Lapis Lazuli, Egypt and snippets

I have been working on my crystal workshops and decided to share just a few titbits with you.  I hope you enjoy!

Anyone with any interest in Ancient Egypt will know that the crystal Lapis Lazuli was a much sought after stone.

Pharoahs made good use of it in amulets, statues and jewellery, seeing its brilliant blue colour as a sign of power and protection.  They used ground lapis lazuli as a colour base for the paintings they produced in temples and tombs, and also used it as an eye adornment.

Pharoah was considered divine, and to use lapis lazuli was to initiate divine communication, thereby endowing the user with divine understanding and mental facilities. 

Lapis Lazuli has been found at pre-dynastic settlements, including that of Naqada, circa 3300-3100BC.

It is associated with the sky goddess Nut and Ma’at, the goddess of truth and justice. It is also claimed that the sun god Ra, had hair made of Lapis Lazuli.

Its Ancient Egyptian name is Khesbed.

The stone has also been used in medicine.  As indicated in a medical papyrus located in the Berlin Museum, the stone, along with malachite and jasper, were strung together and hung about the neck of a child suffering from a nasal illness. 

The Ebers Papyrus, dated from about 1600 BC, contains a formula for a medicine used to cure cataracts of the eye, and this includes lapis lazuli, milk and slime from the Nile (also called "crocodile earth"). The Ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and Babylonians also gave the stone credit for relieving neuralgia and head pains.

Other tales speak of gifts of lapis lazuli cementing the fidelity of friends, and dreaming of Lapis denoting a successful affair of the heart.

Judges in Ancient Egypt had to wear small lapis lazuli pendants of Maat on gold chains, as a sign of the responsibility of their office. If you wished to call upon one of these goddesses, you placed a piece of lapis lazuli as an offering on your altar.

Astrologically, Lapis Lazuli is associated with Sagittarius.  It is under the influence of the planet Venus and represents the 4^th hour of the night.

When working with Lapis Lazuli in crystal healing treatments, it is a versatile tool, allowing us to work on the third eye and throat chakras.  It treats migraine headaches, throat, larynx, thyroid and thymus problems.  It also helps in the treatment of bone marrow problems, insomnia and vertigo.

On a spiritual level it assists in Stargate work and spiritual journeying. It gives deep peace, provides protection, blocks psychic attack and amplifies thoughts.  It expands the senses by opening the third eye, connecting heart and head to create balance.

Lapis Lazuli is linked with Archangel Michael (strength, protection and truth), Raziel (knowledge, chief angel of the Supreme Mysteries) and Zadkiel (abundance, wisdom and kindness).

In addition, from a Feng Shui point of view, Lapis Lazuli brings skills and knowledge when placed according to the Feng Shui principles.

In Buddhism, the “Medicine Buddha” is the Buddha responsible for healing and medicine.  His title is Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light.

In 1669, according to William Rowland, translator of The Complete Chemical Dispenstory, the stone “purgeth chiefly melancholy, cures quartans, apoplexies, epilepsies, diseases of the spleen, and many forms of dementia. It is worn about the neck for an amulet to drive away frights from children; it strengthens the sight, prevents fainting, and abortion, but it must be removed near the time of delivery lest it keep up the child."

And finally, for the football fans among us, the first World Cup trophy was made of gold plated sterling silver and lapis lazuli. Sadly it was stolen (for the second time) in 1983 and has never been recovered. Its replacement uses malachite instead of lapis lazuli, still staying with the ancient traditions.

The endless mysteries of the pyramids

The endless mysteries of the pyramids

Interesting article from the Washington Post. Sacred Seven is alive and kicking in the many theories that abound.

So will we ever know the true purpose of a pyramid? What did it represent? Which of the theories will turn out to be the correct one?

Will traditional egyptologists win the day, or will the alternatives manage to prove their theories?

visa changes update

Now the visa changes are being looked at again, as tourism officials question the new rules.

While I agree that Egypt must be one of only a few countries in the world where a visa can be obtained on arrival, it has to make the visa application process easier.

It also needs to address the lack of any alternative to a tourist visa extension for the many thousands of foreigners living in Egypt, who do not meet the rather strict residency criteria. Residency is not citizenship, it is merely the authority to live in Egypt and lasts for 5 years, renewable. It does not entitle the holder of said visa to work.  Work permits are an entirely separate issue.

It would be interesting to see if enough foreign "residents" on tourist visas could get together to try to get amendments to the Residency Visa criteria and allow the tourist visa to remain just that...... a visa for short term tourists.

http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/other-top-stories/egypts-new-tourist-visa-policy-raises-concern.html

Sharm el Sheikh - the new Ibiza??

Love this report on Youm 7 English news site.

Apparently Sharm will be the new Ibiza and this lucky hotelier has 107% occupancy!!  I am so happy I am not staying there, where are the excess guests sleeping? Sofas in reception?

http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=344499&SecID=12&IssueID=149

An Empty Abydos Temple, Egypt and a missing highway!

Last week I had the great pleasure to spend the day in Abydos, Egypt. This is the site of the Cenotaph Temple of Seti 1 and also his son Ramses 2.

Outside Seti 1 temple

For me, its a magical place and no other temple has the same spiritual feeling as this one. For the egyptologist tourists amongst us, its wonderfully preserved with the most exquisite reliefs on the walls.

Seti 1 temple

Ramses 2 temple
Humanised Djed Pillar

The walk across the desert to the smaller Cenotaph Temple of Ramses 2 brings us to a more ruined temple, but with such wonderful colours it is hard to leave.





Our journey began in the early morning with a drive up the East Bank road, through Qena heading towards the barrage  bridge at Naga Hammadi.  However, things did not go quite as planned. Our drive to Naga Hammadi was without incident, but at Naