is for Humanitiesis for Humanities| A newletter for participants enrolled in Myths of Creation and Theoretical Science in Ancient Egypt |
| The
Purification In the litany of purification found in the Pyramid Text this phrase is repeated: 1411a. The double doors of heaven are open, the double doors are open for Horus of the Horizon, 1411b. that he may ascend and purify himself in the Marsh of Reeds. Ritual, performed correctly and with the saying of the name of the God, was a high art accomplishment of the Egyptian priest who was expected to abstain from certain foods and perform ablutions designed to maintain purity. Gradually, such rituals came to represent a spiritual as well as a physical cleansing.In seeming contradiction, the sacred calendar of Egypt was filled with an endless array of exotic festival and feast days given to satisfying the emotions and the five senses. The elegant harmony and order of the sanctuary stood in dramatic contrast with what appeared to be the more mundane practices of the common people about which Juvenal observed somewhat disdainfully, "O holy people, whose very kitchen gardens produce gods." orrp17.htm#xref_4_11 It is clear that the Egyptians of old were content with a sacred milieu where such conflicting traditions and heterogeneity were happily embraced. |
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The Temple of Isis  |
Isis/Hathor
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Description of Temple of IsisThe Isis temple on Philae originally faced a neighboring island, Biga, which was reserved for the priesthood of Osiris and was believed to be the first land to have emerged from the primordial Chaos as well as being one of the burial places of the body parts of Osiris.A view from the temple sanctuary, or Holy of Holies, where the goddess resides. The sanctuary was thought to be the source of the waters of life and was once separated from the rest of the temple by a curtain. |
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In the night sky: Take
your own purifying shower this month in the form of the Eta Aquarids,
flakes from Halley's Comet appearing between April 21 and
May 12. And remember to treat yourself to something you do
"once in a Blue Moon" because this month we have two full
moons: May 2 and May 31 (the second is the Blue one). Venus
shines brightly in the west as the evening star.| copyright © 2007 Joan A. Andersen, all rights reserved |
