Friday, April 24, 2015

Film: The Pyramid


A team of U.S. archaeologists unearths an ancient pyramid buried deep beneath the Egyptian desert. As they search the pyramid's depths, they become hopelessly lost in its dark and endless catacombs. Searching for a way out, they become desperate to seek daylight again. They come to realize they aren't just trapped, they are being hunted.


A team of archaeologists discover a vast pyramid buried under the Egyptian desert; a pyramid that has three sides and not four like the pyramids of Giza, Egypt. The team ordered to leave the site due to an uprising in Giza, and mostly due to the toxic fungal gas within the tombed pyramid. But to the debate between both father and daughter, Dr. Miles Holden and Dr. Nora Holden, they stay to get a glimpse of the pyramid, and send a robot, Shorty, in to investigate. After Shorty's destruction by unknown means, they make their way inside to recover it. They rapidly become lost, and a section of floor collapses beneath them, wounding and trapping Zahir (Amir K) pinning his leg to the ground by fallen debris. While attempting to climb back up, Sunni (Nicola) is scratched across the face by an unseen creature and falls. Leaving Zahir behind to find another way out, they hear him scream, and return to find only a bloody trail leading up the wall.


They are pursued through a narrow tunnel by creatures revealed to be cats that have survived for nearly thousands of years by cannibalism when a soldier, Shadid, finds and rescues them. But he is then pulled back into the tunnel by an unseen and powerful force. Shortly after escaping a sand trap, Sunni is pushed into a spike pit and fed on by the scavenger cat beasts, dying shortly after her fatal wounds. After finding a burial chamber and speculating about an escape route, Dr. Miles Holden (O'Hare) has his heart torn out from behind. His daughter, Dr. Nora Holden, and the cameraman Fitzie (Buckley) flee, though Fitzie shortly returns to discover Anubis weighing Miles' heart against Ma'at to determine entry to the afterlife. Miles is deemed unworthy and crumbles to dust. It is afterwards they learn that the pyramid was constructed to imprison Anubis, who was unforgiving and merciless in his goal to reunite with his father/creator, Osiris. Finding a journal from a Free Mason explorer, an occupant who had previously discovered the pyramid years ago, they find a way out, but are chased after by Anubis, and Fitzie is discovered and killed. Nora is temporarily captured and soon to be judged by Anubis, but manages to escape with the help of the scavenger cats, and passes out near the pyramid's exit. She wakes to discover a child above her, before Anubis lunges at them both.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The Changer of Ways-Tzeench-Change we can beleive in!

The Thousand Sons were the XV Legion of the original twenty Space Marine Legions. Their Primarch is Magnus, often called Magnus the Red. The Legion turned traitor during the Horus Heresy, after which it relocated to the Planet of Sorcerers in the Eye of Terror and dedicated itself to the Chaos God of change, sorcery and magic, Tzeentch. For a time it appeared that Tzeentch protected the Thousand Sons from the corruption and fragmentation that most of the other Traitor Legions underwent, but eventually the Legion went through a crisis of mutation and de-evolution, seemingly at the wish of their patron-God. Aghast at this development, their chief sorcerer, Ahriman, cast a powerful spell designed to render the Thousand Sons immune to the warping effects of Chaos. While the spell succeeded in this goal, it had an unforseen consequence of transforming the mutated Thousand Sons into little more than mystically animated suits of armour barely capable of being termed as anything more sentient than automata.

With the only surviving cognisant members being those incredibly strong in heretical psychic powers, the Thousand Sons are now a legion of ghosts led by the damned.


Kairos Fateweaver. Greater Daemon of Tzeentch

“Do not ask which creature screams in the night. Do not question who waits for you in the shadow. It is my cry that wakes you in the night, and my body that crouches in the shadow. I am Tzeentch and you are the puppet that dances to my tune...”
        - The Changer of Ways.

Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, is the Chaos God of Sorcery, Change, and Manipulation. Within the Realm of Chaos his domain covers the chaotic magic, evolution and change, scheming and manipulation of all kinds, mundane as well as arcane. He is known under many other names, among them the Lord of Change, the Grand Schemer and the Lord of Sorcery, while in the Chaos Wastes he is known as the Great Eagle. In the Age of Reckoning, the Northmen tribes that make up the Army of Chaos led by the elite Raven Host worship him as the Raven God. Tzeentch's number is nine; as such, his followers frequently take to the battlefield in squads made up of multiples of nine. The colors used to represent Tzeentch are generally blue, purple, yellow, and gold.




Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy





In ancient Egypt, a sinister and murderous prince named Talos is sentenced to death for his crimes, and a curse is placed upon his tomb. Many years later, archeologist Sir Richard Turkel (Christopher Lee) discovers Talos's tomb while on a dig in the Middle East. While Turkel warns his associates not to disturb his burial grounds for fear of angering the evil spirits, the grave is opened anyway and soon Turkel and his men meet a grisly fate. A few decades later, Turkel's granddaughter Samantha (Louise Lombard) is following in Richard's footsteps and has uncovered Talos's sarcophagus, which is to be displayed at a museum in England. However, while Talos's decaying corpse is no longer confined within his gauze wrappings, the bandages have absorbed his evil spirit and have taken on a life of their own.

Upon arrival in London, the fabric develops a taste for blood and goes on a murderous rampage, leaving bodies in their wake and presenting a very puzzling case for Riley (Jason Scott Lee), an American detective on assignment in the United Kingdom. Director Russell Mulcahy claims one of his key inspirations was a scene from the 1959 Hammer Films version of The Mummy (which starred Christopher Lee) that appeared on the poster but not in the actual film - in which a beam of light shone through a hole in the Mummy's chest. Also appearing are Lysette Anthony, Honor Blackman and Shelley Duvall. The film was originally shown under the title Talos The Mummy.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The “FIRST TIME” of Osiris




The Egyptians associated the first appearance of the phoenix with a golden age in their history known as Zep Tepi, the “First Time.” They were convinced the foundations of their civilization were established during this remote and glorious epoch. R. T. Rundle Clark, former professor of Egyptology at Manchester University, commented on the ancients’ conception of the First Time: “Anything whose existence or authority had to be justified or explained must be referred to the ‘First Time.’ This was true for natural phenomena, rituals, royal insignia, the plans of temples, magical or medical formulae, the hieroglyphic system of writing, the calendar—the whole paraphernalia of the civilization ... All that was good or efficacious was established on the principles laid down in the “First Time”—which was, therefore, a golden age of absolute perfection...”

The First Time seems to have been the period during which Osiris reigned as foremost king of Egypt. It was during this era that he established law (maat) and initiated worship of Ra, Egypt’s monotheistic God. Rundle Clark explained: “The reign of Osiris was a golden age, the model for subsequent generations. Maat and monotheism, the “model for subsequent generations” set forth by Osiris, was the driving force behind Egyptian culture for thousands of years.

What exactly does the phrase “the First Time” mean? Is it a reference to the first appearance—the first coming— of the Christian Saviour on earth? Was there a guiding force behind the rise of Egyptian culture? The same guiding force that has inaugurated the empire of Christendom? Was the First Time an era during which an ancient Messianic tradition was first established? A tradition aimed at revealing cultural wisdom, law, and spiritual truth to mankind during different historical epochs?

In the past decade extensive research has been undertaken by authors Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, and Adrian Gilbert to link the events of the “First Time” with the god Osiris and the constellation Orion. They believe the three great pyramids at Giza were constructed to form a mirror image of the three stars of Orion’s belt (Orion was perceived as the celestial counterpart of Osiris). Using computer-imagery they demonstrate that the best fit for the Orion/Pyramids correlation was the year 10,500 B.C. One of the so-called “air-shafts” inside the great pyramid points directly to the stars of Orion’s belt during the 10,500 B.C. epoch— further evidence, according to the authors, of a connection between the First Time of Osiris, the Giza pyramids, and the three stars of Orion’s belt. What is the significance of the 10,500 B.C. era? Is it possible that Osiris’ life, death, and resurrection occurred during this remote epoch? By establishing a date for the First Time of Osiris, have Hancock, Bauval, and Gilbert unwittingly discovered the date of the first appearance of the phoenix (Christian Messiah) on earth?

