Serpent Power
Kemetic Name for Chakras Words of Power Location Element
- sefket Lam base of spine Earth
- tekh Vam reproductive organs Water
- ab Ram solar plexus Fire
- kheper Yam heart/glandular body Air
- sekhem Ham throat Ether
- mer Om pineal gland Cosmic Mind
- ikh crown of head
- elephant
- crocodile
- ram
- antelope
- celestrial elephant
Neferkaptah and the Book of Thoth
Ahura was the wife of Nefer-ka-ptah, and their child was Merab; this was the name by which he
was registered by the scribes in the House of Life. And Nefer-ka-ptah, though he was the son of
the King, cared for naught on earth but to read the ancient records, written on papyrus in the
House of Life or engraved on stone in the temples; all day and every day he studied the writings
of the ancestors.
One day he went into the temple to pray to the gods, but when he saw the inscriptions on the
walls he began to read them; and he forgot to pray, he forgot the gods, he forgot the priests, he
forgot all that was around him until he heard laughter behind him. He looked round and a priest
stood there, and from him came the laughter.
"Why laughest thou at me?" said Nefer-ka-ptah.
"Because thou readest these worthless writings," answered the priest. "If thou would readest
writings that are worth the reading I can tell thee where the Book of Thoth lies hidden."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah was eager in his questions, and the priest replied, "Thoth wrote the Book
with his own hand, and in it is all the magic in the world. If thou readest the first page, thou wilt
enchant the sky, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; thou wilt understand the
language of the birds of the air, and thou wilt know what the creeping things of earth are saying,
and thou wilt see the fishes from the darkest depths of the sea. And if thou read the other page,
even though thou wert dead and in the world of ghosts, thou could come back to earth in the
form thou once had. And besides this, thou wilt see the sun shining in the sky with the full moon
and the stars, and thou wilt behold the great shapes of the gods."
Then said Nefer-ka-ptah, "By the life of Pharaoh, that Book shall be mine. Tell me whatsoever it
is that thou desires, and I will do it for thee."
"Provide for my funeral," said the priest. "See that I am buried as a rich man, with priests and
mourning women, offerings, libations, and incense. Then shall my soul rest in peace in the fields
of Aalu. One hundred pieces of silver must be spent upon my burying."
Then Nefer-ka-ptah sent a fleet messenger to fetch the money, and he paid one hundred pieces of
silver into the priest's hands. When the priest had taken the silver, he said to Nefer-ka-ptah:
"The Book is at Koptos in the middle of the river.
In the middle of the river is an iron box,
In the iron box is a bronze box,
In the bronze box is a keté-wood box,
In the keté-wood box is an ivory-and-ebony box,
In the ivory-and-ebony box is a silver box,
In the silver box is a gold box,
And in the gold box is the Book of Thoth,
Round about the great iron box are snakes and scorpions and all manner of crawling things, and
above all there is a snake which no man can kill. These are set to guard the Book of Thoth."
When the priest had finished speaking, Nefer-ka-ptah ran out of the temple, for his joy was so
great that he knew not where he was. He ran quickly to Ahura to tell her about the Book and that
he would go to Koptos and find it.
But Ahura was very sorrowful, and said, "Go not on this journey, for trouble and grief await thee
in the southern land."
She laid her hand upon Nefer-ka-ptah as though she would hold him back from the sorrow that
awaited him. But he would not be restrained, and broke away from her and went to the king his
father.
He told the King all that he had learned, and said, "Give me the royal barge, O my father, that I
may go to the southern land with my wife Ahura and my son Merab. For the Book of Thoth I
must and will have."
So the King gave orders and the royal barge was prepared, and in it Nefer-ka-ptah, Ahura, and
Merab sailed up the river to the southern land as far as Koptos. When they arrived at Koptos, the
high priest and all the priests of Isis of Koptos came down to the river to welcome Nefer-ka-ptah,
sacrificed an ox and a goose, and poured a libation of wine to Isis of Koptos and her son
Harpocrates. After this, the priests of Isis and their wives made a great feast for four days in
honor of Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura.
