The Ancient Egyptian Metaphysical Architecture

by Moustafa Gadalla

  In this light, the universe is basically a hierarchy of energies at different orders of density. Our senses have some access to the densest form of energy, which is matter. The hierarchy of energies is interrelated, and each level is sustained by the level below it. This hierarchy of energies is set neatly into a vast matrix of deeply interfaced natural laws. It is both physical and metaphysical.

  The faster form of energies—these invisible energies in the universe—are called spirits, by many. Spirits/energies are organized at different orders of densities which relate to the different speeds of molecules. These faster (invisible) energies inhabit certain areas, or are associated with particular natural phenomena. Spirits (energies) exist in family-type groups (they are related to each other).

  Energies may occupy, at will, a more condensed energy (matter) such as human, animal, plant, or any form. The spirit animates the human body at birth and leaves it at death. Sometimes more than one energy spirit enters a body. We often hear of a person ‘not feeling himself/herself’, or who is ‘temporarily insane’, ‘possessed’, ‘beside oneself’, or who has multiple personalities. The energies (spirits) have an effect on all of us, to one degree or another.

  Since the created universe is orderly, its energy matrix is likewise a well-oiled machine with nine interpenetrating and interacting realms.

  Ancient and Baladi Egyptians believe that the universal energy matrix consists of the unity inter-penetrating and interactive nine realms, which are commonly classified as seven heavens (metaphysical realms) and two Earths (physical realms). The number 8 is our physical (earthly) realm. The last realm—number 9—is where our complimentary opposite exists. [For more detailed information about this subject, read Egyptian Cosmology: the Animated Universe, by same author.]

  2.2 The Two Heavenly Courts

  The Egyptians distinguished two broad distinctions in the hierarchical metaphysical structure of the seven heavens:

  A. At the highest end of this celestial order, there exists three levels in a sort of heavenly court or council that are the equivalents of the Arch-angels and the Orders of Angels which we find in other systems of religion. Those are not involved with human activities on Earth.

  B. The Egyptians distinguished four lower groups that occupy positions in the celestial hierarchy identical with those of some Oriental Christian systems, the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and many great saints. Those lived on Earth for one time or another, and after their earthly departure, they continue to be involved with human activities on Earth.

  In all periods of Egyptian history, a class of beings was recognized; some of whom are male and some female. These had many forms and shapes, and could appear on Earth as men, women, animals, birds, reptiles, trees, plants, etc. They were stronger and more intelligent than men, but they had passions like men; they were credited with possessing some divine powers or characteristics, and yet they could suffer sickness and die.

  [More info about the interaction between beings/energies in the universe is found in Egyptian Cosmology: the Animated Universe by same author.]

  2.3 The Nine Components of Man

  For the Egyptians, man being a universal replica consists likewise of nine components—two related to the earthly existence and seven related to metaphysical existence.

  The whole man consists of:

  1. A natural body—Khat

  Khat means corruptible—subject to decay

  2. A Spirit-body—Sahu

  A metaphysical body that leaves the physical body with proper funerary rights and has the power to travel anywhere lasting and incorruptible

  Sahu is shown as a mummy lying on a bier, indicating a spirit body that is lasting and incorruptible

  3. A heart—Ab

  The heart is the seat of power, consciousness—right and wrong

  Horus is called “dweller in hearts” and “lord of hearts”

  Ab is reverse for Ba = heart-soul

  4. A double—Ka

  The Ka is the combination of several intertwined sub-components. It is equated to what we describe as personality. The Ka does not die with the mortal body, although it may break into its many sub-components.

  5. A Heart-soul—Ba

  Since Ab is the heart, the reverse/compliment is the Ba—the heart-soul.

  Ba represents totality of man’s physical and psychic capacities

  The Ba is immortal. When the ba departs, the body dies. The ba is represented as a human-headed bird, as the divine aspect of the terrestrial.

  6. A shadow—Khaibet

  The khaibit seems to correspond with our notion of the ghost.

  Khai = companion/brother

  7. A Spirit-soul—Khu

  The Khu is a higher spiritual element. It is a shining and luminous component. Khu-s are also heavenly beings living with the neteru (gods, goddesses). Each Khu may then be equivalent to the guardian angel.

  8. A name—Ren

  Ren as a “name” is the essence of an individual which distinguishes one person from another. When your name is called, you return to the Source.

  9. A vital force—Sekhem

  Sekhem is the vital power

  Re is called The Great Sekhem

  The relationships and dynamics between the various components are beyond the scope of this book and can be found in Egyptian Cosmology: The Animated Universe and Egyptian Mystics: Seekers of The Way, both by Moustafa Gadalla.

  Throughout this book, we will be referencing two components/realms being the Ka [the astral body] and Ba [the ethereal body], which are needed to understand related architectural and artistic features.

