I have added a page to this blog with the text of Coffin Spell 261, “To Become Heka”, which features centrally in my own Invocation of Heka. Both the original Egyptian text and English translation are provided, along with audio of the same. May it be a worthwhile resource for students.
Month: September 2022
OmE on the Hermetic House of Life Discord server recently brought to my attention Israel Regardie’s “Revised Version for 5=6” of the Middle Pillar Ritual, found in the Llewellyn edition on page 212. It’s been so long since I’ve read The Middle Pillar that I had forgotten this ritual existed, and this was long before my own 5=6 initiation, so I didn’t pay it much attention at the time.
While this is a long ritual composed of six parts, with lengthy orations in each, the rubric itself is reasonably straightforward. After the opening LBRP, the ritual proceeds with sections dedicated to Spirit, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, corresponding to the ordering of the elements found in the Four Winds system and of the LBRP. For each of the sections, a sphere of the Middle Pillar is activated, corresponding to the same locations found in the standard Middle Pillar Ritual but without the Sephirothic connotations. In the elemental sections, the divine and angelic names corresponding to each element are vibrated (the elemental angels deriving from the Key of Solomon), and the prayer of the corresponding elementals (derived from Eliphas Lévi) is said.
The section for Spirit is a bit different from the rest, using only the divine names and the vibration of the four angelic names from the Enochian Tablet of Union. Oddly, these proceed in a different elemental order: EXARP, BITOM, NANTA, and HCOMA, corresponding to Air, Fire, Earth, and Water respectively. This is also different from the ordering on the Enochian Tablet of Union. It is possible that NANTA and HCOMA are inadvertently transposed, but Regardie repeats this ordering in his commentary on the ritual so it is more likely that the ordering is intentional but opaque. The oration is also different, drawing upon the combination of Christian scripture and the oration of Osiris Onnophris the Justified One, the verbiage of which is encountered in Regardie’s ceremony for the Consecration of the Vault of the Adepti and in several of Regardie’s Z.2 rituals.
Finally, the Light is circulated in several different directions and the Osiris godform is assumed before the closing LBRP.
What struck me most about this ritual is that it uses some of the form of the Middle Pillar Ritual, but it works with a completely different language–the language of the Elements, rather than the language of the Sephiroth. While the Middle Pillar Ritual works with the Sephiroth as the primary language and Regardie’s revised 5=6 version works primarily with the Elements, the reason why this is a “revised for 5=6” ritual is because when one reaches the Adeptus Minor grade the Outer Order elemental work is complete, and 5=6 is all about integrating the perfected elements back into the self in harmony and balance. And that’s the primary goal of the revised/elemental Middle Pillar ritual. This is as opposed to the “vanilla” Middle Pillar, which is all about striking the balance in the Middle Pillar with reference to the energy dynamics of the Tree of Life. Both are designed to cultivate balance and harmony, but while there’s a structural similarity the two go about that task in very different ways. And the two rituals are establishing a very different kind of balance. It’s almost like black tea versus green tea. They’re both tea, but the taste is really different.
I posted my Invocation of Heka without any accompanying text because I wanted it to be able to stand alone as a ritual for others to conveniently print out or otherwise follow along with, but some context and thanks are due, so I’m breaking those out into this entry.
First and foremost, I want to once again thank JoeyJoJo from the Hermetic House of Life Discord server for providing me with the original Egyptian for Coffin Spell 261. For the Egyptian of the invocation I have taken the Egyptological spellings and rendered them phonetically; I claim responsibility for any errors in the text. To the best of my knowledge this is the first time that the Egyptian text of this spell has been available on the Internet, and I’m pleased to be able to offer this to the community. This would not have been possible without Joey’s gracious contribution.
Secondly, it’s probably clear that this invocation was designed in the Golden Dawn style. This is my own background, but I encourage anyone reading to chop it up and adapt it to your own purposes.
May this invocation lead you to communication and a greater relationship with Heka, the source of all magic and the Lord of the initiatory current. It is in his honor that I present this to you. Hail and praise be unto Heka.
