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The Procession of Min from Medinet Habu, Temple of Ramses III. Pharaoh makes an offering
of water and incense to Min.
The kamutef is Ka.Mut.f and Magna, the Wastet or City of the Scepter in
literally means “Ka of His Mother”, but the esoteric Egyptian language. Although the Cosmic Mother has
or spiritual meaning needs to be revealed. This many names and symbolic depictions, we are to
Kamutef principle is important to understand in the understand that these apparently different
journey of Pharaoh into the realm of the Akhet, the ‘godesses’ (Isis, Mut, Hathor, Maat, etc.,) are but
the functions or aspects of the one and only one
2
Great Mother archetype. As Schwaller de Lubicz many others, the ‘Ka’ is evoked as , but through
explains: the hieroglyphs, we read:
Throughout this work, we have pointed out The ‘messengers’ of the Ka here
that the Great Mother archetype in ancient are also ‘the messengers of Ra’, and thus they are
mythology is a symbol of the soul, psyche, or anima. the neters or “gods”. But why are these
It should thus be understood that the “Ka of his ‘messengers’ evoked with the horns of the ox or
Mother” is a symbolism describing the bull?
spiritualization of the soul, or, in other words, the A deeper insight of the matter reveals that
Ba finding or acquiring the Ka. the Ka is indeed linked to the bull, as the ‘Ka’ is also
In the Pyramid Texts, this kamutef is written in other texts of Ancient Egypt. For
presented on the east wall and gable of the example, in Chapter 63 in the Book of Coming Forth
sarcophagus chamber of Unas’ pyramid, and on the
by Day,7 the Bull of Amentet is written
east wall spiritualization is most emphatic and the
most notable symbols evoked are Fire, the Fiery Red and it actually says ‘Ka’ ( ) of
Crown, and the Uraeus serpent that is seen Amentet ( ). The Ka has then at least 3
portrayed on the brow of Pharaoh.
Of this we will speak a bit further on, but for figurations: as the raised arms (a symbol of the
now we will concentrate on the symbolism behind bull’s horns but referring to the human being), the
the Min: bull , and the phallus in the act of ejaculation
. All these are pronounced ‘Ka’.
The phallus is placed at the Here we are speaking of a totem which is
location of the navel, the material the bull and it’s ‘powers’ (the cosmic functions
attachment [Mut]. A natural birth is which the bovine creature exalts in the natural
denied, but receptive femininity is world). The kamutef or ‘Ka of his Mother’ is a
replaced by active, seminal masculinity. principle implying that Pharaoh absorbs or
This is the adamic hermaphrodite, the first spiritually integrates the functions of the Cosmic
living being who must necessarily contain Mother, the Cow goddess Hathor of the
in itself two natures: yes and no, good and Heliopolitan mysteries. Or the Mut of Thebes
bad, high and low. As Scwhaller de Lubicz points out, the
(…) Now, our kamutef is kamutef principle relates to a seminal power, and
represented as Min, Min is the effect of
Ptah, the celestial power fallen that is, thus the Ka as is directing our attention to the
coagulated, in earth.5 seminal power of the bull. Min has the phallus
placed in the location of the navel, and the navel
This Min and kamutef principle is best represents a feminine function of nurture through
understood by its totemic imagery in Pharaonic art. the link to the mother by the umbilical chord. In the
Min we find this feminine principle fused with a
The hieroglyph of the Ka as the raised arms is masculine function of ejaculation. The name of the
cleverly linked to the bull ‘Ka’ and to the horns 2nd Dynasty Pharaoh Ka.Kau is in
of the bull . In utterance 214, for example, as in
6
Pyramid Texts, Utterance 214.
4 7
R.A. Scwaller de Lubicz, The Temple of Man, p.835. ‘Chapter of drinking water and not being burned by
5
Ibid. fire’.
3
accordance with this line of associations, but the re-membered after its Sethian dismemberment
meaning behind this is not yet apparent. which is incarnation.
