The Book of :
The Hidden Chamber
ca. 1426 BCE
or :
the Twelve Hours of the Night
and
the Midnight Mystery

Section 3
The Summary of the Amduat
The Twelve Hours : A Commentary

Book of the Hidden Chamber - Sixth Hour
The five-headed serpent "Tail-in-Mouth" :
"the mysterious image of the Duat, unknown and unseen"
Tomb of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III (ca. 1479 - 1426 BCE)

by Wim van den Dungen
2008

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Section 1
History of the Midnight Mystery

Section 2
Pataphysics of Creation

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Introduction
The Summary of the Amduat
The Twelve Hours : A Commentary

Introduction

§ 1

In Ancient Egypt, rejuvenation (regeneration) is Osirian and Lunar, whereas illumination (rekindling) is Solar and linked with the Sungod Re-Atum, the self-created, fugal, interstitial, sole creator. Floating in Nun, bisexual Re-Atum engenders him(her)self.

Lunar magic was dark and bound to the netherworld or Duat, and therefore fundamentally rooted in Nun, the everlasting ground of existence. It involved the purification of the Ka and the offerings made to it to gratify the Ba. Its spirits abided in the sky of Osiris, the Field of Reeds.

Solar magic was luminous. Souls were transformed into spirits ascending towards the sky of Re, the Field of Peace (Field of Offering). There, in companionship with Re, they abided for ever on his "boat of millions". Indeed, in the Eastern horizon, the Ba (or soul), empowered by the Ka (or vital energy), was transformed into an Akh (or spirit), an efficient spiritual power. These ideas are already embryonic in the Pyramid Texts of Unas, the last king of the Vth Dynasty.

In the Old Kingdom (ca. 2670 - 2205 BCE), divine kingship was already an institution. Moreover, the magical role and presence of the "Akh" or efficient spirit of the divine king was deemed crucial. After the fall of the Old Kingdom, this attitude changed.

In the Middle Kingdom, the divine role of the "Lord of the Two Lands" was acknowledged, but the gods & goddesses had gained in importance. If the divine king died, the deities "took over" and state affairs could continue to count on popular approval and support. Festivals to honour the deities, thank them for their help and solicit them again abound. New theological speculations soon standard. Not only the divine king had a "Ba", as it had been in the Pyramid Age, but everybody. Tensions between Osiris and Re were mediated by identifying the former as the "Re of the Night", the dark Sun. Commoners could hope to become spirits in the retinue of Osiris and stay, as him, bound to his Duat. This was much better than utter desolation and final annihilation. Royals and the elite could however ascend to the sky of Re, the place he made for himself (cf. The Book of the Heavenly Cow, ca. 1323 BCE). Regeneration & ascension are the Two Ways of Egyptian spirituality.

Hand in hand with this change of attitude, the role of protective magic became also more important. Along with personal conscience, afterlife retribution turned fashionable. Did burial near the king suffice ? Clearly not. To act as skillful means to control the guardians of the many gates of the Duat, sacred texts (words of light) were inscribed in and on the coffins themselves. The process of mummification was enlarged and more amulets and talismans were added to the mummy, as well as spells on papyrus. Mummification involved the transformation of the physical body into a mummy. The latter is a ritual object (or "sah"), magically focusing the attention of the Ka & the Ba escaping, at death, from the physical net. The mummy is the interphase par excellence for the transitions & subsequent communication between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

To avoid annihilation because of a "heavy heart", pushing the Balance of Truth away from the Feather of Maat, special spells were added and amulets were placed on the mummy. "Evil" could be purged by affirming, using sacred language, one had not done so-and-so (cf. the Declaration of Innocence, chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead). Beside magical power, initiate knowledge was also important. The deceased is questioned about names, certain topics and secret names of gates etc. The proto-causal link, between knowing these names and overturning whatever opposition presented itself in the afterlife, is implicit. A magic consisting of graded initiate knowledge & co-relative practices seems to be the commanding idea here. Both during life, while dying & shortly after death and in the afterlife, funerary concerns prevailed. In the Ptolemaic Period, this magical knowledge (involving astrology, magic & alchemy), is the "technical" side of the otherwise "philosophical" Hermetica. It also turned up in the Western Tradition (the Orientale Lumen, Knight Templars, Qabalah, Rosicrucianism, Illuminati, Freemasonry, Golden Dawn, OTO, New Age, etc.).

In the Egyptian mysteries, contrary to Greek initiation, initiate knowledge involved regeneration & ascension, combining the two two-tiered spiritual economy developed in the five schools of Ancient Egyptian theology : Ptah of Memphis (creative mind), Osiris of Abydos (creative flesh), Re-Atum of Heliopolis (creative energy), Thoth of Hermopolis (creative word & writing) & Amun-Re of Thebes (creative kingship) :

The New Kingdom "Books of the Netherworld" were the nec plus ultra of initiate knowledge, kept secret by a very small priestly elite. Because of their ultimate magical efficiency, realized by integrating new insights into the Duat, they were written around the sarcophagus of the divine kings. New avenues to a correct & efficient integration of Lunar & Solar energies (regeneration & ascension) had been found. As of old, regeneration (burial-chamber) remained the necessary prelude to ascension (antechamber). The separate jurisdiction given to Osiris made the Duat-voyage inevitable ! But who, besides the Wailers, wants to stay with Osiris ? Gods & blessed (justified) humans escape the Duat. Peace is companionship with Re, being on his bark or in his retinue. To be with this "great god" is the main soteriological purpose of the Amduat.

When these Books were edited, the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and early versions of the Book of the Dead had already been widely used. Since the Book of the Two Ways (Coffin Texts, Spells 1029 to 1185 - before ca. 1759 BCE), the priesthood had been doing their more systematic study of the afterlife, aided by trance, ritual & magic. The tradition of these "Books of the Afterlife" is the result of this study. An interesting one, pointing to neurotheology, depth-psychology and spiritual practice. Although we cannot know for sure what this "research" precisely involved, and despite the fact the text we have today is only vaguely comprehensible -meaning all of this work is speculative- we may be sure the Egyptians were very serious about it.

More than a millennium before these texts, the physical tomb and its spatial semantics was canonized (cf. the Pyramid Age). King Unas (ca. 2378 - 2348 BCE), due to interiorization and maturation, was first to let the magic of hieroglyphs take over. Their precise, delicate, colorful and artistic rendering in the dark, underground chambers of his tomb points to the importance of form. De opere operato, these beautiful glyphs would execute their allotted tasks. In pre-rational thought, working with pre-concepts, psychomorphism endows the object with subjective features. In the Middle Kingdom (ca. 1938 - 1759 BCE) the canon of Imhotep became "classical" and Egypt realized, again as a nation, a fundamental mental "closure" by establishing a proto-rational system of concrete concepts. The impact of this "Egyptian Classicism" can be measured by the continuous reaffirmation of national unity under divine kingship, ending in the expulsion of the Hyksos and the founding of the "Age of Empire". The New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 BCE) made this proto-rationality widespread & popular, perfecting the completion. How hieroglyphs were executed, or their physical endurance were less the matter, but contents was. Emphasis lay on the actual instantaneous merging of "textual" & "visual" layers. This was needed to actually comprehend the hours and their interrelatedness in the process of Solar regeneration (1th - 6th Hour) & Solar ascension (7th - 12th Hour). This knowledge had proven to be valid and efficient, "a million times".

The Books of the Underworld are a "strip-like" literary genre, telling the story of the regeneration of the subtle bodies and the illumination of consciousness, represented by the "Ba of Re" in his barque. Of these, the Amduat is exemplar. The important novelty they share is the "fusion" of Osirian and Heliopolitan material : at dusk (West), the principle of movement (Ba) of the old Re is exhausted and needs to be replenished by merging with the body of Osiris in the Duat. The Ba of Re is "swallowed" by Nut, the star-goddess who's body appears at Sunset. The "unseen" path of Re is associated with the Duat, the "underworld", starting at 6 pm and ending at 6 am.

