Mythos: The Prescient Kings

By D. Baxter Todd

Before history became legend and legend became myth, the oral traditions of what is presently referred to as "Pre-History" were maintained for thousands of years, preserved and handed down throughout the generations since the dawn of the "Age of Man". Throughout the ages, through myth, allegory, parables, iconography and symbolism, the fragmented remains of ancient beliefs have preserved down to the present day; such are the tales in Mythos: The Prescient Kings

• Language: English
• Publisher: D. Baxter Todd
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798986636399

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Mythos

The Prescient Kings

Copyright © 2022 D. Baxter Todd.

ISBN: 979-8-9866363-9-9

Written by D. Baxter Todd.

Table of Contents

Chapters Page

Introduction   4 

Prologue   5

Ascendance of the Anu   6

The Prescient Kings 12

Path of Ptah: The Awakening 13

Mystical Reign of Ptah (Pëtāh)   31

Destiny of Bes: The Eternal War 101

The Blind Seer of Gondar  153

Mystical Reign of Bes (Bisu)   172

Eponymous An: The Guiding Light 305

The Great Pass: Fabled Ta-Nebiru  342

Mystical Reign of An (Ōn) 383

The Prophecies 390

Introduction

Before history became legend and legend became myth, the oral traditions of what is presently referred to as Pre-History were maintained for thousands of years, preserved, and handed down throughout the generations since the dawn of the Age of Man. Ancient traditions lost over time to the vagaries of the victors of man’s incessant wars, who, in turn, then readily recast and corrupted ‘ancient history’ to fit their own image. Thus, truth has been sacrificed to the hubris of the victors of man’s conquest, who, in turn, distorted and recast it to serve their own purposes. Advents that, over time, blurred the context of historical evolution and enlightenment with the false narratives, half-truths, and repositories of past regimes. [i]

Notwithstanding, through myth, allegory, parables, iconography and symbolism, the fragmented remains of ancient beliefs have been somewhat preserved down to the present day. The stories that follow are weaved from the early ancient mythos of the Anu, later founders of the lands that would become known as ancient Khemet and Sumer.[ii]

Because ancient African mythology (mythos) has been largely raped and pillaged of fantasy or usurped and appropriated by others (an example of which is the fairytale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, whose formative character structure is eerily similar to that of Ptah and the Seven Pygmies), and because literary use of parables has been somewhat limited in accentuating early ancient African mythos, liberal literary license is used to animate the parables presented in the book.[iii]

Last but certainly not least, it must be acknowledged that this book has been written from the vantage point of having stood on the shoulders of giants of African historical research and thought. I accordingly acknowledge the scholarship of all those whose work I draw on here.

Prologue

Around 28,000 BC the climate entered another big freeze; temperatures fell, and ice sheets spread across the northern latitudes, just as they had done 40,000 years earlier. Once again, glacial build-up corresponded to a tremendous accumulation of ice over land at the higher latitudes. Moisture accumulated and was transformed into thick sheets of ice blanketing the terrain at higher altitudes. Climatic conditions at the lower altitudes were arid almost everywhere, with desert and semi-desert occupying huge areas of continental land mass, as forests shrunk back into refugia, announcing the onset in earnest of the Last Glacial Maximum.

The Last Glacial Maximum was the period during the last glacial period when the thick glaciers were at their greatest extension; massive sheets of ice that locked away water, lowering global sea level, exposing continental shelves, adjoining landmasses, and creating extensive coastal plains. During the Last Glacial Maximum, much of the world was cold, dry, and inhospitable; during this period, the great African rain forests were at their smallest. During the height of the Last Glacial Maximum the African rain forest was smaller in surface area than today and fragmented, because the climate was cooler, but, more importantly, also drier.

This new cold and arid phase reached its extreme point around 21,000-17,000 years ago, a period known as the Late Glacial Cold Stage.[1] This period has been recognized as one of the most arid on records, characterized by extended and severe aridity, when East African Rivers and Great Lake levels were reduced by at least fifty percent. Under these cold, dry conditions, people and trees had the best chance of survival in the highlands, where drought stresses were lowest due to constant cloud cover over the highland forests. [2]

The Rwenzori (the fabled Mountains of the moon), rise from the floor of the Rift Valley, towering above the Albertine Rift, making the famed mountains visible from great distances. The majestic mastiffs of the Rwenzori present a unique and pristine landscape of alpine vegetation studded with giant lobelias, groundsels, and heathers, which have been called Africa’s botanical big game.

THE COMBINATION OF spectacular snow-capped peaks, glaciers, V-shaped valleys, fast flowing rivers with magnificent waterfalls, clear blue lakes and unique flora must have made the mountains appear as an oasis to those migrating from the lowlands amid the heightening aridity blanketing the floor of the Great Rift Valley.[iv] As the highest source of the ancient Nile River, and a vital water catchment area with a multitude of fast flowing rivers and lakes, the mist covered Rwenzori beaconed beleaguered migrants from the surrounding arid lowlands.

The six massifs of the Rwenzori are higher than the European Alps, with permanent snow lines and then still existent glaciers on each of the six peaks. The landscape of the Rwenzori has been sculptured over time growth and contraction of the ancient glaciers, resulting in the numerous lakes, rivers and river valleys that characterize the mountains. The foothills were anciently covered by tropical rain forests, which dwindled during progression of the Glacial Maximum, an advent prompting clans in the foothills to migrate into the mid-highlands and the lands beyond.

