|
| |
|
| |
 |
 |
Invocation
| In Artwork
Ptah
or Ptah-Neb-Ankh (Ptah, Lord of Life)
is considered to be the greatest of all
of the Old Gods of Memphis. His worship
goes back to the earliest parts of the
dynastic period of Ancient Egypt. He is
a form of the Sun God and is the personification
of the Rising Sun. His name has bee explained
to mean "Opener" as in opening
the day, just as Tem was the "Closer"
of the day. It has been said, however,
that the name Ptah would more accurately
be translated as "Engraver, sculpture"
and is comparable to the Hebrew PThVCh
(Peh Tav Vav Cheth). This attribution
would be much closer to his significance
as the patron God of smiths, handicraftsmen,
masons, potters and the like. Ptah worked
with Khnemu in carrying out the creation
of the universe as commanded by Thoth.
While Khnemu created humanity and the
animal kingdom, Ptah constructed the Heavens
and the Earth.
 |
If
we look at Ptah through the idea
of the goal of the hermetic, we
find a very interesting symbol of
balance. Ptah is often depicted
as standing on a small platform,
wrapped as a mummy with only his
head and hands protruding. On his
head there is a skull cap in his
hands are the Ankh, the Phoenix
Wand, and the Tet Wand. In this
depiction we have Ptah representing
creative Fire for in the Coffin
Texts, spell 1130, Ptah says, "I
am the Lord of Fire who lives on
Truth." This
creative fire is then tempered
|
by
the bandages holding him in which are
representative of Set and thus restriction
or constriction or alchemically speaking
possibly inhibition. Then we have the
platform on which he stands which is a
symbol of Ma'at or truth, balance, or
law. Thus far we have an extreme creative
fire which is naturally tempered by his
wrappings in restriction standing on a
symbol of balance. Then we have his implements,
the Ankh, the Phoenix Wand, and the Tet
Wand. The Ankh is a symbol of life itself,
in all of its forms. The Tet is the backbone
of Osiris; it is an ancient form of the
Tree of Life for the word is also a type
of fruit tree. Then there is the Phoenix
Wand. The Phoenix has been considered
a symbol of the cycle of life, death,
and a glorified rebirth by numerous cultures
including, of course, the Egyptians.
The
God Ptah has also been integrated
with many other gods and in many
different configurations. Some examples
of this include Ptah-Seker, Ptah-Seker-Asar
(or Ptah-Sekri-Asar), and Ptah-Tanan
(or Ptah-Tatanen) just to name a
few. Ptah-Seker is the personification
of the harmonious union of Ptah's
primal creative fire with the inert
powers of darkness within Seker
the God of Death. Ptah-Seker
is a form of Osiris as he is the
night sun, or the hidden light.
Ptah-Seker-Asar, like Osiris, is
a symbol of resurrection and has
been fittingly described as the
triune god of the resurrection (Ptah
being the God of birth/creation,
Seker being the God of Death/Decay,
and Asar being the God of the Resurrection/Glorification.
This form of Ptah is similar in
many respects to the formula of
IAO.) Ptah-Seker is a |
|
form
of Osiris as he is the night sun, or the
hidden light. Ptah-Seker-Asar, like Osiris,
is a symbol of resurrection and has been
fittingly described as the triune god of
the resurrection (Ptah being the God of
birth/creation, Seker being the God of Death/Decay,
and Asar being the God of the Resurrection/Glorification.
This form of Ptah is similar in many respects
to the formula of IAO.) Lastly, Ptah-Tatanen,
who's name most likely comes from Ptah as
described above connected to the words Ta
meaning Earth and Enen which means inertness,
inactivity, rest, or motionless. With this
Ta-Tanen would be the god of the inert but
living matter of the Earth (according to
Budge). This would then combine the active
and creative aspects of Ptah with the inert/restful
nature of Ta-Tanen, creating a beautiful
stretch from pure creation (Kether) to living
manifestation (Malkuth) thus making the
entire Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
