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The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 3 of 4: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy

Chapter 36

M. Chabas adds:

These Khous were beings of that kind to which human beings belong after their death; they were exorcised in the name of the god Chons.... The Manes then could enter the bodies of the living, haunt and obsess them. Formulæ and talismans, and especially statues or _divine figures_, were used against such _formidable_ invasions.(466)... They were combated by the help of the divine power, the god Chons being famed for such deliverances. The Khou, in obeying the orders of the god, none the less preserved the precious faculty inherent in him of accommodating himself in any other body at will. The most frequent formula of exorcism is as follows. It is very suggestive: Men, gods, elect, dead spirits, amous, negroes, menti‐u, do not look at this soul to show cruelty toward it. This is addressed to all who were acquainted _with Magic_. “Amulets and mystic names.” This chapter is called “very mysterious,” and contains invocations to Penhakahakaherher and Uranaokarsankrobite, and other such easy names. Says Chabas: We have proofs that mystic names similar to these were in common use during the stay of the Israelites in Egypt. And we may add that, whether got from the Egyptians or the Hebrews, these are sorcery names. The student can consult the works of Éliphas Lévi, such as his _Grimoire des Sorciers_. In these exorcisms Osiris is called Mamuram‐Kahab, and is implored to prevent the twice‐dead Khou from attacking the justified Khou and his next of kin, since the accursed (astral spook) Can take any form he likes and penetrate at will into any locality or body. In studying Egyptian papyri, one begins to find that the subjects of the Pharaohs were not very much inclined to the Spiritism or Spiritualism of their day. They dreaded the “blessed spirit” of the dead more than a Roman Catholic dreads the devil! But how uncalled‐for and unjust is the charge against the Gods of Egypt that they are these “devils,” and against the priests of exercising their magic powers with the help of “the fallen angels,” may be seen in more than one papyrus. For one often finds in them records of Sorcerers sentenced to the death penalty, as though they had been living under the protection of the holy Christian Inquisition. Here is one case during the reign of Ramses III., quoted by De Mirville from Chabas. The first page begins with these words: “From the place where I am to the people of my country.” There is reason to suppose, as one will see, that the person who wrote this, in the first personal pronoun, is a magistrate making a report, and attesting it before men, after an accustomed formula, for here is the main part of this accusation: “This Hai, a bad man, was an overseer [or perhaps keeper] of sheep: he said: ‘Can I have a book that will give me great power?’... And a book was given him with the formulæ of Ramses‐Meri‐Amen, the great God, his royal master; and he succeeded in getting a divine power enabling him to fascinate men. He also succeeded in building a place and in finding a very _deep place_, and produced men of Menh [magical homunculi?] and ... love‐writings ... stealing them from the Khen [the occult library of the palace] by the hand of the stonemason Atirma, ... by forcing one of the supervisors to go aside, and acting magically on the others. Then he sought to read futurity by them and succeeded. All the horrors and abominations he had conceived in his heart, he did them really, he practised them all, and other great crimes as well, such as _the horror_ [?] of all the Gods and Goddesses. Likewise let the prescriptions _great_ [_severe?_] _unto death_ be done unto him, such as the divine words order to be done to him.” The accusation does not stop there, it specifies the crimes. The first line speaks of a hand paralysed by means of the _men of Menh_, to whom it is simply said, “_Let such an effect be produced_,” and it is produced. Then come the _great abominations_, such as deserve death.... The judges who had examined him (the culprit) reported saying, “Let him die according to the order of Pharaoh, and according to what is written in the lines of the divine language.”