Dear Don,
The canopic jars are odd, you know. The early ones had human heads, then they began to be representations of Anubis, and eventually became the better known sons of Horus… all four jars always protected by the goddess. Their history pretty much mirrors the journey of the soul, don’t you think?
Each jar was associated with one of the cardinal points and contained the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines. Back to the ‘lights’ again… and it puts yet a different slant on ‘inner’ and ‘outer’…
The heart was not placed within the jars though, but was left in the body as it was the most important of the organs. The brain was simply discarded; not unlike the Christian symbolism in the hagiographies and paintings… the martyrs had their heads removed, the Egyptians just stirred up the brain and whipped it out through the nostrils.
They, of course, believed the heart to be the source of the emotions, much as we speak of it today, as well as the root of both memory and personality. Crucially from our perspective though, considering all our beheaded saints, they also saw it as the seat of wisdom, the home of the soul… and the place through which the gods spoke.
The Egyptian systems still have so much to offer. The body serves a purpose and must be cared for, yet alone cannot reach the Fields of Ra. The brain… our intellect… cannot get you there either… But bringing the personality and the emotions to the place where the gods speak…
Continue reading at France and Vincent
