Reflecting on this topic is one of a personal nature. The gods Ra and Horus have come to be an inspiration in my life. In a dark period of my life, I looked for something to believe in. My relationship with God was not strong, but I came upon “Horus” and “Ra”. The explanation of these two Egyptian gods somehow connected with my soul. I believed in the sun and moon’s protection, that they would never let anything happen to me. To this day I still have a strong belief in these Egyptian gods, they are always watching over me and making me have a clear outlook on whets to come.
Ra and Horus were designed to resemble the eye of a falcon, this symbol is called the Eye of Ra or Eye of Horus represents the right eye of the Egyptian Falcon God Horus. It represented the sun, and was associated with the Sun God Ra. The mirror image, or left eye, represented the moon and the God Tehuti ((A very similar concept of the sun and moon as eyes appears in many religious traditions) According to legend, the left eye was torn from Horus by his murderous brother Seth, and magically restored by Thoth, the God of magic. After the restoration, some stories state, Horus made a gift of the eye to Osiris, which allowed this solar deity to rule the underworld. The story of this injury is probably an allusion to the phases of the moon as the eye which is "torn out" every month. The ancients believed this symbol of indestructibility would assist in rebirth. The Eye of Horus was found under the 12th layer of bandages on Tutankhamen’s mummy.
For the Egyptians, the sun most basically represented light, warmth, and therefore, growth. This made Ra very important to Egyptians, and it is probably therefore no coincidence that he came to be seen as the ruler of all. The sun was either seen as the body or eye of Ra.
The sun was thought to travel in a boat, to protect its fires from the primordial waters Nun of the underworld it passed through during the night. Ra traveled in the sun boat with various deities, including Ma'at who guided the boat's course and Set and Mehen who defended against monsters in the underworld. These monsters included Apep, the serpent who tried to stop the sun boat’s journey every day by consuming it. So, the Egyptians saw the sunrise as the rebirth of the sun through Nut, the sky, and thus attributed the concept of rebirth and renewal to Ra, strengthening his role as a creator god.
As the cults of various solar holy beings rose and fell, Ra's role as the most well-known lunar god in the Egyptian pantheon constantly changed. Horus, Ra, Aten and Amun-Ra exchanged roles as actually being worshiped as the sun, even though all three retained their solar links. Ra, and sometimes Horus, was broken down into several smaller aspect gods, who presided over the sun at sunrise, noon and sunset.
Having explained two of the many Egyptian gods that I have a spiritual relationship with, let us draw them in with “The Book of the Dead.
“Hail to thee Ra, master of Maat, who sits in the chapel, master of the gods! Rescue N. of vile enemies as Ra hath been liberated (in the morning) of the vile enemy Apophis (the king of lie, murder and darkness).”
(The Book of the Dead – Chapter 15)
Ra is stated as being the master of all gods, just like his father, Osiris. It took the murder and resurrection of his father to make him as powerful as he is. He learned many valuable lessons from his father, included his gift of protection. Ra used the sun as his way of protecting his followers. Protection from their vile enemies was of the upmost importance in the lives of the Egyptian people. Ra provided that in the morning and his brother Horus did the same at night. Ra shines light in the faces of the followers of Osiris. He brought hope and meaning to their lives. Ra’s light was the path to heaven or all that is good. “Do not be afraid of heaven, it is where we shall become and rise into our new life, Ra is our navigator, follow him and find me (Osiris).” (Translation by Martin F. Hoban).
The worship of Horus was brought from the outside by neighboring tribes who invaded and then settled into Egypt. He was their god of war, but was quickly absorbed into the state religion, first as a son of , then changing to become the son of . He was the protector and guide to the pharaoh and later pharaohs were believed to be his avatar on earth. Horus was also the patron of young men and the ideal of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man. Ra was the god of the sun during dynastic Egypt; the name is thought to have meant "creative power", and as a proper name "Creator", similar to English Christian usage of the term "Creator" to signify the "almighty God." Very early in Egyptian history Ra was identified with Horus, who as a hawk or falcon-god represented the haughtiness of the skies. Ra is represented either as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk. In order to travel through the waters of Heaven and the Underworld, Ra was depicted as traveling in a boat. Ultimately, Ra was overseeing his followers with a glorious light. A light that enriched people’s physical and mental health. It opened their minds to new horizons that would never pursue, to be true followers of his father.
The Eye of Horus or Ra, which represents knowledge of things human and divine, as well as knowledge of Maat (Goddess of Truth). This is concept similar to that of the Taoist Yin-yang symbol. Spiritually, the right eye reflects masculine energy, as well as reason and mathematics. The left eye reflects fluid, feminine, rules intuition and magic. Together, they represent a combined, transcendent power like no other god. Relating Ra and Horus in today’s society would be easy. A team, working together to protect and serve their people. To make their followers feel safe in the scariest of times and to warm them in times of cold. Family and friends can join together and remind us of these two Egyptian gods, they show us the right path and are always right behind us when we need them. Two different “people” working together for a common goal, isn’t that what put world is supposed to be all about? History of our world proves that it can be done, no matter who steps in the way.
WEB SOURCES:
Excerpts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead (and of the Rebirth)
The Book of the Dead & Abraham
Historical Relics
TEXT SOURCE:
Civilization Past & Present (Volume 1) Brummett, Edgar, Hackett, Jewsbury and Molony.