ZEP TEPI - THE FIRST TIME
open images in a new tab to view full size
open images in a new tab to view full size
'ZEP TEPI' - INTRODUCTION
When Upuaut first contacted Glen through a dream, Upuaut mentioned the 'Moment of the Beginning' and the 'Foundation of all Things'.
These phrases were a reference to to concept in Egyptian religion known as 'Zep Tepi' (the 'First Occurrence').
The Egyptians believed that on a certain date the material universe had been brought into existence through the activities of the 'Æons' at the instigation of the 'ONE' - the source of all being.
The time, known as 'Zep Tepi' was the time of perfection - and that all sentient beings should strive to return to that 'state of perfection'.
On the walls of the 'Edfu Temple', in Upper Egypy, the story of 'Zep Tepi' describes the rule of the Aeons, who came to Egypt and proceeded to give the people of the Nile the benefits of civilization and agriculture.
 |
| Upuaut |
The Egyptians believed that on a certain date the material universe had been brought into existence through the activities of the 'Æons' at the instigation of the 'ONE' - the source of all being.
The time, known as 'Zep Tepi' was the time of perfection - and that all sentient beings should strive to return to that 'state of perfection'.
On the walls of the 'Edfu Temple', in Upper Egypy, the story of 'Zep Tepi' describes the rule of the Aeons, who came to Egypt and proceeded to give the people of the Nile the benefits of civilization and agriculture.
The bringers of this high civilization were called the 'Urshu', who appeared in human form.
They had the appearance of transcendent health and vigour, and it was difficult for a sentient, material being, even though advanced in occultism, to support the presence of an 'Æon' for any length of time.
The incarnated 'Æons' also invoked in those sentient, material beings who had any connection with them various psychic phenomena, including 'theomorphic' and 'zoomorphic' hallucinations.
 |
| Temple of Edfu |
The Egyptians called these beings 'Neteru'.
In addition there were the 'Venerables of Shemsu Hor', ruled for 13,420 years, and reigns before the 'Shemsu-Hor', amounted to 23,200 years; making a total 36,620 years.'
Interestingly, the first radio-metrically dated remains of modern Cro-magnon man is dated to around 35,000 years ago.
Interestingly, the first radio-metrically dated remains of modern Cro-magnon man is dated to around 35,000 years ago.
There is evidence that a significant hike in stellar radiation recorded in Greenland ice cores might also have instigated an acceleration in human evolution around that time.
The Temple of Edfu and 'First Time'
At the temple of Edfu - rebuilt on many occasions - (the last being during the Ptolemaic period), the twin entrance pylons, which climb to a stunning height of 36 meters, are covered with the imagery of the king smiting his enemies before the 'god' Horus.
Further on in the Temple, hieroglyphics on the wall close to sanctuary, point out how various temple rituals had to be performed.
Further on in the Temple, hieroglyphics on the wall close to sanctuary, point out how various temple rituals had to be performed.
The Edfu inscriptions detail several different phases of time of 'original creation' (Zep Tepi), including, 'Specification of the Sacred Mounds', 'The Coming of Re to his Mansion of Mes-nehet', and 'Offering the Lotus'
The temple complex at Edfu is known for inscriptions that argue that its lay-out was actually designed by a pre-dynastic group of people, known as the 'Shemsu Hor', the 'Followers of Horus'.
The temple complex at Edfu is known for inscriptions that argue that its lay-out was actually designed by a pre-dynastic group of people, known as the 'Shemsu Hor', the 'Followers of Horus'.
Before the 'Sky Gods' (the ever living Æons) left and returned to the stars, they co-existed with a group of mysterious rulers known as the 'Shemsu Hor'. Known as the 'Followers of Horus', the 'Shemsu Hor' were semi-divine kings, priests and keepers of sacred knowledge. They are sometimes referred to as member of the first ancient secret society. They were present in Egypt during the Golden Ages of the original divine rulers, and they remained there long after these rulers ascended back the stars. According to an ancient and very unique papyrus known as the 'Turin King List' (or the 'Turin Royal Canon'), ten Neteru, or 'gods' - (the ever living Æons) , reigned for hundreds of years each, for a total of 23,200 years. After this comes a list dedicated to the 'Shemsu Hor', the 'Followers of Horus', who reigned a total of 13,400 years.
 |
| Edfu Temple - Reconstruction |
The ritual involved chanting a hymn to the sun and presenting the 'gods' with offerings and was said to activate the temple.
We should, of course, take this activation very literally.
