“This is a journey of knowledge. Speed towards this knowledge…”
Hermetic Wisdom[i]
“If anyone wishes to apply himself to the various branches of divine knowledge,
or to the examination of metaphysics, he will find that the whole world
owes this kind of learning to Egypt.”
Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman Historian[ii]
This book has taken me seven years to write. It is a book that was created from the Ancient Egyptian Wisdom that I have received in the course of my training. It contains elements of Hermeticism, Qi Gong, Alchemy, Shamanism, Yoga, archaeological fieldwork done at ancient sites and the study of ancient texts. This is a book developed from personal experience. I have written it with the hope that you too will decide to experience the wonders of the universe for yourself. The current truths that are so greatly defended by archaeologists, historians, scientists and religious organizations are now open to question. The answers that are coming back are that the current truths are not truths at all.
The truth was known to the ancient priests of the Egyptian mystery temples. The English word priest is not really the best to use, as in Egypt these men and women were far more than the meaning the word has in our language. In Egypt a high priest was a teacher, healer, shaman, astronomer, mathematician, seer, architect, judge, musician and mystic- among other things. This book will help the reader to enter the “House of Light” that was attached to the mystery temples. Modern authors mostly focus on the offshoots of this system, which spread to the rest of the world, especially Greece. It was these Greek schools, along with the Hermetica that inspired the Renaissance and Christianity. Yet few understand that the source of all the modern world’s wisdom is Egypt.
Each of the chapters in this book is a steppingstone to unlock key symbolic information prevalent in the Egyptian mysteries. Since this wisdom existed all over the world, it will be explored in more locations than just Egypt. Egypt was the center of the earth circle where this wisdom was dispersed and became the inspiration for other wisdom systems such as Hindu, Taoist, Maya or Greek. These cultures may express the wisdom in a way that is easier to understand for our modern “Western Mind” than did the Egyptians. To exclude one religion or philosophy in favour of another will always lead to ignorance of the truth. Only through acceptance can we truly find peace, harmony and Oneness.
This book will unlock some of the hidden symbols that the ancient masters “created” in order to pass on the wisdom of truth. By understanding some of the hows and whys, it will provide you with the opportunity to study the concepts in more depth. Once understood, the Hermetic Wisdom can be found in all ancient religious texts from the Bhagavad-Gita to the New Testament, and in most any ancient site in the world.
“We will not seek to follow in the footsteps of masters of old,
we will seek what they sought.”
Matsuo-Basho[iii]
Having a point of view plagues people in the modern world because this point of view is not really the truth. Rather it is a conglomerate of beliefs, opinions and ideas that have been forced upon us by the rest of the world. It started with our parents and teachers, then from our friends, and finally from books, TV and everyone else we have met. When a majority of people share the same point of view it becomes a “great truth” and no other points of view are considered. This includes not only what clothes we should wear but to what our beliefs of the ancient world should be. Just because everyone else believes something does not make it the truth. People have come to believe that we are inferior and weak, thus we require others to make our decisions for us. The first thing that I challenge all of my readers to do is to think. It is easy to just follow along with the crowd, yet where does that lead you? The slaughterhouse if you are a cow! Most humans have allowed themselves to become ordinary, when actually we were created to be magical and unique. As Gandhi said, “even in a minority of one, the truth is still the truth.” Historians have now found that Washington’s winter at Valley Forge was not that difficult, he just lied to Congress to get more money for the army. The pyramid fields at Giza have been shown not to be tombs, but magnificent places of realization. Great historical sites have been found in the past fifty years that would cause the entire history of humans on the planet to be overturned. Yet such things are either ridiculed or covered up to keep the present “truths.” None finds its way into school texts. Thankfully, many people are waking up to the fact that just because a book or scholar tells them something, they do not have to believe it. They are discovering real freedom.
Few today would dare say that the people of the ancient past had more wisdom and knowledge than we do today. Even though they could build pyramids or raise 400-ton blocks of stone (things impossible today) they are still considered inferior to us. The problem is that we have been taught that humans have progressed. Each year humans become more “civilized.” The proof is the technological inventions that “we” have. We are more advanced than people in the 14th century because we have washing machines, cars, cd players and telephones. We also have nuclear weapons, genetic food, pollution, and unclean water but no one mentions these to show “our” evolution. Our modern belief is that civilization in the past is rooted in self-importance and arrogance (look how good I am compared to those idiots from the past). Those who do claim great ancient wisdom usually look for proof from technology in the past. Whether an ancient civilization has light bulbs, magnifying glasses or even airplanes is not really a sign of advancement. It is only a sign to those who follow the point of view that technology is the sign of evolved humanity. A truly advanced society may have invented hairspray, but realized its offshoots would damage the ozone layer. They could have mass produced goods, but realized it would have only created a society that took people away from the spirit. Instead of finding new ways to kill people, they may have tried to find more ways to love people. If a culture did not need eyeglasses because they could heal any eye problems are they more or less advanced because glasses are not discovered at their sites?
The ancient world was a world of harmony with the earth, realizing that she is our mother and without her we would all die. There was no reason to invent anything, no mater how helpful to humans, if it caused damage to the plants, animals, water or the air. We in our so-called advancement have been able to invent technological conveniences, but at the price of the co-existence of the planet. What good is a car or oven or TV if there is no fresh water to drink? A dead population will provide a very low Nielson rating! That being said, I can say that the ancients did have technology, but they had something even better, which is wisdom. This wisdom was the understanding of the secrets of Creation, and of the illusion of this reality. It was a way of learning that how to live and love was more important than possessions and self-importance. Recently many are beginning to believe that perhaps the ancients did live in a better way, and that the past is not just a benchmark to measure how great we are now but perhaps the very way that we need to return. By doing so each one of us could have the power to gain the knowledge of exactly who we are, why we are hear, what life really is, and how to obtain the peace and beauty that is our true destiny.
