Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic
rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its
intense color.
Its deep, celestial blue remains the symbol of royalty and
honor, gods and power, spirit and vision. It is a universal symbol of wisdom
and truth.
The stone of truth lapis heals karmic wounds and helps you understand
your true path in life, wear it to prevent the repetition of mistakes and to move
your life forward in a positive way.
Meditate on the stone to get in touch with spirit guides and
receive messages.
The darkest blue stones male the wearer more mysterious and attract
love and openness. Lapis Lazuli is a powerful crystal for activating the higher
mind and enhancing intellectual ability. It stimulates the desire for
knowledge, truth and understanding, and aids the process of learning. It is
excellent for enhancing memory.
Lapis Lazuli activates the psychic centers at the Third Eye
and balances the energies of the Throat Chakra.
Lapis Lazuli is connected to Athena Greek, Hera Greek, Auset,
Nuit (Egyptian), Inanna (Summerian) , Dana
(Celtic)
coffin text is a modern name for the diverse body of spells
or recitations used on burial equipment during the middle Kingdom.
These texts were mainly painted on wooden coffins but also
appeared on tomb walls and on funerary items such as a steel or canopic chest.
The coffin texts were
composed in middle Egyptian a form of Egyptian language that became the
standard for literary works the text were usually written in simplified
hieroglyphics.
Many spells in the coffin text are also known from versions
in the pyramid texts. Both collections may derive from an archive of more to
Sherry text written on a papyrus that does not survive.
Some of the coffin tech spells are given titles that define
their functions such as a spell for navigating in the great baroque of Ra or
include instructions for the ritual that should accompany them.
A few sections on the coffin techs have vignettes
illustrations that form an integral part of the spell. the most elaborate of
these are the two Maps that belong to a section of the coffin text known as the
book of two ways. These Maps which are usually painted on the floor of coffins are
the earliest known Maps from any culture.
The book of two ways was nothing less than an illustrated
guide to the afterlife. It claimed to give 2 routes one by land and one by
water through a sinister divine realm beyond the horizon. and to provide the
deceased with the spells they would need to get past the monstrous guardians
they would face on the way.
The deceased had to pass through the mysterious region Rosetau
where the body of Osiris lay surrounded by walls of flames. If the deceased man
or woman proved worthy, he or she might be granted a new life in a paradise
call the field of offerings.
Although they are not
narrative's some spells in the coffin text describe major events in the
Egyptian creation story and even provide evidence for the Egyptian views about
the end of the world. The creator Atum Ra and his offspring Shu and Tefnut are
particularly prominent.
Much of the texts deal with transformation of the sun God
into various forms. A new element is a stress on the dangers faced by the sun
God during his celestial voyage such as attacks by the chaos monster Apep Snake
Coffin texts have been found in sites all over Egypt but the
majority come from the geographical region known as middle Egypt. The local
deities of middle Egypt such as Toth and the group of primeval beings later
known as the Ogdoad it of Hermopolis feature in many of these spells. Djehutey also
appears in many of the spells that allude to the conflict between Horace and Set
and the rescue of the body of Osiris.
The pyramid texts. The pyramid texts are the oldest of the
three principal collections of Egyptian literary text. They are among the
earliest religious writings known from anywhere in the world. The texts are
divided into sections each is preceded by an Egyptian phrase meaning words to
be spoken which is very often translated to mean a spell or incantation.
These incantations
can be as short as a single sentence or contain many paragraphs. The
illustrations. No illustrations accompany the pyramid texts although the
ceilings or Royal burial chambers are usually decorated with stars. The text
themselves seem to have adapted from a variety of genres such as hymns list a
divine names and epitaphs spells from the type of magic used in daily life and
resuscitation that accompany ritual actions.
The main purpose in assembling these texts and describing
them inside pyramids was to help the body of the deceased King to escape the
horror of petrifaction and his spirit to ascend to the celestial realm where he
would take his place among the gods. Some of the tests were probably recited
during the King's funeral or part of the Mortuary cult that continued after his
death. Others may have been intended to be spoken by the deceased as he entered
the afterlife.
Roughly 200 Deities are mentioned in the pyramid texts most
are the major deities known from cult temples such as the fertility God men and
the creator goddess Neith. Others are deities such as snake gods and celestial
ferryman who inhabit a complex an intensely imagined realm of gods.
