Ancient Egyptian god: "Father of the Gods" [Figure 11.09 - Eye of Horus - Egyptian Arithmetic]
“Ra is the Father, the cosmic common universal Father, which is the Abstract Absolute.”
Ra was one of the most important gods worshiped in ancient Egypt. He was the sun god and the creator of all other gods and humans.
When we speak of the Egyptian sun-god in general, we call him “Re,” which is also the ordinary Egyptian word for “sun” and “day.” Even the ancient Egyptians often referred to him in this way. As Re, he appeared in countless royal names and epithets, and it was as Re that he traversed the underworld at night to do battle with the forces of chaos.
Ra (also given as Re) is the sun god of ancient Egypt. He is one of the oldest deities in the Egyptian pantheon and was later merged with others such as Horus, becoming Ra-Horakhty (the morning sun), Amun (as noonday sun), and Atum (the evening sun) associated with primal life-giving energy.
On a Primeval hill, Ra created out of himself the first gods, Shu (Dryness and Air), and his partner Tefnut (Humidity), who would engender other gods to complete the Cosmos: Geb the Earth god and Nut the Sky goddess. In turn, these two birthed the Principles of life, namely Osiris the Perfect Being, who eventually would rule over the rest of the world — which Ra was busy creating by naming the elements. Hhumankind happened out of the tears of his eyes.
In the dynastic period, the deity of the sun, regarded as the maker of all visible things, of heaven and all its gods, and of the Underworld (Tuat) and its denizens. More generally, Ra was the cosmic formative activity of the universal soul or Logos, and therefore in one sense of the Anima Mundi in its highest parts. Hence another facet of its meaning is the everlasting light which dwells forever in the cosmic darkness which is — itself.
The worship of the sun was of very ancient origin in Egypt. Like Horus, Ra was depicted in a hawk-headed form known as Amen-Ra (Heru-khuti). The principal seat of the worship of Ra was at An or Heliopolis. The original deity of this city was Tem, but when the priests of Ra became more powerful during the 5th dynasty, they combined the two deities into one as Ra-Tem. In later dynastic times, although the priests of Ra were the most powerful in Egypt, the common people clung to their ideas of Osiris so tenaciously that eventually the priests placed Osiris as the deity of the sun — and this movement may have been initiated from within the sacerdotal sanctuary itself, because the attributes of Osiris and of Ra were alike, Osiris being a more limited entity than the abstract Ra of cosmic space.
"The concept of the Eye of the highest god was mentioned in the story of the heavenly cow. The Eye occurs either as the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Re, though not exclusively: we encountered the Eye of Atum before. The characteristic of the Eye appears to be that its removal from the highest god means disturbance, while its return means pacification and the restitution of order."
Re (Eqyptian; also Ra, Amun-ra, Amon-ra, Amen-ra). One of the names of the Solar Father in Egyptian mysticism.
"From the Egyptian word Ra came the Coptic Ouro, and the Hebrew Aur, Light."
— Albert Pike - Morals and Dogma
Ra occupies the Paramatmic plane. To the Egyptians, however, Ra had "many forms" and the three most important correspond with Parabrahman, Paramatman, and Purusha-Prakriti.
Called the "Sun god," Ra's symbol is the circle and the dot — a universal symbol for the Logos (Supreme Self) manifesting as Khepera — and stands for the indwelling Self or immanent Horus.
Ra occupies a position above and over the place of thrones. Ra is regarded as the First or Unmanifest Logos as the Paramatmic aspect, but in his various "forms," as Ra-Tem, Ra-Harmachis, etc., he symbolizes Atman and its efflorescence on lower planes. (Compare the Highest Duad, Highest Divine Triad.) The spirit of Ra was believed to dwell in the Benben stone.
The "birth of Ra" occurred when manifestation took place upon the Atmic plane, when the "boat of Ra," or the Karana-Sarira, was launched upon the "Buddhic waters."
Ra saith:
"I am he who came into being in the form of Khepre. I became the creator of all that came into manifestation. Heaven existed not, nor earth, nor had any created thing of earth. I am the one who made heaven and the secrets of the double-horizon in which I have placed the force (or soul) of the gods." (Turin Papiri 133)
Ammon-Ra, the generator, is the secondary aspect of the concealed deity. Khnoum was adored at Elephanta and Philoe, Ammon at Thebes. But it is Emepht, the One, Supreme Planetary principle, who blows the egg out of his mouth, and who is, therefore, Brahma. The shadow of the deity, Kosmic and universal, of that which broods over and permeates the egg with its vivifying Spirit until the germ contained in it is ripe, was the mystery god whose name was unpronounceable.
The god Ra is shown in the Ritual (Book of the Dead, 17:50) beaming in his egg (the Sun), and he starts off as soon as the god Shoo (the Solar energy) awakens and gives him the impulse.
