Cow", apparently a record of the cometary encounter and impact ca. 3114 BCE. Although one copy of this text was found in one of the shrines discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun the solar monotheist heretic (ruled ca. 1370 BCE), and another copy of it was found on the walls of a small chamber in the tomb of Seti I (ca. 1300 BCE), from the contents of the book itself it can be shown to have been composed quite early indeed, and this will be demonstrated immediately below. INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXT: BACKGROUND SHOWING THE ANTIQUITY OF THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW Many often try to give Egyptian theology a coherence which it clearly lacked in the real world. Egyptian religion was syncretic from its very beginning, combining as it did the pre-existing theologies of the northern and southern kingdoms. The theology of the northern kingdom itself seems to have already been by the time of unification a combination of an indigenous native cult with that of sea-going emigrating farmers who arrived along the Egyptian coast sometime between 7,000-5,500 BCE: http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/amvoy.htm http://www.discover.com/nov_02/featmarmotta.html http://www.clarence-webpage.com/africanarts/bourne001.html As is common in agricultural societies, those societies where the population is dependant upon the cultivation of crops for sustenance, there is an emphasis in the Egyptian religions on the factors affecting agriculture. In many societies this emphasis is on the annual rain cycles, but in Egypt, with its peculiar and unique dependence on the regular flooding of the Nile River, the emphasis appears to be on the Sun and its interactions with comets - comets either as the Sun's enemies or as his tools. Clearly, if the water supply was regular to some degree, then sunlight and both comet dust loadings and impact might assume prime agricultural and religious importance. While it is hard for modern people to imagine it, as we have seen elsewhere from the Mayan records, http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/ce010702.html the appearance of Comet Encke and its fragments was quite impressive, to say the least. From the existing iconographic remains, it appears that at the center of the combined northern cult laid Horus, the Sun; Osiris, some "pole" star, though which one is not yet clear; and Set, a serpent representing comets. In contrast, the southern cult focused on Ra, the Sun, and Hathor, a cow/comet. While Sumerian influences arrived over the eastern desert to this southern Nile river region sometime around 4000 BCE, the southern theology appears to be even more ancient, as bull burials have been found at the megalithic stone circle observatory at Nabta. The possible relationship of these Nabtaean peoples to the even earlier Saharan hunters, and these hunter's own possible earlier relationship in turn to the wooden henge builders of ancient Europe is quite intriguing, but I digress... Within the combined kingdom, over time the individual cult centers would compete for power and goods, and the later theology would be modified to match their aspirations. While there are no less than 4 different Egyptian cosmologies by later times, the interesting thing about the "Book of the Celestial Cow" is that the core text generally appears to use solely the early southern cosmology, with later additions being made at Thebes. To provide additional confusion, as if more were needed here, this seems an appropriate place to comment more generally on some aspects of the later developments of Egyptian religions/cosmologies. First off, clearly there were cosmological factors which varied over time. My understanding from the Egyptian texts themselves is that during the existence of ancient Egypt as a unified culture several celestial "combats", several impact events, were witnessed by practioners of the various insubstantiations of their "religion", and each time these religions had to be modified to account for these massive impact events. We have seen several Near Eastern religions/cosmologies which developed in ways to incorporate new impact events, and Egyptian religion appears no different. 3 to 4 impacts appear evident in its myth record, though sorting these out is difficult in the extreme, given the many "aspects" of the gods which developed over time, as the historical memory of the actual impacts faded. The salient fact here in all of this is that in the "Book of the Celestial Cow", only 1 impact features - although none the less this impact is reported within the framework of an already established cosmology featuring comets. In the Book of the Celestial Cow, as is common in primitive cosmologies, the celestial realm has to reflect the earthly realm, thereby giving validity to the current method of social organization. This makes it very difficult to separate the "magic" elements from the "real" elements - unless the constantly evolving parallels are kept clearly in mind. In the Mayan societies/cosmologies/religions we saw the development of 2 main actors, the tribal leader, the ahau, and his principle intellectual/religious leader, the chilam balam (op. cit., above); in the tale below, the parallel relationship of Ra, the Sun and the Pharoah, with Thoth, his principle intellectual/religious leader, should be carefully noted. As collected