Weighing of the Heart
I have created a simple Weighing of the Heart ceremony for Olivia Robertson, to be enacted on November 6 according to her wishes. Please feel free to join me if you wish between the FOI attunement times of 6:30 - 8:30 pm in the evening in your own zone. Don't worry about performing it exactly the same time I do. According to Olivia, our energies will join on the Inner Planes, where all is one, regardless of differences in physical time.
Weighing of the Heart
For Olivia Robertson
By Linda Iles
To be Enacted on November 6
On the altar, draped in dark blue and gold, let there be a staff or wand, a small plate of fruit and bread, a cup of water, a chalice or vessel of water and an empty bowl, a white feather, a heart amulet and incense, and an image of the Goddess Isis.
Note: The directions corresponded to the Four Sons of Horus and the Four Goddesses are the standard allocations provided in Egyptological sources, which are listed below the ritual.
Invocation
Isis of Ten Thousand Names, Who protecteth the soul with Thy feathery wings of the Kite; Whose blood, enchantments and power strengthen the soul, inspire us with Thy breath of the West Wind. Winged Goddess Who concealeth Thy brow with Thy long hair, spread Thy hair of enchantment and shake it over the brow of Thy Devotees. Breathe into us Thy Breath of life and health and strength.
Oracle of the Goddess Isis
through her priestess
It is through Inspiration that you live. Without Inspiration you are as dead, devoid of the Holy Breath. Do not deceive yourselves. You cannot live forever shut in the mummy-cases of your own fantasies, however colourful they are, however compelling. For without Inspiration the colours will dim, the power lessen. No amount of stimulation from your thought or from your senses, no act of will can then bring Life. You will slowly sink into unconsciousness and, as your dreams become nightmares, you yourselves will fall victims to your self-created images of fear.
Draw upon My Breath, which is wafted to you and all beings through the rhythmic beating of My wings. This Holy Breath may not be concealed, conserved, kept imprisoned in one place, within one person - even within one God or Goddess. It is for all. And as it is for all, it brings all. Open yourselves to the wind of Inspiration, and you lose nothing but the hardening case of a coffin of outworn theologies and cramping laws. Instead, you will gain the riches of Eternity and make better theologies, nobler laws. Allow Truth to cleanse your minds as a strong wind brings renewal. For Truth expresses Herself as new understanding and She may not be bound or blindfolded. This courage to face the unveiled Truthmeans that you lose the sleep of nonentity. You breathe freely, you open your eyes fearlessly: you sit; you stand; then with the wings of Horus you fly with Me. You use the many-coloured winding-sheet of dreams that once bound you as a robe that you wear at will.
Hear My Call and awaken!
The Hall of Ma’at
We are entering into a place of depths of the heart - within the Womb of the Mothers. As we follow the ancient Egyptian path, we approach two dark obelisks with golden tips flanking an alabaster portal in the side of a mountain. Anubis stands there, all black, with His great upright ears, robed in gold. Tehuti, robed in black, stands on the other side. They are the guardians of the portal. Each stands silently, gazing into the heart of a mystery and not sharing what He sees. Silently, They beckon us to pass.
Within we expect to see only darkness, but no! We find ourselves within a temple of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses deep within the earth. It is dark, but we find ourselves in a mighty hall of hewn stone, with pillars reaching upwards into darkness above us, along the sides of a great passageway. Here in the dark womb of the earth, within the realm of Geb we hear chanting. “We honor truth. We honor virtue. We honor heaven. We honor the earth.” And it is here in the dark halls of earthly initiation that we first learn to honor truth, we first learn to love, to uphold virtue, we learn to honor all of life in it’s many forms. And it is here that we must face the mysterious depths of both the Goddess and the God.
Osiris sits enthroned, behind him stand Isis and Nephthys. The Goddesses Opet, Hathor, Neith and Selket are also present, and Tehuti, Anubis and the Four Sons of Horus. A Golden Scale stands before the throne of Osiris, bathed in the light of Ra, a feather rests on one pan of the scales, Anubis now stands, ready to place a heart in the other. The ceremony begins.
