Hetepu (Peace & Blessings) Family.
A long time ago there was a very powerful discipline that was understood and only practiced by the higher classes of society. This discipline was called alchemy, which is the “art of transformation.” Generally speaking, when one mentions the term alchemy it conjures up images of old Merlin-type men stuck in an old dusty laboratory, fanatically obsessing over transforming the lead metal to gold. The reason this imagery comes to mind when we mention the word alchemy is that during the European Middle Ages. There was a class of alchemist known as practical alchemists or puffers, who were fascinated with changing lead to gold. But, the idea of transforming lead to gold is an allusion referring to changing the lower nature of a thing to it’s a higher form. For instance, there are several kinds of alchemy such as spiritual alchemy the goal is to transform the heavy lead of the soul into a bright and pure spirit of gold. Social Alchemy focuses on transforming the fearful, sinful, disease-ridden, war driven and depraved nature of society (lead) into a courageous, righteous, healthy, peaceful society (gold). Therapeutic alchemy uses practices such as yoga, trance dancing, tai chi, acupuncture, reiki, tantra, dream therapy, herbology, reflexology, etc. to stimulate healing energy within the body, and so on.
Although there are no historical documents that have been recovered stating who the individual(s) is that first discovered alchemy. Historical documents reveal that alchemy was first practiced in Kemet (Ancient Egypt) and legends state that the first alchemist was the god Djahuti (Thoth).
Djahuti was revered in Kemet because he was the first scribe, the inventor of language and writing. For this reason, he is considered to be the creator of everything that was written down such as mathematics, music, magic, science, medicine, culture and alchemy.
It is believed that alchemy was practiced in Kemet for at least 5,000 years and that Djahuti had written over 300 books (or scrolls) that were preserved inside two great pillars but during a great flood the pillars were lost. Thousands of years later, the pillars were recovered by the existing priesthood who opened the pillar and found numerous precious texts and artifacts such as the Emerald Tablet. To preserve the writings and ensure that they would not be misused, the priesthood hid the writings and disseminated the Djahuti wisdom into the Kemetic society.
The Pert em Hru (the so-called Egyptian Book of the Dead and the oldest spiritual book in the history of the world) and The Book of Breathing which details how human beings can become gods and goddesses through controlling their breath, are all believed to be fragmented pieces of wisdom from these great pillars but, when the Greek invader Alexander conquered Kemet in 322 BC. Later, Alexander made the ancient writings publicly accessible and built a library so that the writings of Djahuti could be studied. This library became known as the Library of Alexandria (288 B.C.).
The Alexandrian library was said to be so large that it housed over 100 fulltime scribes who wrote, lectured, copied, translated and performed research. One of the scribes who was allowed to translate the writings was named Manetho who wrote that the writings contained the sum of all knowledge. But, Manetho along with all of the other writings ascribed to Djahuti was lost in 48 B.C. when the library of Alexandria burned down.
Since that time, numerous schools of alchemy have risen and fell because some legends claim that Djahuti was a survivor from the lost city of Atlantis who learned how to extend his life. However, according to some historians, Djahuti was an ancient Kemetic priest who lived around the time of the biblical Moses. The Greeks called Djahuti Hermes and in Latin, he was called Hermes Trismegistus, which means “thrice-greatest Hermes” referring to his mastery of the physical, mental and spiritual realms. Records indicate that there are 13 books attributed to Hermes Trismegistus and these esoteric teachings are the basis of the philosophy known as Hermeticism.
The Arabs who were familiar with the legend of Djahuti and Hermes called him Hirmis and Idris. According to their Arabian legend, Hirmis taught in Babylon after being exiled from Kemet, who is believed to have written 15 books. This eventually led to an exchanging of ideas that gave rise to the Zohar and the Jewish Kabbalah.
In China, a Djahuti or Hermes-like sage emerged named Lao Tzu who is known as the founder of Taoism. According to numerous reports, Lao Tzu lived to be around 200 years old with over 1,500 texts attributed to him, which focused on transforming the life force called Chi. While, Indian alchemists had a similar alchemy system that focused on transforming the lifeforce, which they called kundalini.
It is a known fact that the Kemetic priesthood and craftsmen were masters of alchemic practices. For instance, the Kemetians had mastered how to extract essential oils from plants, ferment fruits and malts to make beverages, produce gold and copper with a high percentage of purity, design irrigation systems, build simple machines, make advances in engineering, medicine, and architecture, while being a so-called “primitive” society. Basically, the Kemetic civilization was able to become an advanced society in a relatively short time because of alchemy. However, the problem is that ever since the destruction of the Alexandrian library in 48 BC, humanity has suffered a great loss because the wisdom of Djahuti has ceased being filtered to society. This is the reason the Kemetic priesthood concealed the teachings from the public in the first place.
So the reason Kemet is so important to our spiritual development is that within the study of the Kemetic philosophy and Kemetic religion lies the basis of the alchemic teachings of Djahuti. Djahuti’s name which means “Lord of Rebirth” and “Revealer of the Hidden” directs one’s attention to Amun (the Hidden One) and Kam Ta or KAMTA (the Land of Kam).
Kam, Kham, Kem or Khem are all references to the black fertile soil due to the inundation of the Nile River and are all root terms of the words chemistry (practical alchemy that focuses on laboratory experiments) and alchemy. The Arabs called alchemy Al-Khemia because to them it was a mysterious dark art of the Kemetic people, but what should be noted is that all of the traditional African societies and their alchemic practices are ignored and not even included in the discussion. To put it bluntly, traditional Africans have always been interested in some form of alchemy or transformation because it is the basis of traditional African culture. For instance, in the West, we call self-development spirituality but in traditional African societies, spiritual development is simply called a cultural way of life. So, the reason is that Kemetic alchemy or the “dark arts” similar to traditional African arts rests on the shoulders of the ancestors. This is the reason ancestor veneration has become such a popular subject in the last decade.
So, while we are being discouraged from engaging in our ancestral practice, others are actively trying to master this art so that they can further suppress us. This dark art is the power of the dead and their ability to go anywhere and anytime because they are not restricted by time and space. This means that the dead have the ability to guide and teach us lessons that would normally take us several lifetimes to achieve. Kemet stands as a testament that anything is humanly possible and most importantly that the human soul is immortal. Kemet is important to our spiritual development because it has the ability to transform our consciousness. There are numerous ways you can tap into Djahuti’s wisdom so ask your ancestors and guides as to how to do so. Don’t be ashamed of your ancestral culture because others do not understand it. The reason it survives is that it was founded by Djahuti and is a testament that all you need to do is go within.
Hetepu.