by Caroline Seawright (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thoth.htm) Thoth was an astronomer, the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth'; an agricultural advisor, the 'Reckoner of Times and of Seasons'"; a surveyor "who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth'; an engineer, 'He who Balances', the 'God of the Equilibrium' and 'Master of the Balance'; a physician, 'The Lord of the Divine Body'; a scribe, 'Scribe of the Company of the Gods'; the Pharaoh's proxy, the 'Voice of Ra'; an author, the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, Both Human and Divine'; and finally he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault'." Thus the Thoth of "The Book of the Celestial Cow" is thus best viewed as the early Pharaoh's chilam balam, the divine reflection of the earliest Pharaoh's real life "Sandal Bearer", his intellectual leader and advisor. Now during the extremely long period of time during which "the" religion of Egypt was practiced, there would have been a change in the pole star due to changes in the Earth's inclination, and this must have been particularly disruptive to a religion firmly tied to celestial phenomena. However, given the early nature of the Book of the Celestial Cow, this is not the place to comment on that, and in fact the work is so early that no commentary on this matter is needed here. I do hope that all of this has made everything clear. Those looking for any kind of coherence in ancient religions/cosmologies look in vain, as they have none in our modern sense. They were world views which made sense to those who practiced them, and served to organize those societies, and to keep their technologies. Any apparent contradictions within those systems were either ignored or explained away by those who practiced them. The most ancient form of "the" Egyptian religion also has parallels to Mayan religion both in its use of hallucinogens, as well as in its practice of human sacrifice; and both of these are attested in the Book of the Celestial Cow, thus giving us a sure sign as to its antiquity. The Book of the Celestial Cow's rite of combining mandrake with beer finds another parallel in the ancient German practice of combining atropa with beer, the predecessor of the modern "Pils" type of beer (sadly no longer available in the US due to a decree from the Food and Drug Administration). But the dosages used in ancient Egypt seem to have been much, much larger, and the effects of the hallucinogen mandrake, (active ingredients atropine, scopalamine, hyoscamine), seem to have been moderated by combining it with blood: the Book of the Celestial Cow makes it clear that human blood was used for this purpose. As yet a further sign as to the antiquity of the Book of the Celestial Cow, it must be noted that this human sacrifice is also attested to in plaques of the first kings of the first dynasties of Egypt, in which the collection of human blood is clearly shown. In terms of dating, since there is (at least to my knowledge) no evidence in Egypt beyond the period of the First Dynasty for this particular type of human sacrifice, the Book of the Celestial Cow must therefore be firmly dated to the First Dynasty, in other words the time of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt; all of this being yet another way of saying that it must be dated precisely to the time of the events described within it. To further clarify this dating, the cometary dust encounter and impact event described in detail in this book must be dated to the time of its creation, the time of unification of the Lower and Upper Kingdoms, well established be field excavation to be ca. 3100 BCE. Thus the impact reported here must coincide precisely with the rendezvous of the Comet Encke with the Earth which occurred in ca. 3114 BCE, even though as we have seen in the case of the destruction by impact of Bazas, France (cit Sub-roman work) impacts could occur at least up to 44 years following Comet Encke's initial appearance. MAYAN DATES FOR THE COMET ENCOUNTER (op.cit.) 16 June, 3122 BCE - The First Maize Revealer Partitioner is born 7 December, 3121 BCE - Birth of Lady White (?) 13 August, 3114 BCE - Image made visible at Closed Sky, the First Three Stone Place; Event for The First Maize Revealed Partitioner 5 February, 3112 BCE - The First Maize Revealed Partitioner enters the sky, Prepared/Dedicated the Raised Up Sky Place in the North Set in motion the Raised Up Sky Heart In closing this background note, two effects of the use of primitive hallucinogens are the hallucination of a bright fire, usually seen as an energizing force, a "life soul"; and the hallucination of the images of things which are not there at all, usually viewed as a kind of form, a "body soul" which was imposed by the aforementioned "energy" on unruly "matter". As will be seen below, in ancient Egypt meteorites from space were understood to be the source of this "unruly matter", an idea which finds reflection today in our modern knowledge of planetary accretion. On the other hand, strange as it may seem to modern man, it must also be noted that for the ancient practitioners of this particular religion, "heaven" was a very real place, specifically the "heavens", in other words "space" itself - and they expected that as a reward for their earthly virtues, their "energy" would find eternal life burning there in space