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thekeep.org http://thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/thoth.html Thoth, God of the Moon, Magic and Writing by Caroline Seawright August 6, 2001 Updated: November 29, 2012 The wisest of the Egyptian gods was Thoth (Djhuty, Djehuty, Tehuty), the baboon and ibis god of the moon. Thoth was the god who overcame the curse of Ra, allowing Nut to give birth to her f ive children, with his skill at games. It was he who helped Isis work the ritual to bring Osiris back f rom the dead, and who drove the magical poison of Set f rom her son, Horus with the power of his magic. He was Horus' supporter during the young god's deadly battle with his uncle Set , helping Horus with his wisdom and magic. It was Thoth who brought Tef nut , who lef t Egypt f or Nubia in a sulk af ter an argument with her f ather, back to heaven to be reunited with Ra. A very ancient legend, set in the time when Ra lived on earth as King of Egypt, tells of how Tef nut became estranged f rom her f ather and f led into Nubia. The cause of the rif t between f ather and daughter is not known; however, once Tef nut reached Nubia, she transf ormed herself into a lioness and raged throughout the land emitting f lames f rom her eyes and nostrils, drinking blood and f eeding on f lesh, both animals and human. Re missed his Eye, Tef nut , and longed to see her again. He sent f or Shu, and for Thoth, the messenger of the gods, f amed f or his eloquence, and commanded them to go to Nubia and bring back his daughter. Shu and Thoth, having f irst disguised themselves as baboons, set off for Nubia. Thoth found Tef nut in Bugem, and tried to persuade her to return to Egypt. At f irst, she ref used: she had begun to enjoy herself hunting in the desert. Thoth persevered and painted f or her a picture of the gloom that had descended on Egypt because of her absence. He promised her that the game that she now had to hunt f or herself would be piled high on the altar that the Egyptians would build f or her in gratitude if only she would return to them. At last, Tef nut agreed to accompany Thoth and Shu back to Egypt, and the two baboons led her home amidst great rejoicing. Attended by a great throng of Nubian musicians, dancers and baboons, Tef nut made a triumphant progress f rom one city to another until f inally she was welcomed home by Re himself and restored to her rightf ul position as his Eye. -- Barbara Watterson, Gods of Ancient Egypt p. 34 When Ra retired f rom the earth, he appointed Thoth and told him of his desire to create a Light-soul in the Duat and in the Land of the Caves, and it was over this region that the sun god appointed Thoth to rule, ordering him to keep a register of those who were there, and to mete out just punishments to them. Thoth became the representation of Ra in the af terlif e, seen at the judgement of the dead in the 'Halls of the Double Ma'at '. The magical powers of Thoth were so great, that the Egyptians had tales of a ' Book of Thoth', which would allow a person who read the sacred book to become the most powerf ul magician in the world. The Book which "the god of wisdom wrote with his own hand" was, though, a deadly book that brought nothing but pain and tragedy to those that read it, despite f inding out about the "secrets of the gods themselves" and "all that is hidden in the stars".

Thoth, Ancient Egyptian God of the Moon and Writing

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The wisest of the Egyptian gods was Thoth (Djhuty, Djehuty, Tehuty), the baboon and ibis god of the moon. Thoth was the god who overcame the curse of Ra, allowing Nut to give birth to her five children, with his skill at games. It was he who helped Isis work the ritual to bring Osiris back from the dead, and who drove the magical poison of Set from her son, Horus with the power of his magic. He was Horus' supporter during the young god's deadly battle with his uncle Set, helping Horus with his wisdom and magic. It was Thoth who brought Tefnut, who left Egypt for Nubia in a sulk after an argument with her father, back to heaven to be reunited with Ra.

