the archetypes of ancient Egypt
o-z (Osiris — winged disc)
On this page you will find some information about the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt, including Osiris, Ptah, Ra, Set and Thoth; as well as the meanings behind some of the more well-known symbols and pictograms, including the Pyramid, Scarab, Sphinx, Uraeus and the Winged Disc. I rediscovered my love of and fascination for all things of Ancient Egypt a few years ago, when I took my Seichem Reiki Mastery and at around the same time became a Cartouche Master Teacher. The Cartouche system is based upon the book and cards by Murray Hope called "Way of the Cartouche", and the information in her book along with my experiences with the energies has helped form the basis for this page. I highly recommend her deck and book, and have found them to make very good tools for intuitive readings and personal guidance.
OSIRIS
Osiris was husband and brother of Isis, and brother to Nepthys, Set and Horus. He has been called Lord of the Afterworld and Father of Kings. Because of his legend, which was to do with death and resurrection, he became associated with the cycle of life and death, and with the annual inundation of the Nile. He represents the wise spiritual father, encouraging us on the path of order and self-discipline. He is often pictured in white mummy wrappings, and with white or black skin (which is alluding to the realm of the dead) or green skin (which is symbolising resurrection). The Osirian Ray may be equated to the Christ Ray, and Osiris was regarded as the son or earthly representative of Ra (God) just as Jesus was regarded in the same light by the Christian religions. Osiris incarnate originated in Atlantis, where he became the first resurrected Master of Atlantis. His understanding of how to attain immortality became a template for first the Atlantean and then the Egyptian religions — more about this is on the "overview" page. His symbols are the crook and flail (denoting kingship) and the rod of power (or "was-sceptre"). This latter tool was used to transfer vibrations into the physical body through a point at the back of the head, opposite the 3rd eye, for resurrection purposes. Osiris is also associated with the djed pillar — representing strength, resurrection and the four base elements of earth, air, fire and water. The Djed is also described as "Osiris's backbone" and as such represented stability, and also could act as a power generator to increase vibrational fields. The Osirian mystery school (the right eye of Horus) worked with the left side of the brain, and what were seen as the "greater mysteries", as opposed to the "lesser" mysteries of Isis. This tradition was purely an oral one, and was taught only once. Its' philosophy was one of "finding" and was the final stage on the spiritual journey, reached when the initiate as a consequence of his journeying through the "lesser" mysteries came to truly understand about unification, as opposed to separation. When a neophyte reached this stage he attained a new level of consciousness — that of resurrection. Resurrection to the Ancient Egyptians meant reaching the state of remembrance of all that is, was and ever will be, and understanding and knowing themselves to be vast and Divine beings of Light. In ancient Egyptian paintings a red / orange oval was often shown above the head of initiates to the mystery school, and was the symbol for metamorphosis, indicating the changing of the shape or physical chemistry of the physical body when attaining the state of resurrection or ascension.
PTAH
Ptah is an ancient God, called the "First of Gods" and "Architect of the Universe". He forms a triad with his wife Sekhmet (another aspect of Hathor) and their son Nefertum (or Imhotep). This may represent the philosophy that creativity (Ptah) combined with determination (Sekhmet) produces the power of healing (Nefertum). Associated with Ptah were some of the most philosophical and metaphysical of all the Ancient Egyptian beliefs. He stood for order and stability, based upon the Was-sceptre / Djed pillar, representing domination and power, the human spine and the four elements. He was patron of craftsmen and builders, and was said to be able to create life by simply using words. It is thought that Ptah originated from a Universe beyond our Solar system, and created our Solar system and all the planets therein, hence early beliefs crediting Ptah as being Atum (the abstract energy which we might call God). His place as a Creator God brings him symbolically closer to what we know as the Elohim, Fathers of Creation and architects of the Will of God. It was believed by Egyptians that thoughts originated in the heart, and that when these were formed by the heart and then spoken by the tongue, the authority of the utterance caused things to come into being. He is shown often in a white mummy shroud holding the Was - sceptre, and with a closed lotus flower hanging from the neck of the shroud - perhaps symbolising the death of Atlantis. He is the root of many schools of thought, including the philosophies of the Greeks, the Cathars, the Templars and the freemasons. His energy is very much that of the prime architect, and he carries the compass and square familiar to many and having great esoteric significance. To me his energy has flavours of the force and creativity of Metatron and the wisdom and disciplined foundation of Uriel. There is a need for us to have discipline and focus in order to create or bring a thing into existence, especially if we seek to create finely and accurately. If we have random thoughts with no structure or process, then we risk ending up with chaos. When we have a strong base on which to build, we find the stability of a creation that comes from structured planning.
