Very Important Myths Data from Ancient Egyptian .

1. [Note: page numbers cited for The Esoteric
Tradition are to the 2-vol. Second Edition and do not
correspond to the 1-vol. 3rd & Revised Edition.]
Verily there was some truth in the old saying, "The
Wisdom of the Egyptians." . . . — H. P. Blavatsky
Origen tells us (in ContraCelsum, Bk. I, ch. xii) that
the philosophersin Egypt had a "most nobleand
secret wisdom concerningthe natureof the Divine
which was disclosed to the peopleonly underthe
garment of fables and allegories . . ." and indeed we
cannot, by a study of the writings of and the
comments about these ancient people,help but reach
the conclusion that in its prime the civilization of the
Nile valley possessed many of the keys to the doors
of the Esoteric Wisdom.
From a review of the hieroglyphs, and the myths and
legends, that have come down to us, we find that the
wisdom the Egyptians knew and taught was
enshrined in "picture writing," or as they termed it
"the language of the gods." Indeed, the hieroglyphs

2. seem to have occupied a position comparableto the
language of ancient India, Sanskrit, being, as it were,
the tongue of the Initiates and fully comprehended
only by the Initiated.
The mundane meaning of these hieroglyphs and the
eventual deteriorationof their symbology at a later
date does not concern us here, but it is probablethat
at about the period of the first decay, occurred so
many of the erasions now noticeableupon the temple
wall inscriptions and elsewhere. "The Napoleon
Memorial Books" of the antiquities of Egypt as they
were in Bonaparte'stime indicate many hiatuses very
clearly, and as the context is usually in good
condition,there is only one conclusion at which we
can arrive: that the Egyptians themselves erased the
revealing portionsof the glyphs, for fear they should
"give away" too much to later and more "profane"
peoples.
However, even in those relics which survive, it is
certain that anything associated with the "gods" was
of immense importance from the standpoint of the
ancient Teachings. There were several "families" of
gods, each with its own distinct set of symbols and
philosophicmeanings, and most of these deities had a
"sevening" aspect much as the "seven principles of
man" as given in present-dayTheosophical literature

3. have a "sevening" aspect: that is, that each principle
contains the germ, as it were, of the othersix.
In the attached diagram, within which may be found
symbolized many of the ideas of the ancient
Egyptians (indeed, in it can be seen some of the
actual hieroglyphic forms), we have endeavored to
correlatethese ideas with correspondingteachings of
the presentationsof Theosophyas we know them
today.

4. The symbology of the "gods" and the Egyptian
hierarchical scheme is very complex, but one of its
keys indicates the association with the component

5. parts or principles of man. In this direction, it may be
interesting to notice that clues lie in three divisions of
any one "god': (a) the aspects of that god; (b) the
attributesof the god; and (c) the powers of the god.
In one sense, we may describe (c), as far as the
principles are concerned,as the principles "in action,"
to use a colloquialism.

7. At the top of the diagram we find Ra, and it will be
noted that Ra is placed on the Paramatmic plane. To
the Egyptian, however, Ra had "many forms" and the
three most important correspond with Parabrahman,
Paramatman, and Brahman-Purusha-Prakriti.
Called the "Sun god," Ra's symbol is the circle and
the dot — a universal symbol for the Logos (Supreme
Self) manifesting as Khe-pera — and stands for the
indwelling Self or immanent Horus. Ra saith: "I am
the one who made heaven and the secrets of the
double-horizonin which I have placed the force (or
soul) of the the gods." (Turin Pap. cxxxiii) Ra
occupies a position above and over the place of
thrones.
Ra regarded as the First or Unmanifest Logos is the
Paramatmic aspect, but in his various "forms," as Ra-
Tem, Ra-Harmachis, etc., he symbolizes Atman and
its efflorescence on lower planes. (Compare the
Highest Duad, Highest Divine Triad.) The spirit of
Ra was believed to dwell in the Ben stone (see page
435).
The "birth of Ra" occurred when manifestation took
place upon the Atmic plane, when the "boat of Ra,"
or the Karana-sarira, was launchedupon the "buddhic
waters." Ra saith: "I am he who came into being in
the form of Kheper. I became the creatorof all that

