Incantations

HYMN TO OSIRIS-
(from the stele of Amenemhat, superintendent of the cattle of Amon, son of Amonmesw and Nefertari; XVIII Dynasty, now in the Louvre Museum)- part II[Osiris Onnophris in His Sacred Barque resting on the hieroglyph for “Sky”, depicted with a row of stars, and supported by four Goddesses:
Osiris is represented enthroned, wearing the Atef Crown and holding the Ankh (the symbol of Life) in the left and the Uas-scepter of Power and Dominion in the right; He is flanked by Nephthys (at left) and Isis, both enthroned and offering the Ankh to Him; behind Isis is represented the Goddess Maat making adorations; behind Nephthys is represented Horus.
On the top, the sacred scarab representing Kheper-Ra (the God of the Morning Sun), winged, holding the Sun flanked by the Two Uraei, and resting on the Shen-ring (symbol of Eternity and of Eternal Protection) to which are attached two Uas-scepters both linked to four alterning Ankh signs an Uas-scepters and to two Heb-Sed signs (symbol of the Jubilee of the King).
The Winged scarab of Kheper-Ra is flanked by the Two Goddesses represented as two vultures (at left Uadjet, and at right Nekhbet) with outstretched wings as a sign of protection.
The Sacred Barque of Osiris is flanked at left by the jackal-headed Souls of Nekhen-Hierakonpolis, and at right by the Falcon-headed Souls of Pe-Buto (the Souls of Pe and Nekhen are the Ancestral Souls of the “Predynastic” Kings of Egypt),in the kneeling jubilation position.
From the Temple of Hathor at Iunet.]”The height of the sky and the stars are obedient unto Thee, and Thou makest to be opened the great gates of the sky.
Thou art the Lord to Whom praises are sung in the southern sky, Thou art He to Whom thanks are given in the northern sky.
The stars which never diminish are under the place of Thy face, and Thy seats are the stars which never rest.
Offerings appear before Thee by the command of Geb.
The Companies of the Gods ascribe praise unto Thee,
the Star-Gods of the Duat (one of the names of the NetherWorld) smell the earth before Thee,
the domains make bowings before Thee,
and the ends of the Earth make supplication to Thee when they see Thee.Those Who are among the Holy Ones are in terror of Thee, and the Two Lands, all of them, make acclamations to Thee when they meet Thy Majesty.
Thou art a shining Noble at the head of the Nobles,
permanent in Thy high rank,
stablished in Thy Sovereignty,
the Beneficent Power of the Company of the Gods.
Well-pleasing is Thy face,
and Thou art beloved by him that see Thee.
Thou settest the fear of Thee in all lands,
and because of their love for Thee mankind hold Thy name to be pre-eminent.
Every human being maketh offerings unto Thee,
and Thou art the Lord Who is commemorated in Heaven and upon Earth.
Manifold are the cries of acclamation to Thee in the Uag festival, and the Two Lands shout joyously to Thee with one accord.Thou art the Eldest,
the first of Thy brethren,
the Prince of the Company of the Gods,
and the Stablisher of Righteousness and Truth throughout the Two Lands.
Thou settest Thy son upon the Great Throne of Thy father Geb. Thou art the Beloved One of Thy mother Nut, Whose valour is most mighty when Thou overthrowest the Seba Fiend.
Thou hast slaughtered Thy enemy, and hast put the fear of Thee into Thy adversary.Thou art the bringer in of the remotest boundaries,
and art stable of heart, and Thy two feet are lifted up;
Thou art the Heir of Geb and of the Sovereignty of the Two Lands, and He (Geb) hath seen Thy splendid qualities,
and hath commanded Thee to guide the lands by Thy hand so long as times and seasons endure.Thou hast made this Earth with Thy hand,
the waters thereof,
the winds thereof,
the trees and herbs thereof,
the cattle thereof of every kind,
the birds thereof of every kind,
the fish thereof of every kind,
the creeping things thereof,
and the four-footed beasts thereof.
The land of the desert belongeth by right to the son of Nut,
and the Two Lands have contentment in making Thee to rise upon the Throne of Thy father like Ra.Thou rollest up into the Horizon,
Thou settest the light above the darkness,
Thou illuminest the Two Lands with the light from Thy two feathers,
Thou floodest the Two Lands like the Sun at the beginning of the dawn.
Thy White Crown pierceth the height of heaven saluting the stars, Thou art the guide of every God.
Thou art perfect in command and word.
Thou art the Favoured One of the Great Company of the Gods, and Thou art the beloved one of the Little Company of the Gods.”

