The Alchemists of Kush

by Minister Faust

  14 When he returned with holy treasure, the Sorceress and Labourer and Anointer Yinepu descended to the cavern to unite the far-flung members. Using gold made molten by the Lady Aset’s whispers, the trio, joined by Master Measurer, melded limbs with trunk and then with skull.

  15And in the world of black below, with Lady Aset, son Hru, nephew Yinepu and Master Jehu, the Great Instructor, Lord of Limits, and Being Beautiful, sat upon a throne of turquoise shining from ten thousand years of darkness.

  16 “Return,” said he, “to world of tears in righteousness and mastery, to make stand those who weep, to reveal those who hide their faces and to lift up those who sink down, so all the world might rise nearer to Supreme.”

  17 And Lady Aset bade the others to return, so without audience she might commune with her beloved. So the men ascended, found their way in night back towards the compound, where slaughterers with murderous knives and fingers cruel and abominations magical drove a spear through heart of Master Jehu.

  18 Hru and Yinepu battled with the butchers, Hru unleashing Devourer’s fang and Yinepu attacking with his jackals, but invaders were well-armoured and well-armed. Hru commanded Yinepu to save the children, and then he fought alone and could not win.

  19 And then the fratricide, the burner of the groves, the devastator of the Blackland, the brother of the father of Hru, Set the general slid from shadows to reveal himself, girded in the squared-horned helmet forged for war.

  20 And with his nephew bound in pyrite fetters, Set defiled him while his soldiers burned the compound into ashes.

  The Ninth Arit,

  also called Create~Supreme

  The Contendings of Hru and Set

  1 Inside the ancient cavern, Yinepu embalmed the Master and all the fallen children of the compound, wrapped their limbs in linens, sealed them inside chests and planted them as seeds.

  2 Tending to her shattered son, the Sorceress taught Yinepu all her healing balms and words-of-power, and slowly wounds of Hru’s body turned invisible.

  3 Then on the shortest day, Lady Aset strategised with wisest of the orphans of Jehu, who now had grown to adults, Instructing them in medicine of murder she prescribed.

  4 Hru chose his protégés, Duamutef and Hapi, Qebehsenuef and Imset, the blacksmiths four, to turn the skin of orphans into shells and hands to claws.

  5 And so began two hundred moons of war.

  6 The blacksmiths four transformed a liberated cache of gold into a million shining spades, and everywhere the Labourers went, they dug canals to drain the Swamps of Death into the Redlands, so the Eternal River’s flow could purify the Savage Lands, and those who’d drunk the poison could then find new life.

  7 The revolution rose in glory, spread its rays, shattering shackles of the weepers so they’d stand, piercing palaces and prisons to reveal the hidden faces, and reaching in the lead and pyrite mines like cables lifting up the many who’d sunk down.

  8 And in fifteenth and final year of massacres and misery, of hiding in the hinterlands and striking in the night, Hru, Wielder of Devouver’s Fang, Drainer of the Swamps of Death, Resurrector of the Lord of Limits, met on facing banks of the Eternal River the fratricide and Warmaster, Usurper, Desert-Dweller, and Storm-Bringer, the Great Defiler, Set.

  9 “You, boy, Sparrow-Prince,” called the murdering uncle of Hru, while River flowed between two armies tensed to execute each other, “I had your father knackered, chased your mother into exile, lanced your Master, burnt your fortress into embers, and stole and crushed your manhood. Who among the peoples of the Blackland could ever bow to you? You are no king to anything but loss! I’m your better and your master. Yield to me and I will let you slave beside my sandal!”

  10 And Hru, learned in three masters’ words-of-power, stilled his belly and his mouth but raised his fang. On the battlers charged through river to embrace each other in vengeance and in death.

  11 Set transformed himself into abomination, a crocodile-man without a heart but with a belly. Hru became a falcon-man, who flew and hurled his spear with Fang upon the head of hated kin. And so the battle churned for days.

  12 And when the sun descended on the third evening of combat, the young insurgent recognised that no matter of his might, he could not defeat the chaos-maker Set, unless he burned the world eternally.