To renew, the "Ba of Re", the dynamic principle of consciousness, travels in darkness. During this Midnight Mystery (at 12 pm), Re moves to the "first moment", the "zep tepy". In this first occurrence, Atum emerges out of Nun. From there, Re-Atum returns with increased strength, emerging -out of the vulva of the sky-goddess Nut- as the new Solar child of dawn (cf. Harpocrates). Passing through the hours as a Ba-soul, the principle of Solar dynamism seeks rejuvenation by seeing & fusing with the "corpse of Osiris", merging with the first occurrence of creation and returning regenerated by it.

In the Books of the Underworld, the interpenetration of the Lunar & Solar ways is complete. The Ba of Re enters the Osirian Duat to regenerate. Seeing the corpse of Osiris and assuming the death posture triggers an instantaneous return of Re to the "first time" of Atum beyond the Duat. Regenerated (rekindled), Re-Atum continues his netherworldly path victorious, renewed and in total balance (with two Eyes). In the East, he rises out of Nut's vulva as the Renewed Solar Child (Harpocrates, a form of Horus). The mummy of Osiris is the Duat, from which new life (Horus) is born (cf. the scarab or sacred beetle, the end of regeneration, at the end of the 12th Hour). In this way, the Solar and the Lunar merge in Horus, the divine king. Indeed, Re and Osiris become the two faces of a single deity.

"This is Re who comes to rest in Osiris. This is Osiris who comes to rest in Re."
tomb of Queen Nefertari

The Midnight Mystery itself is the singular "Solar" moment when this Ba is regenerated by entering the mummy of Osiris and, transcending the Lunar order, reuniting with the endless ocean before creation began. Seeing what he is not (namely Osiris), Re comes to his true nature.

"The voice of Re is it, which comes to the image that is in him."
Amduat - 6th Hour, second register

In the Old Kingdom, when the divine king thrones center stage and he alone had a "Ba" to ascend, he did so to escape Osiris and be with Re. The popular "dark" Osiris was at odds with the royal "luminous" Re. Nevertheless, by the time Unas decreed his inner tomb to be inscribed, Osiris had entered the royal ritual. In it, the divine king had first to be rejuvenated by Osiris (in the burial-chamber) before ascending to Re "in the horizon" (in the antechamber), becoming an Akh rising towards the Imperishable, Circumpolar Stars. The Amduat depicts the ongoing process of life, consisting of a continuous circular movement of rise, culmination, dusk, regeneration and ascension (rebirth).

In these New Kingdom manuals, the regeneration of Re happened at midnight, his ascension at dawn. The hidden and mysterious image of the Duat, the mummified corpse of Osiris, invoked the everlasting presence of the pre-existing, everlasting ocean of Nun, the infinite, thick darkness in which Atum lay dormant, and out of which the world-order emerged. This thick darkness is the primordial, passive matrix out of which bi-sexual Atum, by his own effort, awoke. The Midnight Mystery involves, by seeing & entering the mummy of Osiris (assuming the death posture), a secret merging of Re with his pre-creational origin. By seeing everlasting darkness, one jumps to one's true nature, and so consciousness is fully replenished.

§ 2

First Hour - note the absence of the Solar Bark in the upper middle register
sarcophagus chamber of the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep II - ca. 1400 BCE.

The long title of the Book of the Hidden Chamber begins with : "writings of the hidden chamber". This is the first completely illustrated book in recorded history, for visual elements, like sequences of drawings and textual material form a solid unity. The book is divided in 12 Hours along the nocturnal arc of the Sun, from dusk till dawn. Each hour, except the first, has a horizontal heading summarizing its significant events, use and direction. A vertical introduction, dividing the hours, mentions the names of the hour, their gateways and areas of the Duat. Only the first three hours have concluding texts. Retrograde writing is preferred, and representations are mostly to be read in reverse. Each hour is divided in three registers. The middle one depicts the Solar Bark, center stage in the storyline. The upper and lower registers represent the left & right banks of the netherworldly Nile. At times the registers interlace. All these changes are part of the sacred geometry and its spatial semantics directly influencing, as in a strip, the intended meanings.

In addition to the long version of the text, a short version or summary is found in the tombs and on papyri, called by Maspero (1893) and Jéquier (1894) "abridged", from "sehuy", "summary". In it, important names on the individual hours are listed and further remarks on their usefulness. It contains no pictures and is appended to the book as a kind of concluding chapter.

This summary is translated here.

Hieroglyphs and other English translations can be found in Budge (1996) and Hornung & Abt (2007). In the former, the hieroglyphs from the tomb of Seti I and those from the Leiden Papyrus (T.71) are given. In the latter, a collated version is found, based on all available hieroglyphs, as given in :

Hornung, E. : Das Amduat : Die Schrift des Verborgenen Raumes, Harrassowitz - Wiesbaden, 1963.
Hornung, E. : Texte zum Amduat, Egyptica Helvetica / Editions de Belles-lettres - Geneva, 1987 - 1994.

The present translation made use of all these sources. The numbers given in the quotes refer to Hornung & Abt (2007).

Hermeneutically, the most detailed egyptological analysis of the hours can be found in : Hornung, E. : Die Nachtfahrt der Sonne. Eine altägyptische Beschreibung des Jenseits, Artemis & Winkler - Zürich, 1998. An English summary is available in :
Hornung, E. & Abt, Th. : Knowledge of the Afterlife, Living Human Heritage Foundation - Zürich, 2003.

When the New Kingdom ended, the book, no longer a royal privilege, was copied on papyrus and used by Theban priests and their relatives. It remained well known up to the end of the Pharaonic Period, and was quoted in Roman papyri. In the late exemplars, the contents of the book (text and figures) remained unchanged, though on several late sarcophagi, doors guarded by serpents were added. These copies are often more reliable than those of the Ramesside Era.

The occurrence of the Amduat in the royal tombs of the New Kingdom is as follows :

• made no use of it :  Akhenaten, Horemheb, Ramesses I ;

• complete directional versions : Tuthmosis III (with split registers) and vizier Useramun (with distributional changes) ;

• complete sequential versions : Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III ;

• burial-chamber versions : Tuthmosis III, Useramun, Amenhotep II & III ;

• partial versions : Tuthmosis IV, Seti I (no 12th), Tutankhamon, Merneptah - Ramesses III (4th & 5th), Ramesses VI (no 12th) ;

• excerpts : Ramesses IV - Ramesses IX.

From a historical and hermeneutical point of view, all available New Kingdom versions down to Ramesses IX (Hornung, 1987 - 1994) have to be taken into consideration, although the only complete and directional version of Tuthmosis III (also the oldest extant) provides the iconographical "main frame". Regarding the latter, Hornung & Abt (2003) provide color pictures of the 12 Hours found in the tomb of this king. Textually however, the version found in the tomb of Amenhotep II is to be preferred.

The interiors of the tombs of Tuthmosis III as well as the other Pharaohs using the Book of the Hidden Chamber have been mapped by the excellent "Theban Mapping Project". A special image search is possible allowing one to compare the various versions.

Iconographical standard : the version of Tuthmosis III ;
Textual standards : the text of Amenhotep II compared with all other New Kingdom versions (cf. collated hieroglyphs as published in Hornung & Abt, 2007).

§ 3

Form has a distinct purpose : to facilitate the transitions of meaning. The central theme of the Books of the Duat is the renewal of Re by regeneration & ascension. The framework of the Amduat presents this theme in a highly organized way. In no other book, the Book of Gates excepted, does the fusion between the Ba or soul of Re and the corpse or mummy of Osiris dominate all text/image structures. In the Book of Gates, meaning is infused with the role of the divine king. In the Amduat, hours, registers & scenes explain and depict a series of operations, in which the deities and the deceased are differentials in the process of the Midnight Mystery. The host of deities & justified ancestors (deified humans) are personifications, metaphors, transformations or faces of the "nature" of Nature, and this in the form of image/text distinctions sprang out of human nature (Wheeler, 2002, p.21).

