Raising the Djed
Picture this; dust in the atmosphere giving rise to a thick hazy band on (around) the horizon. Cobra shaped CME’s lashing out into space are granted further visibility as a result, this leading to the belief Re really was physically commencing battle with the demons of the underworld (flat earth). The same scenario as the sun rose in the dust bound eastern horizon, Re was observed kicking and screaming to slowly rise victorious and once again illuminate the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt (heaven and earth).
Sitting on top of this band of debris encircling all horizons was the sky, or as perceived by the Egyptians the firmament of heaven. This required physical struts or posts to support it or so they believed. This is where I believe the Djed pillar comes in to play. Four posts were naturally required to hold up the heavens, sitting on the four corners of the earth. Similar pillars to the ones that once supported the roof at Karnak below.
The four posts (Djed) would stop the sky ‘falling in’ as probably occurred many times during times of intense turmoil. But how do you pictorially represent the ‘strength and stability’ of the four struts that held up the cosmos? Carve, draw, paint and incorporate into the art four struts every time? This was too time consuming and impractical especially when designing small Djed amulets to assist the deceased in their journey above. The AE’s simply, and I would say naturally, incorporated 4 into 1. One strut or post with four horizontal cross beams to symbolise the four posts. The Djed symbolising the four posts that held up the heavens.
This division between heaven and earth had to be maintained and keep clear for a passage to the world above - enter the pharaoh.
The king in ancient Egypt was everything – access to the gods was through the king – The king was responsible for divine order in the cosmos (ma’at) - without the king it was believed the whole universe would fall into chaos – the pharaoh was Egypt. The king was shown holding up the heavens as in the image below. This makes perfect sense in regards to the GKS; planetary kings were by their very location intermediates between the mortal and the divine, god among gods.
It was the appearance of the planetary pharaoh from earth’s perspective (always) that seemingly maintained the division between Upper and Lower Egypt (still a conduit though). In other words, the god king, as with most things Egypt, many times was perceived as raising and maintaining the four pillars (Djed pillar) that held up the inverse. This embodied in the numerous ‘raising of the Djed’ scenes. As with the sacred Scarab, the divine aspect of the Djed was incorporated into small amulets that were also placed with the deceased. The Djed is considered by some as the backbone of Osiris. This makes sense as Osiris was the god of the land above held up by the four posts. Some Djed pillars are shown with protruding hands holding the crook and flail, as too were the kings and Osiris.
I understand this doesn’t explain all, especially the images above where comet Venus is place atop the Djed. That said, let me offer my interpretation. Bear with me!
The scene is to be dated to around the 7-8th century BC shortly after the birth of Mercury from Mars. This epoch reaches us via the Aten and Amarna Period. A time when the energy from the Aten/Mercury blotted out the stars, the afterlife and the land above for 17 years (as recorded in history!). Shortly after this almost incomprehensible event the Aten/Mercury cooled enough to appear as a red disk. Mercury now joins the royal bloodline of divine god kings and one of the first names given to Mercury was Seti – “he of the god Seth.” A very apt descriptive title as Mercury caused mayhem above and below but despite this Seth title, ‘evil’ still had to be venerated in the hope of appeasement.
As far as I can make out the pharaoh in Mat’s images is Seti. Here Seti/mercury is raising the Djed - raising the four posts of heaven as the divine land above (& stars) comes back into view having previously being blotted out by the Aten/Mercury. He is literally restoring the skies after a tumultuous time. Further, Seti/ Mercury seems to be offering the Djed to the goddess Isis. I associate Isis with the foreground haze of the ecliptic, so this would make sense in that, Seti/Mercury is restoring the four struts for the sky goddess Isis.
The ‘comet’ image atop the Djed could have a couple of meanings. It could be Comet Venus but I don’t see any ‘cow horns’ or any mention of any queens. So I’m guessing this could be Seti/mercury raising the heavens also in comet form, if you see what I mean. As the solid iron core of Mars, Mercury must have adorned a similar visible magnetotail to that of Venus. And, if the images are anything to go by Seti mercury, in raising the sky, also appeared as a golden orb with a plumed golden tail. Perhaps he appeared gold on the horizon, the rough location of one of the four pillars.
Taking all of the above into account, I’m not dismissing Mo’s ideas because it quite possible said ‘roof pillars’ were physically observed and caused by close proximity bodies generating Birkeland currents which looked like struts holding up the sky, in fact I like this idea. I’m all for taking images at face value. Further research is required here.
Mo, Osiris and mummification in brief.
Pharaonic Mars moves close to earth, it appears as a living breathing red orb – a living god. It reigns for a period of time (paralleling the historic account) and then slowly moves away. As it does so, it slowly transforms into a large white star (as today). It becomes wrapped in white linen bandages as white streams of dust are observed spinning from Mars (analogy, spiral galaxy). Mars is now undergoing the mummification process, Mars is slowly becoming in the image of Osiris. The whiteness that envelopes planetary bodies and stars is Osiris, hence Osiris’ association with the ‘many eyed’ stars (transposed Egyptians) dwelling in the land above. This is why after death all pharaohs were called Rameses Osiris, Tutankhamun Osiris, Seti Osiris etc. Assisting Osiris in wrapping Pharaonic Mars is the blackness of Space, this personified in the black Jackal headed god Anubis (Black Jackals don’t exist). Anubis was the embalmer and guardian of the dead because Jackals were seen to hang around cemeteries - seemingly looking after the deceased, although in actuality they were after the rotting flesh.
Gary