8. came into manifestation. Heaven existed not, nor
earth, nor had any created thing of earth."
In the "Praises to Ra" from the Royal Tombs of
Thebes and translated by Budge, the worshiper
exclaims: "Praise be unto thee, O Ra, exalted power,
thou Word-Soul (Logos) who resteth on his high
place. . . . Thou strengthened thy hidden aakhui
(monads) . . . . They have their forms from thee. . . .
Thou lord who advancest. . . . Truly thou art Isis. . .
Whose head shineth more than what is in front of
him; truly thou art the bodies of Nephthys. . . . Who
art united in thy members, One, who collecteth all
seed; truly thou art the bodies of Horus."
Next on the diagram are the "occupants"of the plane
of thrones, the first, Osiris, Lord of the Underworld,
and the second, Isis, his feminine aspect or vehicle.
The symbol of Osiris is the throne, above which is
the opened eye, the hieroglyph for Isis being simply
the throne. In the Egyptian system there were five
planes of mani-festation, and in the Legend of Isis
and Osiris these five planes were called the "five
superaddeddays." (See Plutarch:On Isis and
Osiris: "Upon the first of the five days Osiris was
born, and a Voice from Heaven proclaimed, "the
Lord of all hath appeared") This first plane

9. correspondswith Atman and all belowit represents
the Tuat or underworld,over which Osiris ruled.
Amongst the many symbols of Osiris, an important
one is the Tet, which shows the four lower planes of
manifestation (Tattu or Dadui), through which "the
tree of life" penetrates, and by aspiration, finally
attains the summit.
There is interesting and illuminating information
about Osiris in The TheosophicalGlossary of H. P.
Blavatsky, where he is referred to as the "first
manifesting deity (our third Logos)." The whole
monograph is worth close study.
In the work previously mentioned, On Isis and
Osiris, Plutarchstates that "Osiris was beautiful of
face but with a dull or black complexion — his
height exceeded five and a half yards." Interpreted,
we have a clue to much that is hidden in this
sentence. The Logos at manifestation is perfect
potentially, but as it were nonexistent, accordingly
symbolized by the color black, which means the
darkness beyond light as well as the darkness
"beneath"light. In this case, black stands for
negation, i. e., something beyond our conception. The
"five-and-a-half yards in height" refers to his five
planes on which he accomplished his evolution, and

10. the half symbolizing the commencement from the
Unmanifest above Atman, i. e., Ra.
The four chief aspects of Osiris were: (a) Osiris-Ptah
(Light), the Spiritual; (b) Osiris-Horus (mind), the
intelligent or manasic aspect; (c) Osiris-Lunus, the
lunaror psychic aspect; (d) Osiris-Typhon, the
physical, material, and therefore passional or
turbulentaspect. In the four aspects he symbolized
the dual ego: the divine and the human, the cosmico-
spiritual and the terrestrial." — H. P. Blavatsky
There are two further ideas about Osirian symbolism.
The first refers to the "body of Osiris," which is to
say the desire-body, astro-mental, in which the Self is
"imprisoned'; and the second thought concerns the
birth of Osiris, or the manifestationof the Highest
Self.
Isis comes next in the chart, her symbol being the
throne. She was the Divine Mother, the bringer-forth
of the Horus, her symbol indicating that she was the
vehicle or seat of Osiris.
In man, Isis correspondswith the Buddhicprinciple.
The sister-wife of Osiris, her symbol the throne
unoccupied (or incomplete without the eye of Osiris),
she was the transcendental vehicle of the universal
creative potency.

