Walking in the Hall
of the Double Truth

"Heart and feather stand poised in equilibrium, Horus confirms the verdict, Anubis announces the verdict Thoth records…" Rue Nu Pert Em Hru, The Egyptian Book of the Dead

Once words of power broke the stillness and echoed across the desert winds, deep in the days of Heru. The living god-king would ascend the great stone monolith and enter into the darkness. Armed with only those words of power, he would find his courage and enter the Hall of the Double Truth. If you listen closely today, you can still hear these words echoing down through the many seasons. A reminder of something lost, so desperately wishing to be found.

I have been practicing Shamanism for over seventeen years, trained by Native American Shaman and European witches (Nordic/Germanic). I was taught the things of magic from two continents. I have experienced much in the Spirit world, but never had I, in all my excursions, encountered a deity of Egyptian origin. Not during meditation, not during walkabouts and not during deep dreaming. That was until very recently.

One night during a deep dreaming session, I slipped into the Spirit world without an agenda. I carried only the desire to learn something new, to see something, some place that would expand my spectrum of experience. I soon found myself walking along a darkened corridor. The walls were constructed of colossal slabs of sandstone. These stones were immense and covered with hieroglyphics. A cool breeze cut through the passageway, as the scent of antiquity swirled about in the air. It was at this time that I realized that I had entered the dominion of the Egyptian Gods.

The ceiling of the corridor was shadowed and appeared to be very far above me. The corridor itself stretched on forever, a seemingly never-ending causeway. And though, to my Ba, it seemed as if many days past as I tread along, I never felt fear or panic. Nor did I grow tired. This dwelling held a timeless quality about it and it pulsed with the verve of truth. You could not help but be saturated by its energy: an energy that could only have been created by the enduring of countless seasons.

As I moved along the winding passageway, I could sense the presence of a benevolent force moving along with me. This entity seemed to watch over my movements and made sure that I didn't take the wrong turn on my journey. I feel this entity could have possibly been the god, Anubis, walking with me along the corridors of eternity. Whoever it was, this entity remained with me until the very end of my journey. It was at this time, as I approached a turn in the causeway, that I saw a shimmering light emanating from a room just to my left. As I walked up to the arched doorway and gazed into the room, my eyes were able to focus on two forms standing there.

Their voices were barely audible, yet I could not make out their words. It was as if my mind was reaching deep into its recesses in an attempt to remember a language long since forgotten by the tongues of men. As I entered the room, one of the entities quickly disappeared from sight. I saw nothing more from them other than a brilliant flash of light, then they were gone. At first I was worried. I was concerned that I had accidentally interrupted a gathering. I hesitated. Looking back upon this occurrence, I feel that this fleeting entity might have been Ammit, the Eater of the Dead, and that I was not supposed to gaze upon him. But I cannot be sure.

The second entity was a very tall, very beautiful woman of African persuasion. Her name has engraved itself in my memory. I knew as soon as my eyes gazed upon her, that I was standing before the goddess of truth, order and cosmic harmony, Maat. Her amber skin so glistened with an otherworldly golden radiance it was as if sparkles of sunlight affixed themselves to her. She was wearing a long lapis-lazuli robe and a golden diadem of Egyptian design. She turned to me and began to speak. Her words were not harsh. In fact they were calming. I felt the warmth of love's illumination pouring out with every word she spoke. Though I cannot recall the exact words that she said to me, it is the emotions and feelings that have etched themselves into my psyche. This is what I can recall with as much clarity now as on the eve after my journey. As I stood there listening, she held out her hand. In her palm, I saw a single feather. I remember reaching out and placing my hands into hers. And as I did this, all that was around me fell away. Everything became bathed in a luminous, golden hue. I felt myself rising "skyward" and it was at this time that I awoke from my Shamanic trace.

Seek out that which our world deems lost. Understand the ways of the ancient ones. Be prepared for the weighing of the balance.