Initiation in Ancient Egypt - Grand Master Julie Scott: transcript

Hello everyone, and welcome to this teleconference. Today we're going to explore what initiation may have been like in ancient Egypt. No one knows for sure what took place; we're going to consider some possibilities. There were oaths of secrecy, so a lot of the information was held sacred and private. Some texts were found, but there aren't a lot of details regarding the rituals for living initiates. There are more details for initiation into the afterlife. There are some exceptions, though. There are some ancient authors who described the mysteries. The Roman scholar, author, and Platonist philosopher Apuleius, who was born in 125 of our era, wrote a book

called Metamorphoses, or it's also called The Golden Ass, and here's what he wrote: "In the middle of the night, I have seen the sun shine in sparkling radiance. I have approached the deities and have seen them face to face." The deities from each of Egypt's 42 provinces then ask the candidate 42 questions, and the candidate must answer no to each of these questions.

Later, Iamblichus, a Neoplatonist who was born in the year 245, wrote a book called On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians. Initiates were instructed in understanding and working with things on an energetic level. Rosicrucian Egyptologist Max Guilmot, who wrote The Initiatory Process in Ancient Egypt, which was published by AMORC in 1978, offered the spiritual side of ancient Egyptian practices, and this booklet is provided complimentary by the Rosicrucians. Doctor Guilmot offers that initiations were for more than just the Pharaoh. He wrote the translation of some hieroglyphs:

"The postulant whispers, 'Great Deity, I am your offspring, contemplating your mystery.'" The Rosicrucian teachings state that the goal of life is to serve as a vehicle for the Divine, to entirely contemplate its own reflection through us. We experience life so the Divine can experience itself, and that's certainly what this quotation sounds like. According to the Rosicrucian teachings, initiation brings into the realm of reason the purpose, and into the realm of emotion, the spirit of one's introduction into the mysteries.

So think about this for a moment. Initiation brings into the realm of reason the purpose—so we think about what is the purpose—and into the realm of emotion, the spirit of one's introduction into the mysteries. The ancient Egyptians saw the cosmos not as empty matter; they saw it full of soul and energy, and believed we can connect with that energy.

I think many people both sense and long for this, even today. The ancient Egyptians saw eight aspects of the soul. There are eight immortal parts that survived death, plus the body, so there were nine parts of a human being. There is the Ib, spelled either way, which is the heart center. This is the source of good and evil within a person, the center of our moral awareness. And after death, the Ib either lived with the deities or was eaten by a ferocious monster called Ammit, which led to a final death. So the heart was very important to the ancient Egyptians.

Another aspect of the soul is called the Akh, and this means the effective spirit. The Akh designates the combination of the most elevated being on the spiritual level, the divine soul with the person—the magical union of the Ba and the Ka, and we'll talk about those in a moment. The Akh, this aspect of ourselves, would enjoy eternity among the stars with the deities. It's often called the illuminated, radiant, glorious spirit. It's the initiated person and the goal of every Egyptian; the transfigured spirit of a person becomes one with the light after death, and that is called the Akh.

Then there is the Ba, which is a person's presence in the world. The term Ba is often translated as soul, but it really has a deeper meaning than this. The Ba can be seen as the effect a person has on the world around them; it can even represent their reputation. The Ba is represented by a bird with a human head, which is the head of the deceased person.

The Ba could come and go and even fly to different realms, connecting to our higher self or traveling shamanically. The Ba was what made that person unique; it's kind of like their personality. Then there is the Ka, which is the life force. The Ka was created at the same time as the living body; it was the double of the body and represented the life force or essence of a person. The Ka lived on after the death of the body. The Ka still needed nourishment after death, which is why food and drink would be presented to a mummified body. The Ka absorbed the energy or essence of the offerings. The person's vital essence or life force that distinguishes between life and death is the Ka. A goddess breathed the Ka into a baby at the moment of birth,

and then the Ka was sustained during the person's lifetime through food and drink. And this sounds familiar to Rosicrucians because of our study of the vital life force that we get through the air that we breathe and the food and drink that we ingest. The Ka can be connected with the energy of our ancestors and all of humanity through the collective unconscious.

