CHAPTER 2

Early Dynastic Period
3500 B.C. to 2700 B.C.

For many hundreds of years before the downfall of Atlantis, emigrant Khe'ans had been attracted to the fertile banks of the River Nile. They settled right down its banks, even beyond the hills which sketched the southern boundary of Khe, intermarrying with the inhabitants of the outlying regions, who, for want of better words, we can call predynastic Lower Egyptians.

These emigrants established a modified version of the Khe culture and
its forms of worship, but towards the end of the era this deteriorated
more into the sham-spectacle version of Atlantean worship.

Quite early in its rise to academic excellence, Atlantean policy had
been to send science students out gathering items for research. There
was very little of the early world not known and recorded in the annals
of both Atlantis and Khe. Once communications had been established, it
was not long before travelling missionaries would follow the routes of
earlier explorers, bringing their own form of ritual. It seems almost
incredible to think that this same complex spectacular approach to Deity
still influences religious observances in many parts of the world today.

This blend of Khe-Atlantean style worship in the early dynastic period
in Egypt is a fascinating mosaic, where many grains of truth can be seen
heavily shrouded in myth and dogma, as described in the last chapters of
Loliad's story.

No race of people, either before or since the days of Swn, has better
understood the basic principle of man's innate need for expression
through worship, though it is hoped that the glorious race of earthlings
about to emerge as the result of metaphysical teachings will restore the
rightful approach.

The dual nature of man, as depicted in your PSI-man symbol, presented a perennial mystery to early man. Time and time again in an attempt to feed the Spirit, men catered instead to Ego and the sensation-loving carnal appetites.

It is on these precepts that the first religious observances developed
in Atlantis, while in Swn men were taught to release their inner power
quietly and regularly with no need for intermediaries twixt God and
man.

In Khe the custom had been to choose a leader in a democratic fashion
-- the person best suited to lead by virtue of his high degree of
enlightenment and spirituality. There was no question of succession from
father to son, or financial gain from the position, for the system of
common wealth accessible to all was in effect.

However, in Atlantis the cultural trends had developed along entirely
different lines -- first with a system of closed schools, then the
teaching of "secret" knowledge to a few selected intellectuals, which
gave these select groups power over the great masses of ordinary
citizens. The practice of keeping this power in families came next, so
that particular secrets would be handed on from father to son. These
secrets were largely scientific discoveries which could be used to hold
the possessors in awe by the masses -- like the heatless flame, for
example.

This practice led to a gradual rise of powerful or ruling classes,
considered by the people to be actual manifestations of God on earth and
in direct touch with Him at all times -- able to translate His Will to
the people.

In the eight-hundred-year period from 3500 B.C. to 2700 B.C., which we
will cover in this chapter, we will see the rise of the first of these
great ruling families, called dynasties, and their effect on mens' lives
today, for no historian can deny the powerful influence of Egyptology on
modern western cultures.

In historical records, frequent mention has been made to the Egyptian
gods and their complex retinue. Without a doubt they dominated the lives
of men down to the most minute detail of daily affairs. The secrets of
the gods were in the hands of the priesthood -- a group of clever,
well-educated men with strong ambitions.

The establishment of a new "god", more powerful than any other "god",
had long been understood as the shortest route to outstanding success in
priestly endeavours. It was also essential to maintain a large staff of
common clergy to keep a continuously watchful eye out for possible
upstart religious fervours outside of their own denomination.

No matter how similar the basic truth to be taught by the broader
aspects of any religious teaching, the constant need for different
detail, diverse dogma and complex rituals, creates enough ego-conflict
among the church hierarchy to result in splinter groups forming. Even
today infighting between adherents of slightly different versions of the
same basic Christianity are encouraged by the priesthood. So it was in
Egypt.

Because early man had an intimate knowledge of the terror of darkness
which had prevailed over large sections of Earth since time immemorial,
man's earliest form of religious expression took the form of sun
worship. Ra, the sun god, was the maker and organizer of all things. He
dispensed his various functions through a hierarchy of demi-gods and
large retinues of priests who conveyed his messages to the people and
generally conducted his earthly affairs, such as collecting tributes and
organizing holy days.

