Egypt’s Black Land – the Orion Constellation

Egypt’s heb sed ritual involved the uniting of two kingdoms.  As Egypt was divided into upper and lower kingdoms, the Black and the Red Land, the natural assumption is that this symbolic act was one of unification of these two.  In fact, this uniting of kingdoms signified a far deeper (and higher) intention.  It has been established that the stars of Orion were associated with Osiris, the sun-god of rebirth and afterlife.

Robert Bauval asks and answers the following:

“Is there a feature in the pyramids that links them to Orion’s belt? Yes there is (the southern shaft from the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid).

Are there contemporary or near-contemporary texts which are associated to pyramids in that region and which speak of a link with Orion? Yes, there are.

Did the ancient Egyptians imagine the pyramids to be ‘stars’? Yes (the Zawyat al Aryan pyramid was called ‘The Pyramid of Nebka is a star” and the Abu Ruwash pyramid was called “The Pyramid of Djedefre is a Sehed Star“. Also the ‘soul’ (Ba) in ancient Egypt was equated to a ‘star’, and several pyramids bear ‘soul names’, such as “The Pyramid of Neferirkare has become a Ba (Soul)” and “The Ba (Soul) of Sahure Gleams“.

From the above we must conclude that there is much that suggests a deliberate intention to represent Orion’s belt at Giza.”

The King appears from the east and runs into the heb-sed court wearing two ostrich plumes in his headdress.   In his left hand he carries a bow and in his right, four arrows.  The first arrow, according to David Rohl, author of Legends, is dispatched into the south-east corner of the court, then in order to the remaining three corners.  In this the king establishes the boundaries of the Black Land.

But is the fertile Upper Egypt the only Black Land, or is the Pharaoh aligning himself with another kingdom – a kingdom not of this world?   It is accepted that the pyramids of Giza are an earthly pattern of the belt within the constellation of Orion.  The names given both to these stars and to the Giza pyramids suggest that they form a divine horizon – a viewing platform, if you like, into the far distant past and into an unknown future.  In previous posts, as well as in my riddles, I have drawn various similarities between the heb-sed festival and Orion.  See Pharaoh, Heb Sed and the Running Man, and Step Pyramid – Communing with the Gods.

At the heart of Orion’s constellation is the wonderful nebula which bears an image of what appears to be a running man with his arms flung joyfully above his head.    As in the layout of the heb-sed court, the four great stars, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Saiph, and Rigel, demarcate a rough square.  These principal stars of Orion form the body of the Mighty Hunter with a bow in his hand.  When the Pharoah, who has taken a night journey, representing his death, runs forth in the power of Horus to demonstrate his rejuvenation, he is proclaiming the uniting of his earthly kingdom with the ultimate Black Land forming a canopy above.

The heb sed ritual invoked the gods.  It not only called upon them to receive the great Pharaoh into their company at his death; it also called for the return of the gods to earth.

From the Belt of Orion, represented by the Giza Pyramids, a mystery is proclaimed.  The fading red star, Betelgeuse, represents a past great king, while the bright star Rigel proclaims the rise of another in his image.  We know this king by the image given to the constellation.  Orion represents the Great Hunter for whom all the ancient gods were named – Nimrod. 

The foot, Rigel, is the king who stands even now in the wings ready to make his début.  He is the Coming One, in the image of Nimrod.  This is his time – a return of the gods.  We are about to witness the fulfilment of an ancient rite carried out by the Pharaohs of Egypt –  Nimrod Twice Born.    Read the E book available on this site.