In the Beginning- a Holistic Model of Creation
Naomi Ozaniec
It was in a world out of time, for there was neither sun nor moon and nothing to mark the night from day until Temu reached down into the abyss and uplifted Ra. The sun shone on Temu's bright face, day began and Ra lived with him from the beginning of time. That was the first day of the world. In gratitude, the sun raised itself and marked the day's flow.
Normandi Ellis, Awakening Osiris
Who has not wondered about creation at some time? This is surely the greatest mystery of all. The Egyptians wondered a great deal about it and produced not one but several mythical creators in the place of a simple linear model. Why should we expect the processes of creation to be described with ease and simplicity? Surely we should expect complexity and ultimately paradox!
Patriarchy still holds a global sway and offers a creator god in male guise. The feminist rebellion has dethroned the creator god and replaced History with Herstory. The Egyptians however included both the divine male and the divine female within their mythic view of creation. Where we have come to expect 'either/or ' solutions, Egyptian mindset remained open to paradox. This desire for a logical and therefore mutually exclusive conclusion is deeply ingrained in our way of thinking and style of language. We are deeply uncomfortable when asked to simultaneously hold mutually opposing solutions. It confronts the very purpose of linear logic which has so long underpinned our thinking But the Egyptian mind was not schooled in this way; Egyptian language was deeply and deliberately symbolic, the very antithesis of deductive thinking. We cannot approach Egyptian thinking via our own contemporary projections. The Egyptologist C.W. Bleeker understands the mental shift we need to make.' The only useful guiding principle in Egyptology is: one must learn to think Egyptian to be able to penetrate the religion of Ancient Egypt.' Frankfort described the Egyptian world view as, 'a multiplicity of approaches' and a, 'multiplicity of answers.' The Egyptians remained comfortable with multiplicity, logical contradictions and paradox.
Where a monolithic explanation of creation tends towards a linear model; the first act of creation alone sustains everything that follows, a multi-faceted mythic model does not slip into sequential thinking. It is capable of rendering the simultaneous, the paradoxical even the contradictory. It is capable of indicating the complexity of relationship between the one and the many. 'The mythic perspective does not recognise plurality as contradictory to unity, nor androgyny as distinct from sexual differentiation. Plurality is found in unity and in turn encompasses plurality.' The Egyptians never lost sight of the living dynamic of creation itself. Its various aspects were woven into a pattern of unity, duality and plurality in constant recombination. In contrast to a monolithic explanation, the mythic multi-dimensional model is not confined to a single level of interpretation. Its openness and symbolic richness provide universally applicable meaning at both macrocosmic and microcosmic levels. The mythic pattern is repeated on all levels of existence. If the explanation of creation is to have any validity is must also be capable of being applied to the life of the individual and the world at large as well as the processes within creation at its most cosmic and universal levels. For how can the greater be separated from the lesser?
Father and Mothers of the World
Androgyny is an archaic and universal formula for the expression of wholeness and the co-existence of the contraries, or coincidentia oppositorum.
Mircea Eliade
The Egyptian creator divinities were often described in androgynous terms. Their qualities are likened to human creativity through a bi-polar sexual function. The terms 'uterine' and 'phallic' are used to describe these two modes by Lana Troy. In her Study of Egyptian Queenship she defines the use of these terms. 'We should not misunderstand the function of this symbolism. 'The uterine and phallic modes are symbolic expressions and thus are not necessarily a direct association with sexual function, but rather are used to indicate opposition in even its most abstract form.' This purpose should alert us to the possibility of identifying highly abstracted uterine and phallic symbolism. The feminine powers are described through images of enclosure and containment: swallowing, the mouth, the circle, the disc and the watery mass among other images. The masculine powers are described through images of expulsion and ejection, spitting and the rays of the sun or moon. These two modes are combined and crossed with deliberation to convey the continuous marriage of oppositions. Both modes are linked often simultaneously to the same deity. The creator god Ptah is ascribed the functions of both mother and father. In the Memphite theology Ptah is called 'Ptah Nun, 'the father who begat Atum' and 'Ptah Naunet, the mother who gave birth to Atum.' He is often depicted wearing the menat associated with Hathor and her cult. By contrast the goddess Neith is described as, 'the male who acts in the role of the female.' Neith's androgyny is well documented. It is most commonly supported by allusion to her symbol, namely the hunting bows and arrow which she carries. These are taken to be predominantly masculine weapons of war but it is of significance that the bow and arrow together represent another version of the phallic ejaculating mode. The same verb meaning, 'to shoot' is used with reference to the orgasm of Atum and the pulling of the bow. The act of releasing the arrow is one representation of the first creative impulse, the projection of creation from within the creator. The double arrows of Neith may even signify the dual androgynous nature. To mesh the web of interlocking and contrasting elements even further, uterine motifs are sometimes identified with gods and phallic modes are related to the goddess figures. Sekhmet is often shown complete with phallus to emphasise her power. Egyptian creation theology is rich with images of cross fertilisation. The creation stories connected with Atum reveals both uterine and phallic modes. Atum spills his own seed. Atum swallows his own seed. Shu and Tefnut are created.