Ascendance of the Anu

The heightening aridity of the Glacial Maximum prompted ever increasing migrations of clans into the mid-highland forests, with many if not most migrating through the river valleys, toward the well-watered and lush rain forests of the mid highlands. The Rwenzori massifs are separated by rugged terrain, mountain passes, and deeply cut river valleys, with five main rivers descending from large fresh water lakes and glaciers in the upper highlands. Proto-Anu (Ba-Twa) clans from the foothills, migrated though the fertile river valleys, where many settled along the forested corridors, while most continued onward to the lush mid-highlands.

These were hunter-ggatherer-fforaging clans that migrated separately and together along the river valleys, where some settled in the more secluded river valleys of the larger tributaries, while most continued onward to the lush, well-watered  rain forests of the mid-highlands. These clans were originally egalitarian, with no one clan more powerful than another. Traditionally they were divided into clans who were territorially separate, yet in their view did not own land, but had guardianship and use of the land. Though they strived to maintain this type of open society – a boundary-less, flexible social system that emphasized the equality of all, with no basis for excluding anyone; the clans which became very powerful were deemed to have proprietary rights to the areas they inhabited and controlled.

Although Proto-Anu clans freely travelled in each other’s areas, most people stayed within the their own territories, where they knew the resources best. Clan villages were populated by lineal and extended family members, with each Clan headed by a hereditary elder (or "Clan Leader), who was answerable to a Council of Elders; comprised of the elders heading each family and extended family making up the clan. Clan Leaders were responsible for and held great power over the prosperity, security and territory of the Clan. Each Clan claimed a distinctive territory, with natural boundaries, including ridges, rocky outcroppings, and ravines, defining the boundaries and borders between the land of one clan and another.

Following the Hunter-Gatherer-Foragers, came the Aquatic Foragers, the Fishing Clans, mobilized by dwindling water levels in the Great Lakes. The Ruwenzori are between Lake Rutanzige (colonial Lake Edward) to the south and Lake Mwitanzige (colonial Lake Albert) to the north, with Lake Rutanzige discharging northward, via the Semliki River, into Lake Mwitanzige. The level of Lake Mwitanzige fell over 150 feet between 20,000 and 18,000 BC, prompting the Fishing Clans to migrate into the river valleys and around the highland lakes for sanctuary. Compounding the situation, the surface level of the largest lake, Lake Nyanza (colonial Lake Victoria), situated between the Eastern and Western arms of the Rift Valley, fell by an astounding fifty percent; prompting clans along its coastal belt to join migrations into the highlands.

Similarly, the surface level of Lake Tanganyika, second largest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, fell by nearly one thousand feet, mobilizing the clans along its northern coasts and abutting forests into joining the stream of migrations into the Ruwenzori for refuge.[v] As aquatic foragers these clans focused on freshwater fish, mollusks, crabs, turtles, and small mammals such as Otters; subsistence activities that required creation of specialized tools like fishing nets, hooks and  harpoons; tools that would serve them well in adapting to settlement along the shores of the rivers and lakes of the highlands.[vi]

Like the Hunter-Gatherer Clans before them, the Fishing Clans migrated separately and together along the ascending river valleys, where many settled along the banks of the rivers, while others continued onward to the ancient lakes of the era, each of which occupied large basins in the highlands, around which several clans would settle. The fishing clans around the highland lakes evolved specialized subsistence patterns, focusing their aquatic foraging efforts on a limited range of species, allowing them to become more efficient at harvesting them.  As a result, they usually had abundant food supplies, with many residing in larger communities than the hunter-gather clans.[vii]  Early fishing clan settlements were the first to become permanent in the highlands.

The economies of the Aquatic Foregoers (the Fishing Clans) were the first to promote inter-clan trade; once settled they eagerly sought to trade fish for bush meats and other forest products from the Hunter-Gatherers. The economies of the Hunter-Gatherer Clans were based on the wild animal’s meats they hunted, and the wild yams, herbs, mushrooms, berries, fruits, nuts, eggs, and honey they collected.[viii] To these activities, the Hunter Gatherers then added barter with the Fishing Clans; routinely and regularly trading wild herbs, yams, fruits, nuts, animal hides, meats and medicinal herbs for freshwater fish, crabs and turtles. Over time, inter-marriage and cohesion led to clan integrations, with fully integrated clans (Complex Clans) employing hunting, gathering, and fishing, as well as plant cultivation, for sustenance.

Thus emerged the eldest structures of evolved society beyond the limits of lineages, where the bonds of kinship and clan are extended and transformed into broader group solidarity by a union of common culture, heritage, and communal values and interests. The Complex Clans used fishing traps and nets along the banks and shores of highland rivers and lakes and developed the skills and capabilities to harvest and use wild grains, exploit water resources, and cultivate and facilitate the growth of desirable plant species beyond their natural range[ix]. Complex Clans developed subsistence, economic and social organizations far more interdependent than the independent Hunter-Gatherer-Foraging or Aquatic-Foraging clans.

The Complex Clans no longer lived in small and mobile villages, but in long-term, organized, permanent villages; these are clearly visible archaeologically. They also did not harvest only what was available around them, they focused on gathering specific and very productive food products and combining them with other, secondary resources. Other themes that emerged were greater assemblage diversity and an elaboration of the skills and technologies required to adapt to particular environments, including experiments in resource intensification. It was in this way that Complex Clans paved the way for complex societies with mixed economies.

The rise of such complex societies brought with it the subtle nuances of status and hierarchy, as hierarchical structures were formed to maximize efficiencies. With their larger, permanent and more internally differentiated villages, and greater amounts of available food, the distribution of the economic surplus, and the increased division of labor in these clanic societies, evolved the first form of non-egalitarian allocation of wealth.

