Heru-ra-ha
Encyclopedia
Heru-ra-ha is a composite deity
within Thelema
, a religion that began in 1904 with Aleister Crowley
and his Book of the Law
. Heru-ra-ha is composed of Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-par-kraat. He is associated with the other two major Thelemic deities found in The Book of the Law, Nuit
and Hadit
, who are also godforms related to ancient Egyptian mythology
. Their images
link Nuit and Hadit to the established Egyptian deities Nut
and Hor-Bhdt (Horus
of Edfu
).
Within Thelema, Ra-Hoor-Khuit is called the Lord of the Aeon
(which began in 1904 according to Thelemic doctrine), and The Crowned and Conquering Child.
According to the instructions that Crowley claimed to have received from the 8th Enochian Aethyr
, the five-pointed "star of flame" symbolizes Ra-Hoor-Khuit in certain contexts.
An appellation of Ra
, identifying him with Horus
, this name shows the two as manifestations of the singular Solar Force. "Khuit" also refers to a local form of the goddess Hathor
at Athribis, who guarded the heart
of Osiris
. "Khut" refers to the goddess Isis
as light giver of the new year, and by some accounts can also mean the fiery serpent
on the crown of Ra
. This last meaning serves as a title of Isis
in one of the hymns to "Isis-Hathor" at the Temple of Philae
. Hathor also has the titles "Uraeus
of Ra" and "Great Flame".
, the son of Isis
and Osiris
, sometimes distinguished from their brother Horus the Elder, who was the old patron deity of Upper Egypt. Hoor is represented as a young boy with a child's sidelock of hair, sucking his finger. The Greeks, Ovid
and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
attributed silence to him, presumably because the sucking of the finger is suggestive of the common "shhh" gesture.
Ra-hoor-khuit, the speaker in the third chapter of The Book of the Law, introduces himself as "the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat."
Also known as "The Babe in the Lotus", Hoor-paar-kraat is sometimes thought of as the baby Ra-Hoor-Khuit and sometimes as the younger brother of Horus. The former view in the works of Aleister Crowley portrays Ra-Hoor-Khuit—in place of the Golden Dawn
's Osiris
/Jesus
-- as a model for the initiate, and thus describes attainment as a natural growth process, de-emphasizing the metaphor of death and resurrection. In the second view, the Golden Dawn placed Hoor-paar-kraat at the center of their Hall of Ma'at while the officers of the temple (one of whom represented Horus) revolved around him.
presents Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child, as the union of many opposites.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
within Thelema
Thelema
Thelema is a religious philosophy that was established, defined and developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904...
, a religion that began in 1904 with Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
and his Book of the Law
The Book of the Law
Liber AL vel Legis is the central sacred text of Thelema, written by Aleister Crowley in Cairo, Egypt in the year 1904. Its full title is Liber AL vel Legis, sub figura CCXX, as delivered by XCIII=418 to DCLXVI, and it is commonly referred to as The Book of the Law.Liber AL vel Legis contains three...
. Heru-ra-ha is composed of Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-par-kraat. He is associated with the other two major Thelemic deities found in The Book of the Law, Nuit
Nuit
Nuit is the speaker in the first Chapter of The Book of the Law, the sacred text of Thelema written or received in 1904 by Aleister Crowley....
and Hadit
Hadit
Hadit refers to a Thelemic version of the Egyptian god Horus. Hadit is the principal speaker of the second chapter of The Book of the Law .- Descriptions :...
, who are also godforms related to ancient Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
. Their images
Stèle of Revealing
The Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu i is a painted, wooden offering stele, discovered in 1858 at the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut at Dayr al-Bahri by François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette...
link Nuit and Hadit to the established Egyptian deities Nut
Nut (goddess)
In the Ennead of Egyptian mythology, Nut was the goddess of the sky.-Goddess of the sky:...
and Hor-Bhdt (Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
of Edfu
Edfu
Edfu is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately sixty thousand people. For the ancient history of the city, see below...
).
