An Introduction to Ma’at

“Maat” has two meanings in the ancient Egyptian language. Maat is first the goddess of justice and truth, who gave meaning to the world and bestowed order upon the chaos of creation in the First Times. She governs the movement of the stars, the rising and setting of the sun, the inundation and retreat of the Nile, and the laws underlying all of nature. In the Judgement Hall of the Tuat the heart of the deceased is weighed against Maat’s feather, which represents truth. If the heart is found to be free from the weight of sin, the deceased joins the company of the gods; otherwise, the soul is devoured and destroyed. Thus Maat is the standard by which we are measured.

From this role in the Judgement Hall arose the interpretation of “maat” as a systemized spiritual ideal. The order she represents was apparent everywhere in the world around her faithful worshippers. It was observed in the orderly motion and interaction of the heavenly bodies and reflected in the natural laws at work on the earth. It was deemed necessary to act in accordance with universal law and to understand one’s place in the natural order to ensure the soul’s position among the stars above.

Maat is the underlying current that connects all things in an intricately woven network. Each nexus is the balance of the lines of force that pass through it. It was considered essential to live according to the principles of balance and justice so as not to disturb the very fabric of creation. The ultimate will of the gods is that order is to prevail.

Each pharaoh on his or her coronation day would proclaim that maat was restored by this ascension to the throne. The priests of every temple in Egypt would offer a representation of Maat to the presiding god in the temple’s shrine each evening, to symbolize their conviction that the day’s work of worship and guidance was in accord with the universal order. Maat is the reason that things are, and the means by which they continue to exist. It is the voice of divine imperative that at once reigns over this world and promises just reward in the next.

We hear echoes of this voice resounding through the philosophical and metaphysical constructs of all times and nations: the Christian prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”; the Muslim concept of “shari’a”, or submission to the will of god; the familiar edict of Western occultism, “as above, so below”; and scores of other observations on the interaction of the divine and the earthly.

What is most striking about the systemization of maat is that it found root in such ancient soil. The Egyptian culture was epochs ahead of its contemporaries, and its wisdom embodied concepts that the rest of the world would have to wait centuries to cultivate.

It is clear from archaeological evidence that the goddess Maat was worshipped in Egypt from the earliest dynasties to well beyond the Greek and Roman invasions. It is clear from the depth and sophistication of the Egyptian culture, and the richness of the dreams that it inspires in us, that the philosophical maat persisted and flourished as well.

                                                      – Modern Egyptian Magick

The 1st Enochian Key

(Phonetic Pronunciation)

Oh.el Soh.neff Voh.ar.ess.geh, Goh.hoh Ee.Ah.Deh Bah.leh.teh, Loh.ness.heh Kah.el.zod Voh.neh.peh.hoh:
Soh.beh.rah Zod Oh.el Roh.ar Ee Tah Nah.zod.pess.ah.deh Gar.ah.ah Tah Mah.el.par.geh:
Dess Hoh.el.que Que.ah.ah Noh.teh.hoh.ah Zod.ee.meh.zod, Oh.deh Koh.meh.mah.heh Tah Noh.beh.loh.heh Zod.ee.el.neh: Soh.bah Teh.heh.ee.el Geh.noh.neh.peh Par.gee Ah.el.deh.ee, Dess Veh.reh.bess Oh.boh.el.eh.heh Geh.reh.sah.em. Kah.sah.reh.em Oh.oh.reh.lah Kah.bah Pee.ar Deh.ess Zod.oh.nar.eh.neh.seh.geh Kah.beh Eh.rem Ee.ah.deh.nah.heh. Pee.el.ah Eff.ar.zod.em Zod.ur.zod.ah Ah.deh.nah Goh.noh Ee.ah.deh.pee.el Deh.ess Hoh.em Teh.oh, Soh.bah Ee.pah.em, Leh.uh Ee.pah.mee.ess, Deh.ess Loh.hoh.loh Veh.peh Zod.oh.em.deh Poh.ah.mah.el, Oh.deh Boh.geh.pah Ah.ah.ee Tah Pee.ah.peh Pee.ah.moh.el Oh.deh Vah.oh.ah.neh¹ Zod.ah.kah.reh Kah Oh.deh Zod.ah.meh.rah.neh:
Oh.doh Kee.keh.el.eh Qu.ah.ah: Zod.oh.reh.geh:
Lah.peh Zod.ee.ar.doh Noh.koh Mah.deh, Hoh.ah.teh Ee.Ah.Ee.Deh.Ah

The 1st Enochian Key

I reign over you, says the God of Justice, in power exalted above the firmaments of wrath: in whose hands the Sun is as a sword and the Moon is as a through thrusting fire: which measures your garments in the midst of my vestries, and trussed you together as the palms of my hands: whose seats I garnished with the fire of gathering, and beautified your garments with admiration. To whom I made a law to govern the holy ones and delivered you a rod with the ark of knowledge. Moreover you lifted up your voices and swore [ obedience and faith to him that lives and triumph ] whose beginning is not, nor end can not be, which Shines as a flame in the midst of your palace, and reigns amongst you as the balance of righteousness and truth. Move, therefore, and show yourselves: open the Mysteries of your Creation: Be friendly unto me: for I am the servant of the same your God, the true worshipper of the Highest.

The 2nd Enochian Key

(Phonetic Pronunciation)  Ah.deh.geh.teh Veh.pah.ah Zod.oh.neh.goh.meh Eff.ah.ah.ee.peh Sah.el.deh, Veh.ee.ee.veh El, Soh.bah.meh Ee.ah.el.par.geh Ee.zod.ah.zod.ah.zod Pee.ah.deh.peh:
Kah.sah.reh.mah Ah.bar.ah.meh.geh Tah Tah.el.hoh Pah.rah.keh.leh.dah, Qu.tah Loh.ar.ess.el.qu Teh.veh.ar.bess Oh.oh.geh Bah.el.toh. Gee.vee Keh.hee.ess El.vess.deh Oh.reh.reh.ee, Oh.deh Mee.kah.el.peh Keh.ee.ess Bee.ah Oh.zod.oh.neh.goh.neh, Lah.peh Noh.ah.neh Tar.oh.eff Koh.reh.ess Tah.geh, Oh.qu Mah.nee.neh Ee.ah.ee.don.neh. Toh.ar.zod.veh Goh.eh.el:
Zod.ah.kah.reh Kah Keh.noh.qu.oh.deh:
Zod.ah.mar.ah.neh Mee.kah.el.zod.oh:
Oh.deh Oh.zod.ah.zod.meh Var.el.peh:
Lah.peh Zod.ee.ar Ee.Oh.Ee.Ah.Deh!

The 2nd Enochian Key

Can the wings of the winds understand your voices of wonder, O you the second of the first, whom the burning flames have framed within the depths of my Jaws; whom I have prepared as Cups for a Wedding, or as the flowers in their beauty for the Chamber of righteousness. Stronger are your feet then barren stone, and mightier are your voices then the manifold winds. For you are become a building such as is not, but in the mind of the All powerful. Arise, says the First: Move therefore unto his Servants: Show your selves in power: And make me a strong Seer: for I am of him that lives forever.

“My advice to people today is as follows:
If you take the game of life seriously,
if you take your nervous system seriously,
if you take your sense organs seriously,
if you take the energy process seriously,
you must turn on, tune in, and drop out.”

-Timothy Leary