11. Viewed from the terrestrial aspect, Isis is Nephthys,
hence she weeps for Osiris (in the legend of the
dismemberment), because his divinity has become
submerged in material existence.
Associated with Isis are one or two intriguing
symbols, including the "thet," the so-called red
carnelian "buckle of Isis." The red blood of Isis
symbolizes the life-currents between the buddhicand
astral planes by means of which the lower is
transmuted to the higher. Another symbol is the
vulture-cap, which stood for the transmuting power
of Buddhior Isis ('the lower nature, or personality, is
consumed by vultures.')
The most mysterious of all the Egyptian pantheon
comes next in the chart, Thoth or Tehuti, "the heart of
Ra." In the symbolism the Ape of Thoth is crowned
with a crescent containingthe disk. As the vehicle of
Ra, he is a center of Being on the mental plane('the
Eye in the boat'). This symbol would make of Manas
the third Logos of the hierarchy within man.
Thoth is pre-eminentlythe symbol of the Divine
Mind (cf. Afu-Ra, the Higher Self involved in
matter). Afu-Ra stands in a boat, and has a ram's head
surmounted by the Solar Disk. Ra saith: "The face of
those who see thee (Thoth) will be opened in thee."
He is the power or center or word by which the will

12. of the god is carried into effect, and he correspondsto
the manasic plane. The following is a thought-
provoking citation: "And Cronos (Amon) going to
the land of the South, gave the whole of Egypt to the
god Tuaut (Thoth)to be his kingdom,"
('Sanchuniathon,"Cory's AncientFragments).
To digress a little here, it is worthwhileto point out
that the upperand lower natures in man, or more
particularly, the upperManas and the lower, were
symbolized in the Egyptian legends by the terms
Upper and Lower Egypt. It will repay the student to
examine carefully the names of the nomes (counties
or districts, we would call them today), and cities of
Ancient Egypt, bearing in mind this symbolic
division of the "two lands," and he will have many
clues in his possession to the more recondite
teachings about the inner natureof man. For instance,
Hermopolis (the Greek form of the name), the great
city of which Thoth was the patron or presiding deity,
was located in Upper Egypt, in certain relationship
with other cities which indicate some of the
knowledge the Egyptians possessed about the
intricacies of our manasic make-up. (1)
That this is no mere chanceor coincidence, but must
have been the original plannedintentionsof the first
architects and builders in old Chem, is evidenced by

13. the symbols of the various nomes used, and also by
the brilliant light shed on obscure passages of the
glyphs and portionsof Egyptian myths, where names
of nomes and cities occur as incidents in journeys.
To return, Budge says that "Thoth was called the
heart and tongue of Ra," i. e., the Reason, Manasic or
mental powers, of the gods. There is an interesting
note in H. P. Blavatsky's Theosophical
Glossary about Thoth, and it may be helpful to some
to collateThoth's symbol of the dog-headed ape, with
the events of the middle Third Root-Raceas recorded
in The Secret Doctrine. The actual association would
rather refer to the happenings of the period of the
descent of the Manasaputrasthan to the
miscegenating stocks or results thereof being taken as
a symbol of Thoth or Manas.
A notablething in the chart is the fact that the
symbols for the kingdom of Thoth form the "Opened
Eye." Said Proclus: "He (Thoth)presides over every
species of condition, leading us to
an intelligibleessence from this mortal abode,
governing the different herds of souls." (Italics our
own.)
The meaning of his other symbol, the ibis, is
suggested in the observation that the "ibis devoured
snake-eggs (i. e., symbols for the "bad serpents') of

14. Egypt." On his head, Thoth wears the ibis symbol,
thereby indicating its association with the Higher
Mind (above the lower mind, eating the snakes or
snake-eggs, etc., etc.).
The nine Apes which sang to Ra as he entered
the Tuat, symbolized "the herds of souls" that shall
pass through Horus to Divinity. This is equivalent to
the Saints, in Christian symbology, who shall arise
with Christ. In their lower aspects, the dog-headed
Apes stand for the automaticor subjective mind (i. e.,
uncontrolleddesire aspects, automatic body control,
etc.).
Set (or betterSut) next attractsour attention. Set and
Nephthys were the last two emanating from Ra. Set
stands for the force of material construction,material
evolution and spiritual involution. In man, Set
symbolizes the Desire-mind (Kama-manas), and as
the "desires and passions," is "the opponent of
Osiris." (Cf. H. P. Bla-vatsky'sTheosophicalGlossary
on "Set'; "Nephthys'; and "Anubis').
Nephthys, "the mistress of the Temple," was "the
extreme limit or end" (see Plutarch's On Isis and
Osiris), and as such indicated the physical plane or
principle. Her emblem was the cup which contains
the higher principles. Usually she is associated with
Isis (q. v.) in the sense that spirit and matter are