  13 So he spoke a grim surrender which his warriors heard with terror. Holding spear to stars, he called, “Come, Grinder of Bones, Shaker of the Earth, Eater of Old Gods, take from me my priceless prize of stolen weapon, if you dare!”

  14 And Set, in laughter and in rage, raced forward with his blade to eviscerate his nephew, who handed him his weapon mighty. “Now let the all the lands behold this!” raged Destroyer. “The coward-slave surrenders, groveling for mercy from his Master! And with this captured prize I’ll give it to him!”

  15 Then the Devourer of Millions of Souls arose from river’s depths to suck Destroyer in its terrible maw of a thousand fangs less one.

  16 But mighty Set was clad in pyrite armour thoroughly unpierceable. He stood on monster’s tongue and grabbed two tusks above him, so the beast could not bring shut the trap that had doomed millions.

  17 And on the river’s edge appeared the Measurer transfigured, with disc of moon above his head, surrounded by academy of baboons and heralded by an ibis. He whispered to the Sorceress, who heard him well.

  18 And so it was that Lady Set, mother of Hru, Sorceress, Instructor of Yinepu, leader of an army, destroyer of cities, splashed forth to meet her husband’s brother in embrace, hurtling so the two fell backwards in the mouth of the Devourer, which shut its jaws, descending to the deeps.

  19 And the Ancestor Jehutí spoke a final time before ascending to the moon: “The time to end this war is now. So go to heal each other, bearing witness to the sun, while you raise a golden fortress for eternity.”

  20 So Hru the Labourer and Warrior and now the King, alighted on a hill and said unto his battle-mates: “By the sunrise, let us create hope, joy and justice, to make stand those who weep, to reveal those who hide their faces and to lift up those who sink down. In doing so, we will all rise nearer to the Supreme.”

  The Tenth Arit,

  also called Peace~Life~Eternal

  The enthronement of Sun King Hru

  1 Hru and Measurer’s orphans found the vanquished general’s lead and pyrite palace, and wielding cleansing fire, sent the structure back to earth from which it came.

  2 Descending to the cavern, Hru communed with Lord Usir and saw upon his father’s dais stood his mother, Lady Aset, and behind her, Set, his uncle. His father whispered to him words he shared with no one else, and gave to him a black and shining satchel filled with gemstone seeds. And Hru returned to world of light and brought his people with him southward to the cradle.

  3 Beside Eternal River planted they the gemstone seeds, and from the loam arose a treasury of maize and lotus.

  4 With Master Yinepu as foremost mason, they hewed stone blocks and squared a base for soaring walls, which blacksmiths four, the adopted sons of Hru, covered then with gold.

  5 Inside the Golden Fortress sanctuary dwelt the sufferers from two hundred moons of war and more before them, who dined on golden maize and drank the water from the River of Life.

  6 The Anointer and Embalmer of Lord Usir, Weigher of Righteousness, Prince of the Divine Court, Vizier of all the Blackland, the Jackal-Man, the venerable Master Yinepu tasked the blacksmiths four, Duamutef and Hãpi, Imset and Qebehsunuef, with the righteous three Maã-Atef-f, Kheri-Beq-f and Hru-Khenti-Maã, to be the Seven Shining Ones to guard the sacred cavern where the body of Lord Usir was the seed for spring for millions upon millions of renewings.

  7 And so the Hidden Orphan, Ranger of the Savage Lands, Wielder of the Fang of the Devourer, Jehutí’s Disciple, Atoning Labourer, Drainer of the Swamps of Death, Vanquisher of the Destroyer, Avenger of Lord Usir, the Falcon-Man and Sun King Hru, enthroned in his great house, the Golden Fortress, then granted laws, bequeathed
Instructions, rendered verdicts and gazed upon a hundred thousand risings of the sun.

  8 And on his final night before ascending to the House of Stars, he blessed Master Jehutí’s orphans with a litany of wisdom, concluding through a final verse demanding duty:

  9 “Protect the Golden Fortress. Grow its walls and ever open keep its gates to welcome vulnerable and powerful alike. But should deceivers ever crust its walls with pyrite, do not rest your hammers and if necessary melt the palace to the ground and start anew, to raise this fortress for the world for all eternity.”