The early days of Egyptian cultural and religious growth were
supervised by Ra, and his entourage. The soul was considered to be like
a light reflection which death sets free. It was conceived as being
similar to a reflection from the surface of calm water or from a
polished mirror -- the eternal projection of the human figure; a double,
reproducing in the minutest detail the total image of the person to whom
it belonged.

The story of Ra, the supreme sun god, as built up in Egypt over a
period of 3,500 years, is a very human blending of spiritual truth and
human imagination. It surely indicates man's knowledge of his dual
entity, by virtue of the fact that two gods, Ra, the sun god, and Keb,
the earth god, are involved in constant struggle. The basis of the
legend went like this:

Osiris, the beloved Lord of All, was said to be the offspring of an
intrigue between the beloved wife of Ra, and Keb. In time Ra perceived
that his wife Nut had been unfaithful and burst forth with an angry
curse which would prevent the birth of her child. Ra then declared that
in no month and in no year should Nut be delivered of her child.

But the goddess Nut had not been satisfied with a single infidelity,
and unknown to Ra she had another lover who, playing a game with the
moon, won for Nut the seventy-second part of every day until, in all,
five days had been secured.

Believing that some form of trickery was involved, the people tried to
help Ra by adding these five days to the end of every 351 days and in so
doing established a closer harmony between solar and lunar time.

Ra rested on these five days, the four and three-fifth's days, when
Mars stood directly in the path between sun and earth and therefore was
unable to keep his eye on earth which made his curse invalid at this
time. So Nut, taking advantage of the situation, was delivered of her
child on the first of the five days.

At the time of the baby's birth a loud voice from heaven proclaimed,
"Osiris, the Lord of All, is now born into world."

Ra, realizing that his curse had failed to have the desired effect,
immediately set about rearranging the heavens so that he could keep
watch for longer periods. He therefore assigned himself only one-fifth
of a day for rest, and as Nut would not know the exact day each year
that he intended to rest, she could never again be delivered of a
lover's child.

Analysis of this portion of the legend indicates that in this 3,500-year
period there were several astrological events, one involving the moon,
and possibly one involving both the moon and Mars (who was considered
to be the unnamed second lover) in such a manner as to suggest that
a game was being played between the two which ultimately resulted in
a longer year.

This story suggests that earth was not too deeply involved, but with
the 356-day year there still was a total of four and three-fifths days
of total darkness while Mars eclipsed the sun. It is probable that only
the sunlit belt suffered for a brief part of this time in total darkness,
with the rest of the eclipse being spent in semigloom similar to a total
sun eclipse.

Early man found it very reasonable to look up into the sky and imagine
all sorts of activity going on up there. This was the domain of the gods
who ruled over earthlings and supervised Ra's kingdom.

Because daylight was so precious, the advent of the constant heatless
flame in Atlantis gave the early priesthood an excellent symbol for use
by those who wanted to gain recognition as divine intercessors. The
element of fire became more and more associated with church ritual as
its sophistications grew.

The trend caught on not only in Egypt but right across the known
world, to be manifested in some cases as a sacrifice in fire, or burnt
offerings.

During the very earliest transitional period from individual worship to
mass ritual, the heatless flame became widely used to distinguish
between the "faithful" and those individualists who opposed the new
teachings. Nonbelievers were burned by the flame but the hierarchy, who
always demonstrated their own powers first, could stand in the flame
without harm.

When more hours of sunlight resulted from the Atlantean disaster, these
were attributed to extra benevolence on the part of Ra. But fire still
continued to play a big part in all religious ritual. Burning candles in
churches today is a practice directly handed down from the Atlantean
system via Mythraism, which was the preChristian religion in Rome.
Pagan rituals all over the world still utilize some form of fire in
their religious ceremonies, though often in a less sophisticated form
than candle burning.