Invocations of the Four Sons of Horus and
The Four Protective Goddesses
I. North: Earth. Hapy and Nephthys
Devotee: O Nephthys! Mistress of the Holy Place, Giver of Dreams and True Vision. Sister of Isis, Sister of Osiris, guide the spirit of our beloved Olivia into the Land of Living Light. Bring a New Beginning from the Darkness.
Devotee: O Hapy! Son of Horus, Guardian of the lungs, protector of the Breath that animates all earthly bodies, give to Olivia the Breath of Life. Earth holds the bodies of our ancestors after they die, and earth is the element to which all things return. We sow the earth with seed for harvest; it is earth, which provides the initial gateways to the realms of the underworld; permitting those of pure hearts the way to liberation. Open the gateways, allow the light of Ra to light the way to heaven.
The Goddess Nephthys replies: “We have heard your petitions. Hear the judgment of Hapy, Son of Horus, who stands before the throne of Osiris.”
The Son of Horus declares: “...I am one who lives by right-doing, I lean on my staff and watch over Upper Egypt.’ Olivia, we accept Thee.”
Devotee raises staff or wand before the altar and blesses it in the names of Hapy and Nephthys, passing it through the smoke of the incense.
II. East: Air. Duamutef and Neith
Devotee: O Neith! Most ancient and wise of all the Deities, Goddess of Life, who witnessed creation of the world! Guide the spirit of our beloved Olivia into the Land of Living Light. Bring a New Beginning from the Darkness.
Devotee: O Duamutef! Son of Horus, Guardian of the stomach, nourish the body of Olivia that she will continue to live. Duamutef, whose name means “He Who Praises His Mother”. For the Newly Born relies upon the Mother, as She provides nourishment for Her offspring. Guide the soul of Olivia through the dark pathways to the abode of new life and new beginnings. May she attain illumination through the light of the rising spiritual sun, which heralds her rebirth, O Eastern Jackal of the Dawn.
The Goddess Neith replies: “We have heard your petitions. Hear the judgment of Duamutef, Son of Horus, who stands before the throne of Osiris.”
The Son of Horus declares: “... I will expel this hunger which is in thy belly and this thirst which is on thy lips. Olivia, we accept Thee.”
Devotee raises plate of bread and fruit, and cup of water before the altar and blesses it in the name of Duamutef and Neith, passing it through the smoke of the incense.
III. South: Fire. Imsety and Isis
Devotee: “O Isis! She, Who protects all those who trust in Her, She, Who is Great of Magic and Wisdom. Hear us! Guide the spirit of our beloved Olivia into the Land of Living Light. Bring a New Beginning from the Darkness.”
Devotee: “O Imsety! Son of Horus, Guardian of the liver, remove all impurities from the liquid fire of the body of Olivia. Great Lord, who takes the throne and rules through true sovereignty and the power of fire and spirit. As the Nile was imbued with divine influx before the advent of the floods, at the time of rising of the Star of Isis with the Sun, may the spark of life imbue Olivia’s soul. May the direct power of divinity continue to express through Her in the Otherworld as it did in the Physical world.
The Goddess Isis replies: “We have heard your petitions. Hear the judgment of Imsety, Son of Horus, who stands before the throne of Osiris.”
The Son of Horus declares: “… you have been raised you up, your name is raised up, you have been made whole...’ Olivia, we accept Thee.”
Devotee raises the white feather before the altar and blesses it in the name of Imsety and Isis, passing it through the smoke of the incense.
IV. West: Water. Qebseneuef and Selket
Devotee: O Selket! Named ‘She who causes to breathe,’ the current of Your Touch brings True Perception and Initiation. Guide the spirit of our beloved Olivia into the Land of Living Light. Bring a New Beginning from the Darkness.
Devotee: O Qebseneuef! Son of Horus, Guardian of the intestines, eliminate that which is no longer necessary to Olivia’s well being. Bring her victory, life, beauty, strength and protection. May she live on the distant horizon of the west, the direction of our future; may she chant and sing to Ra during his nightly journey in his barque sailing the river of stars. May his solar powers bring Olivia illumination. May Olivia live in the new day that always dawns, in the realm of the western lands.