The Ka was created at the moment of one's birth for the individual and so reflected one's personality, but the essence had always existed and was passed across successive generations, carrying the spiritual force of the first creation. Next we have the Khat, the physical form that was considered part of the human soul itself. This is our body that could decay after death, the mortal part that could only be preserved through mummification.

Another aspect of a person is the Ren. This is our true name, and it's a vital part in our journey through this life and the afterlife. Children would be given a nickname so that no one knew their true name. Like in some indigenous cultures, someone may have a name like Keeper of the Flame, or She Who Laughs, or He Who Runs with the Wind.

Next is Sahu. This is a further aspect of the Akh that we just spoke about, that would separate from all the other forms of the soul once found worthy for eternal existence. It would appear as a ghost or in dreams. Then we have the Sekhem. This is another aspect of the Akh that allowed it mastery of circumstances. It was the vital life energy of the individual, which manifested itself as the power to control one's surroundings and outcomes.

And then last, we have the Shuyet, which is the ever-present shadow, which both protects us and requires protection. And now we're going to review how the following people viewed initiation in ancient Egypt. First, we'll explore the views of H. Spencer Lewis, Ralph M. Lewis, and Max Guilmot, who were all Rosicrucians in the 20th century. Then we'll look at what Apuleius and Iamblichus, the ancient writers, had to say about initiation in ancient Egypt.

And then we'll explore the views of Elisabeth Haich and Jeremy Nadler, who are modern writers. In 1936, H. Spencer Lewis, the first Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, wrote a book called The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid. He writes in this book: "The thesis of this book is the presentation of the mystical side of the pyramid and the support of the contention presented in many ancient traditions, that the Great Pyramid was built not as a tomb for a king who sought to aggrandize himself immediately before and long after his transition, but as a place designed entirely and used exclusively for mystical ceremonies of initiation, and incidentally or coincidentally, as a monument for the preservation of wisdom,

and to be everlastingly a prophet of the future." In this book, The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid, H. Spencer Lewis drew a chart—a map—which shows underground tunnels that connected the Sphinx and the three pyramids. There are ten pyramids on the Giza Plateau, but we're most familiar with the three main pyramids. And here you can see a photo of the Sphinx, and you can see the Great Pyramid in the background to see how close it is.

The next diagram shows a circular temple that is underground with a hidden doorway where three pyramid passageways meet. The secret entrance to the area opens with the correct intonation of vowel sounds. No one has confirmed the existence of this underground temple, or these underground tunnels or passageways, but Lewis presented their details and how they were used in the past.

Then, once you would enter the Great Pyramid, you would come into the Grand Gallery. And this is a drawing by H. Spencer Lewis of the area that seems to go just straight up. When you are in the Great Pyramid and go through the current entrance—it's not the original entrance, but through the current entrance—you have to bend down to walk up some slats quite a way, and then you're able to stand straight up and the ceiling is very high. This is the Grand Gallery.

Next, you enter the King's Chamber, and this is where H. Spencer Lewis said the initiation culminated. So again, there's another short passage, not very tall, so you can't stand up to walk through there, and then you enter what's today called the King's Chamber. And next we see a general plan for temples in ancient Egypt. They often would start with a wider outer courtyard, and then it would narrow into a hypostyle hall, and then it would narrow even more to a pronaos, which means that it's in front of the holiest part of the temple.

And then you have the naos, which is the Holy of Holies or the sanctum. So on the right is a drawing that's very typical of how temples were created. And the space not only became more narrow, it also became shorter. So as you walked forward—you can see it in the photo on the left—by the time you get to the Holy of Holies, the ceiling is lower and the walls are not as wide. Again, the ancient Egyptians believed that the cosmos is not just empty matter; it is full of soul and energy, and we can connect with that energy. And the ancient Egyptians used their architecture in order to connect with that energy. And here you can see both the diagram and the temple a little more clearly. The temples were built to focus the energy in the inner sanctum.