15. associated, and therefore correspondswith sthulaor
the physical. Nephthyssignifies what is in the
underworldand "invisible," Isis that which is above
and "visible." The circle touchingboth is the horizon,
which is called Anubis (q. v.).
'The Opener of the Path," Anubis (Anpu), follows.
He represents the astro-physical body with its
mechanism of sensation and action which open the
pathway of the soul's development. He is the vehicle
of the soul, the product of Divine Energy and matter
on the physical plane. (Osiris and Nephthys are his
parents. Note that Set is not the father of Anubis-
Anpu! there is more than one aspect of Anubis.)
Apuleius, in his GoldenAss, says " [Anubis] that
messenger between heaven and hell, displaying
alternatelya face as black as night, and as golden as
day."
The last of the deities the chart symbolizes is the
most difficult to deal with shortly, Horus (the son of
Isis and Osiris), for which reason he is not actually
indicated on the chart. There are so many aspects to
Horus! In one, he is similar to the Theosophical
concept of the Sutratman, the "thread-soul,"on
various planes, while Horus the Elder, emblematized
the Self primordially manifest on the higher buddhic
plane, Isis. Horus the Younger is the self born in the

16. soul on the buddhicplane (Isis), prior to entering
upon birth on the manasic plane. Horus the Child
signifies the four sons of Horus, and indicates the
birth of the inner Buddhain the soul on the buddhic
(Isis) plane commencing to incarnatein the human
vehicles (cf. the teaching about the Kumaras).
"Horus, the son of Osiris, born by Isis, is he with
whom thou didst fill thy mouth"(see the symbology
of the Mouth). The complex nature of Horus is one
well worth the closest study.
Shortage of space requires us to hurry on to the
symbols indicated in the diagram, which in itself is
an illustrative symbol merely, and not a picture.
With regard to these symbols, the reader is called
upon to note that the diagram forms certain shapes
conforming to some Egyptian hieroglyphs. Many
more not indicated in the chart, occur, shedding a
flood of light on otherof the Egyptian teachings, but
space is at a premium, and simplicity is a thing much
to be desired. Studentsmay be able to fill in further
symbols as these occur to their minds.

17. The first is the Ankh (spelled Anch in The Secret
Doctrine, Volume II). It represents the manifested
life of the Logos (the Sun — Ra), both the higher and
the lower natures— the Divine Ray passing down
through the lower quaternary. The circular part of the
symbol means the higher planes. It should not really
be quite circular, but more like a tear-drop, or
somewhat egg-shaped (cf. the tear-dropsof Isis),
indicating the converging downwards of the
activities. From the standpoint of man at his present
stage of development, the aspiration upwards
expands, and the tear of Isis become the "reborn"
Osiris, the drop "reversed." The Ankh also
symbolizes the life-principle (via the Pranic stream)
in all things.