The Goddess Selket replies: “We have heard your petitions. Hear the judgment of Qebseneuef, Son of Horus, who stands before the throne of Osiris.”
The Son of Horus declares: “... I am the great god who presides over the Lake... I bring this boat which Khnum built, which is in this waterway.’ Olivia, we accept Thee.”
Devotee raises the chalice or vessel of water and fills the empty bowl before the altar and blesses it in the name of Qebseneuef and Selket, passing it through the smoke of the incense.
Anubis places the heart upon the scale, it sits in perfect balance, aligned with the Feather of Ma’at on the other side.
We hear chanting … we hear the voice of a woman chanting, “My Heart is Pure”…and we see a great river, dark as night, whose currents hold glimmering stars. These waters bring healing of the heart and spirit, of all the wounds and illness suffered in life. For this is the Realm of the Heart. And the Great Mother of All, Protectress of the Temple, Protectress of Life, Harbinger of Hope, smiles in this place where light meets darkness, where day meets night, where life meets death.
And we see the form of a woman step into the sacred barque, and it begins to rise. The earth has grown insubstantial and she sails through it easily. She rises upwards through the earth, into the sky above, to the portal of the temple of the Sun, the land of golden light, of life, love and happiness. It has two golden pylons on either side of the temple gateway, whose height fades into the sky above and whose columns then descend downwards into the earth below. The woman enters the realm of Ra and of Hathor as a solar body. Here it is proclaimed of her: “You are truthful of spirit and honest of heart.”
Anubis and Tehuti have sent their decree to the Temple of the Sun. The woman is freed of all further obligations and cares of earthly life – though she is free to return if she chooses. The Feather of Ma’at now outweighs the heart! In this sudden lightening, the woman, again begins to rise, sailing in the sacred barque. She leaves behind the beautiful golden temple of the sun.
Devotee raises the heart amulet before the altar and blesses it, passing it through the smoke of the incense.
She rises into the heavens, where the stellar twins, the Souls of Isis and of Osiris are joined in one single united flow of being. The light of both Goddess and God flow into and around the woman as Isis and Osiris together pour a stream of Holy Light into her. The woman sails onward into the realm of stars, guided by the dreams and visions the Goddess and the God have given her.
And the God Tehuti declares: “She is indeed, Olivia, Isis Risen.”
A period of meditation follows.
The ceremony is ended. The offerings are blessed and shared, with a small portion set aside. A report of experiences may be shared.
The small portion of the offerings and the libations of water used during the ritual are later returned to the earth after the rite.
___________________________
Olivia, We Remember.
FOI Sources: “Oracle of Isis” from “Mystery of the Awakening of Osiris” from “Dea, Goddess Rites and Mysteries” by Olivia Robertson.
“On the Wings of Ma’at” a guided visualization offered by Olivia Robertson, October 6, 2006.
Other Sources:
Clayton, Peter, Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 1994
Dodson, Aidan, with contributions by Otto J. Schaden, Edwin C. Brock and Mark Collier, The Canopic Equipment of the Kings of Egypt, London and New York, Studies in Egyptology Series, Kegan Paul International, 1994
El Mahdy, Christine, Mummies, Myth and Magic in Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, New York, 1989
Faulkner, Raymond O., translator:
The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1990
The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Warminster: Aris & Phillips
Hart, George, A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, Routledge, 1986
Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Favard, La Collection Egyptienne. Guide du Visiteur, Marseille, Musées de Marseille / Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne, 1995, Cahier du Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne. (Includes an introductory note on the history of the Egyptian collection, followed by text written by Christine Favard and Dimitri Meeks, illustrated with many objects from the museum collection.
Ritner, Robert Kriech, The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization no. 54, 1993
Rundle-Clark, R.T., Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, Thames and Hudson
Schafer, Byron E., editor, Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths and Personal Practice, Cornell University Press, 1991
Shaw, Ian and Nicholson, Paul, British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Trustees of the British Museum, British Museum Press, London, 1995
Wilkinson, Richard H.:
Reading Egyptian Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture, Thames & Hudson, 1992
Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art, Thames & Hudson, 1994