On the morning of the fifth day, Nefer-ka-ptah called to him a priest of Isis, a great magician
learned in all the mysteries of the gods. And together they made a little magic box, like the cabin
of a boat, and they made men and a great store of tackle, and put the men and the tackle in the
magic cabin. Then they uttered a spell over the cabin, and the men breathed and were alive, and
began to use the tackle. And Nefer-ka-ptah sank the magic cabin in the river, saying "Workmen,
workmen! Work for me!" And he filled the royal barge with sand and sailed away alone, while
Ahura sat on the bank of the river at Koptos, and watched and waited, for she knew that sorrow
must come of this journey to the southern land.
The magic men in the magic cabin toiled all night and all day for three nights and three days
along the bottom of the river; and when they stopped the royal barge stopped also, and Nefer-kaptah
knew that he had arrived where the Book lay hidden.
He took the sand out of the royal barge and threw it into the water, and it made a gap in the river,
a gap of a schoenus long and a schoenus wide; in the middle of the gap lay the iron box, and
beside the box was coiled the great snake that no man can kill, and all around the box on every
side to the edge of the walls of water were snakes and scorpions and all manner of crawling
things.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah stood up in the royal barge, and across the water he cried to the snakes and
scorpions and crawling things; a loud and terrible cry, and the words were words of magic. As
soon as his voice was still, the snakes and scorpions and crawling things were still also, for they
were enchanted by means of the magical words of Nefer-ka-ptah, and they could not move.
Nefer-ka-ptah brought the royal barge to the edge of the gap, and he walked through the snakes
and scorpions and crawling things, and they looked at him, but could not move because of the
spell that was on them.
And now Nefer-ka-ptah was face to face with the snake that no man could kill, and it reared
itself up ready for battle. Nefer-ka-ptah rushed upon it and cut off its head, and at once the head
and body came together, each to each, and the snake that no man could kill was alive again, and
ready for the fray. Again Nefer-ka-ptah rushed upon it, and so hard did he strike that the head
was flung far from the body, but at once the head and body came together again, each to each,
and again the snake that no man could kill was alive and ready to fight. Then Nefer-ka-ptah saw
that the snake was immortal and could not be slain but must be overcome by subtle means. Again
he rushed upon it and cut it in two, and very quickly he put sand on each part, so that when the
head and body came together there was sand between them and they could not join, and the
snake that no man could kill lay helpless before him.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah went to the great box where it stood in the gap in the middle of the river, and
the snakes and scorpions and crawling things watched, but they could not stop him.
He opened the iron box and found a bronze box,
He opened the bronze box and found a keté-wood box,
He opened the keté-wood box and found an ivory-and-ebony box,
He opened the ivory-and-ebony box and found a silver box,
He opened the silver box and found a gold box,
He opened the gold box and found the Book of Thoth.
He opened the Book and read a page, and at once he had enchanted the sky, the earth, the abyss,
the mountains, and the sea, and he understood the language of birds, fish, and beasts. He read the
second page and he saw the sun shining in the sky, with the full moon and the stars, and he saw
the great shapes of the gods themselves; and so strong was the magic that the fishes came up
from the darkest depths of the sea. So he knew that what the priest had told him was true.
Then he thought of Ahura waiting for him at Koptos, and he cast a magic spell upon the men that
he had made, saying, "Workmen, workmen! Work for me and take me back to the place from
which I came!" They toiled day and night till they came to Koptos, and there was Ahura sitting
by the river, having eaten nothing and drunk nothing since Nefer-ka-ptah went away. For she sat
waiting and watching for the sorrow that was to come upon them.
But when she saw Nefer-ka-ptah returning in the royal-barge, her heart was glad and she rejoiced
exceedingly. Nefer-ka-ptah came to her and put the Book of Thoth into her hands and bade her
read it. When she read the first page, she enchanted the sky, the earth, the abyss, the mountains,
and the sea, and she understood the language of birds, fish, and beasts; and when she read the
second page, she saw the sun shining in the sky, with the full moon and the stars, and she saw the
great shapes of the gods themselves; and so strong was the magic that the fishes came up from
the darkest depths of the sea.
Nefer-ka-ptah now called for a piece of new papyrus and for a cup of beer; and on the papyrus he
wrote all the spells that were in the Book of Thoth. Then he took the cup of beer and washed the
papyrus in the beer, so that all the ink was washed off and the papyrus became as though it had
never been written on. And Nefer-ka-ptah drank the beer, and at once he knew all the spells that
had been written on the papyrus, for this is the method of the great magicians.