18. The "level" was a symbol of Maat, Truth, and was a
testing instrument (its significance on the manasic
planeshould be noted). It is the plane upon which
stands Osiris (also an important philosophicconcept).
The "bridge" was the symbol for the Antahkarana, or
joining together of the part "below" and the part
"above." It was the hieroglyphic for the conjunction
"with."
The pyramid on the base, also occurs in the diagram.
It symbolized the unity of Osiris, Isis, and Thoth,
forming the "throne of Ra." (The same idea was often
depicted as the figure of Osiris (includinghis aspect
Isis) standing on the level, and holdingthe three
scepters). The pyramid is sometimes shown upon a
short shaft and it was then called the Ben stone. In
early dynastic times it was looked upon as the home
of the Spirit of Ra, which made itself manifest at
"creation" by emerging from the top in the form of a
bird called the Bennu Bird, in later texts pictured
somewhat ibis-like with a long crest of two feathers.
This was symbolic of the incarnation of the Soul or
vehicle of Ra and the heart of Osiris. It was self-
producedand appeared each "morning at dawn" on
the sacred Persea tree of Annu. Now this is the
Phoenix which appeared once every 500, 1461, (2) or
7006 years. Anu (Heliopolis: the On of the Old

19. Testament) was used in the texts to symbolize the
higher planes (Atman, Buddhi, and the Higher
Manas). A temple called Het Bennu symbolized by a
Bennu bird in a square with a smaller square in the
top right corner, was in early times dedicated to it.
This was the "great house of the Aged One (Ra) who
dwelleth in Annu"; i. e., the temple of the soul is in
the inner sanctuary of the Eternal Spirit, whose abode
is on the higher planes of the soul.
This was the Higher Triad or the Unity of Atman-
Buddhi-Manas. The reincarnating part of man's
constitutionwas the phoenix, which clothed itself in a
new personalityor lower quaternaryin each new
earth-life. The pyramid is also seen above the square,
indicating the four planes of the lower quaternary, the
four sides or foundation or vehicle of the upper
triangle. The whole glyph (pyramid above square) in
a general way correspondsto the so-called "causal-
body" and was in early times shown by the
hieroglyph as shown in the Table. (See Ka.)
Applied to the cosmos, the term "each morning at
dawn" refers to the dawn of a manvantara.
The symbol in the center of the diagram forms a
mouth and was called by the Egyptians Ran, i. e.,
"the essence." As a principleof man the Ran or Ren
stands for the transmuted Individuality of a man

20. which is developed through the aspirations and effort
of the personality. The Ran was considered to be
seated in the Ka, and indistinguishable from it in fact.
As a kind of laya-centerit bridges the great gulf
between the lower manas (personality)and the
higher, but was usually referred to as being on the
higher mental plane. In anotherway this "center" can
be looked upon as the "unopened eye" which is
hieroglyph for "a" and means "towards" or more
mystically "a way," "a gate." But in our diagram it is
shown with a center and therefore forms the "opened
eye." Now, it stands for YR, meaning "to create," "to
contemplatesomething," "manifestation." Thus it
forms the center around which revolves the uttermost
parts of our universe — is the "center from which we
cannot err" — our conscienceor consciousness in
otherwords (on the mental plane of course) now no
longer sleeping. Thus we see the correspondences:
for the Human Monad, "the Bhutatman, now aspires
upwards to the Spiritual Soul — its root or base —
the Reincarnating Ego." And so in the Ritual of the
Egyptians the "soul" in the Judgment Hall says: "my
eye is opened"and "I speak truth (Makheru) I am
justified."
We have shown on the diagram the principles
according to the Egyptians, but these are subject to
much modification and elaboration. However,

21. generally considered, the Aakhu or "Shining One"
comes first. This principle is perhaps the
efflorescence of the BA — higher manas or
Individuality rising above the lower mental nature or
Personality to a self-conscious individual life-center;
and in this aspect it contactsOsiris (Atman). We
could say this correspondsto Jivatman; but going a
little deeper, it really is much more. The reader is
asked to consider the relationship between the Aakhu
(and also two other principles not shown but very
frequentlymet with in literatureon the religious or
philosophicbeliefs of Egypt: that is, the Sahu and the
Sekhem) which should be looked upon more
correctlyas a Ba or "soul" of an unusual degree of
attainment, and the "three glorious vestures or
bodies," or Trikaya. According to the Occult
Glossary of G. de Purucker the Trikaya consists of
(1) Nirmanakaya or "formed body" (2)
Sambhogakaya or "participation body'; and (3)
Dharmakaya or "continuancebody."We would refer
those interested to The Voiceof the Silence and H. P.
Blavatsky's TheosophicalGlossary.
The KA or "double"is sometimes considered by
exotericists to stand simply for what the Theosophist
calls the Linga-sarira. While this is all right and
convenient as far as it goes, it does not go far enough,
for the Ka is much more than the Linga-sarira. The