Sun, fire, and promiscuous intent have all played their part in the
founding of religious sects. Women have been kept subservient as the
playthings of men, a practise which had its beginning in the dawn of
human history. Their part in our religious structure is perhaps best
illustrated by a mythology, which like many other mythologies, was a
means by which obscure historical events with some small grain of truth
could be made to take on a supernatural or religious meaning, and so
become incorporated into religious rituals. Some versions of an event
were less corrupt than others, as the foregoing story of Ra and Keb.

Osiris' birth was acclaimed from the heavens. In the original version
it was told how earth shook and trembled in the travail of his birth.
After the birth of Osiris a new arrangement of heavenly bodies appeared
in the sky. The sun, Mars, moon and earth took on a new alignment,
permitting a greater concentration of sunlight over wider portions of
the planet. Even so Mars, would still come between sun and earth
periodically, causing a total eclipse, though this was no longer an
annual event.

The story of Osiris continued as he, "Lord of all Living Things on
Earth," though bound by the frailties of a human body, claimed the
Egyptian people from savagery, gave them social laws by which to live,
and taught them how to worship.

Egypt at this time consisted of that area known as the Upper Nile,
extending west to the Persian Gulf and eastwards over once fertile
plains into nothingness. Lower Egypt had been mainly settled by families
from Khe.

Students of history often become confused by these facts. There were
two distinct cultures with some similarities as they had evolved side by
side. However, in this church and religious history, we are discussing
Upper Egypt only.

The Osiris myth was passed on through numerous versions, which adds to
the confusion. This stems from a lack of understanding that it is one of
the rare kinds of myth that was based on actual astrological events, yet
kept alive over the generations by additional happenings from time to
time. Early churchgoers were fickle, and the priests needed a regular
source of new sensations to keep their flocks from wandering, especially
in later years as other far-reaching events had left a distant
impression on the people.

Understand, please, that the essential elements of these myths were the
absolute belief of the people. It was as much a part of their
programming as the Christ-story is to Christianity, and as major
astrological events occurred, the people became involved to the very
depths of their being, for this was all part of their religion.

In later chapters we shall see that other catastrophic events did
occur, and also we shall what was permissible behaviour in the ancient
world as reflected in the god-behaviour passed on by word of mouth from
one generation to the next.

Osiris had a dearly beloved half-sister, Isis, with whom he ruled the
world. Each had a well defined range of duties, duplicated to a large
extent by the Pharaohs and their queens. The ruling female personality
was supposed to have a more complete combination of the qualities
necessary for the exercise of magic. Normally, while the Pharaoh was
engaged in making sacrifices, the queen would be protecting him from
malignant entities anxious for his overthrow. Such was the role of Isis
to Osiris. Like many other gods and goddesses, they were also wed, and
while Osiris was out conquering the world Isis acted as regent and kept
an eye on things at home.

Isis discovered wheat and barley growing wild in the land and brought
kernels to Osiris for his opinion. Recognizing the value of the grain,
Osiris ordered the Egyptian people to cease the "cannibalistic" diet to
which they were accustomed and replace it with grain consumption.

Osiris then gathered fruit from various trees, retaining for himself
the sole prerogative of the fruit of the apple tree. He forbade its use
by the people. (Shades of Adam and Eve?)

To make up for taking the apple tree, he taught the people how to grow
vines on staves and how to tread grapes for wine.

Eager to benefit the whole world, Osiris traveled among all the nations
to the north, south, east and west, until not one country remained
unaware of the benefits of civilization. Those willing to accept his
teachings could take advantage of better living. But he laid no curse on
those who would not listen, saying, "for those who choose not to heed my
words must live in perpetual darkness."

Legend relates that eventually Osiris returned to Egypt with great
wealth. Many countries had accepted his teachings and had showered him
with grateful gifts of gold, silver, and jewels, proclaiming him a deity
because of his good works.

The triumphant return of Osiris created great jealousy in his
half-brother, Set. Set plotted against Osiris; he ordered that papyrus
be gathered and made into a box of the exact measurements of Osiris.
Then Set invited a large group of friends to a feast where wine flowed
"as the waters of the Nile." Set started a game that required each guest
to lay in the box in an endeavour to find one who would fit the box
perfectly. None could be found until Osiris' turn came, for Set had been
careful to extend invitations to no one who might match the box's
measurements.

Once Osiris lay stretched out in the fitted box, the lid was tightly
closed and he could not escape. In this way Set, without violence or
bloodshed, was able to dispose of his virtuous half-brother, by having
the box carried to the Nile to be cast upon the waters and floated down
its length to the lake in Khe.

In time Isis noticed Osiris' absence and, on learning of the events,
started to search for the body of her brother-husband. Traveling far
and wide, she searched diligently along all the banks of the Nile and
into the lake at the head of the Nile, without success. Then she heard
that Osiris' body had been cut into fourteen pieces, whereupon she
took up her search once more, looking not for the whole body but for
pieces of it.

This time her seeking was more successful, and as each piece was found,
she buried it at the spot it was found, so that none should ever look
again on the whole body of Osiris. The people built shrines to Osiris
but didn't know exactly where to put them. The priests of several now
large centres in the south, claimed to possess a head. In the north the
priests enshrined many legs, each reputedly a limb of Osiris. In each of
these instances the common people believed completely in the
authenticity of the relics, a further indication of how constant
repetition of programming from infancy onwards and from generation to
generation comes to be regarded as absolute truth in the minds of
people.

After many years of searching, the myth goes on to explain how Isis
found all the members of Osiris' body with the exception of his genital
member which the fishes had eaten. Isis then made an image of this
member and from thenceforth carried it in her body at all times, so that
none should ever know that Osiris was not whole. This genital-member
image was perpetuated through the ages by all the female temple staff
whose lives were solely devoted to Osiris.

At the time of their dedication (marriage), an artificial penis was
inserted in all the dancing girls and temple priestesses, so that they
would be unavailable to any other man and in order that they might have
the grace of their beloved Osiris with them at all times. This custom
also served to enhance the gyrations of the dancers and keep them happy
at their work.

At this point there are a variety of choices of how the story
continued, with both ancient and modern connotations as the church
hierarchy endeavoured to justify certain facts which were aimed at
enhancing their personal status.

Isis reputedly gave the secret of Osiris' multi-burial to the priests,
who scrambled to obtain and enshrine parts of human bodies to perpetuate
Osiris' memory. To ensure the Church's co-operation, Isis bequeathed to
them one-third part of the land, together with the exclusive right to
call upon Osiris to intercede for the people with the sun-god, Ra.
History reports that the church happily agreed to this arrangement.

With this task completed Isis, calling upon her sister for aid,
secretly prepared a complete replica of Osiris which they placed in a
papyrus box (i.e., a mummy case). They sat down beside the casket and
uttered a long lament which was written down by the priests who were
standing outside listening. This chant was used at all future Egyptian
funeral services.

Isis' efforts were not in vain. Ra, hearing the lament, assigned an
archangel (god), Anubis by name, to piece Osiris together once more, and
all the rites possible were performed by the priests.

After three days of lamentation and ritual, Osiris revived and was
borne heavenwards on the wings of Aleph, there to reign as a lesser god
to Ra.

Here, in the great hall of Two Truths, sitting on the right hand of Ra,
and with the aid of forty-two angelic advisors, one for each nome (name
of a district in Egypt) he judged the souls of those who had departed
from Earth.

In this great hall of heavenly justice, the dead made solemn confession
before Osiris, receiving a reward for virtue in life everlasting or
appropriate punishment for sin. Myth relates that, being very just,
Osiris would frequently lend an ear to his forty-two earthly assistants
(the priests) and advise them to temper justice with mercy, provided the
sinner made an appropriate donation in the cause of Osiris' work on
earth as outlined by his priests. This aspect of the myth has been
transferred along to all new religious systems and continues in effect
today.

