Buch lesen: «Ancient Egyptian Gods: Eternal Protectors»

Biography

María Isabel Pedrera Pérez, better known as Maga Beth, was born in Barcelona on February 9, 1970.

With an inherited profession, her grandmother and great grandmother introduced her in the world of High Magic; she showed, at an early age, a preference towards esotericism.

María Isabel attended basic and high school education and completed higher education with a diploma in Infant Education and Childcare, specialising her studies with the following courses:

– Educator for people with learning difficulties – Autism.

– Special needs – Dyslexia.

– Stimulation and development in education with disabilities.

– Psychopathic disorders in childhood.

– Speech Therapy.

– The teacher in school failure.

– Music therapy.

– Movement and play in the teaching practice.

She combined both studies and also specialised in parapsychology, hypnosis, occultism and astrology; and completed a Master in Quality Control and Environment.

As a good Aquarius, her restless soul led her to continue gaining experience but this time in the natural world, and earned a diploma in Naturopathy, Bach Flowers Remedies, Schüssler Salts, Dietetics and Nutrition, Lymphatic Drainage, Reflexology and Chiromassage.

María Isabel is the author of several books:

– El mágico mundo de las pirámides- Piramidología práctica y esotérica.

– Runas, símbolos mágicos.

– Diccionario de santería.

– Eshú y Pomba Gira, más allá del bien y del mal.

– The Great Secret of Holy Death

– The world of Eshú and Pomba Gira

Throughout these years, María Isabel has collaborated in several radio programmes and esoteric fairs, has given lectures and conferences, and many Tarot, Runes and High Magic courses; and also participated in the First Congress of Mediums held in Spain.

Currently, she continues working in different fields spreading her knowledge.

Contact:

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Foreword

Over the years, many things have been written and said about the Egyptian gods and goddesses.

Given the amount of information available and all the questions you have asked me, I have tried to answer all your questions and gather all the information in the shortest possible way.

In this book I provide a useful guide to all the Egyptian gods and goddesses, together with a brief description of the Egyptian culture that has caused so much admiration over the centuries.

In addition, I explain how to work with the gods at a magic and energetic level in the easiest way and for different issues such as love, protection, health, money, etc. Thus, you will be able to ask each god or goddess for something in particular.

I hope you find this as exciting as I do; for you my best gift.

Chapter 1- Introduction: Brief History of Egypt

The Egyptian people were a civilization that developed throughout history for more than 3,000 years, c 3150 BC to 31 BC, until its conquest by the Roman Empire. Then, it disappeared as a State.

In Ancient Egypt, gods were basic for people´s beliefs and rituals. There were many gods and pharaohs who were the kings of Egypt. As well as governing, pharaohs were considered and worshipped as gods. Many Egyptian gods are names of pharaohs.

Pharaohs were the union of people with deities. People offered them all kinds of obeisance, prayers, and offerings so that they would be happy and everything would be propitious to them.

Their religion was a complex belief system in which they interacted with several deities who controlled their lives through the elements and forces of nature. The religion lasted for more than 3,000 years and had its roots in Egyptian prehistory.

The Egyptians, as a great state, allocated many resources to build temples and to conduct rituals dedicated to the gods. They believed in their interaction with the gods, they prayed, did magic and rituals asking for everything they needed.

The main deities in the Ancient Egyptian culture followed a family structure difficult to understand when compared with the current family structures.

Most family members were dual, i.e., there could be a female deity or both, but they were always related to a male deity. Affective and sexual relations between parents, siblings and offspring were frequent and normal. Male gods were better considered than female gods.

We must bear in mind that many were the same god, but with different names and different evolution depending on the region of Egypt in which they were worshipped. The main worship centres were in the cities of Tell-el-Amarna, Memphis, Thebes, Hermópolis, Heliopolis, Edfu, Dendera, Karnak, Esna, Aswan, among others.

In my opinion, the god Atum and his four siblings were the basis of this structure: Atum (god of the setting sun), Ra (god of the noon sun, god of light, sun and heaven, the origin of life), Khepri (god of the rising sun) and Khnum (god of the night).

From the family of Ra and his wife Maat (goddess of justice, truth and harmony, who was also Thoth's wife) merged Sekhmet (goddess of war). Sekhmet married Ptah or Apis. Nefertum was the son of Sekhmet and Ptah. In some places of worship Nefertum was equivalent of the solar god Atum.

Atum had many offspring and most of the Egyptian worship came from this family.

It is sometimes said that Atum created himself; others, that his parents were Nun-Nunet (gods of the essential waters). Atum gave life to two offspring: Shu and Tefnut, thus being father and mother at the same time, thus the creator and the giver of life god.

Shu (god of the air) and Tefnut (goddess of moisture) had two offspring: Geb (god of the Earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky).

Geb and Nut had four offspring: Nephthys (goddess of darkness, shadows, and moisture), Set (god of evil and chaos), Isis (goddess of magic and wisdom), and Osiris (god of resurrection, fertility, agriculture, and king of the beyond).

Nephthys was the sister-wife of Set. Since Set could not have children, she cheated on him with Osiris, and they had a boy named Anubis (god of death and the underworld).

Isis was the sister-wife of Osiris and from their great love was born Horus (god of heaven, war and hunting).

Horus married Hathor (goddess of love, joy, dance and music) and they had two children: Ihy (child god of joy and music) and Harsomtus (god of food and creation).

Ra also called Amon-Ra (an almighty god who was everywhere) had two wives: Amonet (goddess of the wind who did not need any man) and Mut (creator goddess). Amon-Ra and Mut gave birth to Khonsu (god of medicine and healer). They also adopted a son named Mantu (god of war).

Ra also had two daughters: Hathor who married Horus and Keket (goddess of darkness) who married Keku (god of darkness). Thus, one may say that Ra had 5 offspring: Hathor, Keket, Khonsu, Mantu and Sekhmet.

Khepri (solar deity of the dawn) had no known offspring. Khnum´s (god of the night) consort was Satis (goddess of war, floods, fertility and love) and their offspring was Anuket (goddess of water) who was Satis´ daughter and sister.

Anubis consorts were Thoth (god of wisdom, time and magic) and Maat (goddess of justice, truth and harmony.) Maat was also Ra's wife.

As you can see, Egyptian gods and goddesses are somewhat difficult to understand. This is how I understand them and is the simplest explanation I can give you.

Over time, people believed more in popular religious traditions and the figure of the pharaoh declined.

Some gods were more worshipped than others: e.g., Ra (the sun god), Amun (the creator god), or Isis (the mother).

Death was very important for Ancient Egyptians. They believed in life after death and when someone died they filled their tombs with grave goods, offerings, food, clothing, jewellery, minerals, etc. so that they did not lack anything and had a good journey to the beyond. They made great offerings to ensure that the soul lasted after death.

The Egyptian people became experts in conserving the body of the dead, embalming it with ointments, oils and aromas, which have also been used by the rest of civilisations over the years.

Ancient Egypt mythology and religion have left us many writings and monuments and have had a great impact on ancient and modern cultures.

Chapter 2 – Egytian gods and goddesses

In this chapter I describe some specific characteristics that define each Egyptian god and goddess. They changed over time and sometimes they were dual and versatile. They may symbolise protection at first, but they may also be worshipped to lead the dead to the afterlife, to ask for love unions, for fertility, for abundance in crops, etc.

I briefly detail their story, the symbols that identify them, and the animals that represent them, their Greek representation, and the meaning of the crown they wear.

I also explain what you can ask for and how to work at a magic level: the use of each god and goddess, the use of their energy, their essence, their mineral, their curiosities, etc.

There were many gods and goddesses; this is just a brief guide of the most important ones.

1 – Amheh

Amheh was depicted as a man with the head of a dog who lived in a lake of fire. He was a god of the underworld whose name meant ‘devourer of eternity’.

At a magic level you can ask for and work to address your fears: i.e., fears you do not want to solve and negative attitudes you have decided to keep for the rest of your life; a burden that does not let you evolve; a burden that blocks you and prevents you from getting everything you want.

This god is used to remove all the things that are difficult for us to leave behind. Things that seem that belong to us but they do not; things that we have acquired by bad habits or have been sent to us so that we do not move forward, etc. These things block us.

Essence: Jasmine

Mineral: Amethyst, Hematite, Jasper

2 – Ammit

Ammit represented death and, unlike other gods or goddesses, she considered herself a demon. Her body was formed by three different animals: crocodile, lion and hippopotamus. These three animals were the most feared animals by the Egyptian people due to their strength, dexterity, voracity, aggressiveness, and the deaths they caused. The goddess Ammit was synonymous with evil.

At a magic level you can ask for and work to block enemies, especially when there are problems with children, such as bulling at school. People ask this goddess to remove anyone who directly or indirectly harms their children. Ask these three animals to surround the people who are trying to attack your loved ones.