The naturalistic approach of the New Solar Theology (symbolized by the course of Re) contrasts with the mystical inclinations of Amenism and its theology of divine will and personal piety. It links with the Heliopolitan theology of the Old Kingdom, except for the latter's relational (constellational) view on the differentials of nature (each deity also having own-form) and its focus on the divine king instead of Re. Here, the faces of Nature serve the purpose of the sole and unique creator-god, Re, of which they are theophanies. The ultimate mystery (or secret) happened only once a day, namely in the 6th Hour of the night, while dawn was the expected outcome.

The subdivisions of deities and ancestors aim to refine the process of renewal, and so all textual & visual elements of the "hidden chamber" become equations or conceptualized coordinations of movement, as it were practical referential concepts. When lined up, they depict the grand ritual of renewal, the formal gestures of divine ritualists, performing the central ritual of the Osirian-Heliopolitan faith : outside creation lies a superabundant sea of possibilities but life-inimical forces (Nun), hiding the capacity to self-create (Atum), and therewith the potential to renew, rekindle, replenish and rejuvenate the living order. Osiris can not give this, but he creates the conditions (the mysterious image of the Duat) to get there (cf. Re assuming the death posture). To harvest this tremendous power, Osiris had to be "seen", for his endurance is everlasting. Indeed so powerful was this encounter, that even Re, who merges with Osiris, is rekindled ... Osiris never leaves the Duat, and even endures after the destruction of creation !

"He who sees the dead Osiris will never die."
Coffin Texts, Spell 1050.

§ 4

In the other Books of the Duat, the themes of the nocturnal journey of the Sun and his mysterious renewal are also present, but the process is not detailed.

BOOK OF GATES

Hornung (1999) gives as date of origin the Amarna Period. Pharaohs Horemheb and Ramesses I placed it in their sarcophagus chamber. The earliest complete and continuous version is on the alabaster sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I. Ramesside Egyptians considered spells 144 & 145 of the Book of the Dead as a non-royal substitute for the Book of Gates. The title is not attested and in no other book are the gates of the Duat so systematic and manifest as here. Each gate has one guardian-serpent and two menacing guardians with fire-spitting Uraei.

Netherworldly gates are found as early as the Pyramid Texts (in the Pyramid of Khufu, the two shafts in the Ka-chamber, used in the ascent of Pharaoh to the sky, are sealed with doors bearing copper handles). They are attributed to Osiris and represent the knowledge necessary to resurrect and be reborn. Without the proper knowledge, access was impossible. In the Heliocentric Amduat, the gates are removed because the natural cycle of Re is all-important, not the protective magic involved (the many references to Pharaoh in the Book of Gates underlines its rather Osirian inspiration). Here, the magical keys are crucial.

The nocturnal journey of the Sun is divided in 12 gates ("sebekhet"), depicted at the end of each hour. In the Solar Bark, only Sia ("understanding") and Heka ("magical power") accompany Re. The cabin of Re is always surrounded by the Mehen-serpent, and four figures tow the barque. The judgment hall of Osiris is depicted in the fifth gateway, immediately before the union between the Ba of Re and the mummy of Osiris, the recurrent theme and emblematic of the Midnight Mystery. By letting him accompany Re to his rebirth at dawn, the special status of Pharaoh is underlined.

BOOK OF CAVERNS

The earliest, nearly complete (but today destroyed) version appeared in the upper register of the Osireon of Pharaoh Seti I, and occupied the left wall of the entrance corridor, opposing the Book of Gates. It was not often used, and the only almost complete exemplar adorns the tomb of Ramesses VI, again displayed opposite the latter.

The original title is lost. There is no division into the regions of the night. A division in two halves with a subdivision in three section is likely. The Solar Bark is absent and replaced by the Solar Disk, absent in the first two sections. Scenes of damnation and punishment are reserved for the lower register.

The crucial theme of the first half of the book, is the encounter of Re with the mummy of Osiris "in its coffer". In the third section, Re enters the "cavern where Aker is".

Book of Caverns - third section - drawing by A.G.Shedid.

BOOK OF THE EARTH

This title was chosen by Hornung (1999). Piankoff had "The Creation of the Sun Disk", and Altenmüller "Book of Aker". The original title is missing. There is no division into the hours and the Solar Barque is largely absent. The division in registers is uncertain. The book is exclusively found in the sarcophagus chambers of royal Ramesside tombs.

Osiris "in his coffer" again plays the leading role, as does the transformation of Re and an expanded version of the eleventh scene of the Book of Gates and its "barque of the Earth".

BOOK OF THE NIGHT

The earliest version is found on the ceiling of the sarcophagus chamber of Pharaoh Seti I, but it only reaches the ninth hour. Only the tomb of Ramesses VI provides us with two complete versions. It is divided in 12 sections separated from one another by vertical lines called "gates", which precede the hours to which they belong.

In the Solar Barque, Re is surrounded by the Mehen-serpent and the crew consists of Sia at the prow, Hu at the stern and Maat. Descriptive texts are lacking, and the registers are not divided into scenes. The crucial motif of the union of Re and Osiris is absent.

§ 5

In the Old Kingdom, only the divine king was reborn (Osiris, burial-chamber and serdab) and illuminated (Re, antechamber and corridor). In the Middle Kingdom, everybody had a principle of deification (a Ba turning Akh in the afterlife). Commoners headed to Osiris, the royals with their retinue to Re. As in the Old Kingdom, Osiris was a necessary condition but not sufficient, albeit only for the elite. They wanted to ascend to Re's Field of Peace. The vast majority could dream of the Field of Reeds of Osiris. In the New Kingdom, Re was being transformed and the king accompanied. Here, his role had become secondary. The survival of the creator-god primary. These important changes happened within the stable boundaries of the two-fold Ancient Egyptian model of salvation mentioned above, inviting the complementarity of a two-tiered heaven :

1. VIA THE MOON : the (lower) sky of Osiris : the ultimate state of human blessedness is to live the life of an "Osiris NN", with a court, humbling servants and a kingdom situated in the vast darkness of the Duat (like creation is a bubble of moist air suspended in chaos). Even the smallest offer made with a sincere heart during earthly life might be enough to be helped by Isis or Osiris, and so the commoners made sure the holy family would notice them. This economy is inclusive of everyman, but conditional, except for the divine king. Corresponds with the Left, Restored Eye of Horus ;

2. ENDING IN THE SUN : the (upper) sky of Re : the sky of Osiris and the sky of Re are proximate, and after the highest spirituality of servitude has been fulfilled, the "Ba" of the deceased is transformed, in the horizon, into an "Akh" of Re, sailing, among the other pure beings of light, on the Bark of Re or in his retinue, illuminating the beings of day and night, including the deities and the justified blessed dead of Osiris (who otherwise sleep). The sacred knowledge regarding this spiritual evolution was for the very few and, when first written down (cf. the Pyramid Texts and the Amduat), portrayed in the tomb of kings only. This economy is exclusive of everyman, reserved to the deities (as the king and his high priests) and unconditional. It corresponds with the Right Eye of Re.

The scattering revolution of Akhenaten (ca. 1353 - 1336 BCE), stressing the solitary, singular Aten and denying Osiris and the "hidden" Amun, heralded the beginning of historical "Egyptian-styled" monotheism. Short-lived in Egyptian culture, but soon turning subcultural, it triggered the heroic return of the constellational pantheon, with Amun-Re (consciousness), Thoth (mind) and Ptah (body) working as a divine trinity (preluding Christian Trinitarism of Father, Son & Holy Ghost). The Ancient Egyptian elite was henotheists and remained so. God is "hidden, one & millions". Each divine face (god or goddess) is a divine manifestation or theophany of Amun-Re. He is all, before all (preexistent) and beyond all (transcending). His essence is truly hidden. Although of multiple manifestations, he always remains himself. Unlike the singular, sole monotheist Atenite Godhead, henotheist Divinity or Amenism is a pluralism-under-unity, a pluritheism unlike polytheism. The latter looses the notion of the interrelatedness of the epiphanies, i.e. the essential oneness maintained by henotheism.

The Twelve Hours : A Commentary

Burial chamber of the tomb of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III - ca. 1426 BCE.
On the walls, the Twelve Hours of the Book of the Hidden Chamber.