H. Spencer Lewis wrote about this monument that you see, which is called the Akh-menu. And this means the monument to the Akh, which I just mentioned. It is the illuminated, radiant, glorious spirit; it's the energy of someone who has been initiated. It's the goal of every Egyptian and the transfigured spirit of a person that becomes one with the light after death. H.

Spencer Lewis wrote in his book that in ancient times, a council was held at this sacred place, and we can suppose that the highest initiations took place here in the Akh-menu. In 1929, a group of Rosicrucian members traveled to Egypt, and this is a photo of members in a tent in the desert. And the trip secretary who accompanied the group wrote the following when they were getting ready to leave: "No matter how you look at it or how you may argue with yourself about it, you always come to the final conclusion that Egypt cast a spell over those tourists who can enter into the spirit of the mystery, mysticism, romance, and intrigue that is an inseparable part of her history." And the author always signed the articles as the trip secretary.

This was Ralph M. Lewis, who later became the Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order. So following this historic Rosicrucian initiated journey to Egypt in 1929, the Egyptian Museum opened at Rosicrucian Park the next year. Today's Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is a newer building. This was the original building, and eventually, there were so many artifacts that it outgrew this space. Your museum, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, houses the largest collection of authentic ancient Egyptian artifacts on display in western North America. The current building was built 60 years ago; it opened in 1966.

Next, we're going to consider the view of Ralph M. Lewis, who I mentioned was the Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order after H. Spencer Lewis. And he wrote that induction into the ancient mystery schools was always in the form of initiation. The gnosis, the special knowledge that was to be imparted to the candidate, was considered to be of a sacred nature. It was thought that the knowledge was of divine origin, revealed through oracles and priests or priestesses. Thus, initiation in its ancient character was a synchronism of religion, metaphysics, and what we may term moral philosophy.

So that's a perspective of Ralph M. Lewis on initiation, including initiation in ancient Egypt. Ralph M. Lewis asked Max Guilmot, a Rosicrucian and a Belgian Egyptologist, to write a book which was published by AMORC in 1978. It's called The Initiatory Process in Ancient Egypt, and Max Guilmot offers the spiritual side of ancient Egyptian practices. Often, scholars would say that the different temples and the Great Pyramid and other structures were only used as tombs, but the Rosicrucian perspective is that the buildings were also used for initiation.

Max Guilmot wrote that initiations were for more than just the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh would travel to the spiritual world to manifest things in Egypt, but initiation was also conferred on prepared individuals. And I'm going to refer again to the quotation that Guilmot shares, which is from an ancient papyrus: "The postulant whispers, 'Great Deity, I am your offspring, contemplating your mystery.'" And in his book, The Initiatory Process, he presents a case that initiations were conferred to those who had been prepared.

You're probably familiar with the final judgment scene, and this is an image from the tomb in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. On the left, you see a character that is Anubis. The jackal-headed deity is leading the candidate, and Anubis was the conductor in the initiations.

Anubis's responsibility was to guide and protect the initiate. Then we see another character, and this is the deity Thoth, who would be represented as either an ibis bird or a baboon, and Thoth was the keeper of the mysteries. Thoth recorded everything that ever happened. Guilmot quotes the Coffin Texts; it says: "Verily I am the one who dwells in the light. Yes, I am a soul that came into being, born from the body of the deity. Yes, I am a falcon that dwells in the light, that finds its power through its own light and through its own radiance.

O Osiris, Lord of manifestations, great and majestic, here I have come." Next we'll hear from Apuleius, who lived from 123 to 170 of our era. He was a Roman who was born in Algeria, and Algeria at that time was a Roman colony. He was a Platonist and an author. He wrote a book called Metamorphoses, which is often called The Golden Ass. It's about a man who accidentally turns himself into an ass—into a donkey—through the misuse of magic, and many people consider this to be the first novel ever written.