Indeed, the statues of the gods that lived inside the Egyptian temples were no mere 'dead objects', but were believed to actively contain the spirit of the deity, with which the high priests could interact.
Of note at Edfu is the 'Holy of Holies', the most sacred area of the complex.
In the 'Holy of Holies', only two men were ever in allowed this area: the high priest and the pharaoh.
Inside the 'Holy of Holies' at Edfu was a grey granite 'naos' shrine, four meters high, which would contained the cult statue of Horus.
From the inscriptions, the shrine, however, must have come from an earlier building.
Texts on the walls describe the rituals that took place here, including the morning service when the high priest exposed, washed, fed and dressed the image of Horus, burning incense and reciting prayers to him.
THE INCARNATION OF THE ÆONS
 |
| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2014 |
The earlier we go back in time the easier it has been for non-material entities to take upon themselves 'physical' form, and effectively 'incarnate' on the earth plane.
The word 'aeon', (also spelled 'Æon') originally meant 'life', 'vital force' or 'being', - it is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word ὁ αἰών (ho aion), from the archaic 'αἰϝών' (aiwon).
The 'Ineffable Ever Living Æons' are emanations of the 'ONE' (see Cosmogenesis).
The 'Ineffable Ever Living Æons' are emanations of the 'ONE' (see Cosmogenesis).
The 'Æon's' task was and is to nurture sentient beings, who would eventually be able to develop the occult faculties which would enable them to obtain a complete, and permanent, vision of the Cosmos.
The material plane on which the 'Æons' were required to work, however, had been corrupted by a powerful Æon, known subsequently as the Demiurge, who had acted against the 'Will of the ONE'.
This was possible because the 'Æons', and other entities, including the sentient physical beings of the Earth plane, had been allowed the possibility of free will - being able to choose their own destinies.
Despite the corrupt nature of the Earth plane, however, the greatest of the Æons had formed, in their own spiritual likeness, a race of beings - known to themselves as the 'Noble Race'.
The Egyptians were, understandably, overawed by the presence of the 'Æons' who, even in human form, were viewed as 'superhuman' and referred to as 'Neteru'.
Unlike most of the humans inhabiting the southern areas of the ancient world, the 'Aeons', under normal circumstances, would take the form of perfectly formed human beings, with golden blond hair and intensely blue eyes - although on some occasions they could take other forms.
Unlike most of the humans inhabiting the southern areas of the ancient world, the 'Aeons', under normal circumstances, would take the form of perfectly formed human beings, with golden blond hair and intensely blue eyes - although on some occasions they could take other forms.
 |
| Descent of the 'Æons' |
The 'Æons', anxious to assist those known as the 'noble race', (the original Cro-Magnons), incarnated through a 'gateway in the stars'.
They appeared in the Nile Valley which they considered the most suitable area for the development of a stable and settled culture.
At that time the climate in Egypt ('the land of Kem' as the area was later known) was far more equitable than it was in later times, with abundant grassland and moderate rainfall.
Geographically, the location the Edfu texts allude to as the point where the Neteru made their presence known was the 'Ain Shams', otherwise known as the 'Eye of the Sun' or 'Fountain of the Sun'.
 |
| The Sacred Lotus |
The Egyptian symbol for the 'Eye of the Sun' was the sacred lotus floating in a pool of limpid water.
The Egyptian Blue Water-lily, N. caerulea, opens its flowers in the morning and then sinks beneath the water at dusk, while the Egyptian White Water-lily, N. lotus, flowers at night and closes in the morning. This symbolizes the Egyptian separation of deities, and is a motif associated with Egyptian beliefs concerning death and the afterlife. The recent discovery of psychedelic properties of the blue lotus may also have been known to the Egyptians and explain its ceremonial role.
Sacred Lotus
© Copyright Peter Crawford 2014
 |
| Djed Pillar |
The Lotus in the centre pool was replaced by the 'djed pillar', constructed of reeds.
The 'djed' symbol is one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in Egyptian mythology.
It is associated with Osiris, the Egyptian 'god' of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead.
It is commonly understood to represent his 'spine'.
It is associated with Osiris, the Egyptian 'god' of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead.
It is commonly understood to represent his 'spine'.
The 'djed' hieroglyph was a pillar-like symbol that represented stability.
The 'djed' is also seen as an 'Aryan' symbol associated with the Germanic 'Irminsul'.
The pillar served as the perch of a nameless god which took on the form of a falcon.
Two new powerful falcons then came to the Djed, one named Nefer-Hor, 'the Sanctified Ruler', and 'Heter-Hor', 'the Winged One', both whose faces shone with divine light and brilliance.