"He is in the Solar egg, the egg to which is given life among the gods. The Solar god exclaims: "I am the creative soul of the celestial abyss. None sees my nest, none can break my egg, I am the Lord!"
In the "Praises to Ra" from the Royal Tombs of Thebes and translated by Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, the worshiper exclaims:
"Praise be unto thee, O Ra, exalted power, thou Word-Soul (Logos) who resteth on his high place. . . . Thou strengthened thy hidden Aakhui (Monads) . . . . They have their forms from thee. . . . Thou lord who advancest. . . . Truly thou art Isis. . . Whose head shineth more than what is in front of him; truly thou art the bodies of Nephthys. . . . Who art united in thy members, One, who collecteth all seed; truly thou art the bodies of Horus."
“In the beginning was the Logos (Kether), and the Logos (Chokmah) was with Elohim (Binah), and the Logos (Binah) was Elohim. The same was in the beginning with Elohim (Bereshith Bera Elohim). All things were made by him (the Logoic Trinity); and without him (the Logoic Trinity) was not any thing made that was made. In him (Yehidah, the Logoic Trinity) was life (Chaiah); and the life (Chaiah) was the light of (שכינה Shechinah in) men. And the light (שכינה Shechinah) shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (withhold) it not.”
— John 1: 1-5
Isis comes next, her symbol being the throne. She was the Divine Mother, the bringer-forth of the Horus, her symbol indicating that she was the vehicle or seat of Osiris.
Sarai שרי" ישיש Isis", ר Ra, the Eye-Sees
Sarai שרי means “princess,” the daughter of a king. Sarai as Minerva is the unfoldment of the head of Zeus, the king, which in Aramaic is אריך אנפין Arik Anpin (Chaldean) Literally, “the vast countenance," or "the huge face." The Zohar describes it as “the ancient of ancients.” Arik Anpin is the first manifested aspect of divinity, represented in Kabbalah as the first trinity (Kether, Chokmah, Binah), also Zauir Anpin (Hebrew (זֵיר אנפִן) Literally, the "Lesser Countenance."
In Greek, the Microprosopus. The fourth Parsuf ("face") is Zeir Anpin. Zeir Anpin is represented by the sephiroth Chesed, Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, Yesod: these six Sephiroth together form what we call the Zauir Anpin, the child of Abba and Aima, "the Son of the Arick Anpin, the Father." The Monad, Zeir Anpin is the Son of Arik Anpin, the Glorian. Zeir Anpin has to develop in himself all the 13 AEons or Sephiroth, (10 manifested and 3 unmanifested) with the assistance of Adam Kadmon (Kether, Arick Anpin), the first manifestation of the Ain Soph.
"Sarai שרי is written with the letters Shin, Resh and Iod, שרי. In the name שרי Sarai we see the letters Shin (symbol of fire) which represents the three primary forces, and the letters Resh and Iod which are related to the head of Arik Anpin. So in the name שרי Sarai, princess, we discover that the Nukva as wisdom is an unfoldment of the Resh, the head, and the Shin, the trinity, or the three primary forces and the Iod from the Ain Soph. Sarai שרי is placed above the head because the letter Iod and Shin corresponds to the Ain Soph and the first triangle, the crown above the Resh, the head. This is why Abram’s sister is שרי Sarai. Sarai שרי, the princess, as the Valkyrie, is the female aspect of Iod-Havah Elohim, an issue of Binah, because the letter Shin of שרי Sarai is placed always in Daath. So שרי Sarai as a female aspect, the Nukva, has the archetypes of Isra ישר within her womb. Observe that שרי Sarai and Isra (Yasher ישר) are spelled with the same letters. This is why it is written that שרי Sarai was sterile, meaning that still the archetypes were not developed in the ה Hei of יהוה. So as in Hinduism, Brahma (Abraham) and his wife Saraswati (Sarah) are emanations of the Supreme Being named Brahman whose Nukva is known in Sanskrit as Prakriti. In their turn both are emanations or Parabrahman, the Absolute. Likewise, Abraham and his wife Sarah both are emanations of Iod-Havah Elohim, which in their turn are emanations of Aelohim the אור Aur, the light, of the Absolute."
― Qabbalah of Genesis
Resh ר by itself is what the Egyptians call Ra, the God Ra, which is the symbol of the light and the fire which is above the Tree of Life, on top of the universe, because the world of Atziluth which is represented by the first triangle of the Tree of Life relates to the seventh or zero dimension; such fiery light is far beyond the understanding or apprehension of those who are here below in Malkuth, the third dimension.
So far we have described the first three letters of Israel, which spell “Isra.” Above Malkuth is Yesod, the fourth dimension and above Yesod, is Hod and Netzach in the fifth dimension and above them are Chesed, Geburah and Tiphereth in the sixth dimension and above them are Kether, Chokmah and Binah in the seventh dimension which emerged from the zero dimension, which is the absolute.