"Thus, the journey of the Sungod can also be seen as a symbolic representation of an inner psychic process of transformation and renewal."
Hornung & Abt, 2003, p.9.

Insofar as the "Ba of Re" is the effective, dynamical, motoric power of Re and Re is identified with the bright clarity of consciousness or sentience, his night-journey can be reconstructed as the process of clarification in the absence of light (what Re does in the Duat), of inner vision (the mummy of Osiris) and regeneration (rekindling) in the utter deep, dark desolation of the 4th to 6th Hour, of transformation (Khepri) & rejuvenation (by time-reversal) and of rebirth or reappearance (as Horus the Child on the Eastern horizon). The stages of this process run parallel with the three phases identified earlier as the three stages of the Upper Paleolithic cave mysteries :

1. "the entry" : the tunnel into the mountain : the process of differentiation from light to darkness : this corresponds with the First Phase (the West), digging into darkness, depleting sentient power to its utter limit ;

2. "the sanctum" : the rock cathedral in which the shamans dance : the secluded place of the mystery of the hidden light : this corresponds with the Second Phase (the South), and the Midnight Mystery, involving (a) the mummy of Osiris seen in the desert of Sokar & (b) the union of the Ba of Re with the corpse of Osiris (Re assuming the death posture) ;

3. "the return or exit" : returning to the outside world transformed : the process of integration from darkness to light : beginning slowly in the North (7th & 8th Hour), more momentum is gained in the East (9th to 12th Hour). Transformed (Khepri) and rejuvenated (Mehen-serpent), consciousness is refreshed to the point of being like that of a powerful youth, fully aware & radiant.

the Hours and their directions in the burial-chamber of Tuthmosis III

Although in the text the 12 hours are distributed in tune with the cardinal directions, only Tuthmosis III followed this scheme. Following these orientations, we arrive at an ideal rectangle, with Hours 1-4 in the West, 5-6 in the South, 7-8 in the North and 9-12 in the East. This rectangle reminds of the standard form of the Sed-festival court, used in one of the most important events of a king's reign : the Sed festival.

comparison between different enclosures or Sed-festival courts
Abydos (Djer), Hierakonpolis temple, Abydos (Khasekhemuy), Netjerikhet

The Sed festival was an occasion for renewal "of kingly potency and the reaffirmation of the divine descent of the king and thus the confirmation of his right to the throne." (Serrano, 2002, p.43).

During this festival, the divine king would perform the Sed festival dance, the running of the ritual course before an assembly of deities. He ran round a track four times as the ruler of the South and four times as the ruler of the North. This ritual run proved he was fit to rule the Two Lands. On both East and West sides of the Sed-festival court were shrines dedicated to provincial deities, and the throne of the divine king stood on a platform at the southern end of his own "court of appearance", adjacent to the Sed-festival court (cf. the Netjerikhet complex).

In the Amduat, as New Kingdom theology demands, Re and no longer the divine king stands center stage. But his ordeal, namely reversing the depletion of his power at the end of the day, is identical to the Pharaoh seeking rejuvenation. Re moves from West (where he sets, eaten by Nut) to East (where he reappears out of her thighs). Functionally, this half-circle or nocturnal semiarc is defined as a rectangle, involving two "jumps", one between the 4th & the 5th Hour (placing the latter beside the 12th Hour), and one between the 6th & the 7th Hour :

1. transversal jump between the 4th and 5th Hour : arriving at the deepest, darkest point (the end of the 4th Hour), attention is brought on the process of regeneration itself (the 5th & 6th Hour). In the 4th, Re cannot be more powerless, for he cannot see those he cares for, relying on his voice alone. The actual process of self-regeneration is initiated in the 5th Hour of the night ;

2. linear jump between the 6th & the 7th : the regenerated Solar Ba "jumps" the sequence of the first four hours (the western wall), as it were "reversing" them. Re confronts his enemy in the 7th Hour and can then proceed to finalize his forthcoming appearance, involving putting on "new clothes", entertaining a renewed vision and being rejuvenated by time-reversal.

Each jump brings a fundamental change in direction, meaning & intent. Each is fragile, calling for prudence and involving great dangers. As both 4th & 5th Hour are emphasized (some passages are in cryptographic script, the registers partially cross, and the Solar bark, of serpentine form, is being towed), we may assume the first jump, involving the transverse crossing of the sarcophagus room, is the most dangerous of the two. In the 7th Hour, Apophis tries to destroy what was gained in the 6th Hour, but, thanks to Isis and the Eldest Magician, namely Seth, fails without ado. In the 5th Hour however, the darkness entered in the 4th Hour makes way for crucial preparations culminating in the 6th Hour, when the Midnight Mystery of this Ars obscura is at hand.

The captions are arranged in three registers, with the Solar bark, the "barque of the millions" in the middle. This representation is suggestive of the river Nile and its two banks crowded with "shore-dwellers", greeting Re on his bark, blessed by his swift appearance. The shore-dwellers are the blessed spirits (of Osiris), the pantheon, the ancestors and the noble dead. While the upper register depicts general phenomena, the lower introduces motifs specific to the region of the hour. In all cases, the middle register holds the central theme, involving the Solar boat and its immediate environment. In the later Book of Gates, the Solar bark is towed in each of the 12 hours, while here this only happens in the 4th, 5th, 8th and 12th Hour, events integrated in the momentum of the netherworldly process of Solar regeneration.

At dusk, the Ram-headed Ba, the inner, executive power of Re, enters the Duat (the word for "ram" -or Ovis longipes palaeoaegypticus- is also "bA"). The soul of Osiris was thought to reside in the sacred ram "Ba-neb-djedet", worshipped in the Delta town of Mendes. Although "old", Re is glorious and triumphant. The good citizens of the Duat rejoice when they see him (while Re's enemies do not participate), for seeing Re is being. In each hour, except in the dark 4th Hour, Re communicates with the deities and blessed deceased. For these glorious dead, one hour with Re is experienced as a lifetime ... They awaken when they see him and slumber when he leaves. In this state, they barely exist at all, and are reborn when Re passes by again.

Phase I : The Entry
the West : The Deepening of Darkness

1.1 The 1th Hour :

In the 1th Hour, Re speak the following words to the gods of the Duat :

"Open your gates for me !
Open wide your gateways for me !
Illuminate for me what I have made !
Guide me, ye who came forth from my limbs !
Indeed, I commended You to my corpse !

I made You for my Ba-soul.
I created You for my magic power.
I have come that I may greet myself with myself,
that I let my limbs breathe when they rise.
I exterminate him who acts against it.
I cause Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners, to breathe as the secret image.
Baboons, open for me your arms !
Spread wide your gates for me, baboons !"
Amduat, 1th Hour, 151 - 156.

Name of the Hour : "Waters of Re" ;
Name of the goddess : "Smashing the foreheads of the enemies of Re" ;
Structural features : parallel registers, double middle register, Grand Chorus, two Solar boats ;

The overall structure of the hour is very balanced. Although Re is "entering the West", we see how his command is regal. The Double Maat guides Re on the way of darkness. The beings of the Duat greet Re with jubilation. Upper and lower registers have identical subdivisions, suggestive of a Grand Chorus greeting the Sungod.

As a Ba-soul Re enters the night, knowing his way in the darkness of the night to his rebirth at dawn. During this period, his continues to care for the beings of the hours and for himself. This cycle of Re is recurrent. He does it since the eternal First Time, when Atum self-created. Beneath the boat of the aged Sungod is the bark of the resurrected Sungod, represented by the scarab or beetle Khepri, symbolizing the upcoming renewal, adored by two kneeling figures of Osiris.

Main visual semantic : antechambers of the Duat : Re at dusk and dawn ;

Because of the largely static Grand Chorus, the main action is given in the double middle register, suggestive of "begin" (the old Re) and "end" (the resurrected Re) of the Duat.