PYRAMID
The pyramid is the archetypal Egyptian symbol with which we are most familiar. Its four sides represent the four elements of earth, air, fire and water and its apex the fifth element of ether. Being precisely aligned with cardinal points, the pyramids were thought to represent the world's axis and mans' ascent to the skies. The name "pyramid" comes from the Greek word "Pyramis", meaning wheaten cake, because this is what they resembled to the Greeks. The Egyptian name for them was "Mer", meaning a place or instrument of ascension, or a vehicle or chariot. Pyramids were built throughout the dynasties, spanning many hundreds of years, and have taken the "step" form, rather like Aztec pyramids, as well as smooth-sided forms. It is believed that some pyramids were surmounted by a capstone, which coalesced and concentrated the energies entering and leaving the pyramid. The most famous of the pyramids is the Great Pyramid at Giza which was a smooth-sided pyramid, finished originally in a smooth white stone — probably alabaster — with a capstone possibly made from a gemstone or coated with sheets of gold. Built to exacting standards inside and out with very precise and specific angles and using specific materials placed to exact design, it was designed and built under the influence of the now Ascended Masters El Morya Khan, Serapis Bey and Paul the Venetian. It is not a tomb or a burial chamber, but instead both a symbol and tool of resurrection and regeneration. Its purpose was to bring in white Light energy to take one from one level of consciousness to another. It contained rooms of initiation and initiates of the Osirian Mystery Schools took tests within different chambers and passageways of the pyramid, with their final test and initiation taking place within the King's chamber, where they experienced "resurrection". Not many were advanced enough to be called to that test, and not all who took it passed — in fact some simply physically disappeared! The sarcophagus within that chamber was also used by Pharaohs as a tool of regeneration for their physical bodies. The Great Pyramid stands in close proximity to the Sphinx, and is etherically linked with that structure, which holds the flame of Ascension. Serapis Bey remains responsible for the initiations of the Ascension that still take place here.
RA
Ra (Re) was thought of as the "Sun God", and was once the most important God of the Ancient Egyptians. He represented the "Universal principal" of the One God and was also a representation of the monotheistic symbol of the one God under Akhenaten (a Christ-conscious Master known now as the Ascended Master Lanello). Ra was also combined with Amon / Amun (the "hidden" aspect of the one God) as Amon-Ra/Re, and with Atum (the "potentiality" aspect of the one God) as Atum-Re/Ra. The Egyptians thought that Nut, the sky-goddess, swallowed Ra each evening, when he then travelled through the underworld only to reappear and be reborn again every morning. Personified in this way as the sun Ra represented life, rebirth, health and vitality. All things that we need to exist physically on Earth cannot come about without the light, warmth and energy of our Sun, just as we need God (or Source / the Creator) in order to live and grow spiritually. To work with the energies of Ra is to begin to experience what it must be like to BE God, and to have that sense of immensity and timelessness existing within what feels like a vast and protected void. Within this space we may come to understand our own place within the "greater scheme of things" and know that we ARE everything. In this state there is no need to do or feel anything, we may simply exist and accept as a detached yet compassionate overseer, although with no attachment or feelings of responsibility to events or their outcomes.
SCARAB
The scarab beetle was revered as a symbol of resurrection and immortality. It rolls up balls of dung in which it encloses its eggs from which the young beetles emerge when they hatch. The Ancients believed that the scarab was self-reproducing — their dung being rolled from East to West into a ball, which was buried for 28 days within the earth and then thrown into water from which the young "miraculously" emerged. So too the Sun was believed to be moved through the sky from East to West each day by Ra personified as Khepera. Khepera, being the God of resurrection and immortality, was seen as both the creator and restorer of life and these meanings became symbolically associated with the scarab beetle. It was often used as a charm or as a funerary amulet and one was found on the chest of Tutankhamen, carved from Libyan Gold tektite and other precious inlaid stones. The scarab beetle also characterises the human brain, its carapace / wings representing its two hemispheres and so the left / right balance of the mind and the power of our thought processes. We may find this symbolism more pertinent today, although interestingly the Ancient Egyptians did not recognise the spiritual importance of the brain as an organ. It was not included amongst those organs regarded as vital and so preserved after death as part of the mummification process and funerary rites, which were the liver, stomach, lungs and intestines — each of which was seen as representing one of the four base elements of earth, air, water and fire.