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT MARY THE EGYPTIAN

Penitent wonderful, self-tormentor,

Mary hid herself from the face of men.
Oh yes, sinful me,
By passion, darkened.

Passions are beasts which eat at our heart,

In us as serpents, secretly they weave a nest.

Oh yes, sinful me,

By passion consumed!

In order to save sinners, You suffered O Christ,

Now, do not loathe impure me!

Hearken to the cry of Mary,

Of all, the most-sinful!

The Lord showed compassion, Mary He healed,

Her darkened soul, He whitened as snow.

Thanks be to You, O All-Good One,

Oh Lord, most dear!

An impure vessel You cleansed and,

With gold you gilded it,

Filled it to overflowing with Your grace –

That is true mercy,

To you O God, be glory!

And Mary became radiant with the Spirit

As an angel of God, by strength girded,

By Your power, O Christ

Mercy, Most pure!

What smells so in the awesome wilderness,

As beautiful incense in a chest of the temple?

That, Mary breathes –

With holiness, she exudes!

The House of Asterion (translated from the Spanish) by Jorge Luis Borges

And the queen gave birth to a son named Asterion.
Apollodorus, Library, III, I

I know they accuse me of arrogance, perhaps also of misanthropy, perhaps madness too. Such accusations (which I shall castigate in due course) are laughable. It is true that I do not leave my house, but it is also true that its doors (which are infinite* in number) are open day and night to man and animal alike. Anyone who wishes may enter. One will not find feminine extravagance here, nor gallant courtly ritual, just quiet and solitude. Here one will find a house like no other on the face of the Earth. (They who declare that in Egypt exists another similar are lying). Even my detractors admit that there is not a single piece of furniture in the house. Another ridiculous tale claims that I, Asterion, am a prisoner. Need I repeat that there are no closed doors? Should I add that there are no locks? Besides, I did one evening step out onto the street; if I returned home before nightfall, I did so because of the fear that the faces of the hoi polloi, faces discoloured and plain like an open hand, had induced in me. The sun had already set, but the helpless cry of a babe and the coarse supplications of the common herd signalled that I had been recognised. The people prayed, fled and fell prostrate; some climbed up to the stylobate of the temple of Axes, others gathered stones. Someone, I believe, hid himself under the sea. Not in vain was my mother a queen; I cannot mix with the common people, though my modesty does so desire it.

The fact is that I am unique. What a man can pass unto others does not interest me; like the philosopher, I think nothing is communicated by the art of writing. Annoying and trivial minutiae have no place in my spirit, a spirit which is receptive only to whatsoever is grand. Never have I retained the difference between one letter and another. A certain generous impatience has not consented that I should learn to read. Sometimes I deplore this, for the nights and days are long.

Naturally, I am not without amusement. Like a ram on the charge, I run through the galleries of stone until dizzily I tumble to the ground. I conceal myself in the shadows of a cistern or in the corner of a corridor and pretend that I am being searched for. There are rooftops from which I let myself fall until I bloody myself. At any time I can shut my eyes and pretend that I am asleep, breathing deeply. (Sometimes I really do sleep, sometimes the colour of the day has changed by the time I open my eyes). But of the games I play, the one I prefer is pretending there is another Asterion. I pretend that he has come to visit me and I show him around the house. With great reverence I tell him: Now we return to the previous intersection, or Now we head towards another courtyard, or I knew you would like this drain, or Now you will see a cistern that has filled with sand, or Now you will see how the cellar forks. Sometimes I err and we both laugh heartily.