Both are the 'ka' and 'ba' spirit doubles of the original Falcon at the centre respectively, who also possess two separate doubles themselves, bringing the total number of 'rulers' of the island to five.
The 'Ka' was the Egyptian concept of vital essence, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body. The Egyptians believed that Khnum created the bodies of children on a potter's wheel and inserted them into their mothers' bodies.Depending on the region, Egyptians believed that 'Heket' or 'Meskhenet' was the creator of each person's 'Ka', breathing it into them at the instant of their birth as the part of their soul that made them to be alive.
This resembles the concept of 'spirit' in other religions.
The 'Ba' is in some regards the closest to the contemporary Western religious notion of a 'soul', but it also was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of 'personality'.
Like a soul, the 'Ba' is an aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live on after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the 'Ka' in the afterlife.
Like a soul, the 'Ba' is an aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live on after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the 'Ka' in the afterlife.
Another company of Falcons then emerged from the primeval waters and perched upon reeds surrounding the central djed pillar.
The avians then erected the first temple - the 'Place of the First One' - to contain the djed pillar - and the 'Place of the First One' is associated with Edfu, in Upper Egypt.
Simultaneously, an enclosure was built around the edges of the central pool, called the 'Field of Reeds'.
Within the Temple, powerful relics were placed within the god's sanctuary, then named the 'Mansion of Isden', a square construction fashioned from bundles of reeds.
The Temple was the place of 'becoming' for the Neter (Aeon) called Osiris, and also the Neteru (Aeons) Isis, Nephtys, Sokar, Horus, Thoth and - Anubis-Upuaut.
This then was the 'First Time', when the Neteru established 'Ma'at'.
 |
| Ma'at |
'Ma'at' was the word the Egyptians used for the concept that regulated the stars, seasons, law, religion customs the arts and the sciences, and the actions of all sentient beings.
If a civilization and a race conforms to the requirements of 'Ma'at', then that race and that civilization shall live in peace and harmony with the cosmic forces, and will prosper
To the great and supreme powers, the attributes and emanations of the ineffable 'ONE', the Egyptians gave the name 'neteru' - commonly now known as 'gods'.
To the great and supreme powers, the attributes and emanations of the ineffable 'ONE', the Egyptians gave the name 'neteru' - commonly now known as 'gods'.
The neteru, are the living energies - the causal powers - and are called by many names including 'αρχέτυπο' (Archetypes), 'Conscious Thought Forms', 'Creative Energies', 'κυρίων '(Lords), and 'λάμπει αυτά' (Shining Ones).
In the Egyptian language the term Neteru means 'strong' or 'mighty'.
THE NETERU
The Egyptian word 'nṯr', has been loosely translated as 'god', and its feminine form 'nṯrt', 'goddess'.
Scholars have tried to discern the original nature of the gods by proposing etymologies for these words, but none of these suggestions has gained acceptance, and the terms' origin remains obscure.
The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the characteristics that the Egyptians connected with divinity.
The most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole; similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples, representing the presence of a deity, throughout ancient Egyptian history.
The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the characteristics that the Egyptians connected with divinity.
The most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole; similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples, representing the presence of a deity, throughout ancient Egyptian history.
Other such hieroglyphs include a falcon, reminiscent of several early 'gods' who were depicted as falcons, and a seated male or female deity.
The feminine form could also be written with an egg as determinative, connecting goddesses with creation and birth, or with a cobra, reflecting the use of the cobra to depict many female deities.
The ancient Egyptians distinguished 'nṯrw', 'gods', from 'rmṯ', 'people' or humans, but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly.
The term 'nṯr' may have applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life.
Deceased humans were called also 'nṯr' because they were considered to be like the 'gods', whereas the term was rarely applied to many of Egypt's lesser supernatural beings, which modern scholars often refer to as 'demons'.
Confronting these blurred distinctions between 'gods' and other beings, scholars have proposed various definitions of a 'deity'.
One widely accepted definition says that a deity has a cult, is involved in some aspect of the universe, and is described in mythology or other forms of written tradition.
According to a different definition 'nṯr' can be applied to any being that was the focus of ritual.
From this perspective, the 'gods' included the king, who was called a 'god' after his coronation rites, and deceased souls, who entered the divine realm through funeral ceremonies.
Likewise, the pre-eminence of the great 'gods' was maintained by the ritual devotion that was performed for them across Egypt.
The various 'Æons' taught the Egyptians many cultural and technological skills, and tried to reveal to them certain teachings relating to the 'occult sciences' - however, as time passed many of these teaching became misinterpreted and corrupted.
