Egyptian Mythology

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Egyptian Mythology (エジプト神話, Ejiputo Shinwa^?) is the mythology of the ancient Egyptians, dating from 3000 BCE.

In Toaru Majutsu no Index, Egyptian Mythology is used as a base for certain forms of Magic, and certain aspects of Thelema draw from it.

Principles

The Egyptian symbol of life, the ankh. Like the Eye of Horus, as a gift it is representative of Egyptian culture.

Much of the Egyptian mythology is set in the earliest times, setting the pattern for a cycle which the Egyptians believed would be repeated in the events of the present times, much like the cycles of nature they were witness to, like the course of the sun and the annual flooding of the Nile. They believed that, as the cycles were repeated, the fundamental order of the universe, called maat, would be renewed. The universe was not a battle between good and evil, but a balance between maat and isfet (chaos, injustice, etc.), which couldn't exist without the other, order being capable of emerging from chaos and chaos from order: the sun and the day died, leading to night and darkness, which was followed by the sun rising again out of the dark. The Nile flooded annually, destroying houses and lands, but at the same time said flood was what made the fields of Egypt so fertile for agriculture. Thus, order and chaos were subject to this same cycle on an universal scale.

The Pharaoh was the "Lord of Maat" who upheld both social and cosmic order through his combined political and religious authority. Without this authority, the Egyptians believed that the primordial isfet which existed before Creation would overtake the world and dissolve everything. For example, without maat, the Nile flood failed and the country fell into famine.

The Egyptian pantheon consists of numerous deities (called nṯrw, pronounced netjeru, meaning "gods" in Ancient Egyptian), who represent natural or social phenomena. With the exception of a few beings, most of the Egyptian pantheon act to maintain maat throughout the cosmos. In art, a fair number of deities were represented as a human with an animal's head, not because the Egyptians actually believed the gods had animal heads, but because the animals symbolized aspects of the deity or were sacred and thus associated to them.

Background

Its origins rooted in prehistoric Egypt, Egyptian mythology was developed with the civilization of ancient Egypt, which emerged around 3000 BCE, and formed its religion throughout much of its history, which lasted until around the beginning of the Common Era when Egypt was annexed by the Roman Empire.

Over time, knowledge of Egyptian mythology has been distorted by European preconceptions and misconceptions, starting from the ancient Greeks, resulting in the prevalence of twisted interpretations which differ from the original mythology.

Though the religion of Egyptian mythology was lost to history, many well preserved records were left behind. Considerable progress in their analysis meant that information on their system of gods, rituals and views of life and the soul were gathered together, and with Egypt being positioned at the top of Africa, it was geographically convenient for European magicians who had reached a dead-end in their research and sought new material elsewhere to make a breakthrough, and many monuments and burial items were preserved by museum and collectors in Europe.

Like many other magicians, Aleister Crowley traveled to Egypt and incorporated the names of Isis, Osiris and Horus into his concept of Aeons. Egyptian Mythology was one of several fields which influenced the development of Hermeticism, which would become part of the foundation of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn incorporated many elements from Egyptian mythology into their magical system, and used the names of Egyptian deities in their temple names and in a number of their ceremonies. Pieces in Enochian chess were modelled after Egyptian deities.

Chronology

Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index

Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS

Main article: Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index SS

The first Egyptian magician to appear in the series is Leep, who targets Index Librorum Prohibitorum, hoping to use her knowledge to complete a version of the Book of the Dead which was missing pieces due to tomb robbers.

Coronzon Arc

Main article: Coronzon Arc

This section requires expansion Divine Mixtures

Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index

New Year's Arc

Main article: New Year's Arc

During Touma's visit to School District 12 on January 1st, it was noted that there were Egyptian-related constructions among the religious facilities there, merely reproductions from a scientific perspective without anything relating to magic. On January 3rd, figures from Egyptian mythology were among the deities referenced during the battles with Trismegistus, who invoked deities associated in Liber 777 into a triangle with himself. Around this time, in his investigation of Trismegistus and the other Transcendents, Aleister Crowley also remarked on Thoth's associations with Trismegistus, Liber 777 and Aiwass.

The Bridge Builders Cabal's executioner, Mut Thebes, prominent in the events between January 2nd and 4th, was a Transcendent rooted in Egyptian mythology.

