Post by Allan on Jul 5, 2007 21:04:52 GMT -5
The Triumph of Ra
and the Blessing of Nut
Cast the circle in the usual way and, if desired, call on Qebhsennuf in the
East, Duamutef in the South, Imsety in the West and Hapi in the North for
~otection.
Two candles on the altar are unlit at start of rite. Incense is also unlit. The
P-iestess has a sistrum.
Shake sistrum.
Light the candles.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: The shining Eye of Horus cometh. The
brilliant Eye of Horus cometh. It cometh in peace, it sendeth forth
"'7"'iof light unto Ra in the horizon, and it destroyeth the powers of
' acording to the decree. It leadeth them on and it taketh posses-
, £him, and its flame is kindled against him. Its flame cometh and
about, and bringeth adoration; it cometh and goeth about
a
42 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
heaven in the train of Ra upon the two hands of thy two sisters, 0
Ra. The Eye of Horus liveth, yea liveth.
Light the incense.
SECOND PARTICIPANT:
The fire is laid, the fire shines;
The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.
Your perfume comes to us, 0 Incense;
May our perfume come to you, 0 Incense:
Your perfume comes to us, you gods;
May our perfume come to you, you gods;
May we be with you, you gods;
May you be with us, you gods.
May we live with you, you gods;
May you live with us, you gods.
We love you, you gods;
May you love us, you gods.
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: The divine Power hath risen and shineth in the horizon,
and the god Tern hath risen out of the odour of that which floweth
from him. The Khus shine in heaven and Het-benbenet rejoiceth, for
there is among them a form which is like unto themselves; and there
are shouts and cries of gladness within the shrine, and the sounds of
those who rejoice go round about through the underworld, and
homage is paid unto him at the decree of Tern and Heru-khuti.
IMBOLC RITE 43
PRIESTESS: His Majesty ordereth the company of the gods to
follow in the train of his Majesty; his Majesty ordereth the calling of
the Utchat ... His divine Eye resteth upon its seat with His Majesty at
that hour of the night on the day of the fulfilment of the fourth hour
of the beautiful land, on the last day of the second month of the
season of pert. The Majesty of the Utchat is in the presence of the
company of the gods, and his Majesty shineth as he shone in the
primeval time, when the Utchat was first upon his head.
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, lord of the
hidden circles of the Tuat, bringer of forms, thou restest in secret
places and makest thy creations in the form of the god Tamt.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, thou cre-
.oIDreforce, who spreadest out thy wings, who restest in the Tuat, who
:::Jakestthe created things which come forth from his divine limbs.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
:-2-ilienen, begetter of his gods. Thou art he who protecteth what is
~ him, and thou makest thy creations as Governor of thy Circle.
OND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
. ~em, looker on the earth, and brightener of Amenti. Thou art he
:"85e forms are his own creations, and thou makest thy creations in
~~ ::;reat Disk.
44 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the Word-soul,
that resteth on his high place. Thou art he who protecteth thy hidden
spirits, and they have form in thee.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, mighty one,
bold of face, the knitter together of his body. Thou art he who gathereth
together thy gods when thou go est into thy hidden Circle.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem.
Thou dost call to thine Eye, and dost speak to thy head, and dost give
breath to the souls in their places, and they receive it and have their
forms in him.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, destroyer of thine enemies; thou art he who doth decree
destruction for the dead.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the sender forth
of light into his Circle; thou art he who maketh the darkness to be in
his Circle and thou coverest those who are therein.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the illuminer
of bodies in the horizons; thou art he who entereth into his
Circle.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
support of the Circles of Ament; thou art indeed the body ofTemu.
IMBOLC RITE 45
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, the hidden support of Anpu; thou art indeed the body of
Khepera.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, whose duration
of life is greater than that of her whose forms are hidden; thou art
indeed the bodies of Shu.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the guide of
Ra to his members; thou art indeed the bodies ofTefuut.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem;
thou dost make to be abundant the things which are of Ra in their
seasons, and thou art indeed Geb.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, the mighty one who doth keep count of the things which
are in him; thou art indeed the bodies of Nut.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the lord who
advancest; thou art indeed Isis.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, whose head
shineth more than the things which are in front of him; thou art
indeed the bodies ofNephthys.