Generally speaking, the Egyptian peasants were farmers and soldiers.
There was little land available for cultivation, but this soil was
carefully tilled by hand with basic primitive tools. The staple foods of
the people were wheat, meat, fish and fowl, which were available in
abundance. Wine was the usual beverage accompanying a meal.

The common Egyptian was essentially a simple man with few wants and few
material comforts. Being illiterate, he was unable to think for himself
about the complexity of religion and therefore completely bound up in
the dogmas and myths taught by the priest-hood. In the "Resurrection of
Osiris" he had a pledge of eternal life available by strict compliance
with the regulations dictated by the priesthood. The ceremonies for
ensuring his soul's survival, as laid out in the Book of the Dead, had
to be performed in the exact manner as those done by Isis at the
"ceremony of the dead" for Osiris.

From this practice sprang thousands of years of ceremonial burial, so
complex that a high-ranking Egyptian might spend half his life fixing up
his tomb, equipping it with every possible luxury imaginable. The
importance of a person's rank in life usually determined the degree of
pomp involved in his funeral. His ability to pay determined the amount
of indulgence requested of Osiris by his earthly assistants.

Towards the end of this era, a great deal of ecclesiastical conflict
arose. Widening communications allowed expressions of dissent from
priests of outlying sects who did not posses a member of Osiris' body or
other suitable relic as a basis for authority, for after all there were
no further pieces of Osiris' body left for enshrinement and the people
had to have something.

Rather than risk loss of revenue and power by expounding conflicting
themes which might start their flocks wondering about possible priestly
fallibility, the clergy agreed to unite so as to present a common front.
The resultant union caused the inclusion of various minor "gods" into
the general theme of worship in a way that would satisfy everyone and
unify the various dissenting sects. The scheme was absolutely brilliant.

Ra's territory, the whole 360 degree circle of heaven (up in the sky,
that is) was divided up into twelve territories or imperial "houses",
each governed by a lesser deity in such a way that the authority of Ra
himself was never threatened, even though the new system allowed the
inclusion of the imagery of smaller religious groups into the mainstream
of existing religious myth with Ra, Osiris, and Isis. Actually, through
this scheme, Ra himself became even more powerful in the eyes of the
people as his retinue expanded. And the story of Osiris was always
continued as the "persona link" aspect between man and God.

It is interesting to note that a superlatively "religious" man, one to
be highly respected by the people, was considered to be the person best
versed in the historical details of the myths. Great scholars would
argue for lifetimes over some obscure point in the detail of the myth,
yet completely fail to see the concept behind the details. This is
another fallacy which persists into today's approach to theology.

At this time the Egyptians conceived of a flat earth, canopied by the
heavens which was held up by four supports, one on each corner of earth.
The stars above had demi-god personalities, greatly concerned about what
went on below. They were endowed with various individual characteristics
and their rays, as they crossed the celestial spaces, exercised an
active control on everything below.

Our astrologers, whose job it was to examine the heavens, fancied that
they discerned the outlines of a number of figures: men, animals,
monsters, a lance, a bow, fishes, a scorpion, ears of wheat, a bull, a
lion, a ram and so on.

Twelve of these figures, distinguishable by their outstanding
brilliance, were arranged along the celestial highway in the path-way
of the Sun, to watch over Ra's daily journey across his dominion. These
figures divided the Sun's route into territories, and the Lords of the
Planets exercised absolute authority in their own "houses". No other god
could cross their domains without consent.

Every child born on earth was considered to be the lifelong slave of a
certain god (or zodiac symbol) and reflected the characteristics of his
sovereign deity. Modern astrology derives its meaning from this source.

The major gods were the Sun and the Moon who ruled over the empires of
day and night. Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mars and Mercury, or rather the
five "gods" who activated them, were now included as an embellishment to
the legends of Osiris and Isis as a means to explain and accommodate
lesser gods and expound the serial-myth of Egyptian religion.

The Egyptians concluded that the planet-gods traversed the heavens in
all directions to cross their own and each other's paths. Single planets
were sometimes regarded much as perverse sheep who had escaped from the
fold to find new adventures. The function of others was to wander
through the heavens about their business and occasionally to descend to
earth to cohabit with humans and receive homage from the masses.