Uses of Egyptian Mythology in the story

Name	Description	Usage in Toaru Majutsu no Index
Ankh	A hieroglyphic ideograph (with the meaning "life"), shaped as a cross with a looped handle, commonly featured in depictions of Egyptian deities.	The ankh is mentioned as a tool capable of applying a curse.
Anubis	The jackal-headed god of mummification, judge of souls, and lesser god of the afterlife.	Anubis was mentioned as one of the gods capable of being invoked by Trismegistus, as part of a triangle utilizing correspondence in Liber 777.
Bastet	A cat-headed goddess of protection, sometimes associated with Sekhmet.	The Egyptian magician Leep makes use of certain aspects of Bastet, acting as a Priestess of Bastet.
Eye of Horus	Also referred to as the Wedjat, a symbol of protection, royal power and good health, featured on funerary amulets.	The Eye of Horus is mentioned as a tool capable of applying a curse.
Horus	A falcon-headed god of the sky and war, son of Osiris and Isis.	The Aeon of Horus takes its name from this deity.
Isis	A mother goddess of health, fertility, wisdom and magic, wife of Osiris and mother of Horus.	The Aeon of Isis takes its name from this deity. One of the Divine Mixtures, Isis-Demeter, incorporates aspects of this deity. The goddess's name is included in the name of the Golden Dawn's Isis-Urania Temple. Aleister made use of aspects of Isis in a spell primarily based around Babalon. Nephthys has mentioned how she is one of Isis and Osiris's fellow gods, and sometimes seen as one and the same as those two. Agnese Sanctis used the symbol of Isis, as goddess of the lunar hexagram, for a concealing spell. Aradia referred to Isis as an example of how ancient goddesses of wisdom would view the world from three perspectives while providing the priestess serving them with a powerful protection, while invoking the night, moon and witches, and the 'triple goddess'.
Mummification	A process and practice whereby a deceased body is preserved as a mummy, believed to be important step in the transition to the afterlife. Notable parts of the practice include the removal of the internal organs except the heart and wrapping the mummy with many layers of linen cloth bandages.	Nephthys is a mummy, born from a group of servants buried with a pharaoh, and made use of her separated organs in order to escape being completely 'exiled' by World Rejecter. A certain magical faction planned the ritual sacrifice and mummification of a maiden as part of an experiment to prove the existence of heaven, with the heart being used like a signal, before being reduced to dust by Nephthys. Othinus used the idea of mummies wandering and protecting ancient treasure, as an example of how European preconceptions and misconception have twisted Egyptian Mythology.
Mut	Mother goddess and patron deity of the city of Thebes.	One of the Bridge Builders Cabal's Transcendents bears the name and identity of Mut Thebes.
Nephthys	A goddess associated with death and protector of mummies, together with Isis.	A member of the true Gremlin is called Nephthys.
Osiris	The Egyptian god of the underworld and the dead, murdered by his brother Set.	The Aeon of Osiris takes its name from this deity. One of the Divine Mixtures, Osiris-Hades, incorporates aspects of this deity. Nephthys has mentioned how she is one of Isis and Osiris's fellow gods, and sometimes seen as one and the same as those two. Osiris (and his dismemberment) was referenced during Thirteen Death's first encounter with Kamijou Touma and Othinus, among other gods related to death, while talking about their nature, power and role.
Phoenix	A legendary immortal bird which burns its body and is regenerated or reborn from the flames or ashes in a cyclic renewal. First attributed to ancient Egypt (and Heliopolis) by the ancient Greek writer Herodotus in the 5th century BCE. but suspected not to actually have been a part of Egyptian mythology and originated in Greek folklore, the phoenix has analogues in various other cultures.	Mut Thebes's full power is derived from a fusion of the phoenix and the vulture symbolizing the goddess Mut, the Dead Phoenix.
Ra	God of the sun.	One of the Divine Mixtures, Ra-Zeus, incorporates aspects of this deity. The Golden Dawn's Edinburgh branch, the Amen-Ra Temple, takes its name from the fusion of Ra and Amun (or Amen).
Sarcophagus	A type of coffin usually containing a mummy of royalty, such as a pharaoh.	Othinus referred to the idea of a pharaoh's coffin being the source of a curse, as an example of how European preconceptions and misconception have twisted Egyptian Mythology.
Scarab	An insect member of the Scarabaeidae family of beetles. In Egypt, the scarab represents transmigration.	Kamijou Touya offers Kanzaki Kaori a scarab as an Egyptian talisman supposedly preventing getting lost in the desert as a greeting gift.
Sekhmet	A violent lioness-headed goddess of war, sometimes associated with Bastet.	Leep and the Priestess of Sekhmet make use of a trance to use aspects of Sekhmet as a Priestess of Sekhmet.
Set	God of chaos, the desert and storms, who usurped and killed his brother Osiris, eventually being deposed by Osiris's son Horus.	The syncretized entity Typhon-Set was mentioned alongside Belzébuth with regards to Mathers and the Madame Horos incident.
Sphinx	A mythical creature, with the body of a lion and a human head.	The creature is the origin of Sphynx's name. Othinus used the story of the Sphinx's riddle, a Greek invention, as an example of how European preconceptions and misconceptions have twisted Egyptian Mythology.
Tefnut	Goddess of rain, dew and moisture.	One of the Divine Mixtures, Tefnut-Artemis, incorporates aspects of this deity.
The Book of the Dead	A sacred funeral text which contains spells to assist a person's journey through Duat, the Egyptian underworld, and into the afterlife.	The Book of the Dead is one of the grimoires inside Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Different versions of the book are written, specific copies for specific persons.
Thoth	The ibis-headed god of knowledge.	The name of Aleister Crowley's AI, Reading Thoth 78, is derived from Thoth and the Tarot named after him created by Aleister. It is also an original grimoire called the Thoth Tarot, its core being comprised of the 78 Tarot cards from the set of the same name. Being at the foundation of Trismegistus's legend and one of the Transcendent's default initials, Thoth is one of the gods invoked by H. T. Trismegistus, as part of a triangle utilizing correspondence in Liber 777. Aleister mentioned Thoth alongside several Thelemic entities while talking about the Bridge Builders Cabal summoning a superhuman soul into an unborn fetus and the kind of beings one would expect to be the target of such a ceremony.
Wadjet	Protective goddess.	One of the Divine Mixtures, Wadjet-Leto, incorporates aspects of this deity.

External Links

• Egyptian mythology (Wikipedia article)