So as we see Isra ישר forms the word "ישר Yasher” meaning, virtuous, direct, sincere, straight, ישר Yasher points up towards the fire above the head, that is, the light of the Ain Soph Aur, that we have to reach from Yesod, here in Malkuth.
After Isra we find El, which in Hebrew means “God.” So Qabbalistically and alchemically the word ישראל Israel means: the Glory of the fires of the God Ra or the Glory of the igneous particles of the God Ra (Yasher ישר "the upright, the straight," אל El, "God"). Such is kabbalistically and alchemically speaking the meaning of the name ישראל Israel.
Thus in the name ישראל Israel is represented all the archetypes of "אל El” because as we see here, the name ישראל Israel is related to the Crown, the Ain Soph Aur upon the Head or Upper Triangle of the Tree of Life, within which are all the archetypes that must manifest in "אל El” which is Chesed, our own particular individual God or Inner זעיר אנפין Zeir Anpin.
Now, in Kabbalah the word "אל El” by itself, Aleph Lamed, means that א Aleph, the breath of life, as the Sephirah Chesed, incarnates for the first time in the heart. "אל El” is the individual Spirit or every single זעיר אנפין Zeir Anpin, which is what in Greek we call the Monad. Monad means unity.
"El אל” is translated as God in Hebrew. "El אל” is the Ruach Elohim, the Spirit of God that was hovering in the beginning upon the face of the waters. This beginning corresponds to Daath, because when we read that in the beginning of time the Spirit of God was moving upon the face of the waters, macrocosmically speaking, that refers to Daath because in Daath we find those heavens that are written in Genesis as שמים Schamayim.
Notice that the word שמים Schamayim begins with the letter Shin, symbol of fire and the following letters מים of Schamayim שמים mean waters in Hebrew. So שמים Schamayim are waters related to Shin. And the letter Shin corresponds to Daath; so שמים Schamayim alchemically means the fire of the waters from above.
“And Elohim said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
— Genesis 1: 6
The Solar deity Re is the Word manifested as his hieroglyph implies, hence Logos, hence the three symbols in one: Atum-Khepri-Re; Atum, the primal mover, its becomings, its full manifestation as the Word radiating light. This succinctly expressed the Egyptian idea of the manifested three-foldness of the divine Principle of Life, subsequently represented by the trinities of Father-Mother-Son in the theological centers — Heliopolis, Hermopolis, Memphis, Thebes.
"He hath led heaven captive, and he hath seized the earth in his grasp. Neither the heavens nor the earth can be taken away from him, for, behold, he is Ra, the firstborn of the gods. Cakes and ale and joints of meat from those which are on the altar of Ra shall be given unto him, and his homestead shall be among the fields of the Field of Reeds (Sekhet-Aaru), and wheat and barley shall be given unto him therein, and he shall flourish there even as he flourished upon earth." (From the Papyrus of Nekhtu-Amen)
Ra said:
"I am the god Tem in rising. I am the Only One. I came into existence in Nu. I am Ra who rose in the beginning, the ruler of this creation. I am the Great Father of the gods and the goddesses. I gave life unto them. I created every living thing that moves upon the dry land and in the sea depths. When I open my eyes there is light: when I close them there is thick darkness. My secret name is known not unto the gods. I am Khepera at dawn, Ra at high noon, and Tum at eventide. I sail over the sky, I am Ra, I am Ru."
The cuneiform Ru sign is found in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. As Ru it is used for syllabic Ru, and alphabetic 'R', or 'U'. In the I-XII Tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh, it has specific uses showing alternate renderings besides Ru.
In Egypt, “Ru” means “door” or “entrance.”
"Ru (Egyptian cuneiform Ru) is a gate, outlet; when referred to the heavens, that place in the northern sky in which the sun is said to be reborn; mystically, that place whence proceeded the primeval light, “synonymous with the ‘cosmic womb.’ The Magic of modern Egypt, supposed to proceed from Angels and Spirits, that is Genii, and by the use of the mystery names of Allah; they distinguish two forms — Ilwee, that is the Higher or White Magic; and Suflee and Sheytanee, the Lower or Black Demoniac Magic. There is also Es-Seemuja, which is deception or conjuring. Opinions differ as to the importance of a branch of Magic called Darb el Mendel, or as Barker calls it in English, the Mendal: by this is meant a form of artificial clairvoyance, exhibited by a young boy before puberty, or a virgin, who, as the result of self-fascination by gazing on a pool of ink in the hand, with coincident use of incense and incantation, sees certain scenes of real life passing over its surface.”
― Helena Petrovna Blavatsky - Collected Writings
Image: Ancient Egyptian wooden stela depicting Lady Djedkhonsuiwesankh giving offerings of food, drink, and flowers to Re-Horakhty.
See Also
Cayce Ra is often mentioned in the Cayce Readings
Figure 11.09 - Eye of Horus - Egyptian Arithmetic
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