The myth of Osiris and Isis postulated the accepted method of royal
behaviour, as the Pharaohs and their queens were regarded as
manifestations of minor gods in the flesh. Even today in some countries
the monarch is also regarded as head of the church as well as the state.

While the monarchs were not by nature cruel, the life of an ordinary
individual had so little value in their eyes that they would never
hesitate to sacrifice it, even for the most casual caprice. Being a
reigning Pharaoh was by no means a sedentary occupation. The monuments
which exalt the supernatural aspects of the Pharaohs throw little light
on the complexities of being the head of both state and church. A
considerable part of the average reign was taken up in war (or in the
task of killing lions or other feats of bravery) to maintain status in
the eyes of mortal subjects. Their various officials needed daily
audience and advice on how to tax and regulate state affairs, then they
were off to the temple for religious duties.

Invariably each monarch, though commanding an enormous female retinue,
had a queen who acted as a regent in his absence. In most cases this
queen was required to be a true daughter of Ra, able by birth to inherit
the same degree of royalty as the king. Thus a brother and sister would
reign together and divide the task of running the kingdom between them.
The queen was in an entirely different position from other females of
the household, subservient to none. She had her own palace and a train
of servants and followers as large as that of the Pharaoh.

While the other ladies of the court were more or less shut up in harems
with little or no personal freedom, the queen came and went as she
pleased and appeared in public with or without her husband. Although a
goddess in her own right, her union with the god-king entailed the
fulfillment of a host of extra duties which a goddess must render to a
god -- principally the exercise of wiles and magic to protect him from
physical harm and ensure the growth of his kingdom.

If, however, her brother-husband were to die, there was no rule to say
the queen could not marry his successor to ensure the solidarity of the
monarchy, which was always the target of intrigue by ambitious
concubines who believed their children to have divine bloodlines which
they had got from their common father. This is why accession depended
more on the material heritage of a child than his paternal side, as the
rank of the mothers differed widely from foreign princesses to favourite
slaves.

Many of these semi-royal children were given to the Church to be
trained as servants of Ra, which is why there was such a close bond
between the state and the church. This is what happened many years later
in my own case.

A new symbolism came into being as new characters entered into the plot
of the astrological myth. The scared bull Apis gained great prominence
among Ra's elect, and in Lower Egypt became the symbol for Osiris
himself. Memphis was the religious centre of the cult of Apis, who then
became the representative of Osiris and who, when living was called
Apis-Osiris, and after death, Osiris-Apis, and finally Osiripi.
Meanwhile the scared bull of Upper Egypt at Heliopolis was called
Ninevis, but the priesthood made it sound all perfectly logical.

This new symbolism was incorporated into the priestly raiment. My own
head-dress was adorned by a golden bird, for example, to signify the
wearer as one who had achieved great scholarship. An eagle in the dress
symbolized courage. The serpent signified one who nurtured deep secrets.
These adornments had the most satisfactory effect of increasing the awe
in which the priest was held in peoples' minds. At the same time they
added to his personal self-confidence in his own authority and his
conviction that sublime favour was his prerogative.

During the eight-hundred-year post-holocaust period, Egypt had evolved
into two quite distinct cultures. Lower Egypt was still heavily under
the influence of the remnants of the Khe civilization. Upper Egypt
continued under the original influence of the Pharaohs of the "City of
Pillars" of architectural fame. There was also a third group of people,
the Chaldeans, who occupied the outer edges of the kingdom -- that
portion closest to the edge of darkness, developed the least.

Upper Egyptians who occupied the most favourable climatic zone,
directly in the "band of life", developed greater mechanical and
engineering skills. No doubt many of these were remnants of the arts and
sciences spread by the traveling theurgists from Atlantis, for much of
this knowledge was quite foreign to Egypt proper. Writing and toolmaking
also evolved to a fine art.