Theme : summary of beginning and end of the Hidden Chamber.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

This first hour is a kind of antechamber of the Duat, an interstitial realm or twilight zone between dusk and Re's visual absence, namely when Re has been totally "eaten" by Nut, displaying her dark, starlit body. The journey begins in order to end. The cycle is eternal, its repetition divine. The beginning alludes to the end, when all is completed. Beginning and end of the process of transformation are to be considered together. The "neheh"-time of Atum-Re is not everlastingness, i.e. the eternal "ground", "base" or "foundation" of everything (Nun, associated with Osiris and the Duat). "Neheh"-time is the eternal, recurrent cycle of Atum-Re, with its day (Book of the Day) & night (Book of the Night, Books of the Duat). At night, Re regenerates.

The 1th Hour brings out the function of the Duat as a whole, namely regeneration by conjunction with the First Instance. It also represents a preliminary period before entering the total darkness of the Duat. Before crossing the border between the 1tht Hour and the Duat proper, a preparative stage is necessary (cf. twilight and falling asleep). At the First Instance, like Khepri, Atum self-created. The beetle plays a central role in the process of regeneration, as it were pointing to the core of the process itself : Atum autogenitor, i.e. "Atum-kheperer".

By a step-by-step encounter with the beings and processes of the Duat, consciousness (Re) is renewed. The Solar bark itself represents the concrete concept enabling one to traverse the unconscious waters (Nun) in which consciousness is afloat (Atum-potential of Nun or "Ba of Nun"). The Solar boat allows consciousness to gather and be self-contained, functioning properly. Without it, it would drown and be lost in the vast expanse of the thick darkness of Duat, as it were rooted in everlasting Nun.

1.2 The 2th Hour :

The gods of the Duat speak the following words to Re :

"O ! Appear, great Ba-soul !
The Duat has received the flesh belonging to heaven.
You are now living, flesh, in the Earth which is protected for You.

Come indeed, Re, that You live in your name (of) "Living One",
Khepri, Foremost of the Duat !
You traverse the fields, protector,
You bind the Hiu-serpent, and You strike "Horrible of Face" !

Joy and jubilation are in the Earth to (You) who uncovers his corpse.
Shine great illuminator ! (...)
Be radiant You (Uraeus-serpent) on the head of Re !
Drive away the darkness in the hidden realm
in your name "He who chases him away with the secret arm".
Illuminate thick darkness, that the flesh may live and be renewed by it !"
Amduat, 2th Hour, 218 - 230.

Name of the gods : "Ba-souls of the Duat" ;
Name of the goddess : "The wise who protects her master" ;
Structural features :  Re's flotilla arrives in the Duat, no Solar Disk ;

Instead of a single boat, five boats are depicted. The activity of the Sungod expands, touching all netherworldly beings. The lower register pictures the beings ensuring the agricultural year : inundation, sowing and harvest. Other beings carry ears of corn and they assign plots to land to the followers of Osiris, the "peasants of Wernes" ;

Main visual semantic : fertile waters carrying the Offering Barks of Re ;
Theme : the power of the Sun activates the Duat.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The actual netherworldly journey begins with the 2th Hour, when the actual Duat is entered. Apparently, Re never travels alone, for his bark is always part of flotilla, carrying provisions and magical signs. These assist him and show how he Re is well-prepared for the extraordinary states of consciousness represented by the Sungod entering darkness and being at work there. It points to a depth-psychological dimensions avant la lettre, one established by way of concrete concepts, not abstractions. Hornung & Abt (2003) were the first to identify the salient features of this remarkable process invoked by this Ars obscura of Re.

The bark of the Sungod is headed by Isis & Nephthys, represented by two serpents, while the Sungod has no longer a Solar disk on his head. He has entered the darkness ruled by the Moon.

Indeed, in this hour, the light of the Moon has become visible (cf. the last boat, with a crescent Moon disk and the feather of Maat). Maat can also be seen at the beginning of the upper register, indicative of the fact the Duat contains ordering forces regulating the renewal of the effective power (Ba) of Re. Moreover, the regeneration of the year (the cycle of the Sun) calls for 12 renewals of the Moon, just as the nightly journey of the Sungod till his resurrection takes 12 hours. Hence, annual, monthly & daily rhythms are interlinked.

A flotilla of offerings are seen. Re assigns land to the blessed dead, the peasants of Wernes, the watery expanse. Many deceased need to be fed and nurtured by his depleting powers. Despite Re is on a descendant slope, he nevertheless fulfills his eternal task. They rejoice in what they receive, namely Re's presence. Because of this, they are kindled. Without him, they slumber. This metaphor reminds of the state of Osiris before Horus brought him his renewed Left Eye. He was weary, inactive and in agony. Although resuscitated (by Isis & Thoth), he was not yet fully regenerated, transformed or resurrected. Only after receiving the Eye of his son Horus, who, in tune with the sapiental discourses (of for example Ptahhotep), therefore becomes more powerful than his father, does Osiris become King of the Duat. Indeed, Horus can leave the Duat (Osiris never does) and becomes King of the Two Lands.

The Sungod pays attention to what happens in the Duat and dialogues with the fertility-deities. This points to their mutual interdependence. Consciousness (Re) enters the Duat of darkness & unconsciousness (Osiris). Although this "other side" is out of reach, but not devoid of energy, communicating with it offers a complete renewal of one's elements.

1.3 The 3th Hour :

The mysterious gods of the Duat speak to Re :

"Come to us, You whose flesh is being towed,
and who is guided by his own body,
interpreter of the Duat, Lord of Breath,
whose body speaks, who provides for his life !
Your Ba-soul appears and your power flourished.
Your two Maat-goddesses guide You on the way of darkness.
The sky belongs to your Ba-soul, the Earth to your corpse.
The unique one rises up for You,
alone at the two-rope which the jackals moor.
The arms of the Westerners receive You
in your protected form of 'Old Man'.
How beautiful is it, that the Westerners can see,
how satisfying it is, when those of the Duat can hear Re,
when he sets in the West,
when his light is put into the region of dark images.
Come indeed to us, Re of the horizon,
Gold Khepri, seed of the gods !
You sail by the banks of the Duat,
You traverse your hidden fields,
and You make transformations in that your Earth !"
Amduat, 3th Hour, 313 - 320.

Name of the Hour : "Water of the Unique Master, which brings forth offerings" ;
Name of the gods : "Mysterious Ba-souls" ;
Name of the goddess of the Hour : "She who cuts Ba-souls" ;
Structural features : middle register is still waterway, Re is absent ;

Like in the 2th Hour, the middle register "floats" on the Nile. Here, the metaphysical root of the fertile waters of the previous hour is addressed, for the Nile is born in the Duat, hence "Water of the Unique Master", i.e. Osiris. These deep causes are powerful ("Ba") & mysterious.

Main visual semantic : the "Water of Osiris", a Solar bark without Re, images of the Sungod, flotilla has mutilated figures ;
Theme : the fragmentation of Solar power, loss of borders and inertia.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The flotilla-theme of the second hour is continued, but extended to the mythical root of the Nile and its inundation, namely the notion the Nile originated in the Duat, reaching Egypt at Elephantine, which had Khnum as its chief deity (first deity of lower register). The lower register continues on this theme, invoking divine kingship (White & Red Crowns) and Orion (a stellar form of Osiris), connected with the beginning of the inundation, providing Ancient Egyptian civilizations its natural source of surplus and power. The upper register reveals the magic to cause the inundation, for these deities are "Grinding the enemy and letting Nun come into existence, making the Nile inundation flow and the storm go forth from the Earth beneath them." (Amduat, 3th Hour, 281 - 283). Indeed, the movement of the figures in the upper register is unidirectional, nothing being able to stop the inundation of happening.

There is no single barque of the Sungod. A central figure on the Solar Bark is missing. Re seems totally absent. The four boats represent four functional states of Re :

1. a Solar bark without Re : in the texts, Re is present in all four ships. But he cannot be clearly identified, each bark revealing part of his functional characteristics. Here, his centralizing role, made poignant by eliminating the icon of Re on the Solar bark, is emphasized ;

2. the Ram-headed one : dressed in a Sed festival short cloak, this figure points to Osirian rejuvenation, regeneration etc. Re (light) and Osiris (darkness) are intimately linked ;

3. the Radiant one without head : this mutilation of the central figure underlines the fragmentation of the unity of the Sungod, while this "baboon" bark may be suggestive of the role of divine thought ;

4. a Follower of Horus : originator of the royal dynasty, Re is the true King of the Two Lands, and Horus his representative on Earth (the closing "10th" factor completing the Ennead).