Essence: Peppermint

Mineral: Bolivianite, Fluorite, Tiger’s Eye

3 – Amón – Amun – Ammon – Amon Ra

Amun was the main deity of the city of Thebes. He was the patron of its pharaohs. Thebes was the capital of the Egyptian Empire and was the territory in which the Hyksos were expelled, thus building the strongest dynasty of antiquity.

His father was Thoth (god of wisdom, time, and magic) and his mother was Maat (goddess of justice, truth, and harmony), the consort of Thoth. Amun’s consort was Mut (creator goddess) or Amonet (goddess of the wind) and their son was Khonsu (god of medicine). Amun was part of the triad of Thebes with Mut and Khonsu.

Amun had several names. His Greek name was Amon.

Amun was depicted as a man and his associated being was a ram. His large crown had two feathers, a pair of branches -a little separated- which was synonymous with consciousness and wisdom. Each branch had 7 leaves representing the levels of consciousness, since he was reincarnated in a man until the god reached the highest degree of illumination to free himself from the material limitations. He was holding the Was Sceptre (a distinctive symbol of the Egyptian culture of a god’s power or control over creation) in one hand and the Egyptian cross, the Ankh (the key to life) in the other.

At the beginning, Amun was considered the god of the wind, but was later placed next to the god Ra, the sun god, thus reaching a very high level and merging with him to give rise to the god Amon-Ra, the king of the gods; the father of all the gods; the creator of men, animals, and life; the lord of truth.

Amon-Ra was known for his omnipresence. He was the centre of the gods since he could be everywhere. He also called himself the hidden god because nobody could see or feel him, and always attended to all the pleas of his people. He was considered the god of wind and sun.

At a magic level you can ask for and work for spirituality and to find yourself, to recover one’s memory.

Essence: Rosemary

Mineral: Diamond, Topaz, Sulphur

4 – Amonet

Amonet was the wife of Amun or Amon-Ra. She was a self-created goddess. She was known as “the mother who is a father: she did not need any man because she had the power of procreation without a male. The name Amonet meant “The Hidden One”, her shadow symbolised protection and together with her partner, they symbolised the enigmatic, the chaos and the darkness. She symbolised the underworld and the West, the Earth’s cardinal point.

Amonet also symbolised the wind, since she could be felt but not touched. She was depicted as a woman with the head of a snake and with a red crown. However, in Hermopolis, she was depicted as a woman with a head of a frog or with the appearance of a cow. She was also sometimes depicted as a hawk or a woman with a head of a hawk.

She was mentioned for the first time during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Her places of devotion were Thebes, Karnak, and Hermopolis. Over the years, she lost relevance in favour of Mut who finally became Amun's consort.

At a magic level you can ask for and work with her when you need to hide things, to help you forget the pain, to erase every trace of suffering. Learning to forget helps to live in the present, it expels the negative that has been recorded in the mind and ultimately you feel better about yourself.

Essence: Birch

Mineral: Turquoise, Opal, Pyrite

5 – Anat

Anat was a war goddess and many temples were dedicated to her. Even Ramesses named her daughter Bint-Anat (daughter of Anat in Arabic). Anat was a very widely worshipped goddess.

At a magic level you can ask for and work to overcome traumas caused by big emotional problems, accidents or mutilations. Anat will give you strength to recover, to leave your pain behind, and to overcome your fears and distress.

Essence: Cananga

Mineral: Pearl, Chalcopyrite, Amazonite

6 – Annubis – Inpu

He was believed to be the son of Set and Nephthys and was the protector of the dead. Nephthys, his mother, was the goddess of shadows and wet places.

His birth is not clear. One story says that his mother, Nephthys, took the appearance of Isis to approach Set and gave him some vintage wine to get him drunk, since Set wanted Osiris, his brother´s wife and his sister. From their union a child was born but was immediately abandoned because he was the fruit of sin. Curiously, Isis rescued the child and named him Anubis.

Other stories suggest that Anubis was born when his mother Nephthys cheated Set with Osiris after an argument.

Anubis was depicted as a jackal-headed man. He was the god of mummification, embalming and death. His animal representation was an Egyptian dog. He was personified as the summer solstice.

Anubis was also the one who took the dead to their doomsday or Duat. In the beginning, Anubis was the god of the dead, but later he moved into the background giving Osiris the cult and the main role in the afterlife (i.e., guiding the dead into the afterlife and giving them light, opening the roads and presiding their graves).