The Parts of the Egyptian Soul

The ancient Egyptians believed in the plurality of the soul, which each part representing different qualities or aspects of the individual. This is significant as different gods were sometimes considered to represent aspects of the souls of other deities. These parts were:
Ab: The heart, center of moral awareness and good and evil. The Ab lived with the gods if it passes judgement, balancing Maat’s feather of truth.
Akhu: Meaning effective one, the radiant immortal part of the person, created by the uniting of Ba and Ka and residing in the Sahu.
Ba: Can be translated as impression, and depecited as a human-headed bird, this part of the soul represented the personality of the person.
Ka: the life-force
Khabait: the shadow, that could partake of funerary offerings for sustenance, and leave the tomb.
Ren: The true name of the person, describing their essence
Sahu: the vessel of the spiritual body
Sekehm: the ethereal personification of the life force of the person.

In the context of the soul’s nature, it should be emphasised, that as with many early religions drawn upon sources for modern paganism (such as ancient Greece, Rome, Norse, ect), the ancient Egyptian religion had no doctrine of reincarnation. Instead, they believed that a person had only one life in a physical body.

Now, I do fully believe in reincarnation. I believe that the parts of the soul are still there, and they work together to form a soul. I also see all these parts as individual symbols.

Symbology of Blood and Hearts in Mayan Cultures

The Mayan's are pretty well known for human sacrifice. As it turns out, most of the artwork we see of human sacrifice, with the removal of the heart, was saved for special ceremonies. Most Maya sacrifice was by decapitation.

The blood was a symbol of man’s debt to the gods who had created him; the heart, as the most vital organ, was the most precious food for the lords of creation.

12 Days of Yule: Day Eight

Yule symbols are pretty universal during the winter season, so no doubt you already know most of these!

Holly berries and leaves
Apples
Winter birds such as Cardinals
Fairies
Lights
Snowflakes
Candles
Stags
Suns
Moons
Gingerbread men
Mistletoe
Acorns
Bayberry and cranberry garlands
Wreaths
Santa’s
Mirrored Glass Globes
And of course, the Yule Log.

These symbols are so popular today, because they are ancient symbols, so we don’t really think they have much symbolic value.
Nice short post compared to my last three days!

12 Days of Yule: Day Seven

Our Yule Decorations

This is pretty much a photo post with all our decorations. But, it’s also a prompt: Share your decorations with me! This isn't the full album, but there is a link to that at the bottom of the post.

This is our fairy tree. The "presents' under it are actually wrapped up tarot card boxes.
This is our personal family tree. It has the presents for the people in the house under it (me, my mom and my dad). It's all Star Trek ornaments. The lights are all red for Red Alert!


This is a very blury image of our tree in the front hall. The presents under it go to the extended family, which are getting packed up in buckets now that the christmas party is done.

This is our 4th and final tree, the miniature tree with our mini ornaments.
My mom got this about a million years ago. It's a tin nativity set. We put it out because it's really pretty and for my dad, who is still Christian. That's how we blend religions...we include him. Doesn't stop him from teasing us though.

The other pictures, including close up, are located here.

12 Days of Yule: Day Three

This post could, technically, fit in with Day 9, which is the symbols of Yule and Winter, but it was requested.

The Yule Log is the representation of the rebirth of the God, and the coming sun. As the log burns, it gives off heat, and thus represents the coming sun. The log is traditionally oak or pine. The log is then covered in appropriate sun symbols, and burned, usually for the Twelve Days of Christmas. In some cultures, the new log was lit by using a small piece from the log burned the year before.

The tradition of burning a Yule Log was German at first, though it gained popularity. It was popular in the British Isles in the 17th century, but died out during the Industrial Revolution.

Today, the Yule Log is a symbol of the holiday season, and many television stations will broadcast a burning fireplace on Christmas morning. This is not a true Yule Log, as it is not carved or blessed in a Pagan sense.

A Yule Log is also a kind of dessert cake made of a dense sponge-like cake, and rolled into a log shape. It is usually chocolate.

The Egyptian Cobra

Appearance: The cobra was almost always portrayed rearing up and with its hood dilated. The Greek word uraeus is typically used to describe the cobra in this pose. The word may have its origins from the Egyptian words which meant "she who rears up". The species of cobra represented as the uraeus is the Naja haje.


Meaning: According to the Story of Re, the first uraeus was created by the goddess Isis who formed it from the dust of the earth and the spittle of the sun-god. The uraeus was the instrument with which Isis gained the throne of Egypt for her husband Osiris.
The uraeus was a symbol for various things from early times including: the sun, Lower Egypt, the king and a number of deities.

As the sacred creature of the Delta city of Buto, the reptile was known by the same name. She soon became an emblem of all of Lower Egypt. The uraeus was often depicted with the vulture Nekhebet who served the same function for Upper Egypt. Together they symbolized the unification of the two lands. The creatures also appear together in the pharaoh's nebty or "Two Ladies" name.

The cobra was also called the "fiery eye" of Re and two uraei were sometimes depicted on either side of the solar disk.
A gilded wooded cobra called netjer-ankh ("living god") was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. It is representative of the cobra's associations with the afterlife. In funerary works, the cobra is often depicted spitting fire. Two cobras doing just that were said to guard the gates of every "hour" of the underworld. During the Late Period, uraei were also shown towing the barque of the sun in funerary papyri. In all of these examples, the cobra's protective nature is clearly demonstrated.

