Snakes against Creation

All Snake names are in bold.

Next we will look at those snakes that are said to be out to destroy order and creation.


Foremost of the "evil" snakes: Apep
Apep rules over mist, darkness, chaos and certain storms. His one goal was to prevent the sun from rising. (Think of the comic book archenemy who will do anything to stop the hero from succeeding. This is very much what Apep is to Ra, creation and order. Priests of Ra burned effigies, usually in wax, of Apep to help the gods drive him back to the darkness and allow the sun to pass and rise again. It was believed if a person or god encountered Apep the only way to destroy him was to curse him in all of his names. Those names include:
Am, Aman, Amen, Betshu, Hau-Hra, Hemhemti, Hem-taiu, Iubani, Iubau, Karau-anementi, Kenementi, Khak-ab, Khan-ru, Khermuti, Khesef-hra, Nai, Nesht, Qerneru, Qettu, Saatet-ta, Sau, Sebv-ent-seba, Sekhem-hra, Serem-taui, Sheta, Tetu, Turrupa, Uai, Unti, Aaapef, Ap, Apap, Pepi and others.

It was also believed that to speak or write the name of Apep was bad luck and destructive to creation. In order to avert this happening his name was written with decapitated serpent glyphs or curses were laid upon his name as it was spoke. Often he was called the "nameless one" due to the reluctance to say his name.  Another way to divert the bad of saying or writing his name was to depict him with spears piercing him or with someone attacking him with a knife.

Apep had minions/children named the "Children of Rebellion" because their goal was to overthrow order and balance.

"Overthrowing of Apep" is a phrase commonly added to protection spells/amulets/items.

Historically, there is some evidence that Apep is the origins of mythology about Rahabh in Hebrew texts and Tiamat in Babylon.

The Slaying of Apep

Akeneh - A serpent demon who is discussed in the Texts of Unas. The text describes how to destroy this demon serpent and other serpents and evil beasts.

Rerek - a form of Apep that was considered to be Set in the later periods during his demonization and association with Typhoon. This is another monstrous and destructive serpent much like Apep himself.

Senenahemthet - A huge serpent like Apep that must be repelled. Most notably referenced in the pyramid texts of Unas.

Tcheser-tep- A serpent who is included in the texts of Unas and listed as one that needs to be repelled. In the texts of Unas butchers and cooks those who come into the Halls of Ma'at with unworthy bodies, perhaps damaged mummies?

Confessions 31-35

Confession 31. O Captain who came forth from Weten, I have not discussed
I have not discussed likely refers to not revealing private matters to uninvolved parties. Who is not involved in a situation is likely open to interpretation. Is a best friend uninvolved? What about some other confidant? When I read this I take it to mean revealing secrets or revealing personal matters to people who are outside of what those involve consider their confidants. After three days of searching for where or who "Weten" might be I am at a loss. I have yet to find any references to it. I will continue to look and hopefully in the near future there will be an answer for this Captain who came forth from Weten.

Confession 32. O Possessor of the Two Horns who came forth from Asyut, I have not been garrulous about matters. 

Asyut is mentioned here again, Lycopolis. The possessor of two horns is probably either Isis or Hathor. It is hard to tell considering that most of our copies of the Book of the Dead come from time periods where Isis and Hathor were, at times, merged into one goddess. Garrulous is a state of talking in a roundabout way. It also means not talking about trivial matters in ways that blow them out of proportion or make them out to be more important than they are.

Confession 33. O Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have not done wrong, I have not done evil.
Nefertum is the son of of Sekhmet and Ptah. He is the god of the lotus blossom and Memphis is sacred to him and his family. This is a repetition of not going against Ma'at. Evil and Wrong are general terms that in Egyptian text refer to breaking the Laws of Ma'at.

Confession 34. O He-Who-Does-Not-Allow-Survivors who came forth from Bursiris, I have not disputed/cursed the king.
Bursiris is the birth place of Osiris (and probably the rest of Nut's children as well.) He who does not allow survivors could mean one of two things... either Osiris in his seat at Judgement or Set as the head of the military or just as a nasty character. Disputed the king or cursed the king here refers to more than just bad language. It is more related to destruction of tombs and mummies, disturbing the dead and those things. The other thing this could refer to is "king" could be translated as "king of the gods" which could be Ra or Osiris.This could refer to cursing the gods or going against the order of the universe.

Confession 35. O He-Who-Acts-As-He-Wishes who came forth from Antinaiopolis, I have not waded in the water.