The differentiation has reached a threshold value beyond which no return to the previous order is possible. The creator-god has exhausted himself and needs a procedure to rekindle. Imminently, a radical change is going to take place. This will unveil the dreamlike, shape-shifting & time-shifting qualities of Re's experience in the Duat. At the end of this hour, Re reached an ultimate point of fragmentation. A reassembly is needed, introducing another "level" of the Duat. We move away from the familiar scenery of Re's flotilla peacefully entering the night, greeted by cheerful dwellers blessed by the mere sight of it. Like in a dream, we break away from the loose, familiar images emerging when falling asleep, and enter the domain of the dreamworld proper, which has its own set of "private" laws and conditions, introducing new degrees of freedom in terms of space & time. In a dream, changes may happen suddenly and introduce unexpected experiences. Likewise, in the next hours of the night, new dimensions of the Duat are entered, and Re faces his own fundamental auto-regenerative move.

1.4 The 4th Hour :

"The one belonging to Rosetau.
Secret paths of Rosetau. The divine gate
He cannot pass them, but it is (only) his voice which they hear.
Path entered by the corpse of Sokar-upon-his-sand.
Secret image which can neither be seen nor beheld.
Secret path entered by Anubis to conceal the corpse of Osiris.
Secret path of the edge of the Imhet."
The Five Texts in the Desert Path, 4th Hour, 352 - 353.

Name of the Cavern : "With living forms" ;
Name of the Gate : "Which hides the towing" ;
Name of the goddess : "The great one in the Duat" / "She who is great in her power" ;
Structural features : towed snake Bark, knives cutting registers, sarcophagus ;
Main visual semantic : desert of Rosetau, land of Sokar ;
Theme : darkness and silence : the ultimate isolation of Solar power.

cutting through the registers - Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The 4th Hour begins with an abrupt scene change. The Solar bark, transformed into a Serpent bark, is on a narrow stretch of water running in a vast desert, the Earth of Sokar "he upon his sand", the Lord of the mysterious ways of Rosetau. This desert is populated by gigantic serpent monsters. 

The Sungod is back in his bark, as is the Sun disk upon his head (lost in the 2th Hour). If in the 3th Hour he had been absent from the scene, while the texts affirmed Re was on all four boats, now his icon is back, but the texts explain he cannot be seen ! A remarkable juxtaposition.

The scepter in Re's hand has changed. It too has become a serpent, indicative of his commanding power over the serpent world. To journey this dark hour, filled with all kinds of serpents, Re needs to control them. The zigzag "serpentine" path (cf. The Five Texts in the Desert Path) underpins the awkward motility of the Solar bark.

The region of Rosetau is linked with death and the god Sokar, a funerary form of Osiris, linked with mummification, entombment and the mysteries of the Duat (cf. the sarcophagi moving downwards). The secret, mysterious, hidden doors etc. remind of the devices found in the Book of the Two Ways (Coffin Texts, Spells 1029 to 1185). Knowing the proper names guaranteed full protection in the Duat.

"SPELL FOR THE PATHS OF ROSETAU.
These paths here are in confusion. Every one of them is opposed to its fellow. It is those who know them who will find their paths. They are high on the flint walls which are in Rosetau, which is both on water and on land."
Coffin Texts, Spell 1072.

"(...) I have opened up Rosetau that I may ease the suffering of Osiris ..."
CT, Spell 1079.

"This is the sealed thing which is in darkness, with fire about it, which contains the efflux of Osiris, and it is put in Rosetau. It has been hidden since it fell from him, and it is what came down from him on to the desert of sand. It meant that what belonged to him was put in Rosetau."
CT, Spell 1080.

In this hour, Re is repeatedly blocked by doors called "knife", cutting the way into pieces. Re utters words of power without seeing those he wakes up from their slumber of near-death, nor can they see him, for he turned into a dark Sun. In this deepest hour of darkness, Re can no longer see the inhabitants of the Duat. They hear him, but no one answers Re. Absence of light and silence overpower his soul.

Because of this thick darkness, his Left Eye has been injured, but it is protected by Thoth and "he who is upon his sand", Sokar himself, anticipating its healing. The old myth of the battle between Horus and Seth (with Horus loosing his Left Eye restored by Thoth) is transposed and placed at the preliminaries of the process of regeneration. Total darkness and silence (symbolized by Sokar) and knowledge of the words of power (symbolized by Thoth) accommodate the process of healing initiated. Renewal & rebirths are preluded by thick darkness & isolation. In Yoga, during dark retreat, parallel experiences & processes ensue.

At the end of the 4th Hour, another radical change occurs, for Re has to make a non-linear jump to enter the 5th Hour. The change of scenery introduced at the beginning of the 4th Hour acts as preliminary to a more radical alteration of experienced reality introduced with the 5th. For a sacred space is at hand, and a radical transition is about to occur.

Phase II : The Sanctum
the South : The Midnight Mystery

The process of Solar regeneration has three subphases :

1. 4th Hour : entering Rosetau : preliminary : sensory deprivation, thick darkness, isolation ;

2. 5th Hour : Rosetau proper : preparation : protected & controlled initiation ;

3. 6th Hour : left Rosetau : completion : the actual process of transformation.

1.5 The 5th Hour :

"This great god is towed along the proper ways of the Duat,
in the upper half of the secret cavern of Sokar-upon-his-sand.
Invisible and imperceptible is this secret image
of the land which bears the flesh of this god."
Amduat, 5th Hour, 384 - 386.

Name of the Cavern : "West" ;
Name of the Gate : "Station of the god" ;
Name of the gods : "Ba-souls who are in the Duat" ;
Name of the goddess : "She who guides in the midst of her bark" ;
Structural features : towed snake Bark, Sundisk with Uraeus, Cavern of Sokar, sarcophagus ;
Main visual semantic : Cavern, Head, Lake of Fire, Burial-Mound ;
Theme : preparing for the Midnight Mystery : the protection of the process.

raising up in an oval, illuminating darkness
Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The opposites of fire (desert, Sokar) and water (the Lake of Fire) meet for the first time. The registers are not simply parallel (1th - 3th Hour) or cut (as in the 4th Hour), but actually interact and form one image. The functional components of the Midnight Mystery are put into place. The "athanor" or alchemical furnace is lit, but the transformation is not yet happening. After the preliminaries of the 4th Hour, extensive preparations are now called for. An integration at all levels is needed.

If the zigzag iconography of the 4th Hour anticipates the transverse "jump" between the 4th & the 5th Hour, designating the start of a meta-order within the process of Solar regeneration itself, then the rising of the "mountain" of Osiris from the lower registers upward may initiate forthcoming integration (from the Lake of Fire & the Cavern of Sokar in the lower register, to Isis in the middle register and the burial-mound of Osiris in the upper register). Continuity, circularity, continuation and interdependence are suggested.

"Secret way of the Imhet on which this god is towed.
It is the abomination of Nehes (Seth).
Gate of the West.
The secret way of the land of Sokar,
which Isis enters on, to be behind her brother.
It is filled with flames of fire from the mouth of Isis.
The gods, the blessed and the dead cannot proceed on it.
The secret way of the land of Sokar and the Westerners who tow this god,
upon which gods, the blessed and the dead do not pass.
It is filled with flames of fire from the mouth of the Wamemty-serpent."
Amduat, 5th Hour, 434 - 438.

In the 5th Hour, the Barque of Re continues its long journey in the Land of Sokar, suggestive of a period of gestation, i.e. the inner, dark and silent processing which takes place before renewal. Painting the 5th Hour on the South wall of the burial chamber, as demanded by the text, sets it right beside the 12th Hour. In the tomb of Tuthmosis III, we see how in this way the Solar barque is placed next to Re dawning in the form of a Khepri-beetle. The end result of the transformation (at the end of the 12th Hour), eventuated in the 6th Hour is anticipated (and initiated) in the 5th Hour. It is the key to this rekindling.