The cobra was also representative of various deities such as Neith, Ma'at, and Re.

Pagan Clothing

Today's prompt comes to us via LiveJournal.

Do you have any pagan-themed articles of clothing, that are not specifically for ritual, that you wear often? If so what are they?


To put it simply, no, I don’t have any Pagan-themed clothing. I do, however, have an ankh ring, a pentagram ring, and numerous Pagan themed necklaces.

What about you all? Do you have pagan-themed clothing?

The Pentacle

The pentacle is pretty much the universal symbol of Paganism and Wicca, and today I'm (finally) going to talk about it.
The pentacle is the common symbol of Earth on Altars. To bless something with the element of Earth, many people hold the object over a pentacle. This is especially helpful when the object in question cannot be blessed by salt because it is too corrosive or will scratch the object, or by dirt because the object will get dirty.
Sometimes, the pentacle is called a “passive” tool, but I don’t think tools are active or passive: they are all both active and passive, depending on what is happening at the time. Frankly, I don’t quite understand the “active” and “passive” tools.

A “standard” pentagram altar tile is usually made of copper, and is between 5 and 6 inches in diameter. Of course, they come in a variety of sizes and finishes. I’m sure if you looked hard enough, you could find a neon pink one.
Copper is the “standard” because of two main reasons:
1) It is a very powerful and magical metal
2) Gold represents the God and Silver represents the Goddess in Wicca. The pentagram is a symbol of all-encompassing traits (the five elements, the five senses, ect), so having a pentagram made out of gold or silver would then limit the all-inclusiveness. Hence, copper is the next logical choice.
I also expect that in Ye Olde Days, copper was less expensive than gold or silver, but that’s not important.

Of course, there is no reason why you can’t have a silver or gold pentacle on your altar. Some schools of thought say that you SHOULD have more than one pentacle: a large, traditional copper one, and smaller silver and gold ones. Most Pagans, however, say to go with what YOU like.
Personally? I’m not a fan of yellow gold. It’s too harsh, and I don’t think it goes with a lot. I much prefer white gold and silver. In fact, when I ask for jewellery (like for graduation, my grandmother always give you a piece of jewellery) I ask for white gold or silver only. Of the rings that I wear, four of the five are silver toned (the other is black). Some people, like my mother, prefer a mix of gold and silver. Some people like just gold.

Yes, I do have a pentagram, but I don’t always use it as my “earth” element in rituals. I usually use salt or an ankh of mine.

Anyway, I don’t think I really have a point here, so I’m going to do a quick recap:
- Pentacles are earth symbols and usually used instead of salt or dirt
- They are also used as permanent altar decoration
- Traditionally, they are made of copper
- They are used to represent the unity of the five elements

Talismans and Amulets

Published in 2009 by Sterling

Other Books by Felicitas H. Nelson: none!

Readability:
Is it easy to read? Yes
Is it easy to follow along with? Very. This book is really easy to navigate
Is it interesting? Yes
How long does it take to read? Three-five days, depending on how quick you are.
Overall: 4/5

Content:
Is the author knowledgeable? Yeah
Is the knowledge valuable? Yes.
Is the knowledge new knowledge or is it common knowledge? There is a lot of common knowledge in this book, but there are some really interesting facts that I didn’t know before.
Is it cohesive and relevant? Yes
Other notes: This is a good book if you use runes for divination, it gives a lot of information about runes.
Overall: 4/5

Design/Layout:
Is the book set up for easy reference: Yes
Is the layout or design obnoxious or annoying? No.
Overall: 4/5

Overall:
Do you recommend this book? Yes
Was it worth the money? For $15, this was worth the money. For someone who loves tarot and symbols, this book is a must-have.
Will You Purchase Other Books from this Author?: There aren’t any more
Overall: 12/15

Sacred Symbols: A Visual Tour of World Faith

I like symbols. They are like a language. You decipher them, and suddenly new worlds are revealed.
I think this is why I got into tarot.
Anyway, this book is practically the symbol bible. It covers everything from the Majors in tarot, to Egypt, to Celts, to Sacred Sex. I learned so much in reading this book, and I think it’s going to help so much in tarot reading, which is the reading of symbols. For candle magic or talisman making, this book is also helpful, because it’s so easy to hunt through, and you find exactly what you need.
Though I wished there had been more information on the meanings of symbols—don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of that—the history aspect was also very interesting. I think that is my only criticism of the book.
Oh, and it’s wicked heavy.

Published in 2009 by Harry N. Abrams

Other Books by Robert Adkinson: You can buy each individual chapter from this book in a separate volume, but that’s it.

Readability:
Is it easy to read? Yes
Is it easy to follow along with? Yes
Is it interesting? Yes
How long does it take to read? It took me about a week
Overall: 4/5

Content:
Is the author knowledgeable? Yes
Is the knowledge valuable? Yes
Is the knowledge new knowledge or is it common knowledge? It’s got a mixture of both. There were a lot of new symbols I had never seen before.
Is it cohesive and relevant? Yes
Other notes: This book is really well put together. The content flows really well.
Overall: 5/5

Design/Layout:
Is the book set up for easy reference: Yes
Is the layout or design obnoxious or annoying? No
Overall: 5/5

Overall:
Do you recommend this book? Yes
Was it worth the money? Yes! It is a hardcover book, really well made, and only $18. The individual volumes average $14, so you save a lot of money.
Will You Purchase Other Books from this Author?: Not applicable
Overall: 14/15