STATUS AND AUTHORITY became influenced, if not determined, by prominent hereditary ranks and associations, culminating in the emergence of incipient class structures, and wealth distinctions.[x]  Lost were the egalitarian ideals of the past, at least for the most prosperous of the emergent highland clanic societies. Proto-Anu (Ba-Twa) clans migrating from the lowlands into the Rwenzori mid-highlands followed winding, rugged, and often steep old ancient pathways, ascending up the amenable river valleys, where they eventually encountered the first vestiges of the prominent hereditary (or Dynastic) clans of the mid-highlands. Here they encountered an ancient highland civilization and complex societies, with mixed-economies, more interdependent than any they had experienced; an early civilization far more complex than the primitive hunter-gatherer and fishing clan form of pre-civilization prevailing in the lowlands".

It was a time when immigrants from the lowlands were met with hostility and prompted onward to the habitable highlands by the powerful dynastic clans along the forested river valleys of the mid-highlands. The dynastic clans claimed dominion over large areas of fertile forest, both within and outside their province. Migrating clans were often driven to intrusion as they foraged to replenish their food supplies along their journey to the highlands. Report of such intrusion travelled quickly and brought an equally quick response, with elders of the dynastic clans quickly assembling warriors to ward off the intruders; usually in an unexpected, asymmetrical response, driving the intruding clans from claimed lands.

The migrants found traditional hunter-gatherer societies more like themselves in the habitable upper highlands; those pressed to the higher altitude by the dynastic clans of the mid-highland’s river valleys. The habitable upper highland rain forests were notoriously wet, with the new immigrants learning the rigors of survival from the older inhabitants. But most poignantly they learned of the provinces and asserted prerogatives of the mid-highland kingdoms, and of the mounting tension between them and the kingdoms of the abundantly resourced river valleys of the mid-highlands.

With shorter seasonality at the higher altitude, the habitable upper highland rain forests were naturally less bountiful than the mid-highland rain forests of river valleys, creating conflict as forays into the mid-highland rain forests invoked hostile response. Enlightened leaders and sages of the dynastic clans had long prior directed cultivation of forest gardens to enhance food availability within their provinces; an age-old tradition by which they identified the most useful plants, protected them, and worked to exclude unwanted competing plants around them.

Over time, preferred species were selected in favor of inferior varieties; other useful plants were introduced from neighboring areas, creating the mature forest gardens the new migrants witnessed in mid-highlands. Forest gardens of the era were essentially ancient agro-forestry systems comprised of layers of plant varieties, with large trees at the apex, and small, ground-covering herbs at the base, with not an inch of growing space wasted.

Unlike present day monoculture techniques, the ancient forest garden systems promoted polyculture; that is, a large number of species represented by multiple varieties. It was during the era that the Proto-Anu first began to shape the highland forests into cultural landscapes in the mountains. The period’s population expansion and wild plant introduction within the various clan territories contributed, in no small way, to the trajectories that culminated in many of the prime ancient forests in the highlands today. Because Proto-Anu managed and expanded these, the Forest Gardens and tropical woodlands, as Sacred Forests and hunting and fishing sanctuaries ...for untold millennium, the natural history of the forests cannot be completely disentangled from this early human intervention.

While the forests clearly evolved in concert with the continent’s geological and climatic history, the ecology of the forests is undeniably reflective of ancient agro-forestry patterns, as well as the pulsations of climate change.[xi] African foragers have domesticated prime forested lands for over twenty thousand years to produce wild foods such as legumes, tubers and grains. In consequence, many of the present-day forests are botanical mosaics, reflective of the long legacy of human-nature interaction.

The first of the old forests’ kingdoms arose around the Sacred Forests surrounding the villages of the hereditary or dynastic clans". Each of the early Forests Kingdoms expanded over the ages, optimizing their terrain using hills, ravines, rivers, lakes and other natural boundaries provided by the landscape in demarcating their territory. Forest fortifications were often miles in circumference, with thick belts of near impenetrable forest surrounding hillsides, grasslands, woodlands and well-tended sacred forest and forest gardens, interspersed with scattered extended family clan villages at the periphery. Villages of the lineal or hereditary clans were at the heart of the forest fortresses.

Villages of the era were distinctive by their circular arrangements and round mud-plastered houses, encircling the village centers used for food preparation and gatherings. Yet the most impressive structures within the forest fortresses were the rectangular, mud-plastered long houses, with their distinctive pitched-roof halls where elders of the hereditary or dynastic clans presided. Elder’s councils were at the heart governance of the forest kingdoms, with elders of the hereditary clans at the epicenter of the power dynamic.

In vying for survival during the mounting aridity and dwindling forests of the Glacial Maximum, the dynastic clans wantonly exploited all the natural resources around them, even if there was only one abundant resource, and even if it was only seasonally abundant. To intensively exploit the natural resources, the craftsmen of the river valley and mid-highland clans developed specific tools (sickles, mortars, fishnets, fish traps, dugout canoes), and built dams and water ponds, and by incurring these investments shifted from immediate-return based economies, to economies based on delayed-return.

Migrants from the dwindling forests habitats of the lowlands, seeking suitable refuge in highlands during the hyper arid phases of the glacial maximum, would, out of desperation, inevitably raid the food storage facilities enroute to the habitable upper highlands. Such raids inevitably culminated in conflict not only with the clans migrating into the highlands, but also with the clans of the habitable upper highlands.

