One of the best-known magickal operations of ancient Egypt was mummification. Although this process has been well known for centuries, few have understood its magickal nature.
Mummification required about seventy days. During this time, the corpse was emptied of all corruptible materials and packed to desiccate in natron, a mixture of bicarbonates that would leach all moisture from the flesh. The heart and sometimes the kidney were left inside of the body cavity. The lungs, liver, stomach and intestines were each preserved separately and placed in special jars which were misnamed “canopic jars” by early Egyptologists. These four jars were each under the protection of one of the four sons of Horus: Amset, Duametef, Qebsenef, and Hapi. Their lids were usually shaped like the head of the deceased, but they were later shaped to resemble the head of the god that protected that specific part. Speeches from the Pert Em Hru were inscribed upon them. The correspondence of the body part to the protective god is as follows:
Amset was the guardian of the liver. Hapi was the guardian of the lungs. Duametef was of the stomach, and Qebsenef was the guardian of the intestines.
When the corpse was dry, it was removed from the natron, washed, oiled, and wrapped in linen bandages. Wealthy people were usually fitted with a funerary mask, which depicted an image of the face of the deceased. The mask of King Tutakhamen, for example, was made of solid gold, and fit with precious jewels. Often various magickal amulets, such as the Amulet of Isis, were included in the linen wrappings for protection.
The mummification process was originally a magickal operation. It was later extended to a religious rite to be practised by the priesthood, but this was merely an exoteric form. It was practised by both, White and Black magicians, but for different reasons. In the normal case of a dead human, the body decays into its respective particles. The physical body decays into physical particles, the “dust” of the Earth. The astral body survives the physical death for some time, until the “second death” sets in, and then the astral body decays into astral particles. Similarly for the mental body. The spirit rests for a time, and then takes on new mental and astral bodies before its rebirth on Earth as a new physical being. This process normally involves the disruption of conscious identity. We always tend to think it terms of our physical body. When thee physical body dies, we must assume a new identity in our astral bodies (as we do in dreams). When the astral body dies, we must assume a new identity in the mental body, and so on. Each process involves a shift in the sense of identity. Unless one has practised these shifts and has become familiar with them, the sense of identity will become disrupted. The net result is a swoon into unconsciousness and a loss of memory of the past life. Nature is kind, She allows us to forget about the past and begin anew with a fresh body and a new life.
The Eastern process of cremation is designed to hasten the process of natural decay. As we grow from conception to death, we are constantly adding new particles to our bodies. Science tells us that approximately every seven years, every cell in our body will have been reborn. Death is simply the reverse; it is the return of these particles back to the physical environment. Cremation is therefore a way to help Nature in Her work. Mummification, the opposite of cremation, is designed to thwart the natural process of decay.
Immortality in the flesh is one of the aims of the Black magician. The desire to preserve the human ego, the conscious human personality, goes against the natural flow of things. Because it is egotistical, it is called Black Magick. In occultism, the notions of good and evil are considered to be relative. Black Magick, rather than being something evil or bad, is defined as any form of Magick that seeks to gratify or sustain the ego. White Magick is defined as any form of Magick that is altruistic and unselfish. The methods and goals of White and Black Magick are sometimes the same, but the motive always betrays the difference.