Two major collections of writings came out of the "City of Pillars".
They were called the Book of Life and the Book of the Dead. Later
historians have alluded to these writings as being the ancient Egyptian
Bible. But though these books contained many mysteries, they might
better be described as being held in admiration rather than revered.
They did, however, attest to early man's certain conviction of a
survival of the human personality beyond death, and a system of justice
in the cosmic dimension.

The fact that the system of hieroglyphics which evolved remained in use
for thousands of years indicates the skill and forethought exercised by
these early scribes. They were well aware of dead languages, changing
languages and different languages. Yet their mental advancement was such
that they were able to devise a means of intelligent communication with
posterity, in terms simple enough for world-wide comprehension.

As time progressed, church authority grew to immense proportions.
Pageantry added an unfailing attraction. Complex costumes, symbols and
rituals, plus images of all the lesser gods, who had to be represented
and honoured in all services of worship directed to Ra, kept the
bewildered worshipper over burdened with obeisance.

Temples were now designed with three sanctums, each of a progressively
higher order. To reach the inner sanctum adherents had to spend years of
effort in passing through the lower sanctums. But the benefit to be
derived both in terms of social status and business dealings made the
whole effort very worthwhile.

Pardon the sardonic attitude I take towards these matters; it is a
question of viewing them in retrospect. I am not implying there was
deliberate intent by the worshippers to gain earthly benefits; they were
mostly very sincere in their attempts to reach the sanctum sanctorum,
particularly the young lads whose middle-class parents sacrificed much
to put their sons through the sanctums. Both the parents and their
children honestly saw this as a way to bring about a richer, fuller life
for all.

But the three-sanctum system was yet another way of excluding the poor
from equality of spiritual opportunity, and later the basis of a complex
system of social status which taught erroneous values such as spiritual
inferiority and superiority.

In the course of time, holidays became interspersed with feast days,
all based on the dates when the sun entered a cardinal sign at the
solstices and equinoxes.

In Egypt, March 25th was the most holy day of the year for it marked
the entry of Osiris into the moon, which now symbolized Isis.

The story of the annunciation, used in one way or another in most
religions, was devised by the Egyptian priests as the basic ritual in
regard to the birth of kings, each of whom was assumed to be the son of
Amon-Ra. The story runs as follow:

Thoth, messenger of the gods, announced to the virgin Queen Mautmes
that she was to bear a son of Ra who would be called Amon. Whereupon
Keph, the Holy Spirit, in company with Hathor, the goddess of love, took
the Queen's hands and pressed the crux ansata, the symbol of life,
against her mouth, thus impregnating her. Attendants at the birth of
Amon, son of Ra, were three high priests who brought rare gifts of
adoration.

The priests and the three gifts were symbolic of the three souls or
spirits in mankind. Thus it was proclaimed that each individual born was
possessed of a "Ka", the primary spirit born simultaneously with the
body. A second spirit or soul was "Ba" which emerged from the body at
death to wander abroad. "Ba" could adopt any shape it wished, provided
the head remained as in life, (the answer to many crude ancient forms
including the Sphinx). The third spirit was "Akh," which performed the
special task of undertaking the journey into the next world to prepare
the way for Ka-Ba, to complete the circle of life, as Ka-Ba rejoined
Akh to become Akh-Ka-Ba.

This belief necessitated careful preparation in the tomb as a man was
required to provide for Ka, his earthbound spirit in the body (now
mummified), and Ba, his wandering spirit, as they waited for Akh to
summon them to their celestial abode where there would be no further
need for the tomb and all the things it contained.

When ghosts (as Win calls them) were seen in Egypt, they were
considered to be Ba's searching around for food if their supply had run
out, or if they had died without proper provision having been made.

There was always a big quandary about the length of time which might
possibly elapse before a satisfactory Akh-Ka-Ba union could be achieved.
The more cautious kings and queens, princes, priests, and anyone else
who could afford it had tubes built into their tombs so that living
relatives, or minor priests paid for the duty, might slip in food and
wine from the surface.