as a star. A CONTEMPORARY EGYPTIAN RECORD OF THE IMPACT EVENT? http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/palettes/narmerp.htm The fourth and bottom register of the "reverse" of the Palette of Narmer, also called Menes, the First King to unite Egypt, the First Pharaoh of the First Dynasty, shows a town and man being crushed by a bull - and as is shown by the Book of the Celestial Cow, this bull is either King Menes himself, or a comet. The man being crushed wears the full beard and long hair characteristic of the sea-going peoples of Lower (northern) Egypt. The meaning of the third register of the Palette is unclear: it shows 2 northern Egyptians struggling with long necked beasts. The "reverse" side's second register shows Narmer, now wearing the crown of northern Egypt, with a general and 4 men bearing nome staffs standing to his right, and with his star priest/scribe standing to his left, all standing triumphant before now headless enemies. The middle register of the "obverse" of the Palette shows Narmer, with his scribe to his left, and wearing the crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, smiting a northman who has the southern royal sign of the falcon over his head, along with 6 flowers which may stand for either 6,000 prisoners or 6 districts. On the top register of both sides of the Palette Narmer's name stands between the glyphs of two bulls' heads, which may stand for the two kingships, that of Upper Egypt, and that of Lower Egypt. Now on to the text itself. THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW: THE LEGEND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND [Adapted to modern usage from the translation of E. A. Wallis Budge, Legends of the Egyptian Gods. Budge's notes and restorations are in parenthesis, the ones for this note are in brackets.] "(Here is the story of Ra [the Sun],) the god who was self-begotten and self-created, after he had assumed the sovereignty over men and women, and gods, and things: the one god. [Note that it is explicitly stated here that this event occurred well after creation.] A COMETARY DUST LOADING "Now men and women were speaking words of complaint, saying, "Behold, his Majesty [Ra, the Sun] (Life, Strength, and Health to him!) has grown old, and his bones have become like silver, and his members have turned into gold, and his hair is like unto real lapis-lazuli." [The description here reflects the dimming of sunlight due to dust loading from this encounter with Comet Encke.] "His Majesty [Ra, the Sun] heard the words of complaint which men and women were uttering, and his Majesty (Life, Strength, and Health to him!) said unto those who were in his train, "Cry out, and bring to me my Eye, and Shu, and Tefnut, and Geb, and Nut, and the father-gods and the mother-gods who were with me even when I was in Nun side by side with my god Nun." [Budge identified Shu as God of the Air, Tefnut as Goddess of Moisture, Geb as God of the Earth, and Nut as Goddess of the Sky - but Nut is better explained as the Goddess of the Heavens, or best as the Goddess of the Star Field. Budge glossed Nun as "the primal flood preceding creation, later the ocean in which the earth rests", but did emphasize that the Egyptians understood the clarity of the emptiness of space as being due to its being a clear celestial "water", in other words "Nun". As will be seen further along in this story, the "eye of Ra" is the comet prototype. In later Egyptian zodiacs one comet is often pictured as the disk of Ra resting on the back of a bull: the Taurids, so to speak. Ra, the Sun, continues his speech...] "Let there be brought along with my Eye [the comet prototype], his ministers, and let them be led secretly to me here, so that men and women can not see them [coming] hither, and may not therefore take to flight with their hearts. "Come you [also] with them to the Great House [Ra's tomb?], and let them declare their plans (or, arrangements) fully. For I will go from Nun [Space] into the place wherein I brought about my own existence, and let those gods be brought unto me there." [In other words, the sun disappears completely, most likely due to cometary dust loading.] "[Then] the gods were drawn up on each side of Ra [the Sun], and they bowed down before his Majesty until their heads touched the ground, and the maker of men and women, the king of those who have knowledge, spoke his words in the presence of [Nun, Space] the Father of the first-born gods. And the gods spoke in the presence of his Majesty [Ra, the Sun], saying, "Speak unto us, for we are listening to them (your words)". "Then Ra [the Sun] spoke unto Nun [Space], saying, "O first-born god from whom I came into being, O you gods of ancient time" [Please note the usage here extremely carefully: there was a pantheon of gods whose "existence" preceded that of Ra.], "my ancestors, take heed to what men and women [are doing]: For behold, those who were created by my Eye [in other words those who had been given "unruly matter" by comets and meteorites] are uttering words of complaint against me. Tell me what you would do in the matter, and consider this thing for me, and seek out (a plan) for me, for I will not slay them until I have heard what you shall say to me concerning it." A FIRST IMPACT? "Then the Majesty of Nun [Space] spoke to [his] son Ra [the Sun], saying, "You are the god who is greater than he who made you; you