SET
Set is the brother of Isis, Osiris, Horus the elder and Nepthys and wife of Nepthys and father of Anubis and uncle to Horus the younger. He is the equivalent of the archetypal "prince of darkness" in the Egyptian belief system, although there have been times when he was regarded with more positive benevolence. Every belief system has its symbolic representative of the dark side of human nature — Lucifer / Archangel Michael; Satan / God, or in destructive aspects of their gods or goddesses — Shiva / Kali etc. In the legends Set trapped and killed his brother Osiris to usurp his throne, and also fought with Horus when he and Isis sought to resurrect Osiris. Horus and Osiris represent the forces of law and order, whereas Set represents the forces of chaos, destruction and trickery. Yet living as we do in a world of duality, we come to learn that Light, love and order must triumph over dark, hatred and chaos if we are to ascend on a personal and planetary basis. And we need the dark in order to know the light. To me Set's energy is very like that of Azrael, and these lessons of the reconciliation and acceptance of the "dark" side of nature are presented to us by him as well. Set's colour is red — the colour of the barren deserts and he is shown with the head of a typhoon, a fictional beast — or it may possibly one that once existed and was then hunted down to extinction because of its connection with Set. Set said this about his role in showing us the nature of duality: "The whole point of being incarnated on Earth is to be able to experience free will, and for this you need to be able to experience choice. Where there is choice you have polarity and duality because with choice it is necessary to see and understand both sides of the coin. If some one says to you "this is good" how are you to understand "good" if you have not experienced "bad"? Or to understand the difference between "happy" and "sad" or "love" and "hate"? I do not really like to use the terms good and bad, for this infers that one thing is better or more desirable than the other. Experience is simply experience. Your interpretation of an event may be that it is good or bad — yet the event is neutral. It is merely something to be experienced, and you can only truly understand something through seeing both sides of it or experiencing both aspects. It is not to say that those experiences will always be pleasant, but it is all part of the learning process and the lessons you have come to learn about the consequences of the choices in life we have been given the freedom to make. And then from what you experience you may decide that you would rather live in the "good" fashion and that you would like others to be "good" to you. You have to experience or fully understand both aspects in order to be able to know which pathway to follow and if you want to choose the pathway of salvation or damnation!"
SPHINX
The sphinx was named "Hamarkhis" by the Egyptians. It was built long before the pyramids and predates the Ancient Egyptian dynasties - although this is not accepted by the Egyptian authorities, despite solid scientific proof! In its original form it had the head and torso of a female figure and the body of a lion-like animal. A beard (now missing) was added later and the "breasts" removed at some stage to turn it into a masculine-type figure, possibly during early dynastic times. It was built facing the rising sun, witnessing it's' (RA's) rising and rebirth each day. The sphinx remains a mystery and enigma to many, its true significance and importance probably not yet being fully realised, and so it signifies therefore the riddle and conundrum of human existence. It is believed to sit over a series of hidden rooms and tunnels that link the Outer Earth to the cities of the Inner Earth and to the halls where records and libraries of information are kept which hold the key to human life and purpose and the entire history of Earth (past, present and future). The torso also rather resembles a Hathor, one of a race of beings from as Ascended intergalactic civilization which was active in helping form the early Egyptian civilization. These Beings came from another Universe through the star Sirius, which may be used as an inter-dimensional portal or gateway. In our solar system the Hathors have a base within the Etheric realms of the planet Venus. I feel that there is a strong "off-planet" influence in the Sphinx's creation and in its purpose and that it has the possibility for connecting us to civilisations from other worlds and dimensions and that the secrets it hides will be shortly revealed. The key to unlocking the secrets of the sphinx are to do with working with the breath and with sound in a very specific way.
