Four Sons of Horus Options

Has anyone here used the four sons of Horus (Egyptian funerary deities) in ritual to represent the cardinal points? I am a bit amazed as to how many different correspondences to directions or elements can determined.

In the classical Egyptian we have the following:

Ahephi = North

Ameshet = South

Tmoumathph = East

Kabehsnuf = West

Not counting the golden dawn attributions (which seem to me inaccurate due to incorrect assignment of organs) , I have come across several other methods during my research.

I find the most success when using the historical system in my practice. I am curious as to the experiences of others using these deities. If you use another system of correspondences what was the basis of your choice to do so?

Greetings Joseph,

In terms of Egyptian texts, none state the cardinal directions of the 4 sons of Horus. In the Papyrus of Ani (Book of the Dead), the Four sons are said to reside near the Great Thigh, which is the constellation of the Big Dipper, thus placing them all in the north.

Their attribution to directionality comes from their depiction on the sides of sarcophagi and the distribution of canopic jars (bearing their heads) in funerary context.

In terms of the inter-cardinal directions, there are instances when Anubis and Wepwawet are described as rulers of the path of the sun during summer and winter solstice respectively (I'll find the exact text for you, but I know this is outlined in Budge). This places Anubis in the northeast/northwest, and Wepwawet in the southeast/southwest. This cosmology is probably more akin to the Babylonian division of the sky where Enki and Enlil are responsible for entire paths (Northeast to Northwest and Southeast to Southwest) rather than specific inter-cardinal points.

Also, the attribution to the Elements is a Golden Dawn addition and not explicitly stated in any Egyptian text.

This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Jan 1 2007, 04:11 PM