The powerful dynastic clans of the mid-highlands asserted sovereignty over broad swaths of forest beyond the confines of their forest fortresses, and thus found themselves in constant conflict with clans of the habitable upper highlands. Clans of the habitable upper highlands were annually and predictably prompted into the mid-highlands and river valleys by the shorter seasons of the upper rain forests, culminating in conflict over lands the dynastic clans considered their exclusive province. Yet in the midst of the conflict, a peculiar nexus existed and enforced a tacit code of warfare, delimiting weaponry such as poison darts, and act of conquest such as rape and the kidnapping of the women of conquered clans. The peculiar nexus involved medicinal herbs and mushrooms not available at the lower mid-highland inclines, medicinal and psychoactive plants of unusual potency and effect.

The Prescient Kings

The Rwenzori upper highlands are among the strangest on earth; due to the mists that enshrouded the highlands the flora is characterized by exotic and unusually giant plants. Though the upper highland rain forest were smaller during the glacial maximum, below the peaks of the Ruwenzori’s were the most wondrous forests, dream gorges, and fairy-tale highland panoramas. Due to its configuration and height the mountain range acts as a large condenser, drawing up hot moist air from the surrounding plains, and precipitating it as snow, rain and mist. In consequence the Ruwenzori were wetter than other East African Massifs, creating an ideal environment for the growth of unique and potent varieties of medicinal and psychoactive mushrooms, native exclusively to the uplands.

Medicinal and psychoactive mushrooms were used for health and ritual purposes. Therein was the peculiar nexus, for the powerful dynastic clans of the mid-highland valleys to gain access to the herbs, they needed to trade with the clans of the uplands. Progression of the Glacial Maximum brought with it a renewed retreat of the lowland forests; this as surrounding lake levels fell throughout the floor of the rift valley, with the mounting aridity even consuming the foothills of neighboring Mt Kenya, which experienced a drier climate and mid-highlands dominated by small trees, reflecting a widespread suppression of the forests.

Most rain forests had the best chance of survival in the still well-watered uplands, where drought stresses were lowest due to cloud-blankets of moisture at the upper elevations. The flow of clan migrations into the cloud-shrouded uplands of the Ruwenzori ensued in earnest as the existential crisis that was the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) became more apparent. Nonetheless, as providence and fate would have it, faithful clans of Proto-Anu were guided to sanctuary in the highlands by the first of three prescient kings, each of whom arose during a time of crisis, when most needed. Each of whom would later be deified in death.[xii]

Path of Ptah: The Awakening

Whilst the earth's beginnings are far more ancient than even the most ancient of legends suggest, the timeframe quoted for the reign of the first of the prescient kings reflected time far beyond the memory and legends of early-civilized man. This period also represents the memory of the migrations and settlements from the lowlands of the Great Rift Valley, from whence most of the ancient of ancestors emanated during the various progressions of the Last Great Ice Age. The first of the prescient kings was Ptah, whose rise to prominence began when he became hereditary sovereign of his ancient highland clan, whose totem was the Serpent ; the start of his reign is said to have begun during Ice Age. [xiii]

Ptah was a profoundly wise and gifted seer, who is said to have illuminated every subject he touched, and he was held in high esteem by the most respected elders of all the other clans. It was he together with his consort, the highland Sage and mystic Sekhmet (Sekhmet), who first led the clans of the foothills into the refuge and sanctuaries of the highlands. The massifs of the Rwenzori are separated by rugged terrain, mountain passes, and deeply cut river valleys, crafting the five main rivers descending the upper highlands. Clans from the foothills, followed by those from surrounding lowlands, migrated though the main river valleys, where many settled along the forested corridors of the era, while others continued onward toward the well-watered valleys of the mid highlands.

Ptah’s s dominion could be seen in the upper mountains, where great canyons, plateaus, upper highland rainforests, glacial lakes, rivers teaming with fish, arched mesas, and many other wondrous sights could be seen. Constructed in the heart of the Rwenzori, nearly impervious to invasion, were the boundaries of Ptah’s dominion, fashioned using hills, ravines, rivers, lakes and other natural defenses provided by the landscape. Forest fortification of the kingdom was in the highland rainforest in the river valley just below, where the fortification was said to be over several miles in circumference, with thick belts of impenetrable tropical forest surrounding grasslands, hillsides, and well-tended woodlands, interspersed by lineal clan villages; with access into the interior limited to two paths.

A prescient, charismatic leader, Ptah avidly pursued the spiritual path, which is often symbolized as a great mountain. When treading the early ancient spiritual path one sought entry into the realm where spiritual masters reside; one endeavored there to attain enlightenment and higher consciousness as they undertake the journey leading to their understanding of the source of their being, an Unknowable Creative Force. Ptah proselytized that at Creation Netjer (the Unknowable Creative Force) shaped, conditioned, structured, and prepared the Cosmos that it be receptive of life; dispatching his divine messenger Heru, the Cosmic Serpent, to set the cosmos in motion.[3]

First to pontificate the mysteries of creation beyond notions of the Cosmic Serpent (the mythological Hydra ...with the given name of Heru), Ptah proselytized that in the earliest ages man was incapable of self-rule and was instead ruled by those appointed by Nature to preserve and enlighten him to the point where he would be capable of taking care of himself. A philosophy that held a deep respect for the seen and unseen forces of Nature, and belief in the spiritual-realm and an afterlife.[4] A nascent priesthood formed around Ptah and his beliefs, anchored at his upland Sanctuary, where aspirants brought offerings from the seven dominions surrounding his own ...in pursuit of personal enlightenment.