Then Nefer-ka-ptah and Ahura went to the temple of Isis and gave offerings to Isis and
Harpocrates, and made a great feast, and the next day they went on board the royal barge and
sailed joyfully away down the river towards the northern land.
But behold, Thoth had discovered the loss of his Book, and Thoth raged like a panther of the
south, and he hastened before Ra and told him all, saving, "Nefer-ka-ptah has found my magic
box and opened it, and has stolen my Book, even the Book of Thoth; he slew the guards that
surrounded it, and the snake that no man can kill lay helpless before him. Avenge me, O Ra,
upon Nefer-ka-ptah, son of the King of Egypt."
The majesty of Ra answered and said, "Take him and his wife and his child, and do with them as
thou wilt." And now the sorrow for which Ahura watched and waited was about to come upon
them, for Thoth took with him a power from Ra to give him his desire upon the stealer of his
Book.
As the royal barge sailed smoothly down the river, the little boy Merab ran out from the shade of
the awning and leaned over the side watching the water. And the power of Ra drew him, so that
he fell into the river and was drowned. When he fell, all the sailors on the royal barge and all the
people walking on the river bank raised a great cry, but they could not save him. Nefer-ka-ptah
came out of the cabin and read a magical spell over the water, and the body of Merab came to the
surface and they brought it on board the royal barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah read another spell, and
so great was its power that the dead child spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all that had happened
among the gods, that Thoth was seeking vengeance, and that Ra had granted him his desire upon
the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command, and the royal barge returned to Koptos, that Merab might be
buried there with the honor due to the son of a prince. When the funeral ceremonies were over,
the royal barge sailed down the river toward the northern land. A joyful journey was it no longer,
for Merab was dead, and Ahura's heart was heavy on account of the sorrow that was still to
come, for the vengeance of Thoth was not yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Merab had fallen into the water, and Ahura came out from under
the shade of the awning, and she leaned over the side of the barge, and the power of Ra drew her
so that she fell into the river and was drowned. When she fell, all the sailors in the royal barge
and all the people walking on the river-bank raised a great cry, but they could not save her.
Nefer-ka-ptah came out of the cabin and read a magical spell over the water, and the body of
Ahura came to the surface, and they brought it on board the royal barge. Then Nefer-ka-ptah read
another spell and so great was its power that the dead woman spoke and told Nefer-ka-ptah all
that had happened among the gods, that Thoth was still seeking vengeance, and that Ra had
granted him his desire upon the stealer of his Book.
Nefer-ka-ptah gave command and the royal barge returned to Koptos, that Ahura might be buried
there with the honor due to the daughter of a king. When the funeral ceremonies were over, the
royal barge sailed down the river towards the northern land. A sorrowful journey was it now, for
Ahura and Merab were dead, and the vengeance of Thoth was not yet fulfilled.
They reached the place where Ahura and Merab had fallen into the water, and Nefer-ka-ptah felt
the power of Ra drawing him. Though he struggled against it he knew that it would conquer him.
He took a piece of royal linen, fine and strong, and made it into a girdle, and with it he bound the
Book of Thoth firmly to his breast, for he was resolved that Thoth should never have his Book
again.
Then the power drew him yet more strongly, and he came from under the shade of the awning
and threw himself into the river and was drowned. When he fell, all the sailors of the royal barge
and all the people walking on the river-bank raised a great cry, but they could not save him. And
when they looked for his body they could not find it. So the royal barge sailed down the river till
they reached the northern land and came to Memphis, and the chiefs of the royal barge went to
the king and told him all that had happened.
The king put on mourning raiment; he and his courtiers, the high priest and all the priests of
Memphis, the king's army and the king's household, were clothed in mourning apparel, and they
walked in procession to the haven of Memphis to the royal barge. When they came to the haven,
they saw the body of Nefer-ka-ptah floating in the water beside the barge, close to the great
steering-oars. And this marvel came to pass because of the magical powers of Nefer-ka-ptah;
even in death he was a great magician by reason of the spells he had washed off the papyrus and
drunk in the beer.
Then they drew him out of the water, and they saw the Book of Thoth bound to his breast with
the girdle of royal linen. And the king gave command that they should bury Nefer-ka-ptah with
the honor due to the son of a king, and that the Book of Thoth should be buried with him.
Thus was the vengeance of Thoth fulfilled, but the Book remained with Nefer-ka-ptah.
THE END
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