time for discussion

Chaos is space and matter without the addition of time. Time is the great organizer and motivator of creation - in essence the "big bang." Stability is linear and growth is cyclical. To further clarify, it is the concept of time motivated by cyclical movement that is the spice which drives creation. Interestingly, my thoughts are independent of space, have no physical properties, but do occur in time. Will I still think in an existence that is devoid of cyclical time? Perhaps time is an anchor for my thoughts but once freed of their chains, my thoughts become omniscient. The visionary experience, especially with ayahuasca, seems to take us out of this dependence on time, in addition to giving us the perception that the onward marching of time can be transgressed.

Ayahuasca vision painted by Pablo Amaringo

Ayahuasca can take our conscious essence back in time and project us forward into the future. If all physical existence projects outwards from the big bang, then that is the one original source; so, in sum, we are all one in physicality. What causes the division and separation is time. Time separates all in the material realm by distance and also, if you think about it, chronologically. This concept of time and separation is encoded in the ancient Egyptian story of Osiris and his murder at the hands of his brother Set.

Osiris

The death of Osiris is described as being perpetrated by Set and his 72 co-conspirators. The 72 are representing the known visible extra-zodiacal constellations, called paranatellons, of the nighttime sky which rise and set simultaneously with the zodiacal constellations. Their movement through the heavens is representative of this moving time principle.

Paranatellonta

Time in the material realm is created by this ongoing celestial dance. The metaphor of the death of Osiris, Osiris being the soul, is telling us that the soul suffers his death at the hands of time. Osiris is trapped in time at the hands of a diabolical magician. In the ancient Egyptian literature, we do find Set associated with the hieroglyph for separation.

In the book "Seth, God of Confusion" by Herman te Velde, he explains the idea of Set as a separator further:

In my opinion

as a term for Seth should not be only connected with castration or the divine tribunal, but should be assigned a wider meaning; as a verb wḏ'

means to "separate" and Seth as

is the separated god. Seth is an anti-social god, cut off from the community of the gods…

Seth, God of Confusion, H. te Velde, pages 31-32.

…It is this quality, I  think, which was indicated when the Egyptians replaced the hieroglyph of the Seth animal by the

hieroglyph. This way of writing the word afterwards fell into disuse, but the idea that Seth is the god set apart, or the god who separates, was preserved.
Seth, God of Confusion, H. te Velde, page 32.

From the myth of Osiris, we also know it is possible to resurrect the soul through the help of the Goddess, who represents love, wisdom, and (re)birth. Isis sets out to find the body of Osiris, reconstitute him, then literally and figuratively remember him. After making Osiris hale, she copulates with him in order to engender an heir.

Isis as a kite copulating with the remembered Osiris

The son from this posthumous union, Horus, forges ahead on the journey of the soul and continues the legacy of the father Osiris. Horus is attacked by Set, who is once again intent upon killing the soul. Eventually, with the help of the Goddesses, Horus grows into manhood and sets out to avenge the death of his father and subdue the mighty power of Set. Horus takes Hathor as his goddess wife and through this union is produced a child called Ihy, who provides the power needed by the soul to transcend the physical plane.

Feast of the Beautiful Meeting at Edfu - The union of Horus and Hathor

Once the journey is completed, the principle of the eternal return and unchanging master of time gains power and takes hold over the cyclical conception of time. The ancient Egyptians represented this principle through the djed pillar which when raised, signified the resurrection and return of the power of Osiris.

Pharaoh Seti I raises the Djed pillar before Isis at Abydos

The djed pillar is representing a time scale which is in a sense linear, though a better choice of words would probably be something like stability. The ancient Egyptians called this concept of time djet, which is the opposite of the concept of cyclical time the Egyptians called neheh.

Neheh and Djet time represented at the temple of Hathor in Denderah

The celestial boat of Re encircles the sky to continue the idea of time being generated by movement, and not so coincidentally, Re enlists the services of Set, who stands at the prow of the celestial boat ready to fight all who dare to halt this procession. The serpent Apophis is the great danger representing inertia, who is intent upon swallowing this barque of Re's, and returning all to chaos. 

VII: A. Piankoff, N. Rambova, Mythological papyri, New York, 1957, Plates volume, pl. 2.

21st Dynasty Book of the Dead, Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Re symbolizes the creation and path of cyclical time, but it is the strength and power of Set who is the force that propels and sustains the journey. Ultimately, the goal of the soul is to transfigure into an incorruptible form who no longer incarnates cyclically into matter as he becomes a pure and shining Akh not in need of further cleansing in the waters of incarnation. Armed with this knowledge, it can be seen that the ancient Egyptian process of mummification, and its association with Osiris, is clearly illustrating this metaphysical concept. The mummy is representing the incorruptible which not even death, the separation caused by Set, can lay waste to.

The mummified Osiris

Time is not all we suppose it to be.