In the Ptolemaic era, there was a cult to According to Aelian (De Nat.
Serapis: a form of Osiris that was known in earlier Animal, xi, 10), Hapi or Apis was held in
days as ‘Hapi’ or ‘Apis’: the sacred Bull. Let us the greatest honor in the times of Mena
mention that the function of the Ka is to animate [Min], the first historical [actually mythic]
and move: to provide movement as the first seminal king of Egypt, but Manetho says that it
seed of all creation does. The Ka’s power makes was under Kaiekhos, i.e., Ka Kau
Osiris (the psychic substance which is akin to
Number 5)8 to repossess or gain its original energy , a king of the IInd Dynasty, that
as the walking Bull (Serapis), and this is possible Apis was appointed to be a god.9
because Osiris (the psychic aspect of Man) has been
Here we are not confronted with literal
history, but with a mythology regarding the ‘first
pharaoh’ Min (or Menes) in relation to the sacred
8
See section 1.3 The Great Ennead where we associate
Numbers to the gods or neteru according to the
9
Heliopolitan tradition. Wallis Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, p.346.
4
bull Apis and our Ka.Kau of the 2nd Dynasty. When already been observed by W.C.K. Guthrie in a
Aelian says “in the times of Min” he is speaking of mention to Herodotus.13 The cult to the Bull and the
Pharaonic mysteries which describe phases or Auroch is perceived as early as the Second Dynasty
stages of initiation, not to a historical moment. (2925-2700 BC) in ancient Egypt.
The fact that we are immersed here in the In its astrological parallel, the sacred bull –
mysteries of Ancient Egypt is very clear in these whose color is black– has the astrological totem of
words from Wallis Budge which come only a few the celestial bull of the Taurus constellation. When
pages later: the pyramid of Unas was constructed (c. 2300 BC)
the final years of the Age of Taurus were passing on,
Among the Egyptians, another and the shift to the Age of Aries, the ram, whose
sacred bull was that of Hermonthis deity was Zeus-Ammon was ready to set in.14
[Hr.Mn]. (Strabo, XVII, 1, 47) which It is in the Old Kingdom, in the late Age of
according to Macrobius (Saturn. I, 26) was Taurus that we find an extensive cult of the bull,
called Bacchis (or Bacis, or Basis, or Pacis), especially in the earliest dynasties of Pharaonic
and according to Aelian (xii. 11) Onuphis, history. Mastaba 3504, attributed to a noble by
the latter name is probably a corruption of name Sekhem.Ka, (Power/Image of the Ka) is one of
some Egyptian name of Osiris Un Nefer. the largest mastabas of the 1st Dynasty, and seems
This bull was black in color, and its to correspond to the reign of Pharaoh Djet (c. 3008–
hair turned to a contrary way from that of 2975 BC). This tomb or cenotaph contained as much
all other animals, (…) it was said to change as 346 bull heads made of clay and is the most
its color every hour of the day, and was obvious example of an early-dynastic “bull cult”.15
regarded as an image of the sun [Ra] This ‘bull worship’ in the archeological
shining in the other side of the world, i.e. record belongs to the late Age of Taurus, the
the underworld [actually, the Akhet]. astronomical epoch when the vernal equinox
The Egyptian equivalent of the (astronomical east) was located right between the
name Bacis, or Bacchis, is Bakha, bull’s horns in the celestial sphere. Is it not possible
that the imagery of Hathor and Isis, in particular,
,10 and this bull is styled the “living with the horns embracing the solar disk is originally
soul of Ra,” , and the “Bull of copied from the heavens and is an astrologically
the Mountain of Sunrise (Bakhau), and the significant image?
lion of the Mountain of Sunset.” He wears
between his horns [i.e. in his Ka] a disk,
from which rise plumes and a uraeus; over
13
his hindquarters is the sacred symbol of In Guthrie’s Orpheus and Greek Religion: “Herodotus
the vulture [Mut] with outspread wings.11 (2.81) says the Egyptians do not introduce in their
temples articles of whool, or are buried with them. In
this coincide the so called orphics or bacchics that are
We will notice how the idea of the “living
actually Egyptian and Pythagorean”. (our translation
soul of Ra” here alluded as Bakha is quite from the Spanish version Orfeo y la Religion Griega,
reminiscent of what was said about the Heka in the p.201).