are the sovereign of those who were created with you, your throne is set [established], and the fear of you is great: Let your Eye [the comet] go against those who have uttered blasphemies against you." "And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] said, "Behold, they have betaken themselves to flight into the mountain lands, for their hearts are afraid because of the words which they have uttered." [The people's "flight into the mountain lands" referred to here most likely was a flight from both settled agriculture, and thus the King's control, and back to hunting, undertaken in response to the crop failures brought on by the comet's dust veil.] "Then the gods spoke in the presence of his Majesty, saying, "Let your Eye [a comet] go forth and let it destroy for you those who revile you with words of evil, for there is no Eye [matter] whatsoever that can go before it and resist you and it when it [your Eye] journeys in the form of Hathor [this particular comet]." "Thereupon this goddess [Hathor, the active comet] went forth and slew the men and the women who were on the mountain (or, desert land). [Budge alerts us to his confusion with this passage by also giving the alternative reading of "or, desert land". Perhaps the best reading for the underlying term would simply be "wilderness", the place where the people could hunt game to substitute for the crops which had failed due to the comet induced climate collapse.] AN IMPACT AT HENSU, THE CITY OF HERAKLEOPOLIS Wherever this first impact took place, the next impact struck the northern Egyptian city of Herakleopolis, as will be seen immediately below,]. "And the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun] said, "Come, come in peace, O Hathor, for the work is accomplished. Then this goddess [Hathor, the comet] said, "You have made me to live, for when I gained the mastery over men and women it was sweet to my heart." And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] said, "I myself will be master over them as [their] king, and I will destroy them." [In other words, after the first impact Ra, the Sun, asks Hathor, the active comet, to stop, but Hathor appeals, and Ra agrees to let her continue.] "And it came to pass that Sekhet" [Budge explains "Sekhet" as the Eye of Ra, lion-headed goddess symbolizing the destructive power of Ra, the Sun. Also known later as "Sekhmet", this may be either the active comet Hathor when "she" is near the Earth; or more likely, one of the fragments of Comet Encke which the Maya described (op.cit.)] "of the offerings [sacrifices] waded about in the night season in their blood, beginning at Su-ten/hen-en" [for which other later readings have "hen-en/Su-ten", "Hensu", the Lower Egyptian (northern) city of Herakleopolis Magna]. THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH "Then the Majesty of Ra [the Sun], spoke, (saying), "Cry out, and let there come to me swift and speedy messengers who shall be able to run like the wind . . . . and straightway messengers of this kind were brought unto him. And the Majesty of this god spoke (saying), "Let these (messengers) go to Abu [Elephantine at the southern border of the country], and bring unto me mandrakes in great numbers." [Here the King's control of the South of Egypt, the Upper Kingdom, is asserted. The "mandrakes" are a hallucinogenic atropa.] "And [when] these mandrakes were brought unto him the Majesty of this god [either Ra, the Sun, or the King himself] gave them to Sekhet [the comet Hathor when near Earth], the goddess who dwells in Annu [the city of Heliopolis] to crush. [It is unclear here whether the King had established control over the Lower (northern) Egyptian city of Heliopolis, or whether this refers to a later establishment to the Hathhor/Sekhet cult at Heliopolis.] "And behold, when the maidservants were bruising the grain for [making] beer, these mandrakes were placed in the vessels which were to hold the beer, and some of the blood of the men and women (Budge adds "who had been slain"). Now they made seven thousand vessels of beer. [This appears to be a statement either that at least 7,000 people died in the impact at Herakleopolis, or that 7,000 people were sacrificed at Heliopolis.] DAYLIGHT REAPPEARS "Now when the Majesty of Ra [the Sun], the King of the South and North, had come with the gods to look at the vessels of beer, and behold, the daylight had appeared, after the slaughter of men and women by the goddess [either by the comet Hathor near the Earth as Sekhet, or in the human sacrifice at Heliopolis] in their [the constellation's] season as she [Hathor/Sekhet] sailed up the river [of her water in space, in other words followed her orbit]." [Minimally, what this says is that "daylight", sunlight, reappeared when Comet Encke receded.] "The Majesty of Ra [the Sun] said, "It is good, it is good[!]; nevertheless I must protect men and women against her. And Ra [the Sun] said, "Let them take up the vases and carry them to the place where the men and women were slaughtered by her." "Then the Majesty of the King of the South and North in the three-fold beauty of the night, [This "three fold beauty" may refer to the three stemed plant icons seen in First Dynasty inscriptions. Atropa?] caused to be poured out these vases of beer which make (men) to lie down [Budge glossed this as "(sleep)", but in sufficient dosages atropas cause death], and the meadows of