VIDEO LECTURE-LESSON 2, PART 10
This lecture begins with the episode in which Aset, acting as the nurse for the child of the King and Queen of Syria, has placed the infant into the fire but the flame does not burn the child. Aset has transformed into a bird and spoke words of power as she flew around the child to keep him from burning. The child was becoming immortal as the flames burned away the mortal core. However the spell was broken when his mother, the queen, walked into the room and saw him seemingly burning and cried out. Upon this, Aset turned back to Her original form as the Goddess Aset and was recognized immediately. She explained how the child was being purified in the fire, but the spell had been broken and immortality was lost.
Aset was given the Pillar of Asar by the King and Queen of Syria when they became aware of the contents of the Pillar. The image of this can be found in the Temple of Seti Uaa in Abdu where Aset is raising the Pillar, symbolizing Raising of the Life Force–Serpent Power. Sebai Maa explained how this kind of iconography was created in the Middle Kingdom of Kemet and prior to that it was more scriptural in nature. As more people became aware of the teachings of Asar the iconography was created with different versions of the same concept. Sebai explains further that although there are various versions of the myth of Asar, Aset and Heru it still comes to the same conclusion of “beyond a physical conception”–either way it is a Spiritual birth in which sperm is symbolic of the spiritual teachings and the womb is symbolic of a virtuous mind.
Aset with wings is the embrace posture where the Goddess extends her wings for protection. Wings extended to protect Asar–“Nuk pu Asar” (We are Asar) are myths all built on one another Sebai explains. He then turns the lecture to the question “Where does Aset get Her power from?” Aset freed Her life force from being tied up in the world–“Sekhem rech”–and, thus,released all of Her fetters. Now Aset has the power of Resurrection (“Arti em Hekau”)
“Goddess of the Words of Power.” This was achieved because of Pursuit of Truth vs. worldly desires. Sebai Maa said “If your goals are miniscule you will be miniscule–if your goals are great you will become great.” But, he adds, it must be sublime and righteous greatness, based in Maat philosophy, self knowledge, vegetarianism, listening, reflecting and meditating on the teachings continuously.
The lecture turns to the image of Asar on the leonine bed, symbolic of Sekhmet (Life Force). When Set found the body of Asar while hunting, he tore it into many pieces and threw it in the river. “Aset puts together–Set tears apart.” For this reason we see ourselves as a trinity interacting in the world of time and space. Aset, our Intuitional Wisdom, dissolves the trinity into a whole. The Asarian resurrection is visually represented in the iconography of the Caduceus with Spirit in the middle and the two Goddesses as the Serpents on either side.
I think the take home message in this lecture for me was the question: “Where does Aset get Her power from?” To me this defines why I was led to the Goddess so many years ago and the Kemetic Spiritual tradition. When I was a child there was a T.V. show about Isis where an ordinary woman had the power to turn into Aset by uttering the words: “O Mighty Isis.” A flash of light and she was transformed into the Goddess, able to fly through the air in her Egyptian cape and stelletto high heels, creating great feats of magic and defeating her foes. I was mesmerized, thinking how much I would love to have that kind of power.
Little did I know about “Sekhem rech,” and how Aset freed Her life force from being tied up in the world by releasing all of Her fetters. I was reminded that Aset lived as a human being, and as such had worldly desires that created fetters. Greater was Aset’s desire to free Herself from the worldly fetters. The message here is that when we tire of worldly desires we, too, can be “Sekhem rech” and free our life force from being tied to the world. This is true power, because then we become “Arti em Hekau” with the power to Resurrect Asar. As Sebai Maa illuminated in the lecture, Aset raises the Djed Pillar (Arat Sekhem) Life force energy to become Djedu (established in the Self) Dua Aset!
One other point that came to light for me in the lecture was the child burning in the fire of purification. We are like that child, yearning for immortality, but the distractions of the ego (the mother crying out) takes away our immortality. However, when the mother and father (King and Queen of Syria) come to their senses and recognize Aset, they return to Her the Djed Pillar of Asar and She Raises the Life Force (Serpent Power) and Resurrects Asar (the Soul). This is clearly for me a metaphor of recognizing Aset and Her power of Resurrection to awaken our dormant Life Force and become established in the Self.
Htp,
Shems Heryt
