The Opening Of The Mouth Ceremony Options

Was asking about this in another topic, would've thought that the 4 sons of Heru would be in I.Regardies Kemetian version of the LBRP but they're not... in fact I'm not sure what elemental value they have. Did practice the ritual a few times, found it powerful, prehaps inspiring (two diffrent things) but didn't keep it up enough to learn the words off by heart and flow in full as is needed and it starts in the 'wrong' place which annoyed me.

Here it is;

The Opening of the Mouth

The Opening of the Mouth derives its name from its use in the funerary liturgy. It was recited before the mummy as its mouth was forcibly opened so that the deceased would be given voice in the underworld. Its usefulness to the living is that it helps develop the power of Maa Kheru, or 'right speaking'. This is a power that is essential in the mastery of Heka, or practical magick.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Begin facing west, with the ritual dagger in hand.

Un re-a an Ptah, uau netu, uau netu, aru re-a an neter nut-a.
I arefm Djewhty, meh aper em heka, uau netu, uau netu, en Suti sau re-a.
Khesef-tu Tem uten-nef senef sai set.

Un re-a, apu re-a an Shu em nut-ef tui ent baat en pet enti ap-nef re en neteru am-es.
Nuk Sekhet! Hems-a her kes amt urt aat ent pet.
Nuk Sakhu! Urt her-ab baiu Annu.

Ar heka neb t'etet neb t'etu er-a sut, aha neteru er-sen paut neteru temtiu.

May Ptah give me voice, remove the wrappings! Remove the wrappings which the lesser gods have placed over my mouth.

Come unto me Djewhty, bearer of Heka, full of Heka, remove the wrappings! Remove the wrappings of Suti which fetter my mouth.

May Tem turn back those who would restrain me.

Give me voice! May my mouth be opened by Shu with that divine instrument of iron with which the gods were given voice.

I am Sekhet! I watch over the heaven of the west.

I am Sakhu! I watch over the souls of Annu.

May the gods and their children hear my voice, and resist those who would silence me.


Take the ritual dagger and trace a vertical line in the air to the west, in a smooth downward motion.

Qebhsennuf!

Turn to the south and trace a vertical line in the air.

Amset!

Turn to the east and trace a vertical line in the air.

Tuamutef!

Turn to the north, and trace another vertical line from top to bottom.

Hapi!

I am the flame which shines upon the Opener of Eternity!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Opening of the Mouth was traditionally used to begin every religious and magickal ceremony. Its practise was universal and continuous throughout Dynastic Egypt.

http://www.idolhands.com/egypt/heka/lbrp.html

What do you think? Is this a valid replacement for the LBRP?

Why aren't the 4 sons used in place of Hathoor etc etc? (minus Hapi)

HTP
Dk

Did practice the ritual a few times, found it powerful, prehaps inspiring (two diffrent things) but didn't keep it up enough to learn the words off by heart and flow in full as is needed and it starts in the 'wrong' place which annoyed me.

What do you think? Is this a valid replacement for the LBRP?

Why aren't the 4 sons used in place of Hathoor etc etc? (minus Hapi)

HTP
Dk

Very nice rendition of the Opening of the Mouth. I would only replace the ritual dagger with an adze.

I take it you are referring to its beginning in the West as "the wrong place'. Let me offer an explanation consistent with Egyptian cosmology. This ritual was performed as a means to grant the facilities of speech (or logos) unto the spirit of the deceased as he/she entered the duat and had to pronounce the various names of gods, demi-gods, and demons to ensure the eternal afterlife. The long list of names to be recited are described in the Book of the Dead. Here the West symbolizes the physical death from which the spirit departs into the netherworld. Like the sun's journey at night (as outlined in the book of the Am-Duat) the journey is from West (death of the sun) to East (rebirth of the sun), in the opposite direction of sun's path during the day. While the connotation with death implies a negative association , I suggest you look at it as a symbolic death and symbolic rebirth, as you move from West to East. Such an interpretation is in accordance with the traditional practices of initiation into occult and mystery schools...and given Egyptian cosmology represents the nightly triumph of Re over Apophis (i.e. order over chaos as exemplified by the rebirth of the sun after its death in the West) .

The four sons of Horus are used here because of their traditional funerary context. They are seen as the protectors of the organs of the deceased.

Lastly, I would have to say that this is not a replacement for the LBRP. It is a great ritual, but serves an entirely different purpose.

This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Feb 15 2007, 03:02 PM

Then can they be used in context with the LBRP as each one represents an organ which could represent an element?

Htp

Then can they be used in context with the LBRP as each one represents an organ which could represent an element?

Htp

In all honesty there is no definitive answer as to what you can or can not do.The quality and efficacy of your practice is the only judge.

I believe you can use the sons of Horus in place of the archangels in the LBRP.

In fact, I did this for a while with Imstei in the South, Hapi in the North, Duamutef in the East, and Kebehsenuf in the West. I could not find any elemental associations with these neters in the Egyptian texts, but I placed them in their corresponding quadrants according to the archaeological record. In several tombs they were often depicted on the corners of sarcophagi in their respective quadrants (though there were some inconsistencies in their placement and organ attributions, given the long history of Egyptian culture such differences throughout the centuries is to be expected).

For some reason this was really effective at first and then as time went on, it seemed to loose its charm and I reverted back to the archangels.

I believe the Golden Dawn places the Four sons of Horus in the intercardinal positions and gives them elemental attributions based on their organ correspondences. But don't quote me on this.

Since you are clearly eager to work with the Egyptian neter, my advice is to experiment until you find something that works for you. In the meantime, I would continue with the regular LBRP practice as this version will be the standard by which you measure the efficacy of any experimental versions.

Also, you may want to consider contacting the neters themselves and ask them where they have dominion. My brief experiences with the Egyptian pantheon was characterized by their leniency and ease to work with. I guess 3,000 years of religious syncretism resulting in the mixing and matching of names, powers, and responsibility makes for some pretty flexible deities.

Will ask the priests if there are elemental NTR correspondances.