14
Book of the Cow: “I am his Soul, and I am Heka”.12 We can find images of Zeus-Ammon (an obvious
The mystery cults of Bacchus in Greece are Greco-roman syncretism) as a human being with rams
obviously derived from ancient cultures like the horns. This fits a cosmology where different ages fit
different mentalities of Cosmic Man: what is known as
Mycenean, Minoan, and/or Egyptian cults of the
Zitgeist or “Spirit of the Age” in German.
very first dynasties. The relation to Bacchic and 15
This is inevitably reminiscent of Cathal Huyuk (7500-
Orphic cults of Greece to the Egyptian mysteries has 5200 BC) in Anatolia which is famous for its bull or
auroch heads. The number 346 is the amount of days in
10
The Bull here has a disk between his horns which does the Eclipse Year or Draconitic Cycle, where the Sun
not appear in our rendering. returns to the position of the same lunar node. The
11
Wallis Budge, Gods of the Egyptians, p.352. number is significant as far as it is an eclipse or luni-solar
12
See section 3.2 – The Book of the Cow. number.
5
These are not simply ‘fertility cults’ or ‘solar
cults’ and neither are the Pyramid Texts composed
of ‘magic spells’. This juggling of concepts disguises
an uncertainty about the truly religious significance
of these symbols.
Astronomy and astrology is a fundamental
motive of initiatory symbolism, but they need to be
understood as metaphors of a psycho-spiritual
process. The initiation into the science of the
heavens and the understanding of its mechanics
means the capability of the adept to read his own
soul. Reading astronomical phenomena demands an
understanding the way “Heaven” works; but in the
religious and mysteric language, the logos in astro-
logy means an understaning of the way the human
psyche works.
Vase from Greece showing a scene from the The Ka is the spiritual body: it is attained,
mysteries. The bald man carries a Herma and on like in most initiatory ceremonies and experiences,
the wall we find ox or bull horns.
by replacing the mortal body with an eternal one.
The Pyramid Texts describe this when Pharaoh
Isis, during the Age of Pisces wears a veil as assumes the body of Atum, the Primordial God. The
Mary. The true identity of the Great Mother is explanation of this power is assumed with a totemic
presented differently across the 12 Zodiac Ages, image of the Bull, and immediately we are faced
and this is a reflection of the phases of the Cosmic with the image of the Great Mother: Mut. We know
Psyche. It is affected by different powers, and the thus that we are speaking of a divine conception,
astronomical images are only its masks or veils. The the psyche or soul of Man is being spiritualized:
initiatory mystery behind the Cosmic Cow-Godess inseminated or receiving the seed. This is the basic
and Bull archetypes express a psychic condition: in significance of the Kamutef or “Ka of His Mother”
particular, they are related to the concept of divine symbolism, although Pharaonic art is very specific
insemination and conception. Archetypes are and detailed.
“behind the stars”, they belong to the spirit world It is important to notice that Min is a form
or Akhet (horizon), and they are contemplated of Amun: the masculine form of the Supreme God.