This city (which has the Greco-Roman name here. The Egyptian city is likely Her-Wer.) This location is sacred to Khnum, Bes and Hathor. This is probably Bes because of the title. Bes is known for acting outside the norms of the other deities. Khnum, being a god of creation could also be thought of as a god who acts as he wishes in his role as a creator. I have not waded in the water means entering the sacred water of a temple to which you are not devoted to or a sacred spring, oasis, etc which is sacred to those you are not devoted to. It is a ways of maintaining sacred space which the Egyptians had a very complex protocol for. (It look like I have yet another topic to address after these confessions. Ideas of sacred space in the Egyptian culture.)

Confessions 26-30

Confession 26. O Youth who came forth from the Double Scepter Nome, I have not been neglectful of truthful words.

Egyptian Elephantnose fish believed to be the sacred Oxyrhyncus

The Nome of the Double Scepter is the West Bank area around Oxyrhynchus (Per-Medjed in Egyptian). This is not too far south of the Faiyum. This area is sacred to Osiris as it was here that the Oxyrhynchus fish was discovered that had swallowed his penis. The youth could refer to Horus the child. However, Oxyrhynchus is also known for having a temple with many dog mummies which could suggest Anubis as he is also the son of Osiris. While the god may be confusing the confession is not. I have not neglected the truth. This means telling the truth, promoting the truth, seeking the truth and so on. It can also mean remaining ignorant or ignoring teachings, being uneducated, since the Egyptians saw education (provided the teacher was in Ma'at) as a form of truth.

Artifact of the Oxyrhynchus

Confession 27. O Dark One who came forth from the Darkness, I have not caused grief.
The dark one who came forth from the darkness is Nun. He is named with this title in more than one text. Grief has a broad meaning that encompasses distress, sorrow or mental suffering from loss. Basically, it is saying that the person confessing hasn't purposefully caused mental suffering of others. 

Confession 28. O He-Who-Brings-His-Offering who comes forth from Asyut, I have not been violent.
Asyut is Lycopolis in Upper Egypt. A city sacred to Anubis and Wepwawet. He who brings his offerings likely Wepwawet as he is an overseer of funerary offerings among other things. The confession... pretty straightforward, I'm not violent. However, it is important to realize that culturally Ancient Egyptians did not consider self defense or defense of one's home, land or country to be violence.

Confession 29. O Proclaimer of Voice who came forth from Wenis, I have not confounded truth.
Wenis is another name for Unas the deified pharaoh.However, it might mean Saqqara where he is buried as well. If it is Saqqara that is meant then the Proclaimer of Voice is probably one of the death deities. Most likely of them is Sobek who returns the voice of the deceased in the Duat. I have not confounded the truth is a statement of not masking, obscuring or otherwise twisting the truth. This confession is all about claiming to be "a straight shooter" to use an American turn of phrase.

Confession 30.O Possessor of Faces who came forth from Nedjefet, I have not been impatient.
Nedjefet is the nome of Egypt that contains Akhetaten's capitol Amarna.Since historical texts state that Amarna was built on a site where no other cities had been the god referenced must be either Aten or Thoth as they were the only gods sacred to this city. Possessor of Faces could relate Thoth's association with the moon. I have not been impatient means both the act defined by the word but also judging hastily or without information.

Confessions 16-20

Confession 16.O Eater of Entrails who came forth from the Council of Thirsty. I have not robbed/destroyed a parcel of (crop)land.
This is confession could be seen one of two ways. Literally, not destroying (or possibly wasting) food or as not destroying the work and/or property that allows another to maintain a livelihood. Either way, it has a similar meaning of not being destructive. Eater of Entrails is an interesting title as it is almost exactly the same as a title given to Ammut. She is called Eater of Bodies and Eater of Souls. However, she who gives council to the thirsty is Anqet, goddess of the Aswan area, dispenser of cool water and wife of Khnum. Satis, Anqet's daughter, an archery goddess is also associated with alleviating thirst. I am not aware of any associations between Satis or Anqet and Ammut but it is possible that there is one. All three goddesses have associations to crocodiles. Crocodiles are also associated with croplands.
 
Confession 17. O Lord of Truth who came forth from the Hall of Two Truths, I have not discussed secrets.
This one is remarkably straightforward compared to others. The Lord of Truth who comes from the Hall of Two Truths is Thoth. This is a title he is given in papyri. I have not discussed secrets refers, in my opinion to two things, eavesdropping and telling to others those things you have been trusted to keep secret. Basically these are about keeping oaths and promises.