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Page 1: Thoth, Ancient Egyptian God of the Moon and Writing

t hekeep.o rg http://thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/thoth.html

Thoth, God of the Moon, Magic and Writing

by Caroline Seawright August 6, 2001Updated: November 29, 2012

The wisest of the Egyptian gods was Thoth (Djhuty, Djehuty, Tehuty), thebaboon and ibis god of the moon. Thoth was the god who overcame the curseof Ra, allowing Nut to give birth to her f ive children, with his skill at games. It washe who helped Isis work the ritual to bring Osiris back f rom the dead, and whodrove the magical poison of Set f rom her son, Horus with the power of hismagic. He was Horus' supporter during the young god's deadly battle with hisuncle Set, helping Horus with his wisdom and magic. It was Thoth who broughtTef nut, who lef t Egypt f or Nubia in a sulk af ter an argument with her f ather, backto heaven to be reunited with Ra.

A very ancient legend, set in the time when Ra lived on earth as King of Egypt,tells of how Tef nut became estranged f rom her f ather and f led into Nubia. Thecause of the rif t between f ather and daughter is not known; however, onceTef nut reached Nubia, she transf ormed herself into a lioness and ragedthroughout the land emitting f lames f rom her eyes and nostrils, drinking bloodand f eeding on f lesh, both animals and human. Re missed his Eye, Tef nut, andlonged to see her again. He sent f or Shu, and f or Thoth, the messenger of thegods, f amed f or his eloquence, and commanded them to go to Nubia and bringback his daughter. Shu and Thoth, having f irst disguised themselves as baboons,set of f f or Nubia.

Thoth f ound Tef nut in Bugem, and tried to persuade her to return to Egypt. At f irst, she ref used: she hadbegun to enjoy herself hunting in the desert. Thoth persevered and painted f or her a picture of the gloomthat had descended on Egypt because of her absence. He promised her that the game that she now had tohunt f or herself would be piled high on the altar that the Egyptians would build f or her in gratitude if onlyshe would return to them. At last, Tef nut agreed to accompany Thoth and Shu back to Egypt, and the twobaboons led her home amidst great rejoicing. Attended by a great throng of Nubian musicians, dancers andbaboons, Tef nut made a triumphant progress f rom one city to another until f inally she was welcomed homeby Re himself and restored to her rightf ul position as his Eye.

-- Barbara Watterson, Gods of Ancient Egypt p. 34

When Ra retired f rom the earth, he appointed Thoth and told him of his desire tocreate a Light-soul in the Duat and in the Land of the Caves, and it was over thisregion that the sun god appointed Thoth to rule, ordering him to keep a registerof those who were there, and to mete out just punishments to them. Thothbecame the representation of Ra in the af terlif e, seen at the judgement of thedead in the 'Halls of the Double Ma'at'.

The magical powers of Thoth were so great, that the Egyptians had tales of a 'Book of Thoth', whichwould allow a person who read the sacred book to become the most powerf ul magician in the world. TheBook which "the god of wisdom wrote with his own hand" was, though, a deadly book that brought nothingbut pain and tragedy to those that read it, despite f inding out about the "secrets of the gods themselves"and "all that is hidden in the stars".

Page 2: Thoth, Ancient Egyptian God of the Moon and Writing

"Praised be thee, Lord of the great gods,Possessor of the secrets that are in heaven and on earth,Good god of eternity of old,Who gave (us) the language and the scripture,Who has the houses pass by inheritance,Who f ounds the temples,Who sees that the gods remain within the limits of their competence,Each guild f ulf ils its obligations,The countries know their f rontiers,And the f ields their appurtenances."

-- Claas Jouco Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion , p. 1

He was one of the earlier Egyptian gods, thought to be scribe to the gods, who kept a great library ofscrolls, over which one of his wives, Seshat, the goddess of writ ing, was thought to be mistress. The godborn of this union was called Hornub. He was associated by the Egyptians with speech, literature, arts,learning. He, too, was a measurer and recorder of t ime, as was Seshat. Believed to be the author of thespells in The Book of the Dead and a much later work, the Book of Breathings, he was a helper (andpunisher) of the deceased as they try to enter the underworld. In this role, his wif e was Ma'at, thepersonif ication of order, who was weighed against the heart of the dead to see if they f ollowed ma'atduring their lif e. At Khmunu (Hermopolis) he was wed to a goddess of protection called Nehmauit(Nahmauit, Nehmetaway), 'She Who Uproots Evil', with whom he f athered the god Nef erhor.

