Thoth (Thought), the Great Magician – The Power of Consciousness (Pt.4)

Master of Spells (Words) and Scribe of the “Gods”

Thoth was the writer of symbols, the “god” of writing, wisdom and spells, master of the words of power, the great magician and measurer. Thoth was the ibis-bird “god”. His names varied: Thoth, Tehuti, Tchehuti, Dyehuty, Tehi, Tuat, Taht. He was associated and referred to as: the baboon/kufu ape, the moon, the Bull of Maat, the judge of the “gods”, scribe of the “gods”, the great, the twice great, great one of spells and lord of the divine word. Hermes Trismegistus of later Greek and Roman mythologies, the Thrice Great magician, is derived from Thoth.

The previous article showed him as the scribe, writer and record keeper (knowledge, wisdom) in the underworld Hall of Judgment, the Hall of Maat, Morality, Truth, Justice and Order. He is often depicted with a green head. The crocodile chimera beast that ate the corrupted “heart” also had a green head. Osiris, the lord of the underworld, was also depicted as green or black. These colors were chosen to represent the generative principle of creative potential, just as Heka (magic) was symbolic of, and to create order from chaos. The underworld was a transitional location for the symbolic Hero Monomyth journey to renew, regenerate and resurrect ourselves in greater alignment with the principle of maat, order, truth, authenticity, justice, etc.

You can understand now how this makes sense, to use the power of words and picture symbols (hieroglyphs — symbols of the gods — are pictographs) in order to symbolize and represent aspects of existence and consciousness through externalized, personified, anthropomorphized, reified and deified “gods”.

That is all the “gods” in most mythologies are, symbols, allegories, analogies and metaphors created to reflect knowledge, understanding and comprehension of aspects, attributes, qualities and properties of our world (existence) and ourselves (consciousness). It elucidates the power of consciousness and thought through the art of speech, magical speech, and actions, that can harmonize, unite, integrate and be “married” to truth, justice, morality, righteousness, order, authenticity, etc. Thoth was the spouse of the great “goddess” Maat. The unity of Thoth (or thoughts, Logos, “mind/heart”, consciousness) with Maat (morality, truth, justice, order). See the previous posts (1, 2, 3, 4) for more information.

Gerald Massey speaks about Thoth in “A Book of the Beginnings”, and explains how other names for Thoth relate to boundary, limit, separation and division. This relates to logic, measure, ratio and also law/truth, through Thoth being married to Maat, both representing boundaries and limits that we can try to deny and attempt to cross in foolishness, separating ourselves from them, but ultimately only at our own peril, demise and devaluation of the quality and condition of our lives. Rejection of principles of Truth and Morality results in a decay of living up to those principles of order, and result in an increase of chaos.

The concept of a universal underlying order, was shared with the Greeks, with Logos as the ideal form of “Good” and order in the universe. Maat and Thoth (thought, Logos, the “Divine Word”), are linked, as both embody the concept of what is right, good and true, what is moral, just and brings order. Thoth’s spouse and counterpart is Maat. Heka and Thoth are bringing speech, words, and the creative power of this “magic”, which is Logos, and directly integrates with Maat, morality, truth and justice, to create order and not chaos.

The connecting concepts of wholeness, harmony, balance and order are shared among many cultures which is what Logos represents. Zoroastrian Asha, Chinese Tao, Indian Dharma, Egyptian Maat, Greek Logos. Jesus is symbolized as truth (the “light”, the sword) in many parables, and is also referred to as the Logos. Truth, Moral Truth, is what creates order and determines the overall quality and condition of our lives. Moral Truth/Law is the foundation for higher, truer, realer, authentic (maa) living and life.

The Logos of creative power symbolism applies in many ways, one is of truth and the purpose of proper meaningful speech. The term maa-kheru meant “true of voice”. Truth is central in many ancient symbolic mythologies, as is maat, the symbol of truth, order and justice, just as Logos is a central concept and symbolic of this ordering principle.

The power of speech, art of mouth, meaningful speech and true of voice — that we have as magic, influence and creative power — is generative and “godly” for its effect to alter and influence our human consciousness, world and to transform our way of living (our condition). This is personified and projected into aspects of “gods” and “goddesses” and other concepts that are symbolic to understanding qualities of ourselves and our attempts to provide answers to questions.

