Honey of the Pharaohs
By Eduardo H. Grecco
Besides being a great friend, Mathew Clark is an American anthropologist who specializes in the cultures of Ancient Egypt and the Arab world until the falling of the Caliph of Cordoba. Years ago, he gave me a present: getting to know the masterpiece of Nemer Ibn el Ramses who, legend has it, was a mystical man that lived in the XI century a.D. in a small village near the city of Asyut that was at that time, capital of the thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt.
The city, located about 320 kms. south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile, was a great trade center and because of its strategic location it was the place where many caravans incoming from the Red Sea and Nubia met. The deity that protected the city was Upuat and was represented as a savage dog or a wolf, thus, giving it its Greek name, Lycopolis. It was both the place of birth of Plotinus (205-270 a.D.), considered the father of Neoplatonism and a place of irradiation of ancient esoteric, magical and scientific traditions.
We have to keep in mind the Coptic influence that place had, as well as the fact that Mary, Joseph and Jesus wandered for about 10 years through that territory during their exile from Israel.
It is within this context that Nemer ibn el Ramses was born around 950 a.D. In his time he was considered a crazy wise man who lead a mysterious existence and had an indefinite profession; probably a mix of medical doctor, philosopher and prophet who had to hide his passion for Alchemy.
From the few pages written by his own pen that we have gotten hold of, some curious aspects stand out. Some about health, illness and healing, but specially about Alchemy in ancient Pharaonic Egypt, subject in which he seemed to be not only a well read person, but also recognized guide.
Among all the issues of the work of this master that came to my attention (from whom my friend Clark narrated that which is added orally, along with his texts translated straight from Arabic to Spanish during pleasant afternoons between teacher and student) there is specially one I would like to share. I wish I were not the one responsible of this task since the person from whom I heard this narration would most likely be able to write it more precisely and beautifully than I ever could.
Nonetheless, since this subject has a direct link with the work done with Obsidian as well as the aspects of the cosmo-vision it is based upon, it now seems to be the right time to let the knowledge I have generously received circulate among the Obsidian community. What is this about? It is about honey, Pharaohs and Obsidian.
A matter of honey
Nemer ibn el Ramses supported the idea that the government structure in pharaonic Egypt was based on the existence of a cosmic-spiritual order that had its equal on Earth and that the balance of everything visible depended on mankind’s respect to that superior, invisible configuration.
It is here that the bee appeared as a symbol of royal authority with the obedient people. Even on this point, Champolion mentions that the word bee in hieroglyphic writing has the meaning of “king of obedient people”.
This fact may be confirmed on different tables and texts of ancient Egypt where the word bee has the same meaning, idea that may generate a certain image of the symbol, being a representation of the sacred lineage of the pharaohs as well as their product, honey, a symbol of wisdom. On the other hand, around 1,200 bC, honey was a product reserved only as nourishment for the pharaohs and other important characters of the empire; beekeeping was a science known only by the priests.
From this idea Nemer confirms that pharaonic theocracy was organized just as a honeycomb and that all pharaonic Egypt was a beehive that worked in the production of the honey of wisdom.
Looking at things from this perspective it is understood why honey worked as nourishment for Ra. This was none other than “liquid light”; melted sun; nourishment of the dead in their journey towards their destiny; pleasure of the priests, wise men and masters; joy for the hearts in love. It is worth mentioning the word Pharaoh means “the great house”, “the honeycomb where all the members of the swarm found shelter”.
This is why master Nemer insists that the pyramids were like honeycombs of stone where the swarm polished the rocks until they had the right shape and on at the very top of the finished work, an emblem of the pharaoh was placed. This established a connection and a channel through which the rays of the sun reached the Earth.
This way, the Earthly hierarchy was a reflection of cosmic order, of visible and invisible geography and every single thing rotated around the supreme principle of obedience. The obedience that makes the personality not be away form the soul, that the woman slave not be unprotected from her master, that men not be abandoned by God. The obedience that relates to the love that contributes to well being, not the one inspired by fear. Obedience that carries responsibility and participation. Obedience to the telling of the soul.
The alchemist master recommended with all this mythology behind him, to prepare an elixir made with obsidian and honey to have a process of depuration, burning and transmutation for a period of 21 days. When ingested, it granted the willingness to learn and develop the virtue of the wisdom of obedience.
It may sound a little weird to find a reference of obsidian by this means and with this goal set if we set aside the metaphorical ways in which the alchemists passed along their knowledge.
I always believed after reading once and again this information that the Arab master wanted to leave us the proposal of a lesson to be learned. Which one? That life is not only the production of honey and not bitterness; light, not shadow and that besides all of this, there is an organization in which there must be obedience. That the spiritual leads the material things, the master leads the disciple; the symbol, the archetype. But when one is dominated by the archetype (the darkness of the past of which we are prisoners) we can only find liberation when we live it fully and consciously.
Master Ana Silvia Serrano invites us to work with these archetypes: the woman slave, to dissolve the unconscious bind that ties the person to its inner tyrant authority that is afterwards projected in someone else as the masters who mistreat, as the parents that scold, people who abuse…The matter is not only to get rid of the outer tyrant energy, but also from the inner tyrant energy that gives life to the former. This can be achieved with the help of the Obsidian geometries.
I just want to add on my behalf to Ana Silvia’s proposal that, just as in the honeycomb, everything happens under the framework of a shared common task having evolution as a common ending (be more oneself, become united). Obedience to the law of the soul, to the law of love is the honey from which we should feed ourselves to bring comfort to our hearts which sometimes go backwards and forget that in this lifetime we only get what we are prepared to face.