The Divine Serpentine Fire emanating from the tail of the Hydra (Heru) was believed to be the animating the forces of life; those forces manifesting in Nature and Man. It was through  astute observance of such forces that Ptah first gained insight and enlightenment and began to make practical use of Nature’s secrets for the very survival of his people and kingdom. He came to understand the nature of the lodestone and the virtues of mineral magnetism, which revealed a mutual sympathy between the visible and invisible aspects of the world. Enlightenment constituted a large portion of his theurgic practices; those enabling him to focus divine forces upon inferior natures, and in so doing, change courses of events in the physical realm.

The spiritistic side of the practices of Ptah are certain, with a reverence for "Animism best defining that spiritualism. Animism is in essence the belief that everything is alive, and that all things are imbued with the vital life forces known as soul and spirit"; that everything in the Cosmos that is animate, has life, energy, and a quality which makes it unique, with its own place in Nature and Creation. A belief system that requires developing a greater degree of sensitivity, perception, and understanding of the world, life and our relationship to other beings; allowing the Cosmos to be seen from an entirely different perspective, one that may only be attained through a metamorphosis of consciousness.

In his metamorphosis Ptah discovered the verity that the visible and invisible, or the seen and unseen worlds, together constitute the whole of Nature; that Nature is as much an invisible world, as it is a visible world, and that there are many powers of Nature that lie beyond our physical sense perceptions. In Nature there is a cause for every effect, but as there are many causes that elude our perception, there are many effects that elude our understanding. Nonetheless, though the One and Universal Cause seemingly remained forever shrouded, and Ptah discovered that its manifold action could be traced through its effects in Nature, actions comprehensible, if not manifest, to Humankind.

For Ptah, it was an enlightenment accentuated by union with his wife and consort, the Sage and Mystic Sekhmet. In the spiritual traditions of earliest antiquity, such women were keepers of the ancient wisdom; it was believed they maintained harmony and balance and were especially attuned to walk in both the natural and spiritual worlds. Sekhmet’s mystic ability to tap into higher wisdom was highly revered; she was the first of the Great Sages to learn to awaken Nurture. Hers was the illumination that Nature is Deity manifest and ever becoming, with ever becoming described as a process of evolution, subject to the laws of cause and effect, whereby everything that is, is the result of what came before.[xiv]

All things and events have antecedents, which themselves become causes to later effects. The chain is continuous, unbroken, unbreakable, irreversible, and inexorable. The Mystic Sekhmet (Sekhmet) propounded that the chain also has a moral aspect with the consequences of motive brought into effect; that is, where the consequences of an act are inherent in the act itself. Under this law the process of ever becoming is beautifully and harmoniously ordered and manifests equilibrium: if anything gets out of line, it is inevitably put back to fulfill whatever purpose it has in the scheme of things.

It was with the enlightenment of Sekhmet that Ptah came to appreciate the multifaceted duality of Nature; that there is a material and a spiritual aspect, as there is a moral and ethical aspect; but moreover, that the surrounding invisible world constantly acts on the visible world as one of the forces of Nature. When Ptah finally grasped the idea that influences affecting one’s life could work both ways, and that through an exercise and practice he could influence the natural world; thus began the ancient art and practice of Natural Magick. Magick was believed to be one of the forces used by the Creator to make the Cosmos, and every act (of Magick) was considered a continuation of that creative process.

There are three essential kinds of Magick; divine Magick, working through the purely spiritual; alchemy, working through transmutation and vibration, and natural Magick, working through the reciprocal attraction of bodies to one another. Natural Magick requires a comprehensive knowledge of Nature; that one searches out her secrets, and come to understand the component parts, qualities, virtues, and secrets of plants, animals, metals, and stones. It was through such pursuit that Ptah discovered the innermost secrets of the Laws of Nature; that the visible world (the physical realm) and the invisible world (the spiritual realm) are linked, and that the invisible world can influence the visible world as easily as the visible world can the invisible world. 

The study of Magick was the study of the 'hidden' interacting energies and correspondences within Nature, and how one may influence these energies using concepts of Will, Wisdom and Reverence.[xv]. As a power that flows through Nature, the ancient art and practice of Natural Magick was, of necessity, based on and confined to imitation of the laws and secret powers of Nature.[xvi] Beginning with the revelation that - not only in the manifested matter of our phenomenal plane, in the visible (material) world, but also in the psychic plane of the invisible (spiritual) world – there is no rest or cessation of motion in Nature; Ptah thus came to understand that its secrets would need to be resolutely pursued.

In his quest for further enlightenment, Ptah pursued the more subtle powers of Nature through meditation, and meditative pathways to higher consciousness. It was an undertaking for which the mystic Sekhmet made careful and astute preparation, for at the gateway of such knowledge are guardians of the moral threshold; where motive is assessed, and the essence of the seeker’s pursuit is determined from its (prospective) consequences. It was in such preparation that Ptah began the earliest practices of asceticism in Africa, which were viewed as a journey towards higher consciousness and spiritual transformation; a higher consciousness that Ptah sought for both himself and those of his highland kingdom.

His mountain monarchy was deep in the seclusion of the upper highlands, where steps leading to his sanctuary were said to have been carved into the steepest part of the highest hill in the upper valley. Near the base of the hill was said to be a path that forked in two directions; to the left it turned to the south, sloping downward into the highland rainforest of the valley below; to the right it turned to the north, where the steps led up to the Sanctuary. Well above the Sanctuary, on the eastern side, just below the peak of the mountain-like hill, was a cave with four caverns surrounding a large central cavern of sufficient size to retain the warmth of a modest fire at its center, in the midst of the frigid temperatures of the upper highlands.