Preparations: Altar in center of Temple, with representation of Heka (statue and/or hieroglyph), cup of lustral water, censer of incense (myrrh is always a suitable base).
Open with LBRP. Optionally, purify and consecrate the hall.
All present recite the following:
Hear me, O Heka, bright shining god of magic and creation
You who spoke the Great Word, and all that is came into being
Without you, the universe is not
You who weave magic like the fibers of the flax braid
You whose power makes the other gods tremble
Ruler of the House of Ma’at and Lord of the Natural Law
We call upon you
By Names and Images are all Powers Awakened and Reawakened
By your Name, O Heka, and by this image present on the Altar, we call you
Awaken within us
Flow through us
Commune with us
For you are the Initiator of Kas and the Lord of the Magical Current
Wer-Hekau, mighty of magic, hear us
Bright shining one, hear us
Eldest Magician, created of Atum, son of Khnum, hear us
You who wield the twin powers of Hu and Sia, of Word and Will
Be our shepherd, guiding our ka so that we may be made full of your sacred Light
Conquerer of the Face of Terror, help us to be steadfast and face our fears
Blinder of Crocodiles, Lord of the Dual Serpents, preserve us and sustain us
You who safeguards the Solar Barque against Apophis and the forces of chaos
Shine forth your spells upon us as rays of sunlight with the opening of your mouth.
O Heka, we praise you and we adore you
Dwell within us, and heed our call
Vibrate: HEKA! HEKA! HEKA!
Recite Coffin Spell 261 as follows:
[Note: In reciting the below, you may use the Egyptian original or the English translation. If using the Egyptian, it is encouraged to recite each verse followed by its English translation.]
I shepsu m-baḥ neb-tem
O noble ones who are before the All,
m-ten wi i’i-ku kher-tjen
behold, I have come before you.
senedj n-i khefet rekhet-n-tjen
Respect me in accordance with what you know.
inek ir-n neb-wa’
I am he whom the Unique Lord made
ni kheperet ishet seneti m ta pen
before duality had come into being in this land
m hab-f wat iret-f
by his sending forth his unique eye
m wen-f wa’i
when he existed alone,
m peret m r-f
by the going forth from his mouth
m wenen ḥeḥ-f n ka m sa wenedjut-f
when his myriads of spirits were the protection of his companions
m medu-f ḥena kheperi ḥen’af
when he spoke with Khepri, with him,
weser-f r-f
that he might be more powerful than he;
m itshet-f ḥu tep r-f
when he put Hu upon his mouth.
inek wenenet za pu n meset tem
I am indeed the son of the All who was born before his mother yet existed.
yu-i m sa wedjet neb-wa
I am the protection of that which the Unique Lord has ordained.
inek se-‘ankh pesedjet
I am he who caused the Ennead to live.
inek merer-f irer-f it netjeru
I am ‘if-he-wishes-he-does’, the father of the gods.
qa yat
The standard is high
semenekh netjer khefet wedjet mes tem
The god is endowed in accordance with the command of Her who bore Atum
netjer shepesi
the splendid god
wenem medu m r-f
who speaks and eats with his mouth.
ger-n-i
I have kept silence,
kes-n-i
I have bowed down,
i’i-n-i tjeb ka’u nu pet
I have seated myself,
ḥemes-n-i ka’u nut
O bulls of heaven,
m sa’ḥu-i pu wer n neb ka’u
in this my great dignity as Lord of kas
yua’u n re’-tem
heir of Re-Atum
i’i-n-i itjet-i neset-i
I have come so that I may take possession of my throne
seshep-i sa’ḥ-i
So that I may assume my dignity.
nenek tem
For to me belonged the universe
ni kheperet-tjen netjeru
before you gods had yet come into being
ha n-tjen yu ḥer peḥwi
Descend, you who have come afterwards.
inek ḥeka
I am Heka.
Meditate silently upon the god, and allow any communication to take place. Once all are finished, recite the following:
We thank you and we adore you, O Heka, for gracing us with your indwelling presence. May there always be peace and harmony between you and us, and may you lead us ever to walk in the ways of Ma’at. AMEN.
Close with LBRP.