Confession 18. O Strayer who came from Bubastis, I have brought no lawsuits.
 The "Strayer" is likely Ptah. Named the ancient one, Ptah was known to be the first of the gods to wander the Earth after it rose from the water. The confession itself has some items that are only understood when we consider the direct translation which is not lawsuit but "Not have I set my mouth in motion against others". This direct reading is about false accusations. I have not falsely accused others. We could think of this confession as also being similar to all the false lawsuits we often see in the news but it is also about our personal claims as well.

Confession 19. O Planter who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not disputed without just cause.
This confession is an addition to the previous one. Not only have I not made false claims but I have also not caused disputes without just cause. Just cause is something that requires a more detailed understanding of Egyptian society and culture than I am going to give here. However, any good book that addressed Egyptian culture would work. The book The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Ancient Egypt by Jon E Lewis would be a good source for a general overview. Planter who came forth from Heliopolis could be either Atum as a god of fertility, since Heliopolis was originally called Per-Atum. It could also refer to Osiris who is known to come forth from Heliopolis and so has Hapi, both are vegetation related gods who come forth on occasion from Heliopolis. Any of these three would make sense though given the confession it might be more likely to be Osiris.

Confession 20. O Doubly Evil One who came forth from Busirite Nome, I have not had intercourse with a married woman.
The Busirite Nome is one of the places that it is believed the children of Nut were born. The doubly evil could refer to Set. Other gods and goddesses are at times listed as being born in this location too. It is hard to say which one this might refer to.  Though this confession says woman it is meant to express not having intercourse with any married individual male or female. It is important to remember that most of the speakers in the copies of the Book of the Dead are males so we must consider gender in defining this one. If it were a woman's tomb it would likely read "I have not had intercourse with a married man."

Confessions 11-15

Confession 11: O He-of-the-Cavern who came forth from the West, I have not fornicated with the fornicator.

In Egypt this was different than we might expect. Marriage was considered not by a service but by declaring love or the intent to be together to the populace/family. This could also be a parent or set of parents setting up an arranged marriage. In Ancient Egyptian terms fornication here refers to what we would call cheating on a marriage, an affair or a similar act. There are many additional laws governing this confession. For example, a woman could nullify a marriage simply by stating that her husband was not providing for her. (In some cases even if the thing he was not providing was sex.) Divorce also did not happen in the long drawn out manner it does in modern times. From the few records I have read on the matter (primary source stuff) apparently speaking it to those involved was enough.

Ok enough on that. I will try to get a coherent post on marriage practices in the future. For now let us move on to who this confession is spoken to. From the west can refer to either one who is rising from the dead(walking out of the Duat) or someone who rules the desert. More than likely this is Set. He hid out in a cavern and he is also associated in some mythology with fornication and/or misdeeds. 

Confession 12: O He-Whose-Face-is-Behind-Him who came forth from his hole, I have not caused anyone to weep.
This is what it sounds like. It means that a follower has not purposefully said or done things with the intention of hurting others.. of making them weep. As to who, this is one that eludes me as well. I have to make a guess because while there have been studies of the Book of the Dead I have yet to find a source that tries to name the assessors. This research has been all mine. Coming forth from the hole is a term I have seen in reference to the mound of creation. The hole could refer to where Nun came from at the beginning of the world. I don't really know what it means that his face is behind him. Another possibility is Hra-f-ha-f a god who steers the boat of Ra who is often depicted looking over his shoulder.

The Gayer-Anderson Cat at the British Museum.

Confession 13: O Bast coming forth from the secret place, I have not eaten my heart.
This time they were nice enough to give us the goddess. Her secret place is likely her temple at Per-Bast. There are two possible translations of eating the heart. The first, and more straightforward one, is that committing offense against Ma'at's law. This is probably not the case after reading the next confession. More likely it refers to being false in appearance, attitude or personality. The heart, ab, is the center of good and evil thoughts and weighed in judgement. Eating your heart would be destroying it in the way Ammut would and that would be infecting it with evil.

Confession 14.O Hot-Legs who came forth at twilight, I have not transgressed.
I am again not sure who "Hot Legs" is aside from some reference to pin-ups that I am sure the Egyptians knew nothing about. However, the description does suggest they come from night time or dusk. It could be Nut or Hathor who are both supposed to be images of beauty and are associated with twilight times. Aside from that I am not sure who "Hot Legs" might be. One who walks in fire at night? Could be. The second part is much more clear. I have not transgressed refers to laws. These could be the laws of Ma'at, the government or the society. It isn't specific in what the transgression is against but the glyph choice suggests it is related to law. 

Confession15. O He-Who-is-Blood who came forth from the place of slaughter, I have not grain-profiteering.