The ‘Mountains of the Moon’ were the legendary mountains from where early Seers watched the ancient skies and first observed the cycles of the stars moving against a seemingly infinite dome of bluish hue; a hue they believed emanated from the surrounding Primordial Chaos. Faint mythos holds that it was here, in the Cave of the Ascetics that Ptah first journeyed into the Spiritual Realm; the unseen world behind our material or Physical Realm, the invisible ethereal world wherein the spirits of the plants and elements of the Earth were said to dwell. Though the conceptual "Spiritual Realm" is believed to be a mythical world of the Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings who animate the forces of Nature, the idea of such myths containing hidden elements of truth is finally gaining greater understanding and appreciation.

The earliest knowledge was expressed and passed down through the ages in the form of well-crafted tales, poems and allegories as the best means of explaining creation, the soul, humankind’s place in the cosmos, and the need to achieve higher consciousness. Parables were the chosen means of communicating deep spiritual beliefs and were used to express them in easy-to-understand ways. Once the inner meanings of the parables are revealed, they become part of the listener’s consciousness. The more they are studied, the richer they become, with the ‘inner teachings’ of each parable capable of revealing several layers of knowledge, according to the development of the listener, with greater secrets revealed as one evolves higher.

It was thus with the tales of Ptah, who, in the midst of a looming complacency in the uplands, renounced the caste and hierarchies of the dynastic clanic kingdoms, resisting their drift away from ancient egalitarian tradition and guardianship of the forests. Through asceticism Ptah and his cohorts sought not only to reject the drift toward materialism, but to attain spiritual enlightenment. The original ban included Ptah, Sekhmet his consort and wife; Kontomble, Initiate Adept from the clanic dominions to the northwest; Luruya, Initiate and ritual drummer from Ptah’s own dominion; Tellem, Initiate from the clanic dominions to the east, and the twin Sage Wadjet, from Ptah’s own clan and dominion.

Wadjet and her twin sister Nekhebet were the first to cultivate giant sacred mushrooms in the uplands and were renowned for their unique expertise in preparing and administering ritual herbs potions and elixirs. Wadjet provided each ascetic with the smallest piece of the sacred herb to relax and open the mind and prepare the spirit. A spiritual quest was not something to be undertaken lightly; such a journey might last several minutes or several days in the physical world. A spiritual endeavor for which the physical body requires a place or setting that provides solitude, modest comfort, and security. The Cave of the Ascetics, high on the mountain well above the Sanctuary, was a secure, spiritual place, where meditating in the central cavern around a small fire somehow deepened the experience.

The fire at the center of the central cavern was seen as an emanation of the divine energies of creation, aiding in creating a meditative state of mind. The temperature in the cave, even without the fire, was warm even with the bitter coldness of the highlands, leaving it quite comfortable. All external sounds were shut out of the cave, allowing near absolute solitude and uninterrupted meditation.  Ptah and Kontomble were first among the band to undertake the journey, aided by an ancient form of guided meditation, led by Sekhmet, accompanied by Luruya. As Ptah and Kontomble meditated, the resonance of Sekhmet’s chant, against the rhythmic tempo and ritual drumming of Luruya induced the states of altered consciousness need to facilitate the journey into the spiritual realm.

The Parables

When Ptah awoke in the spiritual realm ...it was in an emerald, green forest, where, upon arrival, he was surrounded by several of those whom he would later refer to as Netjeru (Nature Spirits) who appeared to consider him a friend; seemingly recognizing the essence of his ‘energy’ from a past incarnation in their realm. Unbeknownst to even Ptah himself, he had spent time living in that realm during past lives, and the nature spirits treated him as one of their own. Nature Spirits, as real biological intelligences, are psychically powerful, and are much less abstract than the other inhabitants of the realm, Elementals.[xvii]

Netjeru (Nature Spirits) are said to work so close in vibratory rate to the material (visible) world that they have immense power over its plants and trees, and travel freely in and out of the third dimension (the visible world); this usually occurs around the Spring or Autumn Equinox when the Earth is in a stage of transition. Just as there are many types of human beings evolving through the objective physical elements of Nature, so there are many types of Nature Spirits evolving through the ethereal body of Nature. These Nature Spirits are said to have a composition that allows them to function in both the (visible) material world, and the (invisible) spiritual world.

Intrinsically psychic, the Fairies of certain of the Nature Spirits are said to have affirmed for Ptah that they are the spirits who animate the forces of nature; those who interact with the material (visible) world, but have their true existence in this, the aethereal (invisible) world. They affirmed for Ptah that the Netjeru (Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings) of the aethereal (invisible) world are the underlying essences of all that exists, and all that can exist in the (visible) material world. Legends say that one of the Tree Spirits was the first to distinguish himself, manifesting in human-like form to approach Ptah. He was a Tree Faun of considerable age and wisdom who somehow seemed familiar, yet stayed just beyond reach, as he and Ptah slowly circled, carefully examining each other

Netjeru (Elemental Beings and Nature Spirits) do not have a definite form or appearance, so when they appear they take form from the sub-conscious mind and imagination of the observer, based on the observer’s intuition, and capacity to imagine and discover. When Elementals and Nature Spirits choose to show themselves, they choose a form associated with that the observer will feel comfortable with and recognize. To the subconscious mind and imagination of the of humankind, the world of Nature Spirits and Elementals manifests as a world inhabited by Gnomes, Pixies, Sirens, Fairies, Elves and Sprites; personifications in human-like form.