The upper register starts with a goddess wearing a feather and raising her arms before the Great Ennead, with Khepri in the place of Atum, and Horus in the place of Seth. In the tomb of Tuthmosis III, she follows immediately upon the 12th Hour, and so represents the eternity of "neheh"-time, the cyclic & recurrent Solar process (Maat is born when Atum-Re autogenerates), while Osiris, the Duat and Nun indicate "djedet"-time, the linear, dark (Lunar) everlastingness of precreation. In the centre, the scarab Khepri (the regeneration of Re proper) emerges out of the burial-mound of Osiris, surrounded by two wailing birds, Isis & Nephthys. Guarded by Anubis, this "chest" is called "Darkness", indicating the functional role of absence of light in the process of regeneration.

Fifth Hour (middle register, fragment) - note the Uraeus-serpent on the brow of Re
Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

In the middle register, the Solar bark, still serpentine, is being towed and Re has the Wadjet-serpent or Uraeus on his brow. His knowledge of the Duat and its mysterious, secret process (represented by serpents) is complete & protected. The Uraeus spits fire to kill any possible enemy.

In Ancient Egypt, the role of serpents can be beneficial or afflictive. As serpents love darkness to hide from the Sun, the Duat is associated with them. Magic is needed to deal with them (cf. Isis), and this implies knowledge empowering one's entry into their world. Assimilating the power of that which one needs to control is the way of the shaman.

Wadjet is the Single Eye of the supreme, self-created high god of before creation, namely Atum, turned into a cobra. This Eye is also called the "Eye of Re" and the "Eye of Horus" (the Elder), associated with the right hand side, the summer and the Sun. Its mythical activity (like the autocreation of Atum and the family drama of Osiris) took place in the "First Time", the so-called "zep tepy" ("zp tpy") or "Urzeit".

The appearance of Wadjet on Re's brow in this hour indicates the complete readiness of his knowledge and protections. Re is fully equipped to invoke his own regeneration. The Uraeus complements the serpent scepter of the 4th Hour. It too carries important motifs across the hours, linking them (1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-12). As this image is related with the 12th Hour, the Wadjet is lost in the 6th Hour, and only regained in the 12th Hour. In the context of the 5th, it represents anticipated, imminent renewal.

In Re's renewal, three serpents are of note :

1. the multicolored serpent or Sokar-serpent of the 5th Hour : represents Re as a serpent initiating the process of transformation by illuminating the Cavern of Sokar by the two eyes of his three heads ;

2. Oroboros-serpent of the 6th Hour : effectuates the transformation by returning the corpse of Re to the First Time to be renewed ;

3. Mehen-serpent of the 7th Hour : protects Re in the early stages after this renewal.

The lower register continues the "secret paths" of the Land of Sokar of the 4th Hour, closed by two doors. Between them is the interior, or "core" of Sokar's land, with an "oval", "cavern", "cave" or "egg" in its centre, embedded in the two halves of the double sphinx Aker, the god of the Earth. Here, the primordial engine of this process comes into focus, namely the controlled fusion of Osiris as Sokar and Re as the multicolored serpent in the "Cavern of Sokar", initiating the transformation.

In the middle register, we see Isis acting as the head over this cavern, filling it with flames of fire. Defending this threatened area indicates it is not easily to maintain the conditions necessary for this transformation to actually happen, hence the long preparations. In this cavern, Re is represented by a three-headed, winged, multicolored serpent grasped by the falcon-headed Sokar. A first union is happening, but remains secret, hidden away. This generates the first spark, which is completed (actualized) in the 6th Hour. So this hour anticipates the actual Ars obscura of the 6th and offers the protective device, a secret "black box", a mysterious cavern or cave necessary to contain the initiation of the fusion, as well as to maintain the continuous circulations of energy (within creation and between creation and precreation) to allowing total transformation.

Fifth Hour (lower register, fragment showing the Sungod as
"the great god who spreads his wings, with multicolored plumes"
Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

"This image is like this in the thick darkness.
The oval belonging to this god (Sokar) is illuminated
by the two eyes of the heads of the great god (the serpent).
His two feet shine in the coils of the great god,
while he protects his image.
A noise is heard from this oval,
after this great god has passed by them,
like the thundering ground of the sky in a storm."
Amduat, 5th Hour, 443 - 445.

The central theme is the "image" of Sokar in general, and the "cavern" or "cave" of Sokar in particular. The latter is embedded in the double head of Aker, the old god of the Earth in the form of a Sphinx (lower register). The oval lies flat on a patch of sand in the middle of an underground structure, closed by doors, topped by the head of Isis (in the middle register), and "floating" on the "Lake of Fire", represented by waves (sometimes painted red). From this Lake of Fire, the blessed drink cool water, but for sinners it is like fire. Like the Holy Grail, it either regenerates or destroys. This pyramidal mound is called the "image of Sokar", and is suggestive of the Osireon.

Illuminated, like everything in the oval, by the light coming out of the eyes of the multicolored serpent, Sokar, falcon-headed, grasps the wings of this life-giving, three-headed serpent, "the great god who spreads his wings, with multicolored plumes". Its tail is a man's head with the beard of a god, and above we read "he lives from the breath of his mouth every day".

This winged serpent (the secret flesh) and the "Cavern of Sokar" are central to the whole 5th Hour, and key to the anticipated rejuvenation. Apparently, they eyes of the Sokar-serpent spat light (fire), illuminating the oval. On the border of the cavern we read : "Land of Sokar. Aker, guarding the mysterious flesh." Is this "mysterious flesh" also an "image" of the body of Osiris, to be entered in the 6th Hour, i.e. the death posture assumed by the Sungod ?

Underneath the Cavern of Sokar is Lake of Fire. Its water is red (in some tombs it is painted red & blue). In normal and cryptic script the text says :

"Water, which the gods mourn in the Imhat necropolis. The barge does not pass them. The inhabitants of the Duat will not grasp their water, (which) is in this necropolis, for the water to those who are in their necropolis is fire."
Amduat, 5th Hour, underneath the lower register.

This Lake of Fire is a place of fiery punishment for the damned, but the blessed dead drink cool water from it. This "fire-water" is a powerful alchemical symbol, related to Philosophical Mercury (Aqua Mercurii). Dependent on one's attitude and condition, this water changes function. Constructive (blue) to some, it is destructive (red) to others. Burning Water implies to gain access to the inner planes of consciousness and imagination. And this is precisely what is happening here. The Sungod is about to regenerate completely and to do so he needs to access the deepest layers of the Duat, the thick darkness of the sinister Land of Sokar.

1.6 The 6th Hour :

"Pronounced by their names,
known by their bodies,
engraved by their forms,
and their hours, mysterious in their essence,
without this secret image of the Duat being known by any human being.
This image is made in paint like this
in the secrecy of the Duat, on the southern side of the Hidden Chamber.
He who know it will partake of the offerings in the Duat.
He will be satisfied with the offerings to the gods who are in the following of Osiris.
All he wishes will be offered to him in the Earth."
Amduat, 6th Hour, 460 - 464.

Name of the Hour : "The depths, waterhole of those of the Duat" ;
Name of the Cavern : "West" ;
Name of the Gate : "With sharp knives" ;
Name of the goddess : "She who arrives" / "Arrival that gives the right (way)" ;
Structural features : waterhole of those of the Duat, Tail-in-Mouth ;
Main visual semantic : Re unites with Osiris and receives new Eyes ;
Theme : rekindling of Solar power thanks to singularity between Re and Osiris.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The 6th Hour is the "waterhole" of those in the Duat, filled with Nun, the primordial ocean and its regenerative powers, i.e. the presence of a creative potential (or Ba) within this darkness, namely : Atum. The Ba-soul of Re assumes the death posture, and "becomes" Osiris as the corpse of Re. After igniting the alchemical fire in the 5th Hour (in the Cavern of Sokar erected on the Lake of Fire), the soul of Re moves to the First Time (spiritualizes by becoming Akh) and returns rekindled.