  FALCONIC GLOSSARY

  Starred entries denote the Alphabetical Alchemy

  A

  A* Africentric: “Africentric means centered on Africa and Africans, our civilisations, sciences, arts, histories, heroes, struggles, pains and triumphs, wherever we are in the world and whenever we exist in time.”

  Alchemical Alphabet and Numerals: In Alchemy, the contemplative associations for each letter of the alphabet and numerals 1 through 9 and ending in 0, used especially in Daily Alchemy.

  Alchemists, the: A secret, Africentric mystical society founded by Cheikh Anta Diop. Also called the Alchemical Order, the Alchemical Society, and the Pan-African Order of Alchemy.

  Alchemy: The collected mythology, practices, and values of the Alchemists for personal and planetary liberation and transformation.

  Alchemy, Daily: For Alchemists, the practice of individual or group reflections and goal-setting through meditation upon the Nub-Wmet-Ãnkh.

  Am-mít: The Eater of Souls at the final judgement. All whose hearts were not “as light as the feather” (see Maãt) faced oblivion in the mouth of the crocodile-hippopotamus monster.

  Ãnkh: 1. “Life.” 2. The loop-cross symbol of life; two ankhiu together mean “eternal life.” Known around the Mediterranean for thousands of years, the ãnkh may have inspired early Christians, until then using the fish as their symbol, to adopt the cross as their icon.

  Ãrit: “Chapter,” especially in Per-em-Hru or The Book of the Golden Falcon.

  Aset, Lady: Queen of Kemet, wife of Lord Usir, mother of Hru. Called Isis in Greek.

  B

  B* Build: “To build means to assemble internal or external things into new forms, especially to make that which is beneficial to life.”

  Ba: In Kemetic religion, one of the human souls, represented as a bird with a human head.

  Book of the Dead, the: Misnomer. See Per-em-Hru.

  Book of the Golden Falcon, the: The central modern allegorical text of the Alchemists, written originally in Wolof (possibly by Cheikh Anta Diop) and translated by senior Alchemists into various languages. The story of the passion of Lord Usir, the lamentations of Aset, and the contendings of Hru and Set.

  By the sunrise/sunset: Oath, as in “indeed” or “damn straight!”

  C

  C* Create: “To create means to bring into existence that which did not exist before.”

  D

  D* Divine: “Divine means godly, ideal or perfect, or to foretell the future.”

  Delta: 1. The northernmost region of the Nile, where the river branches into a triangular pattern like the Greek letter of the same name; the same area, added to the Nile’s “stem,” is sometimes called “the Lotus.” Before being drained, the area was a crocodile-infested swamplands covering hundreds of square kilometres. 2. In mathematics, “change,” “difference” or “transformation”.

  Destroyer, the: 1. Set. 2. Any person whose deeds causes needless suffering of other beings.

  Devourer of Millions of Souls, the: See Am-mít.

  Diop, Cheikh Anta: Senegalese Egyptologist and author of The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality? among many other works. Prior to Martin Bernal’s publication of Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilisation, Diop’s work was the leading text attacking the Whitewashing of Ancient Egypt and asserting its Africanity.

  Duamutef: One of the four sons of Hru (“Praises his mother”).

  E

  E* Evolve: “Evolve means growth into new forms because of differences previously not perceived as advantages.”

  F

  F* Family: “Family is genetic relationship, meaning connection of origins, and relationship of deep devotion.”

  G

  G* Geometry: “Geometry is literally the measurement of the Earth, but universally describes shapes and spatial relationships. To build anything of greatness, one must understand forms and relationships, and therefore geometry.”

  Geometrical: A compliment meaning “exactly,” “perfect,” or “it all adds up.”

  Gold: Knowledge, especially that which expands justice, compassion and beauty.

  Gold-minding: The Alchemical use hypnosis, self-hypnosis and guided imagery for self-mastery and elevation.

  Golden Fortress: See Nub-Wmet-Ãnkh.