Elemental Beings are the spirits that ensoul the four elements, with each major type of Being belonging to one of the four elements. It is they, Elemental Beings, who tend the forces of nature in the elements, with each playing an important role in the creation and maintenance of life. They give the visible (material) world the basic energy of life in its rawest form. Clearly more cautious than Nature Spirits, after having patiently watched as the Fairies of certain Nature Spirits and the Tree Faun interacted with Ptah, whom they also recognized; certain of the Elemental Beings, the wily Gnomes, began to peer from their perches and from behind the rocks on the forest floor.

As Ptah would soon aptly discern, there are distinct and fundamental differences between Elemental Beings and Nature Spirits; Elemental Beings are the architects that guide forces to give form, structure and energy to the plant and animated world.  They carry the archetypal patterns for each of the physical forms in the material realm.  While Nature Spirits do the work of building the rocks, soil, minerals, trees and plants; they channel the etheric forces they receive into physically constructing the patterns they receive from the Elementals. Nature Spirits are like the physical workers who carry out the architect’s blueprint.  

Nature Spirits of trees are of two essences, male and female; both male and female dwell deep within their trees and grow with them.  Tree Fauns are male Nature Spirits of trees; they are wise and kind but reserved in their dealings with humans. Tree Fauns nonetheless have large energy, and when they are angry or trying to get someone attention, they can be compelling. Tree Nymphs are female Nature Spirits of trees and have very feminine energy; like her male counterpart, as she evolves, she becomes able to extend parts of herself beyond her tree, shifting herself until she seems to be looking out from within the core of its trunk, and extending through its branches.

The consciousness of Tree Spirits can reach beyond the spiritual to the material plane. When this occurs, the Tree Spirits become fully aware of their surroundings and extend their care and support to other trees and tree spirits in their area. They also become more consciously interactive with other nature spirits around them. At this stage of her evolution, she appears to humankind to have a vaguely defined but hauntingly beautiful face, shoulders and arms; a well-evolved Tree Nymph has a clearly formed feminine body that remains partly concealed and partly visible within the tree or extending beyond its physical form.

Like his counterpart, a well-evolved Tree Faun appears to humankind to have a vaguely defined but distinctly masculine face, shoulders, and arms, with a clearly formed but partly concealed masculine body, partly visible within the tree and extending beyond its physical form. At their highest stage of evolution, Tree Fauns and Tree Nymphs can move considerable distances from their trees and are keenly aware of human presence. Tree Spirits have a particular type of emanation and consciousness that is conducive to the growth of wisdom in humans; for this reason, humans are very attracted to trees, and feel nurtured spiritually in their presence.

Such was the enrapture that captivated Ptah during his seemingly long encounter with the (Tree) Faun, who, manifesting in human-like form, appeared aged, yet nonetheless stout and hardy, as he and Ptah remained transfixed as they pondered each other; with Ptah hesitant to break the silence, in fear that he may frighten the apparition away. Until finally the spell of the moment was broken by the appearance of the second of the Nature Spirits to manifest in human-like form. This time a more encompassing and powerful entity, a High Fairy of the Nature Spirits who introduced herself as Ælāta  ...who apprised an apprehensive Ptah that before him was the Spirit of a Baobab Tree; a Faun who seeks to be your guide in this realm, whom she then introduced as Obrüm.

The Baobab Tree was among the first trees to appear on land; it is a prehistoric species which predates both mankind and the splitting of the continents over 200 million years ago.[xviii] The Creator is said to have planted the baobab in the rainforests of the ancient Congo Basin, but the tree complained that the dampness made its trunk swell; so the Creator moved it to the high slopes of the Ruwenzori range, East Africa’s Mountains of the Moon. At these inclines Baobabs have been known to grow very old; the oldest trees have been known to live over 5,000 years; thus, lifespans of Tree Spirits such as Obrüm span thousands of years and are renowned for their acquired and inherited wisdom.

Guides are attracted to and connect with humans generally based on shared interests and goals. However, those who seek to be guides have many reasons for connecting with humans; some are on a mission that they share with the humans they choose, while others are simply making friends or reconnecting with old friends. For Obrüm it was a combination of a shared mission, and reconnecting with an old friend; but alas, an old friend who would first require re-awakening to his past lives, and their past friendship for the two to truly become re-acquainted. Breaking the silence, Obrüm apprised that you are welcomed here as one of us, because in past incarnations you were, so let us begin your journey with this re-awakening.

Sentiments shared by Ælāta whose hauntingly beautiful face and well-defined feminine body reflects the collective renowned beauty of the Nymphs among the Nature Spirits that constitute her Being. While her wisdom and unique abilities are properties of the collective consciousness constituting her Being, her overriding assertiveness and since of self are reflective of the duality of the autonomy of her being. Yorëlle was beautiful and refined, with a disarmingly soothing voice and motherly manner that imbued a since of wellbeing and trust, even to one such as Ptah, whom she apprised that, unlike the material world, in their dimension there is no illusion of separateness; thus what one knows, all know, almost immediately

Obrüm seeks to link with you psychically, Ælāta advised, that he might share all that you choose to share in exchange for all that you seek to learn, she added; noting that Ptah’s apprehensions were thwarting Obrüm’s efforts. Obrüm himself then intervened to alert his old friend that ‘this is both test and opportunity; a test of his willingness to be honest and forthcoming, and an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and re-discover what he has returned to learn. As his apprehensions receded, the spirits ensouling the flowers and plants of the forest gradually manifested before him. The spirits of the flowers, plants and the flora that cover the forest are small hybrid creatures, part Elemental Being and part Nature Spirit, manifesting as Pixies.