Gulliver's Travels is based on this. For this man, all he has to do is eat a rose to turn himself back into a human, but there's always a reason he can't do that. For example, once he has turned himself into a donkey, he watches two thieves kill someone. There is a rose right by his mouth, so all he would have to do is eat that rose and he would be turned into a man. But if he did that, then the two people who had just committed this crime would see him and would harm him. So there's always some reason he can't turn himself back into a human.

This drawing is by Michael Bull, who participated in one of our ancient mysteries classes, and he created this image. This shows the character—the character is called Lucius, the man who turned himself into a donkey—and he's before Isis. This is a spoiler, so if you ever plan to read Metamorphoses and don't want to know how it ends, don't listen to this part. He is praying; he knows that it was through his own ignorance that he turned himself into a donkey, and he's tried everything to turn himself back into a human being. It just takes the grace of the Divine. So Isis, the goddess, appears to him, and here's what she says to Lucius: "Behold, Lucius, I am come. Your weeping and prayers have moved me to provide solace to you.

I am she who is the natural mother of all things, mistress and governess of all the elements, the initial progeny of worlds, chief of powers, divine Queen of Heaven. I am the principal of the celestial deities, the light of the goddesses. At my will, the planets of the air, the wholesome winds of the seas, and the silences of hell are disposed. My name, my divinity, is adored throughout the world in diverse ways, through various customs and under many names. The Phrygians call me the mother of the deities; the Athenians, Minerva; the Cypriots, Venus; the Sicilians proclaim me Elysian Ceres; and principally the Ethiopians in the East, and the Egyptians, who are excellent in all manner of ancient doctrine and who worship me

by their proper ceremonies and customs, call me Queen Isis. Behold, I am here to take pity on your fortune and tribulation. I am present to favor and aid you. Leave behind your weeping and lamentation, and put away all your sorrow. Rather, look upon the healthful day that is ordained by my providence, and therefore be ready to attend to my commandment."

This statue is of Isis, and the painting on the right is a modern painting by Olga, a Rosicrucian member. Apuleius describes initiation in Metamorphoses as a direct encounter with a divine presence. In this case, he uses a first-person narrative through the character Lucius and emphasizes secrecy and mystery. His description focuses on emotional and sensory experience.

Next, we meet Iamblichus, who lived from 245 to 325 of our era. He was a Syrian Arab Neoplatonist philosopher. He wrote a book called On the Egyptian Mysteries. Iamblichus explained how people can connect with the Divine, not just through thinking or philosophy, but through sacred practices such as chants, which he considered to be a sacred language. Iamblichus wrote that these practices are not human inventions; they were revealed by the deities, and sacred objects, words, and symbols carry divine power.

He said that the deities don't respond to human logic, but rather to properly performed sacred actions, and these initiate us into the mysteries. Ritual aligns human beings with higher realities so we can connect human consciousness with divine archetypes. He said that even if we don't fully understand rituals, they still work because of their divine origin.

Ancient Egyptians called hieroglyphs the words of the deities. They believed the script was a divine gift from Thoth, whom I mentioned earlier, who's the keeper of the mysteries. They believed that hieroglyphs possessed literal magical energy. This is similar to some other traditions where letters are sacred and have deeper meaning than just A, B, and C—for example, in Sanskrit and in the Hebrew letters, where meditations and chants are created combining these sacred words. We know that chanting, humming, and singing can affect the vagus nerve, the pineal and pituitary glands, and other areas, initiating changes in brainwaves. So even if it's on a more physical level, we know that chanting does affect how we experience the world.

Next, we will meet Elisabeth Haich. She was a Hungarian author and spiritual teacher who lived from 1897 to 1994. In her autobiographical book, Initiation, she defines initiation as a profound, often painful, and irreversible process of spiritual awakening where one dies to their ego-driven, worldly identity to be reborn in divine consciousness.