Thoth was usually depicted as an ibis headed man or as a f ull ibis, or with thef ace of a dog-headed baboon and the body of a man or, again, as a f ull dog-headed baboon. The ibis, it is thought, had a crescent shaped beak, linking thebird to the moon. The dog-headed baboon, on the other hand, was a nightanimal that was seen by the Egyptians who would greet the sun with chatteringnoises each morning just as Thoth, the moon god, would greet Ra, the sun god,as he rose.

In keeping with his many attributes, he was depicted with a variety of symbols. Asa god of Egypt, he carried the ankh, the symbol of lif e, in one hand, and in theother he held a sceptre, the symbol of power. In The Book of the Dead, he was shown holding a writingpalette and reed pen to record the deeds of the dead. As voice of the sun-god Ra, he carried the Wedjat(Eye of Horus or Ra) the symbol of Ra's ubiquitous power. Thoth was variously depicted wearing acrescent moon on his headdress, or wearing the atef crown, or sometimes, the crown of Upper and LowerEgypt.

-- Fiona Ingram, Edfu

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Originally, Thoth was a god of creation, but was later thought to be the one whocivilized men, teaching them civic and religious practices, writ ing, medicine, musicand magic. It was Thoth who was thought to have taught men the mode andpronunciation of his writ ing - prayers and magic spells could f ail if not intonedcorrectly - and so he was the master of magic. He took on many of the roles ofSeshat, until she became a dual, f emale version of Thoth.

The god of learning was also reputed to have been a god of measuring thepassage of t ime, and thus the god of the Egyptian calendar. He was also thoughtto be the god of the f irst month of the Egyptian calendar, known as Thuthi byGreek times. It is interesting to note that although he is related to the solarcalendar in myth (where he won f ive extra days a year f rom Khonsu, the moongod), but that as a moon god himself , he was very probably closely related toEgypt's original lunar calendar:

...Researchers of the ancient Egyptian calendar agree that the solar calendar of360 + 5 days was not the f irst prehistoric calendar of that land. This 'civil' orsecular calendar was introduced only af ter the start of dynastic rule in Egypt, i.e.,af ter 3100 BC; according to Richard A. Parker (The Calendars of the AncientEgyptians) it took place circa 2800 BC 'probably f or administrative and f iscalpurposes'. This civil calendar supplanted, or perhaps supplemented at f irst, the 'sacred' calendar of old. Inthe words of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 'the ancient Egyptians originally employed a calendar based onthe Moon'. According to R. A. Parker (Ancient Egyptian Astronomy) that earlier calendar was, 'like that of allancient peoples', a calendar of twelve lunar months plus a thirteenth intercalary month that kept theseasons in place.

-- Zecharia Sitchin, When Time Began, p. 201

Thoth's centre of worshiped was at Khmunu (Hermopolis) in Upper Egypt, wherehe was the creator god, in Ibis f orm, who laid the World Egg. The sound of hissong was thought to have created f our f rog gods and snake goddesses whocontinued Thoth's song, helping the sun journey across the sky. He was alsovenerated at at Ba'h (El-Baqliya) in the Delta. An archaic temple (c. 3,000 BC) wasdiscovered at the west bank of the Nile at Ipet-Resyt (Luxor), known as ThothHill, however it is believed that the imagery of Thoth f ound at the site actuallyrelates to the 11th Dynasty temple built on the hill by pharaoh SankhkareMentuhotep.

He was the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth', the 'Reckonerof Times and of Seasons', the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth'. He was 'Hewho Balances', the 'God of the Equilibrium' and 'Master of the Balance'. 'The Lord of the Divine Body','Scribe of the Company of the Gods', the 'Voice of Ra', the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch ofKnowledge, Both Human and Divine', he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault '. Thothwas not just a scribe and f riend to the gods, but central to order - ma'at - both in Egypt and in the Duat. Hewas 'He who Reckons the Heavens, the Counter of the Stars and the Measurer of the Earth'. He was mostcertainly a major god to the ancient Egyptian peoples.

© Caroline 'Kunoichi' Seawright 2001 - present