Accompanying, or more aptly preceding their manifestation, was a Fairy of the Pixies of the forest, known as Yorëlle, who had awaited the link between Obrüm and Ptah before deeming it prudent for the Pixies to become fully manifest. Pixies are rather small beings, in miniature human-like form, with pointed ears and fragile butterfly or dragonfly-like wings, upon which they stay aloft, with their feet rarely touching the ground. Yorëlle is similarly small, though larger than the Pixies who constitute her Being; she manifests a feminine human-like body form, with pixie-like wings, upon which she hovered at eye level with Ptah, gazing deeply into his eyes, as though searching for his higher spirit.

When a spirit is born as a human in the material world, it forgets its past; when it enters its human form it undergoes a form of amnesia, forgetting its past life in the Spiritual realm, an attentive Ælāta re-affirmed for Yorëlle. Yet it is clearly he, affirmed Obrüm; to which Yorëlle readily concurred, yes, it is clearly he; he has come to learn what he once knew, so let us begin with re-acquainting. "I am Yorëlle’, she then informed Ptah, ‘a Fairy of the Nature Spirits that manifest to humans as the Pixies of the forests in the highlands you inhabit; you have shared your concern for the plants and vegetation of the highlands from which your people gather sustenance; this is our domain’, she advised.

Finally breaking his silence in response, Ptah inquired, ‘then it is you who are the overseers of the invisible powers causing the effects in the visible world that elude our understanding; the overseers of the causes that lie solely here, in the spiritual realm?’ To which Yorëlle explained that the plant life of many types that are found in the highlands are reflections in the visible (material) world of many different types of pixie-like beings in the invisible (spiritual) world. Every individual plant, Yorëlle continued, is formed, energized, and so cultivated; Pixies work behind the scenes, always in-between nature spirits and elementals, helping each wherever they can.

You will find their kingdom deep in the heart of the forests, where they live together in large communities, all having different duties and tasks. Some work with minerals and metals while others with plants and nature. With most of the smaller plants, pixies are either unaware of or not interested in anything beyond their own plants; they only become interested when a human takes interest in them. They are very hard workers, sturdy and strong; teaming up for more difficult tasks, but always achieving what they set out to do accomplish. The direct impact they have on nature in the visible world is huge; plants grow more quickly, and flowers blossom more brightly when Pixies attend and nurture them, Yorëlle informed.

Among other things, all Nature Spirits have one thing in common, Ælāta interjected, and that is the ability to join-together in hive-like consciousness, and manifest and operate as a single spirit or entity. A single overriding conscious being comprised of groups or types of Nature Spirits; such entities manifest as Fairies (Afries) to the human mind and imagination. Fairies are hive-mind like entities by virtue of our connection to the collective spirits that constitute our being, as well our connection to each other, Ælāta explained. Fairies are connected to all of which we are a part of, drawing our energy and vibration from these. Each Fairy’s lifespan is connected to the individual spirits that constitute its being, but not limited to it". 

As purely collective spirits, Ælāta expounded, Fairies are beings possessing and harmonizing a single consciousness made of multiple nature spirits". Indeed, Fairies are the archetypal spiritual intelligences behind species and plant types; stated differently, they are the group consciousness of a species. Fairies may either be imposing or tiny, their powers, however, are incredible and dominate nature; they are the most commonly known of Nature Spirits, undoubtedly because of the prominent role they play. Fairies are very powerful manifestors and know that through the processes of firm belief and clear visualization they can attract what they want into their lives.

There are dozens of types of Fairies, Ælāta illuminated, a number of these are primarily or exclusively male, and likewise a number are also primarily or exclusively female. Though male fairies have the attributes of elves, they are simply called Fairies without further gender distinction. Fairies appear to humans in ways that meet their own expectations. They often appear as ethereal beings, much like the traditional children’s book faeries, although some Fairies are something quite different. Dark elves appear as mystical or transcendent fairies and are powerful protectors of their domains that can detect and destroy any invading entities; it is they who are the guardians and keepers of the deeper mysteries".

A revelation interrupted by a faint sound of drumming behind the voice of Sekhmet in Ptah’s head, advising that, the end of the journey draws near.  A sensation shared by Obrüm, who seized the moment to advise Ptah that as long as he is in service to Nature, Nature Spirits will work with and protect him, but if he seeks to use their aid selfishly to gain temporal power, they will turn upon him with unrelenting fury. That being said Obrüm advised that Ptah call upon those with whom he has become re-acquainted to assist him in the visible world. Lastly but significantly, he advised that Ptah has thus far merely re-acquainted himself with the existence Nature Spirits, and that it imperative that he return to fully grasp the forces and powers that each employ.

Ptah you shared a vision of the misery and suffering humans now experience in the physical realm, interceded Ælāta; illuminating that it is an anguish that we in this realm experience in own manner, and for which we also seek relief. Yet, she proffered, as significant as our powers are, the essential forces of the Elementals are crucial to any resolution we might conjure. And the Elementals, Ælāta emphasized, resolutely reserve engagement with humans. They contend that the Great Forgetting eventually corrupts the spirit when it enters human form; thus, as a rule, they seek to assess the trueness of the human heart before engaging even one they have previously known and revered.

They seek to assess the trueness of your heart by how you employ what you have thus far learned or remembered since returning to our realm, Ælāta, advised; explaining that it is a test requiring both mastery and execution of that that has been thus far conferred.  A test of integrity, acuity, and aptitude, she cautioned, best demonstrated within the cycle of renewal, which begins the first day of the Season of Spring, when Mother Earth enters a stage of transition, and Mother Nature a cycle of renewal. Ptah, Ælāta expounded, this is a rather stringent test put forward by none other than the Dark Elf themselves, who welcome, encourage, and seek to so prompt your return.

With the soft