Essay 0

     This is the manual of the Order of Setne Khamuast. It contains the practices of that Order which is applied lead to eternal Life and to Prosperity on this World. It is a very fearsome Book and misuse of it will bring ruin and madness.

The Secret to use of the Book is to always, remember two things:

1. That is no god, spirit or demon outside yourself that will aide you in any way -- only be your own power exercised in all domains of your life will Become a god.

2. You are not a god yet, you must strive, you must Work and Play, Learn and Teach.

     There is only enemy to Initiation. It's name is Boredom. It has an ally called "laziness." Learning to defeat these will keep your feet on the Path of the Left.

     Our role model, Setne Khamuast (Set is Beautiful, a Power Appears in Thebes) was the first Egyptologist. He was interested in the past both in terms of accuracy and magical efficacy. In the City of London in the Year XXIX, I called his Ak form a Ka statue in the British Museum. He was present at the first Working of our Order and His magical Purpose remains among us.

     I would like to comment on the founder's name: Setne Khamuast, whose name means "Set is Beautiful, a Power Appears in Thebes." Most books will tell you that the name Setne just means Sem Priest. Better books will mention that Setne was the poetic description of the leopard skin, but neglect to say anything about Set. Setne is the name for the leopard skin that Sem Priests wore during the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony. It was the garment they wore to visit the Pool of Kepheru to bring back the deceased and to gain their own power.

     The reason that "Setne" came to mean leopard skin is in a variation of the Tale of the Two Brothers. In one version when Anubis is chasing Bata, Bata turns himself into a leopard. Now in those days leopards had no spots. Anubis caught his brother Set (Bata) and branded him. This is how the leopards got their spots, and how leopard skins came to be known as "setne." Set was branded by false accusations, and then wore those brands as a sign of his beauty.

     It was in that garment Sem Priests visited the Pool of Transformations.

     Now there's a job here for Order members. I want you to think about two things. Why does being falsely accused and branded Become a Sign of beauty? I mean after all Set could've just changed his shape and went on about his business. Most people would want to forget a branding. Why does such an experience allow people to have more power in moving in the other world? Why does being a figure of hatred give one a great enough strength of being to resist the outward forces of change that pool up in the Pool of Xepheru? And as always in an Order exploration look to the details of your own life as well. I want you think about these ideas, explore them ritually, and publish your thoughts in the Scroll or Setian-L, or some other Temple fora.

     I will not tell you a great deal about this fourth son of Ramses II. It is the first job of each Order member to look up hard data on this fellow by him or herself. But there are some questions to consider while reading about this guy. 1. Why was he a Priest of Path? (See essay #10). 2. Why was a Sem-Priest?

     During his life he revitalized the _Per-Ankh_ tradition. _Per-Ankh_ means "House of Life." it was the name given to the place where scribes learned how to write.

     Since the Pergamon Working we know that the whole of a successfully self-deified individual Life Creates the forces that the forces of Consciousness use in the battle against the forces of naturalization, so in an esoteric sense we See in the :house of Life" a subtle commandant to Learn how to Live our own lives to the fullest, so that the Forces that resonate with Set's Eternal Purpose in this world may be Strengthened by our passing through it. Since this same action brings us Eternal Life and Prosperity, we readily accept this Bond with Set.

     I will tell you a little about the title of this Book, and about the Order's lineage, but firstly I will tell you how to use this Book.

How To Use this Book

1. When you get the book spend a period of time reading it through cover to cover. You will notice the first section of the book has 15 essays number 0-14. Fourteen, twice the number of Set (7), is a number of royal power. The Number fourteen is the lucky number of the Order, as you Work with Order concepts fourteen will Become synchronistically important. Don't go overboard with this, like wagering your life savings on #14 on the roulette wheel, just note its significant occurrences in your magical journal. The second section of the Book holds the entrance essays for people who have entered the Inner Court, each of these is there to both inspire and inform.

2. Pick a time when you'll wish to begin to reread the Book more slowly. Read essay by essay. Think about them, talk to other Order members about them. Pay particular attention to essays 1, 3, 9, and 13 as they will help get you started.

3. Begin to pick topics to research that interest you for the newsletter. As you practice what you'll find in essays 1, 3, 9, and 13 -- reread the other essays and your Crystal Tablet. This actions will begin to open certain Doors for you.

4. Share what you find with Order members, your Pylon, first degrees you write to, your nonSetian friends (be wise and cautious). Watch how what you share comes back to you. You may share any part of this book with any Setian you wish except for parts 1 and 9, which are the magical engines of the Order.

The Order's Lineage

     The Per Ankh tradition included most of Egypt's scribes. A few of these we Recognize as either Grandmasters or Djassu (Masters of the Order). In the first category we have Hypatia, Jeu the Hieroglyphist, and the unknown fellow who buried the magical papyri. In the second we have Horapollo, Cagliostro, Dhul Nun, Dr. Pascal Beverly Randolph, Max Theon, and Wallis Budge, who may have founded an "Egyptian Lodge" of the Golden Dawn. If you're looking for some research topics to start with, you might find out who these people were.

The Scroll of Thoth

     The name "the Scroll of Thoth" appears in the Tale of Setne, which was written a thousand years after his death. This papyrus (Cairo Museum 30646) tells the story of Prince Setne's desire to obtain a book of magic written by Thoth himself. The idea of a supreme book of magic which had the power to awaken the consciousness. The first account of the book was published in English in 1900 (F. Ll. Griffith Stories of the High Priests of Memphis) and this book so impressed Aleister Crowley, that he took its title and applied to his Tarot deck.

     The best account of the Tale of Setne appears in Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume III edited by Miriam Lichtheim

     With this Book and an immense amount of hard Work you can become as powerful as Setne.

Ir Shti Shta-tu!