the Four Heavens were filled with beer by reason of the Souls [of either the intoxicated and sedated or the dead] of the Majesty of this god. [In the preceding passage the King, who is now King of both the South and the North, claims identity with Ra, the Sun. Despite Ra's command that the vessels be taken to "the place where the men and women were slaughtered by her", as will be seen in the next passage, the "meadows of the Four Heavens" must be the locations of parts of the star field.] "And it came to pass that when this goddess [Hathor/Sekhet] arrived at the dawn of day, she found these [the Four Heavens] flooded [with the beer souls], and she was pleased thereat; and she drank (Budge adds "of the beer and blood"), and her heart rejoiced, and she became drunk, and she gave no further attention to men and women. "Then said the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] to this goddess [Hathor, the comet], "Come in peace, come in peace, O Amit." [This is either the comet Hathor when it is inactive, or the third fragment which the Maya described.(op.cit.)]." And thereupon beautiful women came into being in the city of Amit (or, Amem). And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] spoke [concerning] this goddess, [saying], "Let there be made for her vessels of the beer which produces sleep at every holy time and season of the year, and they [the beer vessels] shall be in number according to the number of my hand-maidens." "And [thus] from that early time until now men have been wont to make on the occasions of the festival of Hathor vessels of the beer which make them to sleep, in number according to the number of the handmaidens of Ra [either of the Sun or of the Pharaoh]. A SECOND DUST LOADING: RA'S INSTRUCTIONS TO SHU AND NUT "And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] spoke unto this goddess [Hathor/Sekhet/Amit, the comet], (saying), "I am smitten with the pain of the fire of sickness; whence comes to me [this] pain?" And the Majesty of Ra said, "I live, but my heart has become exceedingly weary with existence with them (with men); I have slain (some of) them, but there is a remnant of worthless ones, for the destruction which I wrought among them was not as great as my power." "Then the gods who were in his following said unto him, "Be not overcome by your inactivity, for your might is in proportion to your will." "And the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun] said unto the Majesty of Nun [Space], "My members are [have been] weak for the first time; I will not permit this to come upon me a second time." [Here there is a claim that this was the first encounter with a comet, which by the existence of the earlier celestial pantheon must patently be not true.] "And the Majesty of the god Nun [Space] said, "O son Shu [the air], be the Eye [matter of?] for your father . . . . .[and you, Tefnut(goddess of water) be a river] and avenue (?)[for] him; and you, goddess Nut [Star Field], place him [Shu, the Air, under you]. . . . . ... "And the goddess Nut said, "How can this be [done] then, O my father Nun [Space]? Hail," said Nut . . . ". . . to the god Nun [Space], and the goddess straightway became (a cow), and she set the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] upon (her) back . . . . . "And when these things had been done, men and women saw the god Ra [the Sun], upon the back (of the cow [Nut the Star Field]). Then these men and women said [to Ra, the Sun], "Remain with us, and we will overthrow your enemies who speak words of blasphemy (against you) and (destroy them)." "Then his Majesty (Ra)[the Sun] set out for the Great House [Ra's tomb?], and...." Budge restored: "and (the gods who were in the train of Ra remained) with them (with men) during that time the Earth was in darkness.", Here restored: "and [Nut, and the gods who were in the train of Ra remained] with them [Ra and Nut] during that time the Earth was in darkness." [However the line is restored, the reading that sunlight had disappeared completely is certain. That the other "gods", celestial bodies, would "disappear" as well seems entirely likely.] FURTHER SLAUGHTER "And when the Earth became light (again) and the morning had dawned, the men came forth with their bows and their (weapons), and they set their arms in motion to shoot the enemies (of Ra)[the Sun]. [Two alternatives suggest themselves here. The first of these is by the Southern Kingdom against the Northern Kingdom, which had been weakened by the earlier impact event at the city of Herakleopolis. This would follow the usual pattern we have seen elsewhere, where other peoples took advantage of their nearby neighboring peoples who have been weakened by impact events. The second alternative is a reduction in the population by a genocide conducted by the farmers against those who had abandoned agriculture and returned to hunting.] "Then said the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun], "Your "transgressions of violence are placed behind you, for the slaughtering of the enemies is above the slaughter... [Budge restored "slaughter (of sacrifice)", more likely restored "the slaughter (which I the Sun had planned)"]. "Thus came into being the slaughter..." [Here Budge restored "slaughter (of sacrifice)"; "slaughter (of enemies)" is also possible]. THE STAR FIELD REAPPEARS, OR, THE CREATION OF THE STAR FIELD "And the Majesty of this god [Ra the Sun] said unto Nut [the Star Field], "I have placed myself upon my back in order to stretch myself out." "What then is the meaning of this? It means that he united himself with Nut. (Thus came into being) ......... [As we have seen at the start of the Book of the Celestial Cow, Nut was already in existence; it must be remembered that we are dealing here with copies of the text composed some 1700 years after the original. It seems likely that the original book was on its way to being transformed into a new book of creation.] "Then said the Majesty of this god [Ra, the sun], "I am departing from them (from men), and he must come after (me who would see me; thus came into being ......... "Then the Majesty of this god [Ra, the sun] looked forth from its [the star field's] interior, saying, "Gather together (men for me), and make ready for me an abode for (the) multitudes [of their star-souls];" thus came into being ............ "And his Majesty [Ra, the Sun] (life, health, and strength be to him!) said, "Let a great field (sekhet) be produced (hetep)", (and) thereupon Sekhet-hetep came into being. [Note that "sekhet", "field" is also the name of the goddess Sekhet/Hathor mentioned above in the context of sedating/hallucinogenic/toxic mandrake use.] "(And the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun] said), "I will gather herbs (aarat) [most likely "mandrake"] therein", [and] thereupon Sekhet-aaru came into being. "(And the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun] said), "I will make it to contain as dwellers things (khet) like stars of all sorts", [and] thereupon the stars (akhekha) came into being. THE STAR FIELD GODDESS NUT TREMBLES "Then the goddess Nut [the Star Field] trembled because of the height." [Perhaps the earliest text read that Nut "trembled because of the (new added) weight", that of the fragments of Comet Encke. The "trembling" may actually have referred to a waving of the star field due to Comet Encke's dust train. In any case, Shu, the Air, is now told to hold Nut up, and additional "props" for the Star Field are created.] "And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] said, "I decree that supports [come into] be[ing] to bear (the goddess up)", [and] thereupon the props of heaven (heh) [the star field] came into being. "And the Majesty of Ra [the Sun] said, "O my son Shu [the Air], I pray you to set yourself under [my] daughter Nut [Goddess of the Star Field], and guard for me the supports (heh) of the millions (heh) [of stars] which are there, and which live in darkness. Take the goddess upon your head, and act as nurse for her." "Thereupon came into being (the custom) of a son nursing a daughter, and (the custom) of a father carrying a son upon his head." A LATE DESCRIPTION OF A SYMBOLIC ZODIAC IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS IN THE TEXT AS RECIEVED, THE MAIN TEXT CONTINUING BELOW THIS "This chapter shall be said over (a painting of) the cow [Nut, Goddess of the Star Field]. "The supporters (called) Heh-enti shall be by her [Nut's, Goddess of the Star Field] shoulder. The supporters (called) Heh-enti shall be at her side; and one cubit and four spans of hers shall be in colours; and nine stars shall be on her belly; and Set [who later oversees all comets] shall be by her two thighs and shall keep watch before her two legs; and before her two legs shall be Shu [the Air], under her belly, and he [Shu the Air] shall be made (painted) in green qenat [blue?] colour. His [Shu, the Air's] two arms shall be under the stars, and his name shall be made (written) in the middle of them, namely, "Shu" [the Air] himself. "A boat with a rudder and a double shrine shall be therein, and Aten (the Solar Disk) shall be above it, and Ra [the Sun] shall be in it, in front of Shu [the Air], near his hand, or, as another reading has (it), behind him, near his hand. [Duplicate readings in the original text.] "And the udders of the Cow [Nut, the Star Field] shall be made to be between her legs, towards the left side. And on the two flanks, towards the middle of the legs, shall be done in writing (the words), "The exterior heaven," and "I am what is in me", and "I will not permit them to make her to turn." "That which is (written) under the boat which is in front shall read, "You shall not be (motionless, my son)", and the words which are written in an opposite direction shall read, "Your support is like life", and "The word is [here] as the word there", and "Your son is with me", and "Life, strength, and health be to your nostrils!" "And that [writing] which is behind Shu [the Air], near his shoulder, shall read, "They keep ward", and that [writing] which is behind him, written close to his feet in an opposite direction, shall read, "Maat" ["Truth"], and "They come in", and "I protect daily". "And that [writing] which is under the shoulder of the divine figure which is under the left leg, and is behind it, shall read, "He who seals all things. That [writing] which is over his head, under the thighs of the Cow [Nut, Goddess of the Star Field], and that which is by her legs shall read, "Guardian of his exit." "That [writing] which is behind the two figures [Ra and Tem] which are by her two legs, that is to say, over their heads, shall read, "The Aged One [Ra, the Sun] who is adored as he goes forth [rises]," and "The Aged One [Tem, the Sun] to whom praise is given when he goes in [sets]." "That [writing] which is over the head of the two figures, and is between the two thighs of the Cow, shall read, "Listener", "Hearer", "Sceptre of the Upper Heaven", and "Star"(?