Nun is the guardian of this hour. As he did on the first instance, the Sungod is about to emerge out of the primordial ocean, being, like Atum, the soul of Nun. To realize this, he must "enter" the mummy of Osiris, assume its death posture (the corpse of Khepri) to escape the world (of creation, of Kas & Bas) and enter in spiritual communion, as Akh of Re, with Atum, the autogenitor in aeternam ("zep tepy").

Each register depicts this union is a different way :

1. upper register : Re, resting upon his divine eye, hears the Bull rejoice with roaring voice ;

2. middle register : the baboon-headed Thoth offers an Ibis to a goddess called "Lady with the Eyes" - Oroboros-serpent protects & allows the transformation to effectuate by returning the corpse of Re to the First Time to be renewed, while the whole of Egypt participates in this (cf. the figures of Upper & Lower Egypt) ;

3. lower register : the regenerative power of the primordial waters are underlined here (cf. Sobek and Nun framing the lower register).

In the Midnight Mystery, the midnight Sun returns to its pre-existent, primordial origin, Atum (autogenitor). In the 6th Hour, the Land of Sokar is left and the water hole filled with Nun is reached. Here is the secret image of Osiris, the corpse of Khepri.

In the mysterious image of the serpent called "Tail-in-Mouth" (representing the concluding phase of the renewing cycle, the niche of the mysterious fusion and the hyperdynamics of this singular conjunction), the corpse of Re with a beetle above its head, may be identified with Osiris. The protective cavern becomes a protective snake. The process of time is circular, beginning and end touch. The nature or stuff of consciousness (its "body" and "flesh") is the mummy of Osiris. The inner power of Re's soul, the operational side of conscious awareness (its "Ba" or "soul"), unites with its own everlasting and natural foundation, moves through the autogenic, extra-cosmic base, and returns replenished and filled with a surplus of energy able to effectively add reality to creation, i.e. extend existence. This union of the body of Osiris with the soul of Re (assuming the death posture) will continue until the end of the 12th Hour, when Osiris is left behind in the Duat.

The middle register starts with the words :

"This great god travels in this region on the water. He rows through this field to the place of the corpse of Osiris. This great god addresses the gods who are in the fields. He moors at these mysterious tombs which contain the image of Osiris. This god calls out above these mysterious tombs, and it is (his) voice which this god hears. Then he passes on, after he has called out."
Amduat - 6th Hour, 485 - 488.

This hour is one of great magic. Only now is the bark of the Sungod arrested by the throne of Thoth, who offers a sacred Ibis (himself) to a goddess hiding the eyes of the Sungod. The pivotal moment is represented by the Tail-in-Mouth-serpent, called "Many Faces", and surrounding this five-headed serpent we read :

"This is the body of Khepri as his own flesh. 'Many Faces' guards him. He is like this : his tail is in his mouth. This is what he must do : he is stretched out beneath this image (of the body of Khepri). Then the entire West comes to him without him going to any other place in the Duat. The voice of Re is what comes to the image which is in him."
Amduat - 6th Hour, 502 - 504.

The corpse of Re, represented by the reclining figure with a beetle-head, is an image of Osiris. When the Ba of Re is near total depletion, Re is "flesh", the "image of Osiris". Like Osiris, Re needs to be restored. "Many Faces" makes the rejuvenation of Re's soul possible. The powerful Oroboros-serpent is not only symbolic of eternal ("neheh") time and the continuity of life, but of the "zep tepy" itself. Moreover, it reveals its essential mechanism : eternal recurrence, duality-under-unity and the cyclical nature of all things.

The "mysterious image of the Duat" depicts the synthesis of Egyptian magic, religion and spirituality in terms of the economy of Re. The corpse of Re is encircled by the protective womb of a mysterium coniunctionis between the physical cycle of Re and the spiritual power of Atum. Hence forward, the light of Re is rekindled. The body of Khepri encircled by "Many Faces" is also Re's encounter with himself, which makes him project outside creation and unite with the First Time and with "Atum-Kheperer".

Phase III : The Return
the North : The Empowering

"This god assumes another form at this cavern.
He turns away from Apopis
through the magic of Isis and the Eldest Magician (Seth).
(...)
He proceeds this way,
which is without water, without towing.
He sails by the magic of Isis and the Elders Magician,
and by the magical power which is in the mouth of the (great) god himself.
The slaughtering of Apopis is done in the Duat at this cavern ;
his place, however, is in the sky."
Amduat, 7th Hour, 524 - 525 / 528 - 529.

1.7 The 7th Hour :

Name of the Hour : "Mysterious cavern" ;
Name of the Gate : "Gate of Osiris" ;
Name of the goddess : "She who repels the gangs of Seth" / "She who repels the Evil One and slaughters 'Horrible of Face'" ;
Structural features : bark of Re stranded, Re with Mehen-serpent, Apophis fettered ;
Main visual semantic : confrontation and destruction of enemies, fate & destiny ;
Theme : forces of chaos trying to halt the outcome.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

Integration, starting with the division of Re and Osiris, risks to be halted in the 7th Hour, for Apopis swallows the water-way. Isis and Seth cast a spell on him, while Selkis throws fetters around his body. Re is protected by the Mehen-serpent. No evil can harm him and his retinue. The period just after the rekindling is a moment of great danger. The jump from the South wall to the North wall underlines this. The barque of the Sungod is brought in direct proximity to the end of the dark 4th Hour. There, due to dark forces, all was also dried up. Here too, the archfiend of Re and of the cosmos itself has swallowed the water and Re cannot continue !

As soon as the Sungod regenerates, the forces of evil try to destroy him. Evil is apparently always a little bit too late, for when Re was weak, Apopis did not appear ! Here, Re is no longer powerless, and it is this return of power which stirred evil. Apopis thinks he will manage, for Re's renewed powers are not yet radiant & strong. The course of the Sungod is halted to repeat the murder of Osiris and stop the regeneration of the cosmos.

Seventh Hour - Re with Mehen-serpent - tomb of Tuthmosis III - ca. 1426 BCE.
Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

In vain ! The Sungod is protected by the Mehen-serpent, the "Enveloper". In the 4th Hour, the serpent was only a vessel, but now, after what happened in the 6th Hour, it is personally related to Re. The creation of new light in the abyss of Nun can in fact not be stopped.

At the prow we see Isis and Seth, the most powerful magical duo of the Egyptian pantheon. Apparently, due to his regeneration, Re has again access to magic and its ultimate role : protection.

In the upper register, we see how Osiris too is protected by the Mehen-serpent. He functions again in his own right, destroying the enemies of Re, who are decapitated. After their union, Re has in Osiris an active, supportive ally in the Duat. As Re was renewed by Osiris, Osiris was renewed by Re. Nocturnal & diurnal consciousness finally complement each other, indicative of the success of Re's transformation.

1.8 The 8th Hour :

Name of the Hour : "Sarcophagus of her gods" ;
Name of the Gate : "Standing without getting tired" ;
Name of the Goddess of the Hour : "She of the midnight" / "Mistress of the deep night" ;
Structural features : Ten Vaults, bark of Re is towed, deities clothed & unidirectional ;
Main visual semantic : Re connects with his own images, renewal of the deities ;
Theme : Solar power replenishing the deities of the Duat.

Drawing by A.G. Shedid (digitally enhanced) - Hornung (1999).

The 8th Hour sustains the movement of integration. All deities receive new clothes (receive new doubles), i.e. renew. The power of Re is again strong enough to sustain everything. The deities died, but are now renewed in their image (or "ka"). All figures face right, underlining the renewed dynamics. The boat of the Sungod is towed by eight figures (in the 4th Hour there were four, in the 12th there will be twelve). The Ten Vaults are symmetrical and, as in the 1th Hour, bring the returned equilibrium of the powers of Re to the fore.

In these last hours, Re regains his powers. After the rekindling, a constant process of integration and development happens. Here, after the conflict with Apopis, a constant dialogue between Re and the gods of the Duat is again at hand. The Mehen-serpent is now called "World-encircler".

Phase IV : The Return
the East : The Rejuvenation

1.9 The 9th Hour :