Apech

I’m no bible scholar and would like to know what this means.

Sorry to hear about your father my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hi and welcome

Exactly.

We can see from the given text that the priest addresses the god he is offering to as follows: "O Exalted-one! may he be praised, Great of Manifestations, the great Ba whom [B3] the gods fear ..." The word for manifestations is baw i.e. three ba birds ... and also the god is addressed as the great Ba. So we can see from the text without the need for any further elaboration that the 'ba' is related to the power to manifest and also that gods can be addressed as ba (interchangably with the usual word for god which is neter or netcher). So while the word ba is usually translated as 'soul' (which is itself a rather vague word these days) it might be better to translate it as 'divine power which can manifest'. Each person was said to have their own ba, usually shown as a human headed bird. This was one of the most important entities which together with others made a human being. As the Egyptians did not see a person as one thing but rather several entities interacting (that is until the person became 'one' in forming the akh spirit.) After death the ba of the deceased was said to fly to the East to view the sunrise. The ba unlike th eka was not bound t the body or dependent on offerings for sustenance. Spell 17 of the Book of the Dead describes what is said on viewing the sunrise (which as seen as a recapitulation of the the original creation of the cosmos in the first time. Here is a quote of the beginning of Chapter 17: Words spoken by the Osiris N: I am Ra in his rising, first in ruling what he made. What does it mean? It means Ra in his rising when first ruling what he made, It means the first rising of Ra in Henennesut, when there was the creation of the supports of Nun when he was on the high ground which is in Khemenu, when the children of the rebel were destroyed for him on the high ground which is in Khemenu. The Osiris N means the deceased ... or specifically his ba. And in the first line it is saying 'I am Ra ...' - where Ra is the sun-god creator. So the ba is saying 'I am Ra...' affirming his non-dual relation with the solar energy. Thus his innate divine nature. So for a definition of ba we can say 'a luminous divine power which creates forms from itself'. It is the divine spark if you like within us all. Our nature as spirit. A luminous energy which projects images.

bah humbug

So the next question will be ... what exactly is a ba ... and also what is a shadow (shade). Then we can begin to answer some real questions

My heart chakra says yes!

Are you real @Cobie

I want to start with the text because its got some interesting things in it. The main text is based on Spell 91 Book of the Dead - and this spell has a rubric (text written in red to amplify the meaning) which goes as follows: "As for him who knows this spell, he shall become an equipped spirit in the realm of the dead, he shall not be restrained at any gate of the West whether coming or going. A true matter." An equipped spirit means a spirit (akh) who has everything they need to exist. They can do anything they choose, can come and go in perfect freedom and have no limits on their action. This is the goal of Egyptian mysticism and is sometimes called akhification. It is an eternal, immortal yet spiritualised state. It derives from the Pyramid Texts which were written in 2350 BC about 1700 years before this Stele! Showing the amazing cultural integrity of Ancient Egypt. If you want to know more about the Pyramid Texts I would recommend this video by Justin Sledge of the Esoterica channel:

I was going to go through the text and interpret it. Also talk about what the pics mean. I'm very slow these days ... getting old.

The picture shows at the top the body of the sky goddess Nut which forms an arc over the whole scene. Below this Bedhety (a form of Horus as the winged disk) who is called Lord of the Sky. Ankh-f-n-Khonshu dressed as a Sem priest making offerings to the seated god Ra-Horakhty, behind whom is the symbol for the West. Between the the offering table containing bread, beer, meat and fowl. Below this is the main text. The main text is a version fo Spell 91 from the Book of the Dead. [B1–B5] Main text: [B1] Words spoken by the Osiris (i.e., the deceased), God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, Opener of the Door-leaves of Heaven in the Most Select of Places (i.e., Karnak), Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, [B2] True of Voice: "O Exalted-one! may he be praised, Great of Manifestations, the great Ba whom [B3] the gods fear, and who appears on his great throne, make the path of the Ba, the Akh, and the Shadow, for I am equipped so that (I) might shine therein [B4] (as) an equipped-one. Make for me the path to the place in which Re, Atum, Khepri,[11] and Hathor are therein." The Osiris, God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, [B5] Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, <True of> Voice, son of the like titled Ba-sa-en-Mut, borne of the Chantress of Amun-Re, Lady of the House, Ta-nesh<et>.[12] On the back is a version of Spell 30b from the Book of the Dead: [C1] Words spoken by the Osiris (i.e., the deceased), God's Servant of Montu, Lord of Waset, Ankh-ef-en- [C2] Khonsu, True of Voice: "(O) my heart of my mother [2 times], (O) my heart while I existed [C3] upon earth, do not stand against me as a witness, do not oppose me in [C4] in the tribunal, do not be hostile against me in the presence of the Great God, Lord of the West. [C5] Although I have united (myself) to the land (i.e. died) to the great western side of Heaven, may I flourish upon earth!" [C6] Words spoken by the Osiris, the Stolist[13] of Waset, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu, True of Voice: O (you who are) Unique [C7], who shines like the moon, the Osiris, Ankh-ef- [C8] en-Khonsu, goes forth from your multitudes, [C9] (O) deliverer of those who are within the sun-light, open for him [C10] the Netherworld, indeed, the Osiris, Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu who goes forth in [C11] day in order to do everything all that pleased him upon earth among the living-ones."

This the front of the Stele (more information found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stele_of_Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu).

Hi and welcome.

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