Everything the Egyptians did was part of a whole. Nothing should be viewed separately, the opposite of the world today. They understood that everything was in some way reflective of Creation. They had little need to write books about what they thought about Creation or the universe. Every piece of artwork, every temple, every hieroglyph is designed to offer instant information about the whole. Everything from the system of measure, to the way the myths were organized all had grand purpose. They were the originators of what became the Platonic idea of body, mind, and spirit acting a whole. They saw everything in this way. They understood that all of our cells make up a whole called our body. If a group of cells are sick, we as a whole are sick. Science today teaches us all this, but that is where science stops. Our world sees only how things are connected to us, not how we are connected to the rest.
We are not taught that all humans are a part of humanity (as each cell is a part of us), humanity part of the earth, earth part of the solar system, solar system part of the galaxy etc. Thus the ancients took the time to understand things on a grander scale. How would each individual’s actions affect humanity, earth and the solar system? Few think that their seemingly insignificant actions could affect the entire galaxy. But they can. Your anklebone has a key function for your whole being, if it didn’t work properly or is injured, you can’t walk. Yet how many wonder what the earth’s function is for our solar system. If the earth does not function right, the solar system will get sick. If all humanity is not doing its true function, the earth will be sick. We don’t ask our anklebone to smell, but few ponder what the human role is to maintaining the harmony of the whole. That is what the priests of Egypt undertook. Understanding the whole, and everything’s place in it, then to teach it to the rest of the world. We as humans have a purpose on earth, and for a few thousand years we have not been fulfilling our duty. Many of the illnesses that modern humans are experiencing is a direct correlation to the fact that we are causing the universe to be out of balance. Yet until one leans to still their mind in meditation and go beyond time and space, this will be hard to understand. As more and more people gain wisdom and begin to transform through truth and living from the heart (not just talking about it), human existence can also transform. This is what the Ancient Egyptian priesthood was teaching, the transformation of all of human society one individual at a time.
The best way to learn and grow is through personal experience. Books and texts are only information understood by the conscious mind. It must be lived to become part of the heart, the way to inner knowing. Personal exercises must be the key to any true mystical teaching. Please do not take my words as the all truth. Read with an inquiring mind, look up my sources, and ask questions. Let personal experience be your proof. Try to put you preconceived ideas aside while you read and see where you are led. Let my words be the facilitation to inspiring your inner knowing.
This is a special time. Ancient wisdom texts like the Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad-Gita, or New Testament are available in virtually every language in the world. Just one hundred years ago this was not the case. As such no one really looked to connect ancient religious teachings to what was found in Egyptian tombs. The heart of any mystical path was to help the initiate combine in union with the Creator Spirit and find that the Creator is really just ourslef. Only by understanding and living what the Egyptians were attempting to teach can someone today have a chance to understand Egyptian architecture, art, thought or writing. They show that there is no real need for churches or places of worship, because you are all that is truly needed. You have everything available to reach God, and the place you now find yourself is as good as any other to worship. You need only be taught how to use the tools you were given. Modern religions today have changed this idea, now wanting to teach you how to connect with God yourself, but to come to a priest or rabbi who will do it for you on your behalf. Why ask, and pay money to someone else to talk to God for you when you can be taught how to do it yourself?
The last chapter is on the upcoming world age. I have written it as a warning to all of my readers. Great changes are coming, and those changes will be affected and influenced by the way each one of us is living our lives. I write it as a call to action that the changes are not that far away. Work on yourself must begin immediately. The ancient traditions and knowledge have become available to the average person in a depth unknown in modern human history. I urge you to take full advantage of it. Learning the Ancient Egyptian Wisdom will help to unlock an entirely new world for each and every one of you who follow the path. There is no one right path, but several, however they are interconnected and similar. I can only hope that this book will be a small tool to help you on your quest to personally learn and experience the magnificent ancient wisdom that I share with you.
I can admit that this will not be an easy book to read, for it was not written as a beginner’s book to Egypt. There are plenty of those available. This book was written to take the reader beyond the initial information, which means it will explore concepts not simply display them. Two similar books, Serpent in the Sky and Hermes Unveiled contains mounds of wisdom that is often missed on the first read. Yet if you take it as a challenge and study what is discussed further, a year later you can return to re-read the books and find all sorts of things missed the first time.
So I offer this work as a challenge to my readers who search for truth and wisdom. I have purposely written it in a way to force the reader to do some work on themselves and do further research so that a second or third reading will take you to a deeper place of what I am displaying. Don’t be discouraged, I have books on my shelf that are due for a tenth reading, and if the book was written with wisdom I find something new every time as long as I have grown since the last reading.
Remember the wisdom is not out there, or even in this book. The wisdom is within you. Let this book be a method of self-discovery to unlock the secrets of the universe which lie inside you, unused and forgotten. Some will want to travel on the path farther than others. It is all about the effort you put in, and the way you put the teachings into practice in your life. This book will provide the background on Egyptian mythology and religion that will help you to unlock its hidden Hermetic truths. Eventually with enough tools in place, no one will be needed to explain the truth; you will be able to find it internally and live it.
“Words (books) lead us to the doorway of truth,
but only by contemplating their meaning can we pass through.”
Hermetic Wisdom[iv]
Good luck, and blessings all around.
Howdie Mickoski
January 2005, Alberta Canada