beyond the sensorial extension in space, and behind In the Theban tradition, the Supreme God is Amun:
the mental limit of time. “Hidden”. However, God’s primordial manifestation
Later in Pharaonic history, at the time of the is a Trinity: Great Father (Amun), Great Mother
5th Dynasty (2494-2345 BC) where the Pyramid (Mut), and Great Son (Khonsu).16
Texts appear, the Vernal Equinox point had shifted
so as to match the location of the Pleyades, the 3.5.2 - Parallels to Hindu
bull’s thigh. Utterance 207 on the east gable of mysticism
Unas’ sarcophagus chamber mentions the ‘roasting
of the thigh’, while utterance 246 describes Min The Min or kamutef symbolism is analogous
(the symbol of the kamutef) as “he whose arm is to certain mystical fundaments of Hinduism. The
raised in the east of the procession”. The navel –which has a geometric focus as φ– is the
astrological symbolism is also attested in the location in the body for the nourishment of the
Pyramid of Unas when utterance 227 of the west Cosmic Mother Mut/Hathor. In the Min, the navel
gable mentions the scorpion deity Xsr.nir.det.: the as a feminine “place” is fused with the ejaculating
Scorpio constellation being directly opposite in the
heavens to that of Taurus and marked by the
Autumnal Equinox (astronomical west). 16
We will recall from the first chapter of this work that
Number 3 expresses the primordial intellect or Nous.
6
phallus (Ka): a masculine power. This is the most reaches manipura is he able to visualize
explicit symbol of the Min: the phallus in the navel, the infinite state of consciousness which
and this symbolism in itself communicates the is no longer gross and empirical. (…) the
fundamental meaning of the Min. personal prejudices, complexes and
This region of the human subtle body or ‘Ka’ biases drop away as the endless beauty
and perfection of higher worlds dawn
locates the Manipura chakra of Hindu Tantra. within the consciousness. 17
The teaching of Tantra, although it is commonly
associated to sexual postures, in reality describes a This description from Hindu Tantra and its
mystic union of “inner” feminine and masculine chakra system seems fit with the experience of
powers called Shakti and Shiva respectively. Swami Pharaoh described in the Pyramid Texts. Pharaoh is
Satyananda has written several books about hindu described in the spiritual realm of the Akhet as the
mysticism and yoga, and in Kundalini Tantra, he Cosmic Bull, the kamutef or “Ka of his Mother” and
speaks of Manipura Chakra which is the vital center there is an allusion to Min. The phallus in this region
located in the area of the navel. of the navel –where Manipura chakra is located– is
symbolic of a spiritual and psychic unity, a reality
Manipura chakra is located that is very ‘explicitly’ shown by the “penetration of
directly behind the navel on the inner wall the navel” by a phallus.18 This masculine and
of the spinal column. The kshetram seminal power symbolizes the infusion of the
[contact center or trigger point for the Spirit’s fiery and solar power into the feminine
chakra located in the front of the body] is Psyche in order to generate a state of consciousness
situated right at the navel. This chakra is which means the abandonment of “personal
anatomically related to the solar plexus, prejudice, complexes and biases” conjoined or
which controls the digestive fire and heat caused by “a glimpse of the higher lokas or planes
regulation in the body. of existence”.
(…) In the yoguic scriptures it is This same description given by the Hindu
said that the moon at bindu secretes “Tantra” is also given in the Pyramid Texts when
nectar which falls down to manipura and Pharaoh absorbs the powers of the Red Crown
is consumed by the sun. This results in the
ongoing process of degeneration which Desheret . This occurs when Pharaoh is in the
leads to old age, disease, and death. This east of the sarcophagus chamber, before the doors
process can be reversed in the human and passage into the Akhet or “spirit world”. While
body by adopting certain yoguic practices those doors open before Pharaoh, Unas is acquiring
which send the pranic forces in manipura the fiery powers of the Ka, and this is accomplished
chakra back up to the brain. Otherwise because the fiery serpent of the Uraeus has
the vitality is quickly dissipated and lost in elevated itself to the brow. The Red Crown
the mundane affairs of life. Desheret represents this accomplishment which
It is said that meditation on the is very clearly described in Kundalini yoga.
manipura chakra leads to knowledge of It is at this location in the sarcophagus
the entire physical system. When this chamber of Unas where one reads utterances 221-
center is purified and awakened, the body 222 describing the opening of the spriit world or
becomes disease free and luminous, and Akhet and the gaining of the Red Crown with the
the yogui’s consciousness does not fall Uraeus, the person reading the texts encounters a
back into the lower states. short passage into the next room with texts
(…) When the consciousness inscribed. In that passage there is once again the
evolves into manipura, the sadhka
17
[student of spiritual practices] acquires a Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Kundalini Tantra, p. 157-
spiritual perspective and he gets a 158: 160.