22. Ka is that "forming body" or "causal body" of man
which after "death" (involution)enters the tomb (of
material existence) and there in the "house of the Ka"
(the inner being) has to be fed or nourished with
"meat and drink" (aspirations toward goodness and
virtue) by the "priests" of the Ka (the spiritual mind
of man), and thus develops during its incarnation. A
bettercomparison in Theosophical terminology is
Karana-sarira or Karanopadhi, that "causal-body"or
"causal-instrument"on the buddhi-manas plane.
As an instance of the many similarities between the
Egyptian and the Sanskrit, it is interesting to compare
Ka (Egyptian) with Karana (Sanskrit). Also, see
Karman, i.e.,
all that total of a soul which is itself, brought into
present being by its own willing and thinking, and
feeling, working upon the substance of itself, and
thus preparing its future destiny, as its present
existence was the destiny prepared for itself by its
own past lives." — G. de Purucker, The Esoteric
Tradition,p. 56
The lowest "physical" aspect (or seventh counting
downwards) is of course built on the "design-body"
or the Linga-sarira.

23. Ab, "the heart," is the atma-buddhicprinciplein the
Karana-sarira. It was this which was weighed against
the "feather" of truth (see the level) in the balanceof
Thoth.Thereare two aspects, the higher corresponds
to the SpiritualSoul, or the Individuality;the lower
correspondsto the Human Soul, or the Personality.
This lower aspect is the vehicle of the Spiritual
Monad and the Human Monad.
Ba, "the soul," is the vehicle of the spiritual Ego —
ReincarnatingEgo — which may rise to live with
Osiris (Atman) in heaven (Buddhi), but will return
again to the body (the mummy); cf. the ram-headed
form of Osiris called Ba; and also cf. Afu-Ra. The Ba
correspondsto the Higher Manas (cf. Ab).
Khaibit, "the shadow,"may be referred to as the Isis
or buddhicaspect of the Horus, that is to say, that
part of the Karana-sarira or Karanopadhi which
develops by means of the aspirations (of Manas) and
the experiences of the lower self. (See H. P.
Blavatsky's TheosophicalGlossary, page 161.)
The Center may best be described by a
quotation:"Consciousnessis on the mental plane and
not below it." (See also the notes on Thoth.) Across
this center thereis formeda "bridge"by the Ba and
the Ab crossingor reflectingone another. Thisis (as
are all the other divisions)a sort of laya center. (The

24. reader is again referred to H. P. Blavatsky's The
Theosophical Glossary,page 161 on the Karana-
sarira. See also Ba.)
The concludingnote to be dealt with by this paper
involves the Khat, and the quotation that follows best
conveys the meaning of the khat: "Thine essence is in
heaven, thy khat is in the earth." It is simply the
fleshly vehicle of all the principles, the Sthula-sarira.
The reader who has been interested in the subject of
Symbolic Geography, wherein the names of the
nomes and cities of earth have significance, will be
intrigued, at the very least, to perceive that Mendes
(in Lower Egypt) symbolized the lower nature, the
symbol being the stranded fish (as it is called), which
is also the symbol used for the khat.
This paper is an attempt to lift the veil that hides the
Egyptian teachings from the unintuitive. The study of
the hieroglyphs would yield an inexhaustiblemine of
information, which, correlated with what teaching
appears in such works as The Secret Doctrine,The
EsotericTradition, and Fundamentals of the Esoteric
Philosophy, as well as the two Glossaries of H. P.
Blavatsky and G. de Purucker respectively, would
provide a wonderful picture of the extent of that
"wisdom of the Egyptians" for which they were so
justly famed.

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