The most frequently mentioned duties are Anubis (Anpu), Atum, Geb, Horace (Heru), Isis (Auset) Nephthys, Nut, Osiris (Ausar), RA, Set, Shu and Thot (Djehuty) . These include
most of the deities who make up the Ennead of Heliopolis.
Although the pyramid texts are not a collection of narrative,
they do contain numerous allusions to myths. They take up important themes in
Egyptian mythology such as the journey of the sun God and his solar bark. The
murder of the good God of Ausar and the violent conflict between Heru and Seth.
The
sacrificial lamb was a powerful symbol at the last super or pass over meal.
In
Christianity is represents Christ, the lamb of God who died for the sins of man.
the lamb represents Christ as both suffering
and triumphant; it is typically a sacrificial animal, and may also symbolize
gentleness, innocence, and purity.
In Judaism
it represents the sacrifice made to spare the lives of the Jews.
The Blood of
the lamb was spread on doorpost to protect them from the plague of Egypt.
The smiting
of the first born son.
When
depicted with the LION, the pair can mean a state of paradise. In addition, the
lamb symbolizes sweetness, forgiveness and meekness.
Air is a symbol of spiritual life, freedom, and purity air
is the primal element in most cosmology equated with the soul by many
philosophers.
Air shares much of
the symbolism of breath and wind. In terms of a spirit air is considered one of
the three great spirit forces in Inuit beliefs together with the sea spirit and
the moon spirit. It is known as weather or the intelligence the air spirit
lives far above the earth controlling rain, snow, weather, and sea. It is
inherently benevolent but is perceived of as threatening because of its
sensitivity to human misdeeds to which it responds by sending sickness, bad
weather and failure in hunting.
Kemetic Myth: Shu,
god of the Air.
He was called “the emptiness" or "he who rises
up" was one of the primordial Egyptian gods, spouse and brother to goddess
Tefnut, and one of the nine deities of the Ennead of the Heliopolis cosmogony.
He was the god of peace, lions, air, and wind.
Enlil, the Sumerian god of air, wind, breath, loft
is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth,
and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon,
but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and
Hurrians.
Stribog is the name of the Slavic god of winds, sky and air.
The Norse God King Odin, was also considered a god of the air/breath.
Persian Zoroastarian Vata is the god of atmosphere/air.
A name in
Christianity for the devil the embodiment of evil and discord. It is first
mentioned in the Book of Isiah where condemnation to hell of the King of Babylon
of compared the fall of Lucifer, the morning star.
Lucifer is
the name of various mythological and religious figures associated with the
planet Venus.
Due to the
unique movements and discontinuous appearances of Venus in the sky, mythology
surrounding these figures often involved a fall from the heavens to earth or
the underworld.
Christian
tradition of apply the name Lucifer, and its associated stories of a fall from
heaven, to Satan.
Generally
translates the term in the relevant Bible passage (Isaiah 14:12) as
"morning star" or "shining one" rather than as a proper
name, "Lucifer”.
In the Book
of Luke the name is applied to Satan where it is said he was to have fallen
like lightning from heaven.
A similar
theme is present in the Babylonian myth of Ethana and Zu: Etana was led by his
pride to strive for the highest seat among the star-gods on the northern
mountain of the gods ... but was hurled down by the supreme ruler of the
Babylonian Olympus.
In Sumerian
Mythology the goddess Inanna, known for her rebellious nature, is associated
with Venus. She attempts and fails, to conquer both heaven and the underworld
on separate occasions.
In Canaanite
myth Attar who is the personification of the Morning Star attempted a coup
against the throne of Baal. After his defeated he descended to the underworld
to rule.
Certain
Gnostics sects view him as a divine figure who is the first born son of god.
In classical
Greek mythology, Lucifer ("light-bringer" in Latin) was the name of
the planet Venus, though it was often personified as a male figure bearing a
torch.
The Greek
name for this planet was variously Phosphoros (also meaning
"light-bringer") or Heosphoros (meaning "dawn-bringer").
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds, that
inhabit wetlands, forests, and plains.
The African sacred ibis was an object of religious
veneration in ancient Egypt, particularly associated with the deity Djehuty or
otherwise commonly referred to in Greek as Thoth. He is responsible for
writing, mathematics, measurement and time as well as the moon and magic.