-Budge). THE MAIN TEXT OF THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW CONTINUES: RA'S GIVES SEB AND NUN RULE OVER COMETS [In later times in Egypt the God Set rules over comets, but in this document Set is not mentioned. Instead Ra gives the Earth god Seb and Nun rule over comets.] "Then the Majesty of this god [Ra the Sun] spoke unto Thoth, (saying) "Let a call go forth for me to the Majesty of the god Seb, saying, 'Come, with the utmost speed, at once."' And when the Majesty of Seb [the master of Earthly serpents] had come, the Majesty of this god [Ra the Sun] said unto him, "Let war be made against your serpents which are in you: truly, they shall have fear of me as long as I have being. But you [Seb] know their magical powers: do go to the place where my father Nun [Space] is, and say unto him, 'Keep ward over the serpents which are in the Earth and Water.' "And moreover, you shall make a writing for each of the nests of your serpents [comets] which are there [with Nun in Space], saying, 'Keep your guard [lest you] cause injury to anything.' They shall know that I am removing myself [from them], but indeed I shall shine upon them. Since, however, they indeed wish for a father, you shall be a father unto them in this land for ever. "Moreover, let good heed be taken to the men who have my words of power [the priests?], and to those whose mouths have knowledge of such things [the astronomers?]; truly, my own words of power are there; truly, it shall not happen that any shall participate with me in my protection, by reason of the majesty which has come into being before me. [This last sentence must relate to those "whose mouths have knowledge of such things", but exactly how is unclear.] [The next sentences contain the only mention in the work of Osiris, a god of Lower (northern) Egypt to be found in it, and this appear to mark them as a later addition to the southern text.] "I will decree them to your son Osiris, and their children shall be watched over, the hearts of their princes shall be obedient (or, ready) by reason of the magical powers of those who act according to their desire in all the Earth through their words of power which are in their bodies." RA'S INSTRUCTIONS TO THOTH: THE PHARAOH'S RELATIONSHIP TO HIS SANDAL BEARER And the Majesty of this god said, "Call to me the god Thoth," and one brought the god to him forthwith. And the Majesty of this god [Ra, the Sun] said unto Thoth, "Let us depart to a distance from [the] heaven[s], from my place, because I would make light and the god of light (Khu) [is] in the Tuat and [in] the Land of Caves. You shall write down [the things which are] in it, and you shall punish those who are in it, that is to say, the workers who have worked iniquity (or, rebellion). Through you I will keep away from the servants whom this heart [of mine] loathes. You shall be in my place (ast) Asti, and you shall therefore be called, O Thoth, the 'Asti of Ra.' [Thoth as surveyor?] "Moreover, I give you [the] power to send (hab) forth ..........; thereupon shall come into being the This (habi) bird of Thoth. [Thoth as engineer] "Moreover, I give you [the](power) to lift up your hand before the two Companies of the gods who are greater than you, and what you do shall be fairer than [the work of] the god Khen; therefore shall the divine bird tekni of Thoth come into being. [Thoth as astronomer] "Moreover, I give you [the](power) to embrace (anh) the two heavens with your beauties, and with your rays of light; therefore shall come into being the Moon-god (Aah) of Thoth. [Thoth as the Pharaoh's proxy] "Moreover, I give you [the] (power) to drive back (anan) the Ha-nebu; therefore shall come into being the dog-headed Ape (anan: baboon) of Thoth, and he shall act as governor for me. [Thoth given royal status] "Moreover, you are now in my place in the sight of all those who see you and who present offerings to you, and every being shall ascribe praise unto you, O you who are God." ANOTHER LATER MAGICAL INSERTION MAIN TEXT CONTINUES BELOW "Whosoever shall recite the words of this composition over himself shall anoint himself with olive oil and with thick unguent, and he shall have propitiatory offerings of incense on both [of] his hands, and behind his two ears shall be pure natron, and sweet-smelling salve shall be on his lips. He shall be arrayed in a new double tunic, and his body shall be purified with the water of the Nile-flood; and he shall have upon his feet a pair of sandals made of white (leather), and a figure of the goddess Maat [Truth] shall be drawn upon his tongue with green-coloured ochre. "Whensoever Thoth shall wish to recite this composition on behalf of Ra [the Sun], he must perform a sevenfold (?) purification for three days, and priests and [ordinary] men shall do likewise. Whosoever shall recite the above words shall perform the ceremonies which are to be performed when this book is being read. And he shall make his place of standing (?) in a circle (or, at an angle) ......... which is beyond (him), and his two eyes shall be fixed upon himself, all his members shall be (composed), and his steps shall not carry him away (from the place). "Whosoever among men shall recite (these) words shall be