Grain profiteering is gaining monetary profits by cheating others. Again, this is about treating others unfairly for personal gain. This seems to refer directly to cheating people out of money though deceit or unethical practices.In the modern scheme of things I would consider this any sort of cheating others for profit. So, overcharging for a service or product, misrepresenting product or any number of modern schemes that involve getting more money that the sold item or service is worth.

I have always associated "He who is Blood" to either be Horus, where blood is a reference to bloodline, or Set as the one in charge of the military. Either god would be quite appropriate as Horus is a god of vengeance and taking action against wrongs. Set on the other hand is sometimes associated with greed and deceit. Like many of these I need to do much more research on the references before I can be definitive on which god it might be.

Whose Eye is this anyway?

The Egyptian eye is probably one of the most widely recognized Egyptian symbols. From the fancy make-up and tattoos to the amulets in the museum the icon has become a widespread image. Sometimes we see it called the Eye of Ra and others, the Eye of Horus.

Like most people, for years I was confused about what this symbol actually was. It was so often that both illustrations looked exactly the same and heads or tails couldn't be made for when to tell them apart. In fact, if you do a google search the exact same images will come up for the "Eye of Ra" and the "Eye of Horus". It took me many years, almost 20 now, to get to the bottom of this mess about which one is which. Just this past year I found a text, both a translation and images of the original Papyrus of Turin, that told me once and for all what the difference was.

Before we get into how to resolve this problem of determining what is and is not whose eye we can start by talking about those things we do know. There are times in mythology and writing where one of these eyes is referred to and not the other.

The Eye of Ra
The Eye of Ra is defined universally as several things that are never given the name Eye of Horus. These include the goddesses. Sekhmet, Hathor and Bastet are often given the name Eye of Ra and associated with the symbol. When we see these goddesses and the eye symbol we can be certain that this is in fact the Eye of Ra. The Eye of Ra is also a common theme in creation myths to light up the water of Nun. The eye of Ra can be shown alone or as a pair.

The Eye of Horus
Horus, and that is Horus the Elder brother of Set and not Horus the Child, had his eye ripped out by Set in the first battle that Set waged against his family. This eye was then healed by Thoth or sometimes Isis depending on the version of the myth you are actually reading.
........But wait, there is actually a second Eye of Horus. Set must have a tendency for eye removal as some myths state that he also removes the eye of Horus the Child just before the other gods tell them enough fighting and force them to go to trial. The eye of Horus, no matter the Horus, is almost always a single eye and usually a right one.

..........AND then the Egyptian make it exceedingly complicated.
A god named Re-Horakhty or Ra-Horakhty, if you like, comes on the scene. This god is a merger of Ra and Horus, the child in this case. Now whose eye is it? Is it the Eye of Horus? The Eye of Ra? Do we have a third Eye of Ra-Horakhty? How do we figure out what to call the eye associated with this god?

There is an explanation!
Until just last year I would have been sitting there scratching my head just as most people do when faced with this conundrum of eyes. I told you that I had found a myth from a papyrus that clears this up once and for all. The myth is a common one telling the story of how Isis used magic and trickery to force Ra to divulge his true and secret name. Most of the versions of this myth Isis only asks for Ra's name. However, in some versions, such as the 20th dynasty one in the Papyrus of Turin, Isis adds another stipulation that Ra give Horus his eyes as well or die in agony. The writer of this myth even states that there after the Eyes of Ra are called the Eyes of Horus by men. EUREKA! There seems to be an answer, that though we call it the Eye of Horus all of the eyes are actually Ra's.

There is one loose end though. What about the eye of Horus the Elder? This eye is named in a few myths but the Eye of Horus the Elder is rarely, exceedingly rarely, used outside of the mythology of his battle with Set. Usually, we are looking at amulets, artwork or tattoos designed for protection. The Eye of Horus the Elder is never given the attributes of protection so we can usually rule that name out for items that are designed to give protection. If we are picking up an eye to use as a religious item it has to be either Ra or Horus the Child whom that eye belongs to.

The question remains do we call it the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra? Honestly, it can be either. The Eye of Ra is the original form, the owner of the eyes and reference to either Bastet and/or Sekhmet/Hathor. We could use the Eye of Horus as well but it comes with the mythology of these eyes truly being the stolen property of Ra. Though, occasionally we can use the Eye of Horus as the one Set removes but having your eye plucked out hardly sounds like an image of protection to me. It is an interesting set of mythology.



If you want to read a translation of this myth check out Legends of Ancient Egypt by M.A. Murray.