The Poppy Garden

I recently found a webpage that provoked me to re-start my sacred animals theme. It's called "Of Animals, Gods, and Men: Working With Egyptian Deities," which despite having a "no stealing" warning at the bottom, can be found in several places on the net, in its entirety. By "working with" we of course mean listing all the animals that commonly appear in Egyptian iconography, and then rattling off semi-factual information about the netjeru associated with them, and suggestions of what they can do for you. For example, "Hawk deities aid clarity of vision of purpose, giving the insight and power to overcome obstacles." (More about actual "hawk" deity symbolism below...)

Because the Egyptians worshiped animals who happened to also be gods. Or as the site puts it:

What is up with Wesir and Aset displaying lycanthropy? Lycanthropy is the magical ability to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf. The Online Etymology Dictionary says the word literally means: "Lykos is Greek for "wolf," anthropos for "man." So where the does one get Egyptian deity werewolves? Supposedly "Egyptologists" say that Wesir could change into a wolf, never mind I have never seen this in an Egyptological work I've read, save for references to His merging with Khentyimentiu, who is a canid god that is usually described as having a jackal form. His more well-known animal forms, such as the bull, get no mention. Aset turns into a kite, seen too the right. This is not lycanthropy per se. I have a theory as to why lycanthropy and wolves get so much press, though. Several friends of mine in the Recon community have noticed that certain animals that are chic in NeoPagan cosmology seem to be put on a pedestal when speaking of other cultures, regardless of whether or not they were actually placed on such a pedestal in their respective cultures. The fact is, wolves simply weren't a big deal to the Egyptians, despite there being a subspecies of Arabian wolf native to Egypt.

So let's fight cross cultural assumptions with facts, eh? Eric Hornung put forth a theory that the predynastic Egyptians depicted gods in animal form, then human form later. This is not, however the same as worshipping animals, a common misconception. Rather, it is theorized that wild animals were seen as manifestations of the gods, and this belief seems to have been carried on in some form or another throughout Egyptian history.

We have already covered jackals and bulls, let's go to falcons. Specifically, the peregrine falcon, seen to the right. Granted, there are 11 types of falcon found in Egypt, but most of my sources say the peregrine (or the lanner, which is to the left) is probably the falcon of Horus cult fame. The peregrine is the fastest of birds, reaching a speed of 200 mph in a dive. In Egypt, they were seen as sky and solar birds. Images of falcons appear very early in art, as this example of late dynastic (possible) royal names shows. Some are known to be dimly remembered predynastic kings (try and guess which one belongs to king Double Falcon,) and some are theorized as either place names or kings' names. Problem is, at such an early period, we simply don't know for sure. These are serekhs, which in the later true historical period were how kings' names were written before chartouches. The serekh is a king's name written inside a palace doorway, surmounted by a falcon, later identified as Horus. The two deviations from this pattern are that the serekh of Sekhemib (Powerful Heart) is topped by Set, and the serekh of Khasekemwy (the Two Powers Appear) has Horus and Set together. In late myth, the rulers of Upper Egypt are called the "Followers of Horus."

Though Horus (all of them) are far from the only falcon-associated gods. Re, Montu, (a war god), Nemty, (ferryman of the gods), Sokar (an underworld god depicted as a mummified falcon), and even early depictions of the Aten are depicted in falcon form. The Egyptians also believed that falcons, as with other animals, spoke a language that humans could not understand, but the gods could. It's always fun to read a university published book which talks about ancient references to "Falconic".

The predynastic capital of the south, Nekhen, was called by the Greeks Hierakonpolis, or City of the Hawk. It is here that the Narmer Palette was found, and here that the cult of Horus the Elder had its home. Here also is the earliest known temple in Egypt, which seems to have been dedicated to a falcon deity, and dates to 3400 b.c.e. It is thought to be the original Great Shrine of Upper Egypt, called Per Wer, "The Great House". It's reconstruction is fascinating, because it shows the original scheme of Egyptian shrines, a design duplicated throughout Egyptian history:

Nekhen has a few other Horus cult related "firsts":

But why the association? One proposed etymology for Horus's name is "Distant one". not only is this because falcons soar very high in the sky, but also because, the speckled wings of the falcon were seen as representing the starry sky, the sweeping wings thought to produce winds. Horus, Re, and other solar gods are often portrayed as falcon headed, and the Eye of Horus is interpreted as a peregrine's eye with characteristic falcon markings. As a sky falcon, Heru-Ur (Horus the Elder) is described as having one eye as the sun and one eye as the moon.

Falcons are also efficient hunters, the most prized of falconers, and I suspect this had something to do with the association with often warlike royal deities, especially when one considers that the hieroglyphic sign bin, "bad, small, pathetic" is a small bird. This is just my theory mind you . I would be interested if someone with real Egyptological experience under their belt could verify. Heru has always held an appeal to me personally, the first time was in high school, and I became very attracted to Him in His role as His father's avenger. To me He represents law, coming of age, and taking one's rightful place. Now He has a place on my altar, holding a turquoise and a lapis, both celestial-associated stones. And I have always been awestruck looking up at the sky, day or night, and envisioning myself under the gaze of a great celestial falcon.

Labels: sacredanimals