Josephine McCarthy

At a time when such madness, destruction and fire is around us, it can be overwhelming. Heat waves, vast fires, stupid leaders threatening each other, deep corruption, and violence seem to stalk every headline. At times like this, the magician must be still, an oasis of balance. It is a time when daily recitation that is done from truth and not habit can awaken the soul, a time where communion with the Divine can light an energetic lamp to guide those stumbling in the darkness.

There is a passage in Isiah, of which parts of it pre-date the Biblical writing, and are terms, concepts and recitations that draw directly from New Kingdom Egypt.

The passage draws in particular upon the New Kingdom Egyptian Book of the Gates, from the ninth hour.

I have taken out the religious dogmatic aspects of the passages, and left what are the fragments that are directly relevant, and made them into a recitation that can be uttered daily, if you are so inspired.

Fragments of Isiah 43  taken from the book of gates 9^th hour – the swimmer of the Nu

But this saith Gd that had created thee: Fear not, for I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine – (I know thy name). When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, since thou art precious in My sight, and honourable, and I have loved thee.

Fear not, for I am with thee, I will bring thy seed from the east, and harvest them in the west, I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not back.

All nations are gathered together, and the people are assembled; Let them bring their witness, that they may be Justified. Let them hear and say, it is Truth.

For those who are interested in Egyptian magic, the directional reference is the ancient Egyptian pattern of: east/birth/utterance of life, west/harvest/doors into death, north/ancestors/the underworld, and south/path ahead/future.

The waters refer to the Nu, where the adept swims towards the isle of fire that they cannot touch, but will also not burn them – it is the brightness of Divinity (Re) in the Underworld.

The reference to the name at the beginning, says, I created you, I know you. It is a refrain where Divinity ‘claims you’ as a creation, as a child. It is a refrain that is repeated over and over in the Egyptian texts.

And finally, when the world or parts of the world go mad, which happens with depressing frequency as humanity never learns, the key to living, navigating and flourishing in such times, is Truth, the power of Ma’at, balance. The adept becomes the fulcrum that holds the scales of Ma’at present in the world. The recitation in its original meaning speaks to the Noble One, the adept as they pass through the hours of the underworld in death. But the trials of the dead are mirrored in the trials of the living, and vice versa – they are one and the same.

So remember…..

Thou art precious in My sight, and honorable, and I have loved thee