In artworks of the
Late Period of Ancient Egypt, Thoth is popularly depicted as an ibis-headed man
in the act of writing.
The symbolism was perhaps based on the habits as an
inquisitive wading bird with a curving beak somewhat like a Crescent moon. Hundreds
of thousands of mummified Ibis have been discovered at Sakkara, near Memphis
the ancient capital of Egypt.
A monster in
Phoenician mythology. Known in Ugarit by the name Lotan.
Leviathan is
the female water entity, paired with the male land entity Behemoth.
It is
referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of
Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the Book of Amos; it is also mentioned in the
apocryphal Book of Enoch.
In the Old
Testament is it called the dragon of Chaos. And referred to as the crooked
serpent.
In general
it is a denizen of the sea, and hence is equated with the crocodile and the
whale.
In
apocalyptic literature and in Christianity, Leviathan figures as one of the
forms in which the devil manifest himself.
The
Leviathan of the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan, a
primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad.
Parallels to
the role of Mesopotamian Tiamat defeated by Marduk have long been drawn in comparative
mythology.
As have been
wider comparisons to dragon and world serpent narratives such as Indra slaying
Vrtra or Thor slaying Jörmungandr.
The Book of
Enoch (60:7–9) describes Leviathan as a female monster dwelling in the watery
abyss (as Tiamat), while Behemoth is a male monster living in the desert of
Dunaydin ("east of Eden")
Blood a symbol of life force believed in many cultures to
contain a share of divine energy or more commonly the spirit of an individual
creature.
Blood had rain
bearing or fertilizing power according to some traditions as in near eastern
marriage ceremonies were the bride stepped over the sprinkle blood of a sheep.
the oldest ancient deity who consumed blood was probably
Lilith. She is also described as the first demon, or a female spirit which
exemplified all of the darkest attributes of the world.
Persian folklore also speaks of some spirits who consumed
blood. The most famous of these was Estries. She was a demon - specifically a
shapeshifter.
Usually she was
believed to have appeared as a beautiful woman who looked for men to drink
their blood. , She was also well-known in Jewish legends.
In order to strengthen the Tree God Pemba, the Bambara of
West Africa sacrificed blood to it, and
in some myths it is called the Blood Tree.
Bull's blood was used
for it suppose that magical power in the Roman rites of Mithras and Cybele.
With the same symbolism of the life force blood is sometimes still drunk at
Mexican bull fights.
From Hindu Beliefs – Kali as depict as a fearsome creature with her tongue lolling
out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars,
falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she
devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.''
At the height of the Aztec empire the blood of thousands of
victims a year will spill to reinvigorate the sun.
They believed the gods sacrificed their own blood to create
the universe, so in turn, the Aztecs offered blood to the Gods as a sort of
reciprocal exchange and gift for their creations (Pendragon 2). Furthermore,
the supply of ritual blood was believed to maintain plentiful fertile crops and
aid in the continuation of the Aztec world.
If blood was not sacrificed to the gods, the humans believed
they would be punished and endure excessive pain “more violent than any man
could ever do”
In ancient Greece, the disciples of Hecate the Goddess of
Magic, performed blood rituals to enhance the power of their goddess
The mingling of blood is a Symbol of union in many
traditions and can mark a seal or a covenant. In Roman Catholic doctrine Christ
blood is present in the trans substantial wine of the Euchrarist.
A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which
started in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male,
intermingle their blood in some way.
Blood sacrifice is sometimes considered by the practitioners
of prayer, ritual magic, and spell casting to intensify the power of such
activities. The Native American Sun Dance is usually accompanied by blood
sacrifice
Some blood rituals involve two or more parties cutting
themselves or each other followed by the consumption of blood. The participants
may regard the release or consumption of blood as producing energy useful as a
sexual, healing, or mental stimulus.
The great potency of blood has been utilized through
sacrifice for a number of purposes—e.g., earth fertility, purification, and
expiation.
Buddhism forbids all blood sacrifices
The gods demanding blood sacrifice are most commonly
described as “fierce, violent and ‘hot’” (Fuller The gods who fall under this
category are dark forms such as Durga, Kali, and village goddesses, such as
Sitala Mata, Mariyamman, Bhairava and Narasimha.
