When learning about the esoteric history of human consciousness, one of the most important figures to learn about is Thoth the Egyptian god. In this article, we are going to look at the history of this great deity, including his many contributions to humanity throughout the ages.
Thoth was the ancient Egyptian god of writing, magic, wisdom and the moon. His books taught the ancient Egyptians their science and religion. During ancient Greece he became known as Hermes, and taught Pythagoras the knowledge that would form the basis of the ancient Greek culture and philosophy.
Thoth was referred to as “Thrice Greatest” because he was considered the greatest of all philosophers, the greatest of all priests, and the greatest of all kings. he was seen as the embodiment of the universal mind, and as the cosmic principle of thought.
The Birth of Thoth
According to Egyptian mythology Thoth was born from the seed of Horus from the forehead of Set. The story of how his birth happened is told in an Egyptian manuscript from 1190-1077 B.C called The Contendings of Horus and Set. It describes Horus and Set engaged in a struggle to rule. When Set accidentally swallows the semen of Horus, Thoth is born from Set’s forehead. Thoth then becomes the scribe who records the events of the struggle for power, as well as healing both parties in order to keep balance between the two sides. According to other sources, Thoth can be traced back to the beginning of Atlantis 52 000 years ago.
Thoth Introduced Writing to the World
Perhaps the most important thing Thoth did was create the written word and give it to humanity. The introduction of the written word was one of the most significant events to ever occur in the world and changed history forever. He revealed how create to create hieroglyphs, which means ‘holy writings. Because of his close association with the written word, Thoth is the patron of scribes. As record keeper for the gods, he would keep records on humanity.
Thoth Symbol
Thoth is usually represented in ancient paintings as having the head of an ibis and the body of a man. The moon is usually shown next to him. He is also holding papyrus reeds in his hand, which is what the earliest paper was made from. In his left hand he is holding an ankh, which is the symbol for eternal life and one of the most important symbols in ancient Egypt. According to Drunvalo Melchizedek, there is an ankh-shaped energy field surrounding our bodies, and remembering it is a large part of becoming immortal. Thoth was also sometimes portrayed as a baboon, holding up a crescent moon. Along with the ibis, the baboon is the animal associated with Thoth, and thousands of mummified baboons were found in ancient Egypt, made in Thoth’s honor.
The Hall of Truth
The Egyptians portrayed Thoth in their drawings of him as holding a tablet in The Judgement Halls of Osiris, where a ritual called the weighing of the souls of the dead was conducted.
Thoth often appears beside Osiris and Anubis in the Hall of Truth as the scribe. They would weigh the heart of the deceased against the feather of truth. Along with Osiris, he would preside over and record judgements that would determine whether a soul could pass through. You can read more about Anubis and the Hall of Truth here.
The Writings of Thoth
A collection of early Egyptian books, written on papyrus, are attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, which is another name for Thoth that comes from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. The Egyptians called Thoth “The Lord of the Divine Books”, and “Scribe of the Company of Gods”. Researchers believe that the Egyptians possessed 42 books by Thoth, which they studied extensively.
The number 42 represents the number of chromosomes on our level of consciousnesses (42 plus 2 more that determine our gender). As we ascend to a higher level of consciousness, we have 46 and 2 chromosomes. The books contain neters, which are gods or mythical beings, and each one represents a different chromosome, or different aspect of life.
Evidence that there were 42 books by Thoth comes from Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D), a scholar of the church, who in his book Stromata describes the written work of Thoth as having existed.
Other topics of the 42 books included hymns of the gods, regulations for the king’s life, astrology, hieroglyphics, cosmography, geography, medicine, as well as instructions of prayers, sacrifices, processions, festivals, etc. These books were lost during the burning of Alexandria. Some believe that some volumes were rescued from the fire and buried in the dessert, and that they are continued to be kept as a secret up until present time.
While the writings of Thoth are scattered, and the full extent of them unknown, there exists two well-known works. One is The Emerald Tablets, and the other is Divine Pymander, which is also sometimes called The Shepard of Men.
The Divine Pymander
The Divine Pymander is one of the earliest surviving Hermetic writings. Its current version probably contains incorrect translations from the Medieval-ages, though it contains much of the original content as well. It consists of 17 writings which were gathered into a collection. It includes writings on Hermitic Cosmogony, and the Egyptian science of the human soul.
Thoth’s Encounter with Poimandres the Great Dragon
In book two of the Divine Pymander, called Poimandres, or The Vision, the method in which the divine knowledge was revealed to Hermes is described. It describes Hermes receiving the divine teaching and then beginning his school where he would share the knowledge with his students. It begins by with Thoth wandering in the middle of nowhere, and then dedicating himself to meditation and prayer. By following the secret method of the temple, he frees his consciousness from his body and accesses transcendental spheres. In the book The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Thoth’s experience is described as the following:
A powerful figure appears before Thoth, the Great Dragon, with large wings and light emanating out of its body. The dragon addresses him by name and asks why he is meditating. Thoth is terrified and prostrates himself before the dragon, asking who he is. The dragon reveals that he is Poimandres, the Mind of the Universe, and the Absolute Emperor of all. Thoth requests to be shown the nature of the universe, and Poimandres agrees to reveal, stating that Thoth must hold of a vision of the dragon in his mind. The dragon then instantly transforms into radiant light floating in the air. Thoth is raised above the material universe into the divine effulgence. The light disappears as it is swallowed by darkness, and Thoth is surrounded by a liquid substance with vapor billowing off of it. Sounds of moaning and sighing is heard. The light was the spiritual aspect of the universe, while the darkness was matter.