Not only these games have I imagined; I have also meditated on the house. Each part of the house repeats many times, any particular place is another place. There is not one cistern, courtyard, drinking fountain, manger; there are fourteen (infinite) mangers, drinking fountains, courtyards, cisterns. The house is the size of the world; better said, it is the world. Nevertheless, by dint of exhausting all the dusty galleries of grey stone and the courtyards with their cisterns, I have reached the street and I have seen the temple of Axes and the sea. This I did not understand until a night vision revealed to me that there are also fourteen (infinite) seas and temples. Everything exists many times over, fourteen times, but there are two things in the world that seem to exist only once; above, the intricate Sun; below, Asterion. Perhaps I have created the stars and the Sun and the enormous house, but I do not remember anymore.

Nine men enter the house every nine years so that I may deliver them from all evil. I hear their footsteps or their voices in the depths of the galleries of stone and I run with joy in search of them. The ceremony lasts a few minutes. One after another, they fall to the ground without my having to bloody my hands. Where they fall, they remain, and the cadavers help to distinguish one gallery from another. I know not who they are, but I do know that one of them prophesied, at the moment of his death, that someday my redeemer would come. Since then, the solitude does not pain me because I know that my redeemer lives, and in the end he will rise above the dust. If I could hear all the rumblings of the world, I would detect the sound of his footsteps. Let it be that he take me to a place with fewer galleries and fewer doors.

I wonder: what will my redeemer be like? Will he be a bull or a man? Will he be perhaps a bull with the face of a man? Or will he be like me?

The morning Sun was reflected in the sword of bronze. No trace of blood remained.

“Would you believe it, Ariadne?” said Theseus. “The minotaur hardly put up a fight.”

—

* The original says fourteen, but there is ample reason to infer that in Asterion’s eyes, this adjectival numeral is no different to infinite.

A Musical Instrument

What was he doing, the great god Pan,
Down in the reeds by the river?
Spreading ruin and scattering ban,
Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a goat,
And breaking the golden lilies afloat
With the dragon-fly on the river.

He tore out a reed, the great god Pan,
From the deep cool bed of the river:
The limpid water turbidly ran,
And the broken lilies a-dying lay,
And the dragon-fly had fled away,
Ere he brought it out of the river.

High on the shore sat the great god Pan
While turbidly flowed the river;
And hacked and hewed as a great god can,
With his hard bleak steel at the patient reed,
Till there was not a sign of the leaf indeed
To prove it fresh from the river.

He cut it short, did the great god Pan,
(How tall it stood in the river!)
Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man,
Steadily from the outside ring,
And notched the poor dry empty thing
In holes, as he sat by the river.

‘This is the way,’ laughed the great god Pan
(Laughed while he sat by the river),
‘The only way, since gods began
To make sweet music, they could succeed.’
Then, dropping his mouth to a hole in the reed,
He blew in power by the river.

Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan!
Piercing sweet by the river!
Blinding sweet, O great god Pan!
The sun on the hill forgot to die,
And the lilies revived, and the dragon-fly
Came back to dream on the river.

Yet half a beast is the great god Pan,
To laugh as he sits by the river,
Making a poet out of a man:
The true gods sigh for the cost and pain, —
For the reed which grows nevermore again
As a reed with the reeds in the river.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Julian of Norwich:

All will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well.

Min, the Bull of His Mother

 

Chac Mool by Carlos Fuentes : link 

 

The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean– the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver, The House Light Beacon Press Boston, 1990.

 — with Anna Rodriguez.

Patience,

Compassion,

Grace ,

Namaste

The following is from my friend Rosa’s blog,link, I find it intensely beautiful her quoting a fellow clergyman:

“John Senette who preached a sermon I have never forgotten, about the fact that sometimes in life, we breathe the desert in so it feels like our lungs will fry and our being will wither and die–and that those are the invitations to go deeper still, until we find the springs of living water.”

A prayer to XIPETOTEC fragment mystical prayer to Xipetotec, the elemental God of spring that is also of merchants: prayer “night drinker, why do you ask?
Put on your costume, put on your robes of gold””Oh, my God, your water of precious stones has fallen;
the tall cypress; has been transformed into a QUETZAL
the serpent of fire has become QUETZAL serpent.”
“Left me free the fire snake.
Perhaps disappear, perhaps to disappear and me destroys me, tender corn plant.
Like a beautiful, green jewel in my heart;
but I’ll still see gold and rejoice if he has matured, if it was born to the leader of the war.”
“Oh, my God, get that at least bear fruit in abundance, some corn plants; (Translated by Bing)