BEGINING LESSONS FOR INITIATES OF THE TEMPLE

HOURS OF THE TUAT

FIRST HOUR: Ushemet Hatu Khefti Ra; “Crusher of the Forehead of the enemies of Ra”.

The place of the first hour is basically a antechamber or entrance way, in fact one translation calls it a hall. Which as we know leads to other rooms other places that is the function of a hall.

The Egyptians called this the Arrit

Upon his entrance Ra is called the night sun or the dead god

Budge terms this “AF” “flesh” and says it is represented by the head of a Ram surmounted by a solar disk. There is something about this description that bears remembering.

Other points for discussion:

Ram =?

Solar disk =?

Why is Af described as being represented by a Rams head surmounted by a solar disk?

In the day Ra travels in the Atet boat

At night along the “river” of the tuat in the Sektet boat

The Sektet is the same boat Ra rides in from noon to sunset

Points: Kephri is the morning sun

Ra is the noon sun

Horus is the evening sun

In the boat with the sun god we find Ap-uat, The Opener of the Way.

Sa

Heru-Hekenu

Nehes

Hu

The Double of Shu

Captain of the Boat

Lady of the Boat=The Goddess of the 1^st hour

Points:

Who is Ap-uat

Who is Sa

Who is Nehes

Who is Hu

What is the Double of Shu

Is Shu the captain of the boat?

Lady of the Hour? Who is the goddess of the 1^st hour?

Dwellers of the First Hour. Apes who open the doors of the Arrit and sing praises to the sun god. They pilot the boat through the hall

Point: The Apes or Baboons sing to the rising sun just as they do as dwellers of the 1^st hour is it their singing praises to the sun that cause the boat to move through the hall?

There also reside there souls of the dead waiting in the antechamber this intermediate place, hopefully to enter the boat and continue on their journey with Ra.

Point: Could these souls merely be waiting as Budge suggests because they could not afford the charms and ceremonies to allow them to continue on? Or does this suggest that the antechamber is a sort of Limbo or Purgatory where souls do penance till they can serve Ra?

Then there is this descriptive Text of the hour “This god entereth from the earth into the arrit of the horizon of the West and he must travel one hundred and twenty atru in this arrit before he arriveth at the gods of the Tuat.

Point: Does this correspond to areas in Egypt?

Net-Ra is the name of the 1^st Country of the Tuat, here it is stated Ra gives the fields to the Gods who are in his following and he begins to pass decrees and to give commands concerning things which are done in the Tuat by the gods of this country.

Point: Here we see that the hours are related to areas of Egypt or at least defined as countries.

We also see Ra passing decrees and giving commands. Osiris is the Ruler of this domain why then is it shown that Ra begins passing decrees and giving of lands and commands?