THOTH
Thoth (also Djehuty or Tehuty) is a creator God, archetypal law-maker, Lord of Time, Lord of Wisdom and of learning, writing, speaking, medicine and inventions. He gave the Egyptians knowledge of how to read and write by pictures and symbols. Hieroglyphs were regarded as sacred and carried great power. He protects all writers, teachers and scribes and was considered to be the tongue or heart of Ra. He is often shown with the head of the sacred Ibis bird, and sometimes is pictured as a baboon. He is usually holding a writing tablet/palette and pen, although the caduceus is truly his symbol. His caduceus is a wand with a pair of serpents entwined around it, one white one black, and crossing each other four times and then the whole surmounted by a small winged disc. The serpents crossing each other represents the four elements and the four lower chakras and the pair of them the active and passive principles of duality in balance. The winged disc symbolises balance on the Higher planes of spirituality. When all these elements are combined they pave the way for perfect health, strength and wisdom. Thoth is also a master magician and alchemist, and hence sometimes is shown with a lunar disc (symbolising magic) over his head. He is present at the weighing of the heart in the Halls of Two Truths, where his task is to record every soul who enters the underworld and then stand by the scales to record the proceedings and then announce to Osiris how the deceased had spent his life. He is a keeper of the Akashic Records and regards Cosmic Truth, Wisdom and Higher learning as extremely important. He may well have the same origins as Ra and Ptah and come from a solar system outside our own. He was married to Seshat, a goddess from the stars. He came to me wearing the vulture cap and a short kilt. The vulture symbolises movement from one level of consciousness to another. He also had a gold bangle in the form of a snake coiled around his upper right arm. He gave an impression of having existed for thousands of years and also of having quite a sense of humour! He gave his writing palette to me, and had a small shallow dish at his feet filled with ink, next to rolls of parchment tied with red string. He tells me that his role was that of record keeper, and he helped move humanity from an oral to a written tradition. Now he simply provides us with the tools with which to record, but the actual recording of the information is up to us. It is very important that we listen very carefully and only record what is said, and not what we think we hear! His role now is of impartial witness, seldom talking or acting unless it is within Divine Order.
URAEUS
The uraeus is the sacred asp or serpent. It was a royal insignia and was pictured upon the brow of the kings and pharaohs. It was once called the "eye of Ra" and was used as a sign of royal power, and also had a protective function. Uraeii are often seen in carvings and paintings defending and protecting the shrines of the gods. It represented the fully raised Kundalini powers and its position on the brow and over the 3rd eye chakra indicates the psychic powers achievable through the correct and proper raising of these powerful energies. Raising the energies associated with the lower chakras or energy centres up and through the higher chakras allows one to attain a state of consciousness free from both the ego and the collective consciousness. Once the Kundalini energies move beyond the 3rd eye to dwell in the crown, one has found "enlightenment" and this is often depicted in paintings by the halo shown around the heads of holy persons. Serpents or snakes are always symbolic of energy itself, and here we are reminded that this energy may be used for positive or negative purposes. Hence the wearer and user of the powerful psychic energies and forces generated through the Kundalini energy needed to be both spiritually aware and disciplined in order to direct the energy in a positive and beneficial way and for the Highest good of all. The keyword here is "control". In order to manipulate energy safely, we have to know how to control it. Wisdom is not just about acquiring knowledge, but also involves the right and responsible use of energy.
WINGED DISC
This symbol shows the sun or solar disc supported by two ornamented wings. It symbolised the flight of the soul to Higher realms and also the Spiritual Realms themselves. The sun was seen as the symbol of light and enlightenment and of resurrection and rebirth. The wings were symbols of intelligence and of mobility, suggesting that wisdom brings both freedom and limitless opportunity. When combined with the sun, they signify very high spiritual achievement. In its most simple form the winged disc also represented taking flight "home" and returning to our spiritual roots and oneness with Source, which can only be achieved through attaining the enlightened state of Ascension. In paintings Isis is sometimes shown in a protective role kneeling or standing with arms shown as wings outstretched, where she resembles a living winged disc. It was in this form that she appeared to me, as a reminder of her close connection with this symbol. I believe that in the priestess-hood of Isis there were those who were involved in the normal priestly rituals of the temple on an everyday basis, but there was also another Higher caste of female priesthood that dealt with the Isis energies on a completely different and much deeper level. This role was more secret and not all of the ranks of priestesses of Isis were deemed suitable or called to this role. I know that the winged disc was used as an insignia of these priestesses, as a sign of office to show those who were privy to such matters that they had reached this level and had attained entry into this deeper and more secret layer of the priest (ess) hood. In many ways the path followed by these women equated to those of the predominantly male initiates who were earmarked to take the final test in the Right eye of Horus mystery school.
If you like what you read here and want to use it yourself PLEASE NOTE that we have copyrighted all material that we have created and channelled on this site — which is ALL of it, unless alternate credit is shown. You may freely use any of it for private or personal use ONLY, but we ask that if you wish to use ANY of our material for publication or reproduction in ANY other shape or form, including using ALL OR ANY PARTS OF IT on other internet pages or sites, that you FIRSTLY contact us for permission... We will then usually ask that you use extracts only (NOT whole blocks); and that you credit us as the source of your information AND create a web link back to the relevant page(s) from which you took the material. We are happy to share our work, but dislike the very rude practice some people have of copying material without due credit to its original authors.