Evidence of the teachings of the Æons may be found in various Ancient Egyptian texts, including 'The Pyramid Texts', 'The Book of Pylons' (also known as the 'Book of Gates'), and the 'Book of the Dead' (more correctly known as "Book of Coming Forth by Day").
THE ÆON THOTH
 |
| Dendera Zodiac |
 |
| Thoth |
While the word 'Neteru' does not mean 'god', the ancient Egyptians looked upon the incarnated Aeons as 'gods', and because the 'Æons', and in particular the 'Æon' they called Dḥwty (Thoth - ˈθoʊθ) taught them all that they were able to comprehend about the starry heavens and astronomy, they believed that the Neteru came from the stars.
 |
| Cartouche of Ptolemaĩos Sōtḗr) |
Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ (Ptolemy Soter I - Ptolemaĩos Sōtḗr) , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt (323 BC – 283 BC) and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty. In 305/4 BC he took the title of Pharaoh.
The Ancient Egyptians also described the 'Æon Thoth' as:
the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth'
the 'Reckoner of Times and of Seasons'
the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth',
he was 'He who Balances',
the 'God of the Equilibrium', and 'Master of the Balance'
'The Lord of the Divine Body',
'Scribe of the Company of the gods ( Æons)',
the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, Both Human and Divine'
he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault'
 |
| Thoth |
And so, in this way, the Ancient Egyptian civilization emerged 'fully formed', unlike any other civilization on earth.
All other civilizations 'created' by sentient beings pass through numerous stages of development - progressing, and sometimes, for a moment in time regressing, until they reach a 'flowering' - at which point they decline, or are 'cut down' by some other competing civilization.
The ancient Egyptian civilization and culture, because it was created by the ' Æons', emerged fully formed at the point of 'flowering', and then, over endless thousands of years, declined, until it was swallowed up by what is termed 'Hellenistic culture', and later, by the power of Rome - both of which actually owed their origins to the civilization and culture formed by the ' Æons' in Egypt.
And so the gifts of the ' Æons' lived on in what is known as 'classical civilization', and emerged again in later times.
THE PYRAMID TEXTS & ZEP TEPI
The Pyramid Texts, tomb wall decorations and writings, dating back to the Old Kingdom (2780–2250 BC) have given us most of our information regarding early Egyptian creation myths.
In the creation story, the world was said to have emerged from an infinite, lifeless sea when the sun rose for the first time, in the distant period known as Zep Tepi, 'the first occasion'.
The creation myth held that the world had arisen out of the lifeless waters of chaos, called 'Nu'.
It also includes a pyramid-shaped mound, called the 'ben-ben', which was the first thing to emerge from the waters.
The sun was also closely associated with creation, and it was said to have first risen from the mound, as the 'sun-god' 'Ra ', or as the 'god' 'Khepri', who represented the newly-risen sun.
The sun was said to have emerged, in the form of a scarab beetle, directly from a lotus flower that grew from the 'ben-ben' mound.
In Heliopolis, the creation was attributed to 'god' 'Atum', a deity closely associated with 'Ra', who was said to have existed in the waters of 'Nu' as an inert potential being.
Atum was a self-engendered 'god', the source of all the elements and forces in the world, and the Heliopolitan myth described the process by which he 'evolved' from a single being into this multiplicity of elements
The process began when Atum appeared on the mound and gave rise to the air god Shu and his sister Tefnut, whose existence represented the emergence of an empty space amid the waters.
To explain how Atum did this, the myth uses the 'metaphor' of masturbation, with the hand he used in this act representing the female principle inherent within him.
Next, 'Shu' and 'Tefnut' coupled to produce the earth god 'Geb' and the sky goddess 'Nut', who defined the limits of the world.
'Geb' and 'Nut' in turn gave rise to four children, who represented the forces of life: 'Osiris', god of fertility and regeneration; 'Isis', 'goddess' of motherhood and mother of 'Anubis'; 'Set', the 'god' of chaos; and 'Nephthys', the female complement of 'Set'.
The myth thus represented the process by which life was made possible.
These nine 'gods' were grouped together theologically as the 'Ennead', but the eight lesser 'gods', and all other things in the world, were ultimately seen as extensions of 'Atum'.
and
CLICK BELOW FOR
and
All text - © Copyright Peter Crawford 2021
All Images - © Copyright Vittorio Carvelli 2021
Graphic Design - © Copyright Zac Sawyer 2021
this is an additional article for your further enjoyment of