  Chapter 3 : Visitation Sites of The Lower Heavenly Court

  3.1 The Lower Heavenly Court

  As mentioned earlier, in addition to ‘The Upper Heavenly Court’, there was (and continues to be) a ‘Lower Heavenly Court’ of several lower orders of the celestial hierarchy, which the Egyptians have distinguished. The occupants of such lower heavenly court are those who lived on Earth at one time or another, and after their earthly departure, continue to be involved with human activities on Earth.

  The same exact distinction found its way in later times to some Oriental Christian systems: those of the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and many great saints.

  In all periods of Egyptian history, a class of beings was recognized; some of whom are male and some female. These had many forms and shapes, and could appear on earth as men, women, animals, birds, reptiles, trees, plants, etc. They were stronger and more intelligent than men, but they had passions like men; they were credited with possessing some divine powers or characteristics, and yet they could suffer sickness and die.

  Egyptians speak of their deceased as living, which shows how definite a belief it is that the soul of the deceased return to their tombs/shrines on the specified days of their weekly and annual visitations.

  Just as our lives do not stop at death, so our bodies are not limited by their outer physical forms. We exist on a number of different levels at once, from the most physical to the most spiritual. Indeed, in one sense, there is no difference between physical and spiritual; only the gradations that lie between the two ends of the spectrum.

  3.2 The Heavenly Helpers

  We will highlight here the most commonly heavenly helpers as being:

  i. Family and close relatives

  The most common communications were/are between earthly beings and their ancestor spirits. These spirits serve the needs of individual family members.

  ii. Community Patrons—[Ancestral local/regional patrons]

  The character of such departed souls as community patrons [“local gods”] covers a broad range, fulfilling the expectation of their descendants in the community at large. They behave like superior human beings with the same passions and the same needs, but also with transcendental power. The city is the “House” of the “Patron”.

  They have shrines, holy objects and statues. They may appear in the form of stones, trees, animals or human beings.
They were/are referred to as “him of Ombos”, “him of Edfu”, or “her of Bast”.

  Many show themselves to their followers in the form of some object in which they dwelt. The Egyptians believed that each place was inhabited by a great number of spirits, and that the lesser ones were subject to the chief spirit.

  The local/regional patron is visited weekly every Thursday or Friday. In addition, they have their seasonal and annual festivals.

  iii. Folk Saints

  Walis (folk saints) are the people who succeeded in traveling the spiritual Path, and as a result, have attained union with the Divine. Such unification enables them to perform supernatural acts, influence and predict future events, etc. As a result, they become the intermediaries between earthly living beings and the supernatural, heavenly realms.

  After their earthly death, their spiritual force/blessing is thought to increase and to inhere in the persons and particularly the places associated with and chosen by them. A folk saint chooses and conveys the places for his shrines to his family and friends during dreams (possibly awake, also). As a result, a shrine (or more—usually more than two) is set apart for him/her. Such shrines, in most cases, are not their tombs. These shrines dot the Egyptian landscape since its earliest known history.

  Ancient and Baladi Egyptians stayed/stay in touch with their folk saints. People from surrounding communities regularly visit them at their shrines. It is a social obligation to visit them, especially on his/her mouled (annual celebration).

  In addition to visitations, people may also ask these Walis for personal favors. Vows are made by individuals that if the Wali resolves a personal concern, the vower will donate certain items for charity.

  Unlike the Christian saints, Egyptian folk saints are chosen by ordinary people based on performance. Once the people can see that this person does indeed have the ability to influence supernatural forces in order to assist those on Earth, and as a result, fulfills their wishes, then s/he is recognized as a folk saint.

  These folk saints are mistakenly called “minor gods” by Western writers. [For more information about folk saints, festivals, etc., read Egyptian Mystics: Seekers of the Way by Moustafa Gadalla.]

  3.3 The Spirited Landscape Architecture

  Landscape architecture was an integral aspect of the metaphysical overall design and objective/function of an Ancient Egyptian building, in addition to its obvious ‘physical’ benefits.

  Trees, as part of the animated universe, act as a convenient medium between the earthly and departed souls. The Egyptian term for sacred grove is Ginne-na/Guineana, meaning the place of ancestor spirits.

  Just as the Christmas tree is important in Christmas traditions, where it mediates between Saint Nick and his followers, so we find likewise in the Egyptian traditions, where every shrine must be located next to a tree.

  Offerings of food and drinks are left beneath the tree of the saint.

  Such trees also serve as places for contemplation. All types of rituals were conducted next to the Holy Tree.

  The tree mediates the resurrection or returning back to life.

  In the Isis/Osiris allegory, Osiris was enshrined in a living tree.

  If a gin (ancestor) tree—a tree with a spirit living in it—is nearby, people often write notes and attach them to the branches of the tree.

  Wise men and women consult departed spirits constantly, and periodically spend several days with them at the spirited grove.

  The Egyptians love(d) their gardens, which were always found in private, public, and shared spaces such as courtyards. Several papyri show how the Ancient Egyptians prepared landscaping plans around all types of buildings.