Then out of the light the Holy Word emerged. It rose as a pillar, and the fire and the air followed it. While the earth and the water remained unmoved. This meant that the waters of the light and the waters of the darkness were separated. Next the earth and the water mixed, becoming inseparable.
Then again the voice of Poimandres was heard, though he was not seen. He said
“I thy God am the light and the mind which were before substance was divided from spirit and darkness from light. And the word which appeared as a pillar of flame out of the darkness is the son of God, born of the mystery of the mind. The name of that word is Reason. Reason is the offspring of Thought and Reason shall divide the light from the darkness and establish truth in the midst of the waters. Understand o Hermes, and meditate deeply upon the mystery. That which in you sees and hears is not of the earth, but is the word of God incarnate. So it is said that divine light dwells in the midst of mortal darkness, and ignorance cannot divide them. The union of the word and the mind produces that mystery which is called Life. As the darkness without you is divided against itself, so the darkness within you Is likewise divided. The Light and the Fire which rise are the divine man, ascending in the path of the word, and that which fails to ascend is the mortal man, which may not partake of immortality. Learn deeply of the mind and its mystery, for therein lie the secrets of immortality.
Poimandres then appeared again before Thoth and the two made eye contact for moment. The dragon issued a command and the sky opened up, with light and fire streaming through. Thoth realized he was witnessing the spirits of the stars, which were being revealed to him because of the word the dragon had uttered, which was Reason.
The Emerald Tablets
The other famous literary work by Thoth that exists in the general sphere of public knowledge is the Emerald Tablets, which is regarded by alchemists as the foundation for their work. They believe it contains the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone, an alchemical substance that can turn base metals such as mercury or lead into gold. The Philosopher’s Stone is also called The Elixir of Life, since it can be used for rejuvenation, and to achieve immortality. The Emerald Tablets existed in Arabic in the 8th and 9th century, before being translated into Latin in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is the source of the famous phrase “as above, so below”. Isaac Newton also created a translation as part of his writings on alchemy, which is now housed in King’s College Library, Cambridge University. In recent times it was translated by Dr. Michael Doreal, who attributes the literary work to Thoth when he was the Atlantean Priest-King, 36 000 years B.C. You can read more about the Emerald Tablets here.
The Book of Thoth
During his lifetime as Hermes, Thoth entrusted his successors with the sacred Book of Thoth. It contained hieroglyphic figures and symbols that revealed the secret process of regenerating humanity, as well as was the foundation for some of his other writings. By studying the book, students would change how their brain functions, which would enable them to perceive dimensions of reality previously only known to immortal beings. Following the method contained in the book was the key to immortality, and was referred to as the “One Way”.
The book of Thoth was kept in a golden box within a temple. Only one key to open the box existed, and it was kept by the highest initiate of the Hermetic Arcanum, who was known as the “Master of the Mysteries”. Some believe that to this day initiates are receiving the teaching of this secret book, and obtaining immortality. You can read more about the Book of Thoth here.
Tarot of the Bohemians
A theory exists that the Book of Thoth is in the possession of gypsies, who know the book as Tarot of the Bohemians, and are the descendants of Egyptian priests.
Thoth and Akhenaten
According to Drunvalo, Thoth convinced the Egyptian king Amenhotep II that rather than his son becoming king, he should allow a descendent of the immortals to become king. The reason for this was that the ascended masters felt that it was necessary to have a Christ-conscious being on earth, and that they should be the king of Egypt. This return the memory of Christ consciousness to the Akashic records, which had been forgotten during the fall in consciousness that occurred at the end of Atlantis.
The Ascended Masters then went to Ay and Tiya, two immortal beings and asked them to have a baby. It was necessary to be the baby of immortals because they have 46+2 chromosomes. They had the baby, which was then given to Amenhotep II to become the next king. He became Amenhotep III who then had a baby with an immortal who became Amenhotep IV, which was the king who the Ascended Masters had a special plan for, and he became known as Akhenaten. Ay and Tiya had another baby named Nefertiti who was the same generation as Akhenaten, and the two of them grew up together and then got married. When Akhenaten took the throne after his father stepped down, he became the very first pharaoh of Egypt. His role was to unite the disparate religious cults into one unified religion who recognized one god. He brought the message that the priests are not needed and that god is within everybody.
The Wife of Thoth
The wife of Thoth was Seshat, a goddess of writing, the keeper of books and the patron of libraries and librarians. She is portrayed as having a headband with horns and a star on it. She wore a panther skin dress, whose tail would hang to her feet. Her expertise includes astronomy and astrology, and she worked with the Pharaohs to create precise measurements for the location of temples.