Interestingly, 10,500 B.C. is an important date to the Ammonites, a hidden community of about 27,000 who still practice the ancient Egyptian religion. Though the Ammonites are believed to have been destroyed by the Israelites thousands of years ago, they have lived in hiding throughout the Middle East for centuries, settling for a time in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Their history can be traced back to the era of the first Ammonite kingdoms in Jordan, outside Egypt. The Ammonite Foundation is said to have been established by King Tutankhamun after the reign of the heretic Akhenaten, its purpose being to protect the sacred Egyptian texts from corruption. Ammonite tradition asserts that the appearance of Osiris, known by his ancient Egyptian name Ausar, occurred in c. 10,500 B.C. Jonathan Cott, author of Isis and Osiris: Exploring the Myth, conducted an interview with Her Grace Sekhmet Montu, one of the spiritual leaders of the Ammonites. She described the birth of the Ammonite tradition: “We didn’t start counting ourselves as followers until the death of Ausar [Osiris], and the date of his ascension into the other world marks the first day of the Ammonite calendar—12,453 years ago from this June 21, 1991!

Here again the mysterious date 10,500 B.C. arises in connection to the First Time of Osiris.

Interestingly, the twentieth-century American psychic Edgar Cayce also spoke of the year 10,500 B.C. According to his readings, it was during this era that the primitive Nile-dwellers came in contact with beings of a more ancient and advanced civilization who accelerated their culture and sense of spirituality by laying down the fundamentals of Egyptian culture.

Nefertari, the tireless partner of Ramses II




Nefertari, the tireless partner of Ramses II, managed his harem and played a minor role in developing the peace agreement with the Hittite kingdom. In appreciation of her abilities, Ramses II built her a smaller, lavish temple at Abu Simbel. This Ninteenth-­ Dynasty statue of the two stands as testament to their partnership.

In the palace, Ramses married his first royal wife, Nefertari, who presented his firstborn son. His secondary wife, Isetnofret, gave birth to a second boy. There were more sons and daughters, and a nursery blossomed in the harem. King Sethos became grandfather to a dozen or so children. In ancient times, many babies died in infancy. Those who survived later played major and minor roles in Egyptian history. All of Ramses’ boys held the title of commander and chief of the army. Ramses’ brother and Sethos’s heir apparent had died.

Nefertari, a daughter of Egyptian nobility, was the favored wife of Ramses II. The first of eight wives to provide Ramses II with a son, Nefertari was known as the chief queen of the harem.
Grounded in her husband’s rule while Ramses was away from the capital, his chief consort, Queen Nefertari, held his exalted position. In the grand audience chamber she conducted court, heard grievances, and governed his correspondences. She supervised her large royal household and a girls’ school where young women received instructions in art, weaving, and music. Elegant and composed, Nefertari stood alongside Ramses at public and state ceremonies. Two of his sisters, Tia, and his younger sister, Hentmire, assumed their places as official wives of the king, as did two other sisters.

When he was crowned king, not only did Ramses design plans for his own burial tomb, but for that of his first royal queen, Nefertari. Said to have been the most beautiful of his seven royal wives, scribes and artists were instructed to emblaze stunning scenes throughout her tomb. Nefertari appeared in a white linen gown, with six strands of amethysts around her neck, gold bracelets on her wrists, and her golden vulture crown with its two feathers artfully extending from the back. A small gold and turquoise cobra, threaded through her earlobe, marked her as royalty. Another frieze showed her worshipping the mummified body of Osiris. Equally stunning, another depicted her offering milk to the goddess Hathor. In one scene, the goddesses Nephthys and Isis watch hawk-like over the queen’s mummy, portrayed as Osiris. To match Nefertari’s radiance, Ramses ordered a pink granite sarcophagus. Befitting his royal wife, passages from the Book of the Dead emblazoned a wall, and his love for Nefertari was expressed: “For the one whose love shines. My love is unique—no one can rival her, for she is the most beautiful woman alive. Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart.” Jimmy Dunn.

In the twenty-fourth year of Ramses’ reign, the two great temples at Abu Simbel in Nubia were completed—one for Ramses II and his gods, the other for Nefertari and her goddess. A giant statue of Ramses and a rounded figure of Queen Nefertari with smaller figures of their children flanked the sun-bleached portals. Ramses had hieroglyphics inscribed above the giant figures that read, “Rammesses II, he has made a Temple, excavated in the Mountain of eternal workmanship . . . for the Chief Queen Nefertari Beloved of Mut, in Nubia, forever and ever . . . Nefertari . . . for whose sake the very sun does shine!” according to Christian Jacq’s The Lady of Abu Simbel.