46 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
united is he in members, One, who gathereth together all seed; thou
art indeed the bodies of Horus.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, thou shining one who dost send forth light upon the waters
of heaven; thou art indeed the bodies of Nu.
PRIEST: Ra, Tern, Utchatet, Shu, Geb, Osiris, Set, Horus, Menth,
Bah, Ra-er-Neheh, Tehuti [who travels eternity], Nut, Isis, Nephthys,
Hathor [the victorious], Mert, Maat [and] Anpu [of the land] are the
soul and body of Ra.
Shake sistrum.
PRIESTESS:
0 Nut, spread yourself over your son Osiris,
and hide him horn Set. Protect him, 0 Nut!
Have you come to hide your son?
PRIEST AS GEB:
0 Nut!You became a spirit,
- you waxed mighty in the belly of your mother Tefuut
before you were born.
How mighty is your heart!
You stirred in the belly of your mother in your name
of Nut,
IMBOLC RITE 47
you are indeed a daughter more powerful than her
mother ...
0 Great One who has become the sky!
You have the mastery, you have filled every place with
your beauty,
the whole earth lies beneath you, you have taken
possession thereof,
you have enclosed the whole earth and everything therein
within your arms ...
As Geb shall I impregnate you in your name of sky,
I shall join the whole earth to you in every place.
0 high above the earth! You are supported upon your
father Shu,
but you have power over him,
he so loved you that he placed himself - and all things
beside - beneath you
so that you took up into you every god with his heavenly
barque,
and as 'a thousand souls is she' did you teach them
chat they should not leave you - as the stars.
PRIESTESS:
0 my mother Nut
stretch your wings over me.
Let me become like the imperishable stars,
like the indefatigable stars.
48 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
May Nut extend her arms over me
and her name of
'She who extends her arms'
chases away the shadows
and makes the light shine everywhere.
FIRST PARTICIPANT:
0 Great Being who is in the world of
the Dead,
At whose feet is Eternity,
In whose hand is the always,
Come to me.
SECOND PARTICIPANT:
0 great divine beloved Soul,
who is in the mysterious abyss,
Come to me.
Shake sistrum.
Meditation.
Shake sistrum.
PRIESTESS: The computation of the Utchat hath been made in
the presence of the divine lord of this earth; it is full to the uttermost,
and it resteth. And these gods are rejoicing on this day, and they have
their hands beneath them, and the festival of every god having been
celebrated, they say:
IMBOLC RITE 49
PRIEST: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou who art as Ra, rejoice in
him, for the mariners of his boat sail round about, and he hath overthrown
the fiend Apep.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou who art
as Ra who maketh himself to come into being in the form of the
god Khepera.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou
who art as Ra, for he hath destroyed his enemies.
PRIESTESS: Hail, praise be unto Ra, for he hath crushed the heads
of the children of impotent rebellion...
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: We give thanks to Ra, to Nut, to Geb, and to all the gods
~d goddesses who have helped us in this rite.
ln
!f the Sons if Horus, Qebhsennuf, Duamutiif, Imsety and Hapi, have been
£kd on for protection, they should be thanked too and bid farewell bifore
:;;mIlving the circle.
Shake sistrum. )st,
we
~en
50 TH E BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
SOURCES: The Pyramid Texts, Utterance 269, translation by RO Faulkner. The Book of
the Dead, Chapters 137B and 140, translation by EA Wallis Budge. 'The Seventy-Five
Praises ofRa', translation by EA Wallis Budge in The Gods of the Egyptians. Hymn to .Nut
from Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, translation by RT Rundle Clark. Hymn to Nut
from the Mummy of Soutywes in the Louvre, quoted by Anne Baring and Jules
Cashford in The Myth if the Goddess.
and the Blessing of Nut
Cast the circle in the usual way and, if desired, call on Qebhsennuf in the
East, Duamutef in the South, Imsety in the West and Hapi in the North for
~otection.
