The Magickal Pen

Let me begin by noting that this post is not what you think it will be.  There is nothing elitist about it.  I am not going to talk about trendy magickal finds and spells and ornate talismans to make you rich and famous.  Instead I would like to explore the concepts of harmony and balance, chaos and order and the weighing of our actions and efforts against that of the truth and intelligence held within our hearts.

These ideas are the domain of the Egyptian Goddess Ma’at and it was she who made order and harmony of what would fall to discord without the upholding of her principles.  The ancient rites of the dead were particularly compelling in their belief and totality of communion with their Gods and the greater Cosmos.  Even in death, the individual was given challenge that would be reflective of the life they led when alive and how and if they would enter the afterlife based upon those actions.  The measure of that life and the ultimate determination was based upon the weighing of the heart against the Feather of Ma’at.

In the Ancient Egyptian tradition the individual recently deceased would be brought before the Great Scales of Justice as final trial in their journey through the underworld.  The weighing of the individual’s heart, as is depicted on The Papyrus of Ani in The Book of the Dead shows the God Anubis overseeing this weighing.  The heart would be placed on one scale and the feather of Ma’at, was placed on the other. The goal being that the truth and all-knowingess held within this most sacred of organs would neither be of more or less weight than that of the Feather of Truth.  If successfully balanced the deceased gained the resurrection of their Divine nature, being equally blessed as Osiris had been. If the heart was found to be heavier than the feather, the deceased would be eaten by the Devourer, leaving the various parts of the deceased’s soul separated and lost forever.

Image 1.: The Papyrus of Ani

The heart was considered to be the seat of intelligence informed by emotion and the measure of a good life was the use of that wisdom as guide for the emotions and actions in the living world. So, it was in the final examining of the heart and its successful measure that Ma’at as the principle of order and balance would then have been maintained in life and death. Moreover, the balancing of the scales insured Cosmic Order. And, the continuation of Deity and man co-existing in a palpable and unified way in collaborative interaction. Ma’at bound all things together in an ordered and indestructible unity: the universe, the natural world, the state, and the individual were all seen as parts of the wider order generated by Ma’at.

We ourselves have been in this time of Ma’at with the movement of the Sun into the astrological sign of Libra, The Scales of Balance, on the Autumnal Equinox of last month. Each year at this time we are called to more fully step into our place of  balancing out and sorting through what has accumulated in the months preceding.  We honor the order of Ma’at in the harvesting and preserving of what will sustain and maintain the orderly health of our bodies in the Winter months ahead.  We are now nearing the ending of this Solar energy and in the state of current world affairs we are in need of that weighing of our own hearts to assess what contributions we are making to either side of the scales.

The call is to be ever mindful of the way in which we maintain flow and order and the way in which we cause upheaval.  Of knowing when to tip the scales towards what would be construed as negative, in order to reestablish the order of a productive outcome. I have purposefully left out much information as the pursuit of harmony, truth and justifiable outcome is best engaged from our finding our own way.

Stand before the Scales, faced by the unknown of what the after-life will bring.  See placed upon one end your concept of the feather of of Ma’at’ and HER principle of Order and Truth.  Open your heart and allow its wisdom to fill the scale of opposition and as judge and juror of your actions ask these or other questions.  The answers you give may surprise you?

Would your heart be in a place of balance if weighed on those Great scales?  

How do you strive to bring order to the Chaos that surrounds you?

Do you seek the depth of truth and justice as you go about your daily affairs?

Do you maintain the balance of  your Gods and own truth of Divinity? 

Resources:

The Intelligence of the Heart
The Magickal Pen

Images:

Header: Sculpture of Ma’at: Origin: The Tomb of Seti I, 19th Dynasty (1300 BC). Current Location: Egyptian Museum in Florence, Italy

1. The Papyrus of Ani. The British Museum