When it comes to the wheels of religion, secret societies, science, and civilization, Dan Brown has to eat his heart out when it comes to how Egyptian thinking has rippled our culture. Gospel editing is just a tiny aspect from what lies beneath. Most who write or talk on the origins of science begin with the natural philosophers. But where did they get the idea from to study methodically and why? The alchemists! But where did they get the ideas from? The Greeks philosophers (among others)! And where did they get it from... the Egyptians! Perhaps the thread goes further back, but I have seen no references. As introduction I think most need to get an insight into what purpose icons or pictures of deity's could mean. This is important because when you start to examine it, everything in our systems are based on symbols from cave paintings, religion, quantum physics, to commercial logos. Even reading these symbols right now gives meaning to you as sounds unlocking the ability to read and write. Example: "A" is a bulls head (Aries) turned upside down, you know as the phonetic sound "A". Icons are concentrations of symbols. I was introduced to this insight through martial arts where I was shown how some icons once banned by law in Japan and thus were hidden. Often the picture of a deity, prophet, angel, demon, etc. is filled with symbols that have powerful meanings in the context of those who live in that icons culture. It would give you guidance and purpose in how to live your life - and could thus be dangerous to those who disagree with the ideology. Just have a closer look at Virgin Mary for example or the 12 disciples and see what they are carrying. Thoth pictured here have the head of the ibis, which also was associated with the phoenix legend, which will make sense later. Above Thoths head is the sun, connecting him to the main deity Ra. He is counting or measuring showing his association with science. And so on. Keep this in mind, because symbols are the language which both science and religion are explained the interpretations and misunderstandings are many. And which interpretation is closest to the original meaning, and which one is more sensible?
What did the Egyptians believe about perceptions of science? Their deity Thoth embodied the heart and the tongue of the sun god Ra. The heart in Egyptian mythology was the vessel of the mind and intelligence, and Thoth was so to say the "mind" and the "voice" of Ra, or God if you like. He (Thoth is pictured as a male) was associated with functions that involved magic, writing, science, and the judging in disputes and fate of the dead. He had these functions because of the mastery in physical (science) and moral (divine) law.
First I skipped through that last sentence without thinking, but later learned it was very important. Science, was meant to be the workings with matter, while religion was the workings of the right and wrong (good and evil) - what to do with science. It is kind of simple and logic once you think of it: what good is knowledge if you have no good use of it? Often people make the quick assumption that these things as defined or fixed (such as facts or laws), but for mortal man the understanding of these two dualities was a work in progress - also known as life or learning. Egyptians was aware of a duality, a balance, in things and was symbolized in Thoth carrying a staff which later became the winged staff crowned with a sun and two coiling snakes - the Caduceus or Staff of Hermes. "Duality" is in my interpretation another word for "balance".
Thoths judgement of the dead as described in The Book of the Dead, carries a lot of information as to what originally may have been the idea of a good life. As the dead was brought before Thoth, Anubis would weigh the heart of the dead on the scales of Maat against the Feather of Truth. If the heart was too heavy, the chimera Ammut would tear the person to pieces. If the person was vindicated the person was raised to assume power in the universe as one of the gods (chapters 130-189). I think this description hold a lot of information to what happened later in our history and thought.
My first note, though a theory since I can not find evidence of a direct link, is that Maat and the scale (the female counterpart of Thoth of justice and law) could have been the original concept of justice (Lady Justice). She commonly assigned to originate from the Greek goddess Dike. But as I will write later - Greeks borrowed heavily from the older Egyptian civilization. Or as Herodotus would write in The Histories (book II), that Egyptians knew of the old gods and were the older culture (meaning there were similarities between Greek and Egyptian pantheon). If this is of interest to you, I suggest having a look at the Zeitgeist movie (first half).