Two candles on the altar are unlit at start of rite. Incense is also unlit. The
P-iestess has a sistrum.
Shake sistrum.
Light the candles.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: The shining Eye of Horus cometh. The
brilliant Eye of Horus cometh. It cometh in peace, it sendeth forth
"'7"'iof light unto Ra in the horizon, and it destroyeth the powers of
' acording to the decree. It leadeth them on and it taketh posses-
, £him, and its flame is kindled against him. Its flame cometh and
about, and bringeth adoration; it cometh and goeth about
a
42 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
heaven in the train of Ra upon the two hands of thy two sisters, 0
Ra. The Eye of Horus liveth, yea liveth.
Light the incense.
SECOND PARTICIPANT:
The fire is laid, the fire shines;
The incense is laid on the fire, the incense shines.
Your perfume comes to us, 0 Incense;
May our perfume come to you, 0 Incense:
Your perfume comes to us, you gods;
May our perfume come to you, you gods;
May we be with you, you gods;
May you be with us, you gods.
May we live with you, you gods;
May you live with us, you gods.
We love you, you gods;
May you love us, you gods.
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: The divine Power hath risen and shineth in the horizon,
and the god Tern hath risen out of the odour of that which floweth
from him. The Khus shine in heaven and Het-benbenet rejoiceth, for
there is among them a form which is like unto themselves; and there
are shouts and cries of gladness within the shrine, and the sounds of
those who rejoice go round about through the underworld, and
homage is paid unto him at the decree of Tern and Heru-khuti.
IMBOLC RITE 43
PRIESTESS: His Majesty ordereth the company of the gods to
follow in the train of his Majesty; his Majesty ordereth the calling of
the Utchat ... His divine Eye resteth upon its seat with His Majesty at
that hour of the night on the day of the fulfilment of the fourth hour
of the beautiful land, on the last day of the second month of the
season of pert. The Majesty of the Utchat is in the presence of the
company of the gods, and his Majesty shineth as he shone in the
primeval time, when the Utchat was first upon his head.
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, lord of the
hidden circles of the Tuat, bringer of forms, thou restest in secret
places and makest thy creations in the form of the god Tamt.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, thou cre-
.oIDreforce, who spreadest out thy wings, who restest in the Tuat, who
:::Jakestthe created things which come forth from his divine limbs.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
:-2-ilienen, begetter of his gods. Thou art he who protecteth what is
~ him, and thou makest thy creations as Governor of thy Circle.
OND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
. ~em, looker on the earth, and brightener of Amenti. Thou art he
:"85e forms are his own creations, and thou makest thy creations in
~~ ::;reat Disk.
44 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the Word-soul,
that resteth on his high place. Thou art he who protecteth thy hidden
spirits, and they have form in thee.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, mighty one,
bold of face, the knitter together of his body. Thou art he who gathereth
together thy gods when thou go est into thy hidden Circle.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem.
Thou dost call to thine Eye, and dost speak to thy head, and dost give
breath to the souls in their places, and they receive it and have their
forms in him.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, destroyer of thine enemies; thou art he who doth decree
destruction for the dead.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the sender forth
of light into his Circle; thou art he who maketh the darkness to be in
his Circle and thou coverest those who are therein.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the illuminer
of bodies in the horizons; thou art he who entereth into his
Circle.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
support of the Circles of Ament; thou art indeed the body ofTemu.
IMBOLC RITE 45
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, the hidden support of Anpu; thou art indeed the body of
Khepera.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, whose duration
of life is greater than that of her whose forms are hidden; thou art
indeed the bodies of Shu.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the guide of
Ra to his members; thou art indeed the bodies ofTefuut.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem;
thou dost make to be abundant the things which are of Ra in their
seasons, and thou art indeed Geb.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, the mighty one who doth keep count of the things which
are in him; thou art indeed the bodies of Nut.
PRIEST: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, the lord who
advancest; thou art indeed Isis.