Active aspect
The Active Aspect of Heru-ra-ha is Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Egyptian: Ra-Hoor-Khu-It, Ra-Har-Khuti or possibly Ra-Har-Akht), more commonly referred to by the Greek transliteration Ra-Herakhty, means "Ra (who is) Horus on the Horizon." Ra-Hoor-Khuit or Ra-Hoor-Khut is the speaker in the Third Chapter of The Book of the Law. Some quotes from his Chapter:- "Now let it be first understood that I am a god of War and of Vengeance." (AL III:3)
- "Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon the earth or under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms." (AL III:17)
- "I am the warrior Lord of the Forties: the Eighties cower before me, & are abased. I will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!" (AL III:46)
- "There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt." (AL III:60)
Within Thelema, Ra-Hoor-Khuit is called the Lord of the Aeon
Aeon (Thelema)
In the religion of Thelema, it is believed that the history of humanity can be divided into a series of Aeons, each of which was accompanied by its own forms of "magical and religious expression"...
(which began in 1904 according to Thelemic doctrine), and The Crowned and Conquering Child.
According to the instructions that Crowley claimed to have received from the 8th Enochian Aethyr
Enochian magic
Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the evocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th-century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contained the...
, the five-pointed "star of flame" symbolizes Ra-Hoor-Khuit in certain contexts.
An appellation of Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
, identifying him with Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, this name shows the two as manifestations of the singular Solar Force. "Khuit" also refers to a local form of the goddess Hathor
Hathor
Hathor , is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt...
at Athribis, who guarded the heart
Egyptian soul
The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body...
of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
. "Khut" refers to the goddess Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
as light giver of the new year, and by some accounts can also mean the fiery serpent
Uraeus
The Uraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra , used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt.The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, who was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and who...
on the crown of Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
. This last meaning serves as a title of Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
in one of the hymns to "Isis-Hathor" at the Temple of Philae
Philae
Philae is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt...
. Hathor also has the titles "Uraeus
Uraeus
The Uraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra , used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt.The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, who was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and who...
of Ra" and "Great Flame".
Passive aspect
The Passive Aspect of Heru-ra-ha is Hoor-pa-kraat (Egyptian: Har-par-khered), more commonly referred to by the Greek transliteration Harpocrates, meaning "Horus the Child"; HorusHorus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, the son of Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
and Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
, sometimes distinguished from their brother Horus the Elder, who was the old patron deity of Upper Egypt. Hoor is represented as a young boy with a child's sidelock of hair, sucking his finger. The Greeks, Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
attributed silence to him, presumably because the sucking of the finger is suggestive of the common "shhh" gesture.
Ra-hoor-khuit, the speaker in the third chapter of The Book of the Law, introduces himself as "the minister of Hoor-paar-kraat."
Also known as "The Babe in the Lotus", Hoor-paar-kraat is sometimes thought of as the baby Ra-Hoor-Khuit and sometimes as the younger brother of Horus. The former view in the works of Aleister Crowley portrays Ra-Hoor-Khuit—in place of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
's Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
/Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
-- as a model for the initiate, and thus describes attainment as a natural growth process, de-emphasizing the metaphor of death and resurrection. In the second view, the Golden Dawn placed Hoor-paar-kraat at the center of their Hall of Ma'at while the officers of the temple (one of whom represented Horus) revolved around him.
Combined form
The Cry of the First Aethyr in Crowley's Liber 418The Vision and the Voice
The Vision and the Voice chronicles the mystical journey of Aleister Crowley as he explored the 30 Enochian Æthyrs originally developed by Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley in the 16th century. These visions took place at two times: in 1900 during his stay in Mexico, and later in 1909 in Algeria...
presents Horus, the Crowned and Conquering Child, as the union of many opposites.
It is a little child covered with lilies and roses. He is supported by countless myriads of Archangels. The Archangels are all the same colourless brilliance, and every one of them is blind. Below the Archangels again are many, many other legions, and so on far below, so far that the eye cannot pierce. And on his forehead, and on his heart, and in his hand, is the secret sigil of the Beast. (fn: Sun and moon conjoined) And of all this the glory is so great that all the spiritual senses fail, and their reflections in the body fail.(...)This child danceth not, but it is because he is the soul of the two dances, --- the right hand and the left hand, and in him they are one dance, the dance without motion.