Secondly, the judgment of the heart against the soul is fascinating once you put things into context. The heart was according to Egyptians the vessel of the intellect and the soul. This had to be lighter than the Feather of Truth (or in other words probably light). What does that mean? I understand this as if you had been living an immoral or abused your intellect you would be burdened by this on this final day of judgment Now, if there is no difference between intellect and moral (both hosted by the heart), and a good life was a pursuit of both moral (the divine) and physical intellect (science), this could explain the development that followed in Greek philosophy, alchemy, and some of the earliest science. But somewhere something went off this track, for I dare say that the present day science is not driven by a moral pursuit to any great extent today!
Thirdly, a successful vindication would give the person would assume power in the universe as one of the gods. Gods ultimate power was the ability to differ good from evil, right from wrong. This would later be the goal of the alchemists, a goal never reached, refined through experimentation, but pivoting around a perfection of the person himself. The alchemists call this the search for the Philosophers Stone. Today we call this pursuit the Grand Unified Theory.
Another interesting observation mentioned in Manley Palmer Halls lectures on alchemy, is the way knowledge was probably passed in this culture. Egyptians knew mathematics, accounting, astronomy etc. but there were not schools for common people. You had to be accepted into an order that would eventually give you this knowledge, bit by bit as trade for your dedication to the order. These were religiously orientated. Belief and logic mixed into a ritualistic entity. We know of these kind of organizations still because they became guilds, the strongest and most famous known as Freemasons as we know today. There is nothing occult or weird about this really. Sharing knowledge makes it vulnerable to criticism and evolution. In suppressive regimes knowledge makes you a target. Large companies do the same today regarding their strategies and know-how, binding employees best they can they higher they go in the hierarchy.
This was stray thoughts on the Egyptians at the root of science, among many other things affecting us today. Later I wish to take this to the next phase of what I learned about the Greek philosophers involvement.
My first note, though a theory since I can not find evidence of a direct link, is that Maat and the scale (the female counterpart of Thoth of justice and law) could have been the original concept of justice (Lady Justice). She commonly assigned to originate from the Greek goddess Dike. But as I will write later - Greeks borrowed heavily from the older Egyptian civilization. Or as Herodotus would write in The Histories (book II), that Egyptians knew of the old gods and were the older culture (meaning there were similarities between Greek and Egyptian pantheon). If this is of interest to you, I suggest having a look at the Zeitgeist movie (first half).
Secondly, the judgment of the heart against the soul is fascinating once you put things into context. The heart was according to Egyptians the vessel of the intellect and the soul. This had to be lighter than the Feather of Truth (or in other words probably light). What does that mean? I understand this as if you had been living an immoral or abused your intellect you would be burdened by this on this final day of judgment Now, if there is no difference between intellect and moral (both hosted by the heart), and a good life was a pursuit of both moral (the divine) and physical intellect (science), this could explain the development that followed in Greek philosophy, alchemy, and some of the earliest science. But somewhere something went off this track, for I dare say that the present day science is not driven by a moral pursuit to any great extent today!
Thirdly, a successful vindication would give the person would assume power in the universe as one of the gods. Gods ultimate power was the ability to differ good from evil, right from wrong. This would later be the goal of the alchemists, a goal never reached, refined through experimentation, but pivoting around a perfection of the person himself. The alchemists call this the search for the Philosophers Stone. Today we call this pursuit the Grand Unified Theory.
Another interesting observation mentioned in Manley Palmer Halls lectures on alchemy, is the way knowledge was probably passed in this culture. Egyptians knew mathematics, accounting, astronomy etc. but there were not schools for common people. You had to be accepted into an order that would eventually give you this knowledge, bit by bit as trade for your dedication to the order. These were religiously orientated. Belief and logic mixed into a ritualistic entity. We know of these kind of organizations still because they became guilds, the strongest and most famous known as Freemasons as we know today. There is nothing occult or weird about this really. Sharing knowledge makes it vulnerable to criticism and evolution. In suppressive regimes knowledge makes you a target. Large companies do the same today regarding their strategies and know-how, binding employees best they can they higher they go in the hierarchy.
This was stray thoughts on the Egyptians at the root of science, among many other things affecting us today. Later I wish to take this to the next phase of what I learned about the Greek philosophers involvement.
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