PRIESTESS: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem, whose head
shineth more than the things which are in front of him; thou art
indeed the bodies ofNephthys.
46 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted Sekhem,
united is he in members, One, who gathereth together all seed; thou
art indeed the bodies of Horus.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Praise be to thee, 0 Ra, exalted
Sekhem, thou shining one who dost send forth light upon the waters
of heaven; thou art indeed the bodies of Nu.
PRIEST: Ra, Tern, Utchatet, Shu, Geb, Osiris, Set, Horus, Menth,
Bah, Ra-er-Neheh, Tehuti [who travels eternity], Nut, Isis, Nephthys,
Hathor [the victorious], Mert, Maat [and] Anpu [of the land] are the
soul and body of Ra.
Shake sistrum.
PRIESTESS:
0 Nut, spread yourself over your son Osiris,
and hide him horn Set. Protect him, 0 Nut!
Have you come to hide your son?
PRIEST AS GEB:
0 Nut!You became a spirit,
- you waxed mighty in the belly of your mother Tefuut
before you were born.
How mighty is your heart!
You stirred in the belly of your mother in your name
of Nut,
IMBOLC RITE 47
you are indeed a daughter more powerful than her
mother ...
0 Great One who has become the sky!
You have the mastery, you have filled every place with
your beauty,
the whole earth lies beneath you, you have taken
possession thereof,
you have enclosed the whole earth and everything therein
within your arms ...
As Geb shall I impregnate you in your name of sky,
I shall join the whole earth to you in every place.
0 high above the earth! You are supported upon your
father Shu,
but you have power over him,
he so loved you that he placed himself - and all things
beside - beneath you
so that you took up into you every god with his heavenly
barque,
and as 'a thousand souls is she' did you teach them
chat they should not leave you - as the stars.
PRIESTESS:
0 my mother Nut
stretch your wings over me.
Let me become like the imperishable stars,
like the indefatigable stars.
48 THE BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
May Nut extend her arms over me
and her name of
'She who extends her arms'
chases away the shadows
and makes the light shine everywhere.
FIRST PARTICIPANT:
0 Great Being who is in the world of
the Dead,
At whose feet is Eternity,
In whose hand is the always,
Come to me.
SECOND PARTICIPANT:
0 great divine beloved Soul,
who is in the mysterious abyss,
Come to me.
Shake sistrum.
Meditation.
Shake sistrum.
PRIESTESS: The computation of the Utchat hath been made in
the presence of the divine lord of this earth; it is full to the uttermost,
and it resteth. And these gods are rejoicing on this day, and they have
their hands beneath them, and the festival of every god having been
celebrated, they say:
IMBOLC RITE 49
PRIEST: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou who art as Ra, rejoice in
him, for the mariners of his boat sail round about, and he hath overthrown
the fiend Apep.
FIRST PARTICIPANT: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou who art
as Ra who maketh himself to come into being in the form of the
god Khepera.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Hail, praise be unto thee, 0 thou
who art as Ra, for he hath destroyed his enemies.
PRIESTESS: Hail, praise be unto Ra, for he hath crushed the heads
of the children of impotent rebellion...
Shake sistrum.
PRIEST: We give thanks to Ra, to Nut, to Geb, and to all the gods
~d goddesses who have helped us in this rite.
ln
!f the Sons if Horus, Qebhsennuf, Duamutiif, Imsety and Hapi, have been
£kd on for protection, they should be thanked too and bid farewell bifore
:;;mIlving the circle.
Shake sistrum. )st,
we
~en
50 TH E BOOK OF EGYPTIAN RITUAL
SOURCES: The Pyramid Texts, Utterance 269, translation by RO Faulkner. The Book of
the Dead, Chapters 137B and 140, translation by EA Wallis Budge. 'The Seventy-Five
Praises ofRa', translation by EA Wallis Budge in The Gods of the Egyptians. Hymn to .Nut
from Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, translation by RT Rundle Clark. Hymn to Nut
from the Mummy of Soutywes in the Louvre, quoted by Anne Baring and Jules
Cashford in The Myth if the Goddess.