A grand flotilla of royalty sailed up the Nile to Nubia. Ramses and Nefertari were accompanied by their daughter Princess Meritamun. But, in a rock stele, outside the temple, it portrayed only Ramses and Meritamun worshipping the gods. There was no record of the queen’s participation. Had Nefertari not survived the long journey? Shortly after the inauguration, about 1255 b.c., we learned she had died.

Nefertari’s monument revealed a splendor beyond all the others Ramses had built. Historian Bernadette Menu wrote that it was, “a masterpiece of Egyptian painting, richly decorated with mythological scenes. Gods and goddesses are depicted either alone or with the queen, who worships them or presents offerings to them. . . . The goddess Maat spreads her wings in protective gesture.”

The royal custom of secession had changed with the death of Queen Nefertari. Assistant Queen Isetnofret became the great royal wife. Her first daughter, Bintanath, assumed her mother’s previous role. Meritamun, Nefertari’s eldest daughter, reigned as associate queen. Isetnofret’s eldest son became heir apparent. Four daughters of Ramses also held the title of associate queen. These were the most exalted among his daughters, of whom there were at least 40 in addition to some 45 sons. Isetnofret bore Ramses’ gifted son Merenptah, a famous magician who ultimately made the greatest mark in Egypt and attained kingship. Another son, Prince Khaemwaset, became the first Egyptologist, as he preserved the ancient monuments. He served as high priest of the god Ptah with a steady stream of high government positions.

Life in Ancient Memphis

Part of the extensive necropolis of ancient Memphis, located to the south of the most important section at Saqqara. There are five royal pyramids here, including two built by king Sneferu of the 4th Dynasty. The oldest is called the Bent Pyramid because of a change in the angle of the upper part, due to technical problems. The other is called the Red Pyramid because of the red colour of the locally quarried stone used for its construction. After the Great Pyramid, built by Sneferu's son Khufu at Giza, this is the largest pyramid in Egypt. The other pyramids at Dahshur date from the Middle Kingdom and were constructed for Amenemhat II, Senwosret III and Amenemhat III. The tomb of Amenemhat II is the only one with a stone core, whereas the other two have mudbrick cores. Amenemhat III also had a pyramid in Hawara, which is assumed to have been his actual tomb after the construction of  that at Dahshur ran into trouble. Nearby were found the tombs of various princesses from the 12th Dynasty in which many priceless pieces of gold jewellery were discovered. 

 


Memphis, the ancient capital of Lower Egypt, once stood on the fertile west bank of the Nile Delta. Menes of Tanis founded the city in about 3100 b.c. To secure the city from seasonal Nile flooding, he built a complex system of dikes and canals for protection and as a symbolic entity—“the white wall”—around the city. Memphis reached its peak of prestige as administrative and religious center during the Sixth Dynasty. It was believed to be the largest city in the world. It was here that Ramses II, son of King Sethos and Queen Tuya, first rode beside his father and engraved his lasting legacy.

Stone towers, colorful domes, obelisks as tall as oil derricks, and graceful swans and swooping pelicans enriched the Memphis landscape. There were great universities and bustling jewelry shops laden with gold, turquoise, and lapis lazuli. Politics and gossip were discussed over beer and wine in cool, shaded recesses. Date palms, sycamores, and acacia trees shadowed verdant parks adorned with gigantic pink granite statues. Sweet- smelling lotus scented reflecting ponds and tantalized the fish. The cult of Ptah, god of artists, had a glorious stone temple, as did that of the god Apis, the sacred bull. Nearby was the Saqqara, a necropolis for royalty, minor burials, and cult ceremonies—the oldest complete hewn-stone complex known in world history.

Pharaohs, such as King Sethos, and wealthy nobles lived in magnificent palaces or sumptuous villas with spacious courtyards and gardens of fruit trees and flowers. They dined on alabaster dinnerware and drank from exquisitely designed faience cups served by scores of servants. Lesser Egyptians and the poor lived in mud houses. Hippopotamuses and crocodiles tangled fishing lines in the Delta canals.

Scholarly writers have connected Ramses II with Moses. According to the Bible, Memphis was called Moph or Noph. Taking this a step further, it was the seat of the pharaoh in the time of Joseph of Nazareth, foster father of Jesus. Some historians believe that Ramses II was the pharaoh of the Exodus and place him as befriending Moses.