like Ra [the Sun] on the day of his birth; and his possessions shall not become fewer, and his house shall never fall into decay, but shall endure for a million eternities. THE MAIN TEXT OF THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW CONTINUES: RA DEFINES HIMSELF "Then the Aged One himself (Ra)[the Sun] embraced (?) the god Nun [Space], and spoke unto the gods who came forth in the east of the sky, "Ascribe praise to the god, the Aged One, from whom I have come into being. I am he who made the heavens, and I (set in order the Earth, and created the gods, and) I was with them for an exceedingly long period. Then was born the year and..... ".....but my soul is older than it (time). It is the Soul of Shu [the Air], it is the Soul of Khnemu [Khnum, the Craftsman of Mankind in the cosmology of Thebes, an city in Upper (southern) Egypt], it is the Soul of Heh [either the supporters of the star field or the millions of stars], it is the Soul of Kek (Night) and Kerh (Darkness), it is the Soul of Nun [Space] and of Ra [the Sun], it is the Soul of Osiris [the Pole Star], the lord of Tettu, it is the Soul of the Sebak Crocodile-gods and of the Crocodiles [probably a reference to the Milky Way and either eclipses or planets], it is the Soul of every god (who dwells) in the divine serpents [comets], it is the Soul of Apep [a crocodile (Milky Way) god who caused solar eclipses] in Mount Bakhau (the Mount of Sunrise), and it is the Soul of Ra [the Sun] which pervades the whole world." THIS IS THE ORIGINAL ENDING OF THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW; A PRAYER TO RA ADDED LATER CONCLUDES THE RECIEVED TEXT: "Whosoever says (these words) works his own protection by means of the words of power. "I am the god Hekau (the divine Word of power), and (I am) pure in my mouth, and (in) my belly. (I am) Ra, from whom the [celestial] gods proceeded. I am Ra, the Light-god (Khu)." "When you say (this), stop forth in the evening and in the morning on your own behalf if you would make to fall the enemies of Ra. "I am his [Ra, the Sun's] Soul, and I am Heka [the divine Word of power]. "Hail, Lord of eternity, Creator of everlastingness, who brings to nought the gods who came forth from Ra [the comets?], Lord of your god, Prince who did make what made you, who are beloved by the fathers of the gods, on whose head are the pure words of power; "Who did create the woman (erpit) who stands on the south side of you, who did create the goddess who has her face on her breast, and the serpent [comet] which stands on his tail; with her eye on his belly, and with his tail on the Earth; "[You] to whom Thoth gives praises, and upon whom the heavens rest, and to whom Shu [the Air] stretches out his two hands, "Deliver me from those two great gods who sit in the east of the sky, who act as wardens of [the] heaven[s] and as wardens of [the] Earth, and who make firm the secret places, and who are called "Aaiu-su," and "Per-f-er-maa-Nu." [The next passage appears to refer to the restoration of the state religion following Akhenaten's heresy.] "Moreover [there shall be) a purifying on the ........... day of the month .............. even according to the performance of the ceremonies in the oldest time. "Whosoever shall recite this Chapter shall have life in Neter-kher (the Underworld), and the fear of him shall be much greater than it was formerly [upon the Earth] . . . . . . . and they shall say, "Your names are 'Eternity' and 'Everlastingness.'" "They are called, they are called, "Au-peh-nef-n-aa-em-ta-uatipu," and "Rekh-kuh-[tut]-en-neter-pui ......... en-en-hra-f-Her-shefu." "I am he who has strengthened the boat with the company of the gods, and his Shenit [Ra, the Sun's special royal minister Thoth], and his [Ra's] Gods, by means of words of power." FINIS - THE BOOK OF THE CELESTIAL COW CONCLUDING REMARKS The key question that remains to be examined is the possibility that the recovery of a copy of this early text with its solely Southern pantheon actually led to the Theban cosmology, which in turn led to the monotheistic heresy of Akhenaten. As providing any answer to this question lies far, far beyond my meager talents and abilities, one can only hope that some time in the future some scholar much more familiar with these materials will attempt to answer it. Well, Benny, I suppose that's it for now, and I don't think I've done too badly here in this initial crack at the Egyptian myths, although I am also certain that I will hear shortly from many about my mistakes. I guess that in the end megalomania and delusions of power are all relative, and sometimes a society can support the truly insane - especially when it is in a society's overall interest to do so. As always, I remain, yours in science, Ed ----------- CCNet is a scholarly electronic network. To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact the moderator Benny Peiser . Information circulated on this network is for scholarly and educational use only. The attached information may not be copied or reproduced for any other purposes without prior permission of the copyright holders. DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the articles and texts and in other CCNet contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the moderator of this network. CCCMENU CCC for 2003 The content and opinions expressed on this Web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.