It's the culmination of lifetimes of spiritual training—metaphorically and literally—the mastery of fear and desire to achieve union with the Divine. In this book, Initiation, she describes a long-lost civilization far more advanced than today's, and explains the purpose of the Egyptian pyramids as centers for this initiatory process.

Next, we'll look at Jeremy Nadler, a modern philosopher and author. He is the author of Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts and Temple of the Cosmos. Jeremy Nadler describes the aspects of the soul which we talked about earlier, including the Ba and the Akh—the Ba being the mobile soul and the Akh the transformed spirit—and their journey through cosmic realms.

He offers that the ancient Egyptians used altered states, such as trance and visionary states, to explore other realms. The specific realm that he talks about in depth is the Duat, which is another plane of existence. The Egyptians saw this as the place of pure potentiality. In the Duat, everything that manifests in our lives and in the universe begins as potential, and we activate it into existence through our thoughts.

So, Jeremy Nadler says the spiritual ascent is described as a real experience, meaning the initiate travels to another plane through an altered state, and ritual supports visionary consciousness. There are others who have written about the use of hallucinogenic and other substances to create trance and visionary states to explore other realms, describing it not as imaginary, but as imaginal—that we go there through another process and on another plane of existence. It's not just something we make up; it's a real experience.

Jeremy Nadler writes: "Now, it might be argued that the whole of this text—meaning the book of what is in the Duat—along with the contents of the massive body of literature dealing with the Egyptian Otherworld, is not knowledge at all, but mere priestly speculation about something essentially unknowable. But it could equally well be maintained that this knowledge was the outcome of the type of mystical experience that involved crossing the threshold of death while still alive, an experience that is so characteristic of shamanism. There is evidence, which will be presented in his book The Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, that rituals existed in ancient Egypt that served the purpose of projecting the soul across the threshold of death, even when still alive."

To summarize what these individuals we've just discussed believe about initiation in ancient Egypt: H. Spencer Lewis believed that tests and mystical ceremonies qualified the candidate to be instructed in the wisdom of the mystery schools. Ralph M. Lewis believed that initiation was induction into the mystery schools, where special knowledge of a sacred nature would be imparted to the candidate. Max Guilmot offers that initiations are rituals leading to experiencing the light. Apuleius says that initiation is an emotional and sensory, direct encounter with a deity—in his case, Isis, who took pity on him and enfolded him in her arms.

Iamblichus said that the ancient Egyptian practices were sacred practices to align with higher realities using techniques like chanting. Elisabeth Haich says that the challenges of ancient Egyptian initiation caused the ego state to die, allowing rebirth in divine consciousness. And Jeremy Nadler talks about ancient Egyptian initiation as shamanic altered states to explore other realms, which includes the realm of pure potentiality, the Duat.

Many of you have had profound initiating experiences. I feel very privileged to have had several, most notably in Rosicrucian temples and in the Rosicrucian initiated journey through Egypt. So I invite you to consider what initiation means to you. What does initiation mean to you? We're going to open the chat now, and I invite you to enter what initiation means to you, and I'll share them once we get that open.

Feel free to post in the chat what you think initiation is and what initiation means to you. Transformation. Connection with the higher realms. Acceptance and reconnection to the past to understand the present and future. Profound cosmic union. Ascending. Remembrance. Old consciousness breaking and a new one transforming. A doorway. Awakening. Opportunity to peek behind the veil. Introduction to a higher level of understanding.

The gateway to higher knowledge. Commitment. Soul merging with divine consciousness, and opening, and sacred joining—it's going very fast, sorry if I'm missing some. Remembering our true nature. Receiving the Divine. A permanent transformation of consciousness into a higher state of understanding and living. A special means of connecting with the Divine. Special messages as one is in touch with divine consciousness. Ability to cross the threshold and pierce the veil. The material and the spiritual.

Becoming born again in a new way to feel and understand things. A rite of passage. It sounds like you all are very experienced with initiation, and it doesn't have to take place in a formal setting or in Egypt. All of us have experienced initiation in some form. So thank you all so much for participating in this exploration of initiation in ancient Egypt.