Thoughts (Thoth, Magic) Inscribing & Creating Into Reality

Do you know what the word hieroglyphs was in Ancient Egypt? Metu Neter, and that meant symbols or language of the “gods”. As I said previously, we are the “gods” in our consciousness where we can internally create a “multiverse” of many-worlds, and where we also invented symbols to represent and understand reality and ourselves. First came reality. Second came knowledge of reality. Third is language about reality, through symbol or word.

In Anceient Kemet (Egypt), sculptures and carvings (inscriptions of symbols and art), were later believed to be methods of extending life by “drawing” on the power of the “gods”.“Drawing” and inscribing to “draw” power. The hieroglyphics, the metu neter, are symbols of the “gods”, and writing them was a form of “magic” (Heka, Thoth) in which control of what was written confers or bestows power on what was inscribed.

The symbols of the “gods” were a power that could be attached to something by putting a symbol on it. Isn’t that how the fictional “magic” of entertainment, novels and movies works? They write some symbols and sigils, then create spell, charms and enchantments to manipulate reality with the power of those symbols.

It’s all allegory for the power of symbols, words, speech and thoughts (Thoth, magic) to influence others and ourselves into certain actions and behaviors.

To know the name of something was to be master over it, by having a name or definition to control what it meant is in a way to control what that thing is,a s far as definition and referencing it through language. I will write another post to elaborate on the topic of definition and master of a name.

Word symbols, “magic”, have there source origin in the power of true names representing reality. That is what symbols, words and language are for, an image that represents reality. Symbolism in mythology is encoding this. This is the power of words and symbolism, of language and Logos — the Word given power by thought/Thoth creating them into existence. That’s how “God” is metaphorically symbolized, as I previously mentioned.

To create symbols, Nature/Reality must be observed, so that the symbols reflect the natural science of observation in nature and its processes/systems. First came reality. Second came knowledge of reality. Third is language about reality, through symbol or word.

This is the Power of Consciousness, the power of thought (Thoth, magic), and words/speech as basic actions to affect existence. Logos, the Word.

The importance of symbols in conceptual thought constructs is ever present in a religious priestly context and the development of civilization through religious influence. These priests are the magicians and sorcerers of the science of imagery, of symbols, and their power to influence and manipulate the consciousness of others. Imagery, symbolism, in the hands of rhetoricians and sophists, such as priests, gurus or politicians, is a powerful tool to invoke, inject, inculcate, summon and cast spell on the minds of men. It’s not limited to them alone, anyone can use techniques of manipulation.

Learn to discern or be fooled.

Humans can invent any concept, any invention of fantasy and project it externally into some imagined aspect of reality, true or false, and represent it as a symbol or word in language.

The controller class has likely always understood the deeper “occulted”/hidden meaning of the symbolism they used to manipulate the masses with the science of imagery. Here are some layers of encoding symbolism that have been used to cover up, hide and “occult” knowledge about reality and ourselves:

  • Exoteric – literal interpretations, as fantasy beliefs purported as “truth”, rituals of attaining the “afterlife”, “paradise”, heaven”, not here and now, but some other place after you die, i.e. theology
  • Esoteric 1 – symbolism for astro-theology, sun theology, and other physical knowledge of reality encoded
  • Esoteric 2 – symbolism for psychology, philosophy, self-knowledge of objective consciousness understanding

There is more symbolism to this, relating to the Hero Monomyth, and other aspects of the 4-elements, mouth and wheel symbolism (dharma, rota, tao, karma, time, fortune, destiny, fate); the mouth as breathing, air, “spirit”, psyche, sun and higher consciousness symbolism; of being a “god” through apotheosis which means to “become like a god”, more perfect, more pure, more moral, more true, more real, more authentic as higher evolved consciousness beings. But that will have to be delved into another time, on another post.

Most of the ancient mythologies are conveying symbolic, metaphorical, analogous and parabolic allegories, narrative and stories. It’s not literal. The art of inventing symbols, and communicating them, is something we can all learn and understand. This is the purpose of the Trivium Methodology – learning how to learn and how to think more effectively.

In summary, Thoth is thought, the “magical”, generative, creative potential Power of Consciousness to abstract, imagine and invent symbols and to combine them into greater connected comprehension of reality (existence) and ourselves (consciousness), and use all that power to affect, influence, alter, change and create into the Primacy of Existence. We are the potential Great Magicians.