18
glimpse of the higher lokas or planes of It is interesting to observe the reaction of Victorian age
existence. (…) Only when the sadhka women covering the phallus of Min in order to
photograph themselves with the “idol”.
7
affirmation of Utterance 25 which is the Fire No symbol is ambiguous in Pharaonic
Utterance related to the Ka followed by Utterance culture; the totemic or zodiacal ideograms belong
200 which is of incense.19 In front of these in the to the prehistoric and archaic age of philosophy
passage is Utternace 246 which describes the speak an esoteric language. The animals are always
assimilation of Min. Swami Satyananda writes of the the cosmic functions or neters, aspects of Man
solar plexus –which is the location of the phallus in insomuch as aspects of Nature. The animals are
Min– saying that: “it controls the digestive fire and read in the natural living symbols of creation: in
heat regulation in the body.” their virgin form of Nature, the mineral, vegetable,
Pharaoh is being nurtured by the ‘mother’s and animal kingdoms are contemplated without the
Ka’ whose milk is the holy or celestial substance of artifices of the modern-civilized mentality and
the stars.20 It is the spirit of virtue, the Holy Spirit of industry, and without the alienation of Nature of
Christianity which this celestial milk describes in its experienced in modern metropoli.
symbolism: a capacity to act according to the The origin of scripture seems like the
Dharma or Ma’at is what nourishes the inner horian archaic intent to conserve this prehistoric
child. philosophy of cosmosis: to bring order from chaos.
The Mut (Mother) is symbolized with All Pharaonic art is a testament to a prehistoric
science of the soul which learned in the observation
the hieroglyph of a vulture. As Nekhbet it is a of Nature’s virgin gestures, and written in a
vulture holding the nekhakha which, as we have symbolic fashion that shaped the hieroglyph: the
said, is symbolic of the tripartite nature of Man: the sacred or holy script.
Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas of Hinduism.21 The vulture The Mut’s ability to bring a spiritual re-
Nekhbet usually dominates the head and is seen to generation from what is rotten or putrid depends
embrace Isis at the location of the skullcap. Nekhbet on that “digestive solar fire” of manipura chakra,
and this function is identified in the phallus of Min
is also prominently depicted as carrying the shnw
located in the navel of the body. The navel, as the
symbol that becomes the cartouche containing the
feminine and receptive entrance of the spiritual
name of Pharaoh. In fact, this shnw symbol
substance is fused with a masculine and inceptive23
represents the womb of the Great Mother, the
semen of the cosmic bull, the Apis, the Bakha, the
womb in which the spiritual child is conceived.
“living soul of Ra”.
The vulture was not only observed as an
R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz notes an important
excellent mother, but as an animal which can feed
principle of Egyptian art in relation to the navel:
on the rotten carcass.22 It is the creature which can
digest what is in a state of putrefaction like the
It is important to note that the
jackal. However, in the case of Mut, whose totem is
figures created by the divine verb [Hu]
the vulture, the digested putrefaction is
and not procreated through woman do
regurgitated as nourishment: as the meal given to
not have navels. For example, Tum, who
her young children. The vulture speaks of an ability
comes forth from the primordial ocean
to feed on what is dead which ultimately signifies
and who is said to have been self-created,
an ability to transform the decaying and dead into
has no navel, and the kamutef not only
the living and nourishing. According to the
does not have a navel, but the phallus
mysteries expressed in this language, we are
often occupies its place.24
speaking of psychological phenomena, because it is
the Psyche that becomes impregnated by the Spirit.
Wallis Budge, in commenting on Mut
quotes an Egyptian formula: “Mut, who gives birth,
19
In Utterance 25, Pharaoh adopts the Kas of the gods or but was herself not born of any”.25 The idea of the
unifies them into a single and greater Ka.
