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THE LEGEND OF RA AND ISIS.
DATE XXTH DYNASTY.
Now Isis was a Woman knowing Words of Magical Power, her heart was weary of multitudes of men, and she chose the multitude of Gods, but above all the multitude of the Shining Ones. And she meditated in her heart and said " Might not I, also, by means of the names of Shining Power become as the Sun God in Heaven? "
Now RA and His Cycle of Powers were established every day in the Abodes of the Horizon. Ancient was the Divine One and his Mouth dropped forth water. The water fell upon the earth, dew from his lips fell upon the ground. Isis kneaded this with the earth, an made it in the form of a serpent of power divine and in the image of a dart. She placed it not before her forehead, but left it lying in the path that the will of the great God had placed between his two domains. The God of Power crowned and holy was followed by the Gods of the twofold abodes life, strength and health.
Now RA proceeded as was his daily wont.
Its being shone forth from the sacred serpent; the fire of life shot from its body, and the dweller among the cedars was prostrated. Then RA the God of gods opened his mouth, and the cry of his might, life, strength, and well-being reached up to heaven. The Company of Gods cried out: " What is it? " and again the Gods said" What is it ? " But RA found no voice with which to answer. His teeth chattered, his limbs trembled, the poison flowed through his veins, as the Nile God flows in his course. Then the might of the God confirmed his will and he cried out to those in his train:
"Come unto me, ye who proceeded from me. Ye powers that came forth from me let the Creative Form be told that I am wounded by a deadly thing. My heart knoweth it. Mine eyes have not seen it. My hand hath not fashioned it. I know not who hath made this thing. I have not tasted pain like unto it. No pain is like unto it. I am a prince, son of a prince created by a 'god. I am the Mighty Son of the Mighty, Strength of my Father is my name. I am of many names and of many forms, the Divine Image of my Being is in every god. I have been heralded by Tmu and Horus, the formulators of the Formless. My Father and Mother gave me my name as an infant, it was concealed in my body so that the enchanter might not gain power over me by his 'enchantments. I had come forth from my abode to see the world I had fashioned, and was passing over my creation when I was stricken by I know not what. Is it Fire? Is it Water? My heart is full of Fire, my .limbs tremble, my flesh is seized as with an ague.
" I pray you let my divine offspring be brought to me light is in their Words, Wisdom is in their mouths, their powers reach unto heaven."
His cries brought his divine children unto him. Isis came with her words of Light; the Breath of Life was in her mouth; and her disease-destroying incantations, her words giving life to silent hearts. She said:
" Oh! Divine Father, what is this? What is it ?
A serpent hath made thee fear, one of thy darts hath lined up its head against thee, it shall be overthrown by words of beneficent power. I will make it depart from the sight of thine eyes."
The holy God opened his mouth, saying:
I was passing along the path which divideth my twofold dominion, wishing in my heart to behold my creation. I was stung by a serpent, I saw it not. Is 1t Fire? Is it Water? I am colder than Water, I am hotter than Fire. My limbs sweat. I tremble. My eye dims. I cannot see the heaven; sweat rises on my face as in the time of sorrow."
Said Isis unto RA :
"Oh tell me thy name, oh my divine Father, for Life is in the Power of thy name."
Said RA:
"I am the maker of heaven and earth, supporting the mountains, creating what existeth thereon. I am the maker of water, bringing forth the floods, making fruitful the Universe, giving increase. I am the Maker of Heaven and have made beautiful the horizon. I have given the spirit of the Gods a place therein. I am he, who when he openeth his eyes, bringeth forth light, and when he closeth his eyes, bringeth forth darkness. I am the Nile God whose name the Gods know not, bringing about the inundation with my word. I am the Maker of hours, the Creator of days. I am the opener of the yearly festival, the creator of rushing water, the maker of living fire. I cause the abodes of delight to be built. I am Kephera in the darkness, Ra in the midday, and Tmu in the evening."
But the poison was not driven out of its course, the great God found no peace; so Isis said unto RA : "Thou hast not told me thy name. Oh, tell it unto me and the poison shall depart, for life is in the Power of thy name." The poison burned with burnings, it was stronger than flames of fire; the majesty of -RA spake and said:
"I give myself to be searched out by Isis, my name shall pass from my body into her body."
The Divine One was hidden from the Gods, wide (void) was his seat in the Ship of millions of years. When the time had come for the passing forth of his heart she said unto her son Horus:
"Let him swear by the Divine Life to give unto me his divine eyes."
Thus was taken the name of the Great God. Isis the Mighty One of Enchantments said:
"Depart Poison. Pass forth from RA. Oh, Eye of Horus, come forth from the God and shine without his mouth. I, even I, have worked. I banish the poison
to be dispersed upon the earth. It hath been overcome. Verily the name of the Great God hath been taken from him. May RA Live. May the poison die. May the poison die and may Ra live; May main son of Mainthe live. May the Polson die. '
Thus said the Mighty Isis, Mistress of the Gods, who knew RA by his own name.
Such is the Legend of RA and Isis. Its incidents are known to us in the old tale of Merlin and the Witch Vivien. It is obviously a sun-myth, being, of course, An allegory of an eclipse of the Sun. In ancient symbolism the head and tail of a Dragon or Serpent represented the places of Solar and Lunar eclipse in tae Zodiac. I t is well known that the moment of eclipse has ever been felt to be fraught with sinister occult power.
Of the name of RA it is interesting to learn that he is credited with no less than seven BAIES and FOURTEEN KAS, each with its own name, corresponding to different attributes such as, wealth, stability, majesty, glory, might, victory, and so forth, similar to the Qabalistic Sephiroth, or Emanations of Deity.
Each man's KA could at the death of the body enter into any image or picture or magical implement prepared for its reception. In the" Story of Setna," a demotic papyrus now in the Ghizeh Museum, and translated by Professor Flinders Petrie, in his second series of Egyptian tales, it is written:
"Now in the Tomb was Na-Nefer-Ka-Ptah and with him was the KA of his wife Ahura, for though she was buried at Koptos, her KA dwelt at Memphis with her husband whom she loved."
That is to say it dwelt in a statue prepared for its reception. Now it seems exceedingly probable that as the mummy was the material basis for the SAHU and KHAIBT, so the mummy-case with its painted presentment of the living person was the material basis for the preservation of the KA of a low grade initiate or the KHU of a fully-equipped Adept. I append some quotations from the Book of the Dead in which the various parts of the human being are specially mentioned.
Souls, is my Soul. Let not my BAIE be imprisoned. Let not my KH'AIBT be enchained. Let Paths be opened for my BAIE and my KHAIBT (Radiation). . . . Thy AB is with thee.
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