  As far back as Egypt’s most ancient known past, there were parks and gardens. In a document from Pharaoh Snefru’s time [2575–2551 BCE], we read about the design of a beautiful park and how the landscaper:

  dug a great tank and planted fig-trees and vines. . .In the middle of the garden he made a vineyard, which yielded much wine.

  Landscaping public places was essential in Ancient Egypt. For example, Ramses III [1194–1163 BCE] planted trees and papyrus plants in Luxor (Thebes) [as stated in the Harris Papyrus, i. 7,11], and in the new town which he founded in the Delta, he made:

  great vineyards; walks shaded by all kinds of sweet fruit trees laden with their fruit; a sacred way, splendid with flowers from all countries, with lotus and papyrus, countless as the sand.

  In the same above-mentioned Harris Papyrus [i.8,3- 4], the text indicates that flowers and exotic plants were imported from other countries and were planted in parks for the enjoyment of gardening and growing flowers.

  The Ancient Egyptians were fond of trees, flowers and raising numerous and rare plants. As such, according to Athenaeus:

  . . . was the care they bestowed on their culture, that those flowers that elsewhere were only sparingly produced, even in their proper season, grew profusely at all times in Egypt; so that neither roses, nor violets, nor any others, were wanting there, even in the middle of winter.

  Several remarkable pictures from Luxor (Theban) tombs from the time of the New Kingdom [1550–1070 BCE] give us further details as to the arrangement of the gardens and country houses.

  Large gardens were usually divided into different sections, with the main areas dedicated to the orchard (date and sycamore trees) and to the vineyard. The flower and kitchen gardens also occupied a considerable space, laid out in beds; and miniature trees, herbs, and flowers were grown in red earthen pots exactly like our own, arranged in long rows by the walks and borders.

  A typical Ancient Egyptian building (as depicted on a found papyrus) had a high-castellated wall surrounding the section. The building is located at the back of the property, surrounded by a double row of palms and high trees. The vineyard is located in the center of the plan. The luxuriant vines with their large purple grapes are trained on trelliswork built up with stone. Through these vine-walks, the path leads straight up to the house. The plan also shows a part of the garden resembling a small park: here there is a fishpond surrounded by palms and shrubs. Two doors lead out of this garden; one into the palm garden which occupies a narrow strip on either side of the property and the other to a “cool tank”.

  In all cases, whether the orchard stood apart from or was united with the rest of the garden, it was supplied, like the other portions of it, with an abundance of water, preserved in spacious reservoirs on either side of which stood a row of palms or an avenue of shady sycamores.

  3.4 Composite Entombed Shrines

  The composite-type entombed shrines were used, in varying degrees in size, for individual family members of higher stature as well as for ‘Grand Ancestors’ as the patrons of a community/village/locality.

  The design layout must accomplish the intended objective/function/purpose to allow for the return, reunion, and interface between the earthly and departed souls. The prime, most common design features in all visitation structures are:

  1. the entombment of the deceased [and possibly other members of the family]; with means to facilitate the return of the soul of the departed at specific times/ days/dates.

  2. a vertical shaft between the sub- and superstructures to allow the visiting soul access to the earthly living visiting area.

  3. a visitation area for the [earthly] livings containing areas for offerings and sacrifice.

  4. a chapel in the visitation area containing the threshold [false door—recessed wall/mehrab or even a crack in the wall] where the [earthly] living visitors “meet” the visiting departed soul.

  As such, each structure typically consists of:

  1. A Subterranean area [called serdab by the Egyptians]

  The subterranean parts contained the burial chambers, which were hewn out of the rock. The burial chamber was connected to a network of passages and small chambers and used for storing the funerary equipment and for the burials of members of the family.

  When the tomb is hewn in the mountain, the pit may take the
form of a horizontal or diagonal corridor, or series of corridors, and the burial chamber is hewn at a considerable depth in the bowels of the mountain. In such cases, the chamber for offerings is some distance from the outside of the mountain, and may be approached by going down a corridor or a flight of steps.

  2. A vertical shaft—so narrow that it will hardly admit of a hand being passed through it—connects the burial chamber to the superstructure’s western wall of the chapel area so as to facilitate the threshold between the physical and metaphysical realms at the ‘false door’, which was always located at the western end of the chapel.

  3. A superstructure that typically consisted of entrance, court(s), corridors, offering rooms, chapel, and sacrificial room.

  The number of chambers in the building varied from 2-6 chambers, with or without court, and with or without passages.

  The public entry faces east and sometimes north or south, but never west. The western wall defines the interface between the public and the departed. The smallest tomb in present-day Egypt would have a false door or a hole/crack in the western wall where the living talks to the deceased.

  The entry door for the use of the living, sometimes preceded by a portico, was almost always characterized by great simplicity. Over it is a cylindrical tympanum or a smooth flagstone sometimes bearing merely the name of the deceased person, sometimes his titles and descent, and sometimes a prayer for his welfare; and an enumeration of the days during which he wanted his visitations and offerings.