20
Let us be reminded that Hathor is depicted as a Cosmic
23
Cow whose body is the firmament. Mary, the mother of Inceptive: from the Latin caleo: ‘to be hot’ (calesco), ‘to
Jesus, is usually dressed in a blue robe with stars. become hot’.
21 24
See section 2.4 of this work. R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, The Temple of Man, p.970.
22 25
This is also true for the jackal (Anubis). Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians, p.30.
8
Great Mother archetype is quite explicit in this description of Pharaoh’s spiritualization in th east
sentence. wall of Unas’ sarcophagus chamber is described
Above all, we are dealing with a spiritual with the acquisition of the Ka and the fiery power of
function that, despite its apparent feminine and the Red Crown Desheret and its fiery serpent. The
masculine traits, is indeed androgynous. The Fire Utterance 25 of the Pyramid Texts that
phallus in the navel is a fusion of Great Father and describes the acquisition of the Ka through the gods
Great Mother into androgynous Unity. This, we has an offering of incense at the end, and incense or
may recall, is attested by the Pharaoh adopting the ‘shnir’ is easy to relate phonetically to the ‘shni’ .
parts of Atum which made for a new cosmic body,
the Ka. This accomplishment is accompanied with
the protection of the person which is an encircling
power of protection, the Heka.
Let us consider with closer attention the
symbols of Min as the symbol of the kamutef
principle. Min wears the ‘shni’ symbol in red
which literally means “to
encircle/embrace/protect”. In utterances 221 on
the east wall, and utt. 215 on the south wall of the
sarcophagus chamber of Unas’ pyramid, we read
how Atum “embraces/encircles” Pharaoh in
order that he may become a living spirit or Akh.
39
“Make thee a fiery serpent, and Numbers 21:8.
40
set it upon a pole: and it shall come to Exodus 4:1-4.
41
The Gospel of John 3:14.
42
Seth was naturally associated by the Greeks to
38
Many times this symbolism is simply portrayed by two Typhoon, the chthonic archenemy of Zeus whose totem
serpents, but it is also frequently seen as a vulture is the Eagle.
43
representing the white crown and a serpent representing This symbolism is repeated in the Temple of Ramses III
the red crown. A clear example is found on the mask of in Medinet Habu.
44
Tutankhamun. R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, Sacred Science, p.196.
13
Now, it is interesting to find that the was regarded as the brother of the Bull
crescent moon45 is described as a notable symbol of Osiris.
the mystic seed “bindu” in Hindu mysticism because (…) The phase of Khonsu which
it identifies Khonsu in Pharaonic art. We would like appears to have been of greatest interest
to repeat the quote o the crescent moon from to the Egyptians was that which was
Satyananda on Tantra mysticism in order to quote deified under the name of Khonsu Nefer-
immediately from Wallis Budge on the Khonsu of Hetep [Khonsu Harmony-Peace]. This god
Egypt: not only ruled the month, but he was also
supposed to possess absolute power over
(…) In the tantric scriptures, the the evil spirits which infested the earth,
symbol of bindu is a crescent moon on a air, sea, and sky, and which made
moonlit night. This symbol is very rich in themselves hostile to man and attacked
meaning. The crescent moon indicates his body under the forms of pains,
that bindu is closely related to the kalas sickness, and diseases, and produced
(phases) of the moon, as are the decay, and madness, and death. He it
endocrine, emotional, and mental was, moreover, who made plants to
fluctuations of human beings.46 grow, and fruit to ripen, and animals to
conceive, and to men and women he was
Now Wallis Budge on the Khonsu: the god of love.47
It is "Grasper-of-the-top-knot",
Who is in Kehau [?] who lassoes them for
Unas
It is "The serpent with the raised head "
Who watches them (the gods) for Unas,
Who retains them for him.
It is "He who is upon the redness"
Who binds them for Unas
51
The Pyramid Texts, Utt. 273-274.
16
Toth in the Temple of Seti I, Abydos
17