  H

  H* Hero: “A hero is one who struggles at great risk, not for personal reward, but to defend the vulnerable and create justice.”

  Hãpí: 1.The Holy River Nile. 2. One of the four sons of Hru.

  Heka Khasut: “Shepherd Kings,” also called “foreign dominators” and “the Sea People,” but known to Moderns as the Hyksos. After settling in and eventually overwhelming Lower Kemet, these West Asian nomads destroyed the Middle Kingdom. Nisut Ahmose led a revolutionary war expelling them, thereby establishing Dynasty XVIII.

  Hotep em maãkheru: “Peace and triumph (to you).”

  Hru: Heir to Lord Usir, the Sun-King of Kemet, defeater of Set. His many titles include Hru-Netch-Hri-Yitef-f (“Heru the Avenger of his father”) and Hru-sa-Aset-sa-Usir (“Heru, son of Aset, son of Usir”).

  I

  I* Individuality/Intelligence: “Individuality is the possession of unique characteristics and personal perspectives, behaviour, and goals. Intelligence is the geometry of all mental capabilities including internal and external awareness, creativity, analysis, memory, and emotion.”

  Imhotep: History’s first recorded multi-genius (ca. 2650-2600 BCE). Architect of the Step Pyramid, the world’s first mega-structure. A poet, the true father of medicine, and Grand Vizier under Pharaoh Joser.

  Imset: One of the four sons of Hru.

  Instructions: Kemetic moral and social teachings, as in The Instructions of Ptah-Hotep.

  Isfet: Disorder, deceit, chaos, disharmony, temptation, sin.

  Iten: The disk of the sun. Claimed by Pharaoh Ikh-en-Iten, the world’s first recorded monotheist, as the most visible and dazzling emblem of the One God. Also, Iton and Aton.

  J

  J* Justice: “Justice is equality of rights and treatment, proportionate compensation for labour and punishment for crime, and compassion and relief for sufferers.”

  Jehutí: The netjer of wisdom, science, writing, and other mental disciplines. Jehutí’s emblem is the ibis (tehu, tekhu), probably because the name “Jehutí” comes from the moon, Jehu, as time-keeper; Jehutí means “The Measurer.” The Greek name for Jehutí is Thoth, and Greek mythology’s version of Jehutí is Hermes, providing the terms “hermetically sealed” and “Hermetic Tradition” (a secret knowledge system requiring initiation for access).

  K

  K* Knowledge: “Knowledge is the application of intelligence to information.”

  Ka: In Kemetic theology, a person’s soular “double,” depicted as one’s coal-black duplicate; the hieroglyph for ka is two upraised arms.

  Kemet: “The Black Land,” meaning both “of the black soil,” and “Land of the Blacks,” as in “Black Africa.” Indigenous name for Egypt (Gk.=Aigyptos, from Het-Ka-Ptah, or House of the Ka of Ptah).

  Khair: “Street” or “King’s Road.” For E-Town Alchemists, the following roads range between 124th Street on the west 84th Street on the east.

  Khair-em-Sokar: 118th Avenue, named for Het-Ka-Sokar (“House of the Ka of Sokar,” called Sakkara in Arabic).

  Khair-em-Ãnkh-Tawy: 111th Avenue, named for Ãnkh-Tawy (“Life of the Two Lands,” another name
for Waset, called Thebes in Greek and Luxor in Arabic.)

  Khair-em-Nubt: 107th Avenue, named for Nubt (“City of Gold,” called Kom Ombo in Coptic).

  Kheper: Scarab.

  Kheperi: The scarab god, whose androgynous insect counterpart rolls its dung-ball eggsack across the sand as the sun is “rolled” across the sky.

  Kheperu: From E.A. Budge: “1. To create, form or fashion; form, phase of being, something evolved, transformation, revolution, evolution; those who become.”

  Khetiuta: Fiends or devils.

  L

  L* Liberate: “To liberate is to free those who are unfree.”

  Laboratory: Any place of Alchemical labour.

  Leadite: Any of the eighty per cent of humanity who is easily tricked by the Pyrites into relinquishing his or her gold and thereby dwelling in poverty and ignorance.