I am Atum who created the great ones. I am he who gives birth to Shu I am the he-she.
Coffin Texts, 11
These two modes of creation are not intended to be mutually exclusive but complementary. The name Atum is derived from tm meaning both 'being' and 'non being.' We find the same root in the names, Tem, Tum, Temu or Atem which were later manifestations of the first creative principle. Tem was regarded as the father of the human race, a function clearly borrowed from Atum who said: Men and women come forth from the tears which came forth from my eye Additionally Tem also incorporated aspects from both Ra and Osiris. The figure of Tem also took over Iuasset and Nebt-Hetep, two female figures who were added to the cult of Atum. Iuasset means, 'she comes and she grows.' Both names are related to the Hand of Atum and thereby to Hathor. The elements of the brief original story were given a life of their own. Each was elevated into a cult status and woven over and over into more complex and greater themes with the passage of time. Eventually 'the Hand of God' became a cult title taken by wife royal wives as in their mediating role as the Hathoric presence. This brief reference exemplifies the way in which the Egyptians incorporated and endowed the seemingly minor details with cultic activity. Having come into being, nothing could be ignored or passed over but was deemed worthy of independent attention. Atum seeded his mythic and cultic progeny.
The Egyptian proliferation of both names and cults is confusing to us; identities become blurred and boundaries shift as divinities absorb older cults. Triple titles are not unusual: Osiris is addressed as Ptah-Seker-Tem for instance. Moreover the creative function is attributed to almost every god or goddess. This typifies the 'multiplicity of approaches,' which as we have seen characterised the Egyptian theological mindset. The very multiplicity itself seems to serve as a reflecting mirror for creation itself which is expressed through multiplicity. The interrelationships between divinities which so confuses the rational mind, are designed to show the deeper more complex intertwining of cause and effect. Typically Iuasset is regarded as wife, mother and daughter of Tem. She is also regarded as the mother of Shu and Tefnut despite the fact that this role had been earlier assigned to Atum. The Egyptian mind saw no conflict here, logical contradiction was embraced through the transcendent.
The Cycle of Becoming
Lana Troy, A Study in Egyptian Queenship
At the heart of Egyptian creation theology we find a deep absorption with the idea of 'becoming.' This is quite different from the internal dynamics of a linear model which envisages a starting point and looks towards a closing moment. To the Egyptians creation was a continuous cycle of becoming. This state of becoming was constantly represented by simple processes from the natural world such as the unfolding lotus or the activities of the dung beetle. The fourth century writer Horappollo remarked on an underlying connection between the names of the creator divinities Ptah and Neith through the scarab and the vulture. The scarab carries the phonetic values of t and vulture n. The combination, tn, or when reversed nt provides a deep insight into these two creative divinities. The combination tn is close to the name Tatenen, an early creator god who remained intertwined with Ptah as Ptah-Tanen. Brugsch records the inscription, 'the father of the fathers, the mother of the mothers, it is the scarab and the vulture.' The creative functions of scarab and vulture, so beloved by the Egyptians was embedded in the names of the gods themselves.
In the Egyptian mindset, creation was not confined to the world of the gods or closed with the first act of creation. Accordingly each product of creation was imbued with its own creative power and became a participant in the unfolding creation. Simple observation shows us nature's implicit creativity but the Egyptians also extended creative power into objects of their own creation such as staffs, crowns, shrines and statues. These sacred objects were never viewed as inanimate but were always seen to be imbued with life. As such these objects were active players in creation, each charged with a numinous power. To the Egyptians sacred objects were not merely symbolic of divine presence but carriers of the divine presence itself. In this mindset everything belongs to, partakes of and is actively engaged with the heart of creation itself. Though the Egyptians envisaged a primal creative act, the First Time or the First Occasion, this power was understood to be ever present. Enactment of the mythic creation themes ensured human participation and inclusion in the great cosmic dance of life.
Egyptian cosmology appears complex from our standpoint. We see only contradiction in multiplicity. We cannot reconcile the one and the many except by denying the one in favour of the other. To add to our confusion we find four cosmological themes, that of Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis and Thebes. Schwaller de Lubicz offers the fullest explanation of these centres in Her Bak, The Living Face of Ancient Egypt. Each centre represents the teachings of a stage in a greater whole. There is no contradiction but a continuous revelation which was unfolded through time. In the same way the interconnections between various cults also expressed the interconnectedness of life. This cosmic interrelationship is most often expressed in familial terms. Typically Hathor is both mother, daughter and wife to the sun god Re. She is also called Temt and Nebt-Hetepet. These names identify her with the primal creative acts. It is commonplace for the essential functions of one divinity to become shared with another so that the boundaries between them become blurred. This approach yet again confounds our sense of a rational order. Mutually exclusive terms are given equal value; in what way can Hathor be called simultaneously mother, daughter and wife? Perhaps we should view this logical contradiction in the same light as the Zen mind breaker, the koan. Perhaps ultimate reality is bizarre, complex, paradoxical, interconnected, puzzling and antithetical to human common-sense.
The Net of all Life
Do you know the name of that great and mighty net? The 'All Embracing' is its name.
Chapters of Coming Forth by Day, spell 152b
The new frontier of physics and its quantum revelation has taken us ever closer to a holistic paradigm. The new model embraces both unity and plurality for beneath the familiar everyday world of appearance lies the unfamiliar subatomic ocean which we never see. In this extraordinary realm of wave and particle, different laws are operative. It is a realm where the common sense of everyday logic has no value. This is truly a realm of mystery wonder and paradox. The more we discover, the more we find there is to discover. The more mystery we identify, the greater the mystery becomes. A new finding engages surely engages our sense of wonder. Particles can be intimately connected over distance of at least ten kilometres. These pairs can be described as entangled so that the property of one, spin or position is linked with the second particle. An experimental team generated photon pairs in entangled states and set each along separate optical detectors 10 kilometres apart. Measuring one photon instantly affected its twin particle. Such links were first detected 15 years ago but the effect was only noted over a few metres, now a thousandfold increase has been recorded. Imagine for a moment that you have been given the task of describing these bizarre interactions in the language of poetry, metaphor, symbol, and allegory!! Holism requires that we convey individually and interrelationship, unity and plurality, separation and connection. A simple linear metaphor will not suffice.
As we move towards a more holistic philosophy, change takes place in institutions and organisations. A new spirit touches begins to gently touch all social forms, We are moving from an Age of Separation towards an Age of Unity. The Egyptian model never fell into the schism. Beginning with creation at the First Time, the theme of endless becoming was reflected into Egypt's social organisation. Themes of cosmic regeneration and renewal were enacted through rituals great and small. Continuous creation was affirmed through participation in the cosmic dramas of creation. The powers of creation were kept alive in sacred trust generation after generation. Cultic rites renewed the relationship between the individual, the community and the greater world. A deep schism has come to exist at the very heart of Western civilisation. Its devastating consequences has ruptured the very fabric of the one life. For the Egyptians matter and spirit were never rent asunder but continued to dwell together in a divine marriage. Perhaps we have something to learn from a model which affirms holism at its heart.
