Memories of Egypt, More from Day 7 and the Judgement and Seven of Swords Cards

​Well, I have fallen a few days behind with my Egypt posts, but don’t give up on me!  I am actually traveling again right now, so my posts might be a bit delayed but I am going to get it done.  😊 
At this point in our trip, we had made a few changes to our itinerary and the days and the places we were going were all starting to get jumbled up in my mind.  I wasn’t doing too much journaling then, because I was too busy just enjoying myself and taking it all in.  This is one of the reasons that this opportunity to revisit it all is so good for me.  It is really nice to be able to take the time to go back through all of my pictures and sort out exactly where we were and when.  That being said, I did realize that I left off one of my most favorite temples from our seventh day.  After we visited the ancient quarry and the Al-Kab monuments, we went to Edfu to see the Temple of Horus or the Edfu Temple.  Looking back on it, it is hard to believe that we did so many things in one day, but again, hence the early wake-up calls.  

​If Bast is my Girl, then Horus is my Guy, and I just can’t say enough about how happy I was to be there. I had always seen the photos of his well-known statue that resides there, and I had always thought, “If I ever go to Egypt, that is one of the things I have to see.”  So, to actually be right in front of it and looking up at its beauty was sort of surreal.  What a powerful statue that is.  

​I want to talk for a moment about the energy that the monuments and every single stone in Egypt seemed to hold.  Before I had done much energy work myself, I used to hear people talk about how they felt the energy of various things and I always wondered what they were talking about.  I mean, a rock is a rock, right?  So, if you are one of those people, let me just say that for me it took belief and a lot of practice before it was something that came naturally.  Everyone experiences energy differently, so I will try to describe how it was for me when I was there.  In general, it was like a humming or tingling sensation throughout my whole body.  At times, I was light-headed, and my ears would often ring.  Science shows that we are all made up of moving energy and when you are in a “high-energy” location it is rather like all those particles are sped up or tuned into a different frequency.  What I find so enthralling about being in a place like this, is that when you are there it is sort of a feeling of intoxication.  I was there and present and taking it all in, but it seemed like I was floating along, and I just wasn’t able to sweat the small stuff.  I found it much more difficult to stay “grounded” while I was in Egypt and quite frankly, I really didn’t want to.  Certain locations and objects there, just seem to call to you.  The statue of Horus at Edfu Temple was one of these objects for me.  His energy felt very much like a magnet pulling me towards him.  If you have ever held two magnets apart, then you understand the invisible tug that happens between them.  This was my draw to Horus.  Now when you are in any ancient site, you know full-well that you are not supposed to touch anything. The oil on your hands can degrade the stone and eventually if enough people do it you can destroy it completely.  So I honestly made every attempt I could not to do it, but it was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do.  Everywhere I went, all I wanted to do was run my hands along every wall, but I knew I couldn’t and for the most part I behaved.  But Horus was having none of it.  I swear, I could almost hear him.  “Come on, touch me, you know you want to!”  So, I had an epic fail and not only did I touch him gently with my hand, I rested my forehead against him for just a moment too.  I was totally busted and I got a good scolding for it, but it was just like I had no choice in the matter.  I do deeply regret any harm I may have caused to this most incredible piece, but I will also cherish the moment for the rest of my entire life.  Imagine being held gently in the wings of an angel and you have some idea of what it was like for me.

​Another thing I remember regarding this site was the means of transportation there and back, as well as the chaos around the arrival and departure.  We were taken into the temple and back again by horse and buggy.  This was a charming way to see the sites, but if you go and are an animal lover, be prepared to see some of them in less than ideal condition.  I did have to come to terms with that and respect and understand my own circle of influence over those sorts of issues while I was there.  Regretfully, there are some problems that you just cannot change or fix in that moment all by yourself. While Egypt is wonderful and magical and magnificent, most of the people are also very poor and in dire need of income.  It is a different country with an entirely different culture, belief system, and way of doing things and many areas are very poverty-stricken.  I had to consider the fact that by choosing NOT to ride the horses, camels, donkeys and so on, I might also be taking much needed income away from the animal’s owner, which in a way takes food out of the animal’s mouth as well.  I will never be entirely comfortable with it, but for the most part it was obvious that these animals had value and were taken care of to the best of the owner’s ability, so I tried to focus on being grateful for the trip back through time and that I was able to help the buggy driver support himself and his horse. This temple was one that was located right in the middle of the city and as you come in through the city streets and approach the temple, there is a point where you are absolutely mobbed by merchants and children trying to sell you anything and everything under the sun.  This was one of those things that I liked the least about being in Egypt.  I understood it, but I have anxiety issues and I do not like people in my personal space, so this was really challenging for me.  On top of that, I absolutely hate not being able to help someone and saying no in general.  However, it is completely unfeasible to purchase something from everyone who approaches you and you have to learn to say no (or “la” in Arabic) really quickly.  We learned to literally stick together as a group, arms linked like we were playing Red Rover, and push through the throngs of people as best we could.  Please note that I was NEVER touched inappropriately or harmed in any way.  I was not afraid, but rather sad and overwhelmed by the desperation that I felt from some of the people.  If I only I could have made it rain dollar bills for them, I would have. Once you arrive at the entrance to the temple itself and are through the gates, the experience changes totally and you are back to having calm and space and quiet.  It was a bit of a shock to my system.  Not the peaceful introduction that we had to the Philae Temple, but still well worth it.  

​Once inside, I was taken most by the sheer size, height and enormity of the temple itself.  It really is beautiful.  The walls were so high it seemed like you could never reach the top and every square inch were covered in hieroglyphs.  I wished so desperately that I could read them.  I will share some of my most favorite pictures of this place and say no more.  I think they speak for themselves.

​I have been working with the major arcana Tarot cards up to this point, but today I feel compelled to throw in one of the suit cards as well.  I believe the emotions and experiences of this day remind me most of the Judgment card, but the Seven of Swords and the image on this card in the Nefertari Tarot deck are just too perfect to leave out.  The Judgement card, much like the Death card, has to do with properly laying things to rest so that new things can be recognized and brought to life.  It is about resolving old issues so that you can transform yourself for the better and prepare for the good that is to come.  On this day, it also had the more literal meaning of “judgement.”  I had to try not to judge myself too harshly for making bad decisions like touching ancient statues and I needed to put aside some of my Western viewpoints and accept that not everyone sees things the same way I do.  This is one of the lovely lessons of Horus and other winged Beings and messengers.  Hawks have the ability to fly far above us and they remind us that we too can change our perspective and might need to look at things form others’ points of view.  I could not help but throw in the Seven of Swords, not only because the image is so perfect for what I did that day, but also because in the more traditional decks, it can represent feelings of guilt or feeling like you are sneaking around a bit.  I certainly felt guilty for being pulled in a buggy by a horse that was probably tired and that I could not help every single person that approached me, begging me to buy the items they were carrying or sold in their shops.  Did I mention the sweet little faces of the children that were among them?  (Back to the Judgement card again, in the Rider-Waite version there are little children reaching up to the angel above them.  It resonates here.) Anyway, the word guilt is appropriate, and I really did want to sneak away somewhere to hide from the crowds.  Most of all I just love the image in this card of the woman holding her hands up in worship to Horus with the knives hanging over her head.  She worships him and looks like she is longing to touch him, but the swords are there warning her against it.  I hope she does it anyway.  😉