Worship of Thoth in ancient Egypt
Thoth was a popular and widely worshipped deity in ancient Egypt. The worship of him began in during the Pre-Dynastic period (6000-3150 B.C) and continued until the last period of ancient Egypt, known as the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 B.C). The center of his popularity was in Hermopolis, though he was worshipped throughout Egypt, where temples and shrines were built in his honor. Many royals would take his name, or variations of it as their own. People from all classes would make pilgrimages to Hermopolis in his honor. Modern excavations of Tuna-el-Gebel, located very close to Hermopolis, have revealed thousands of mummified ibises and baboons, which had been created in Thoth’s honor. The Egyptian name for Thoth is Djehuty, which means “He who is like the ibis”. The ibis was a sacred bird in ancient Egypt.
Thoth Was Known as Hermes During Ancient Greece
After the end of the ancient Egyptian culture, Thoth waited hundreds of years before returning to help create ancient Greece. As Hermes he revealed to humanity medicine, chemistry, law, astrology, music, rhetoric, magic, philosophy, geography, mathematics and especially geometry, and anatomy. This process is described by Pythagoras, the philosopher and mathematician that inspired all of the other legendary Greek philosophers. He wrote that Hermes visited him and shared the divine knowledge. Hermes also increased the year from 360 to 365 days, a change that we still use to this day. You can read more about the connection between Thoth and Hermes here.
Thoth was Known as Mercury to the Romans
During the Roman era, Thoth continued to be involved in human affairs, taking on the new name of Mercury. He was associated with the planet Mercury because it is the closest planet to the sun, which is a symbol of god, or the source of highest divine knowledge.
Thoth was Known to the Jews as Enoch
Described in the book of Genesis, Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah, and was widely known to the Jews during the Hellenistic era. He provided the Jews with the Book of Enoch, which revealed knowledge of higher realms, including about angels and demons, and a prophetic description of the thousand year-reign of the Messiah. You can read more about Enoch here.
Thoth and Free Masonry
He figures prominently in Masonic philosophy, since he wrote the Masonic initiatory rituals. In fact, all Masonic symbolism is Hermetic in nature. Thoth’s influence is seen in the phrase “hermetically sealed”, which refers to a glass vessel being closed by fusion.
Thoth and Ra
Ra was the sun god in ancient Egypt, and the most important of all the gods. Since Thoth was the moon god, he would replace Ra at night. When Ra discovered that his wife Nut was in love with Thoth, he was furious and made it so that Nut could not have babies on any of the 360 days of the year. Nut went to Thoth for help. Then the year went from 360 to 365 days so that she could have five babies, which were: Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. Ra retaliated by placing a curse on Thoth.
In another myth involving Thoth and Ra, Thoth was chosen to retrieve Ra’s daughter when she fled to faraway lands. The daughter has a disagreement with Ra and disappears, and when she returns, she brings transformation to the people. As a reward for returning the daughter, Thoth was given the goddess Nehemtawy.
Thoth According to Drunvalo Melchizedek
According to Drunvalo Melchizedek, Thoth goes all the way back to the beginning of Atlantis, 52 000 years ago. He was the king of Atlantis for 16 000 years, and his name then was Chiquetet Arlich Vomalites. The word Chiquetet was a title, which meant “seeker of wisdom”.
After Atlantis sunk, he waited 6000 years until the time of Egypt. When Egypt died, Thoth started Greece, which was the next major culture. Pythagoras is often credited a being the instigating force of ancient Greek culture, but in his writings, he states that Thoth taught him geometry after taking him to the great pyramid. While still living in the same body that he had during Atlantis, Thoth called himself Hermes.
After learning how to leave earth, Thoth went to other planets to study life there. Spending about 100 years on each planet, he was gone from Earth for around 2000 years. Thoth along with his wife Shesat left Earth in 1991 and went to a different octave of the universe for a completely different experience.
In order to maintain the immortality of his body he would meditate for two hours every day. One hour with his head facing the north and his feet to the south doing a specific meditation, and another hour facing the opposite direction doing a different specific meditation. Also, every 50 years he would go to the Halls of Ameti and sit for 10 years before the flower of life, which is a pure flame of consciousness deep in the earth.
Escaping the Sinking of Atlantis
Thoth and other citizens of Atlantis knew the cataclysm that destroyed the civilization was coming. When they saw the first signs of it, they went to the Sphinx in Egypt and boarded a ship, which they flew back to Atlantis in, where they picked up the people of the Naacal Mystery School. This group included 1000 ascended masters from Lemuria, which had sink just prior to Atlantis rising above ground, as well as another 600 Atlanteans who had also obtained immortality. They flew to Egypt and landed on the top of the great pyramid. Along with the sinking of Atlantis a shift of the poles of the planet occurred, which wiped out the memories of everyone, however those on board the ship were able to create a merkaba energy field and maintain their memories. They disembarked from the plane and went to a large chamber deep inside the pyramid, and began the development of the next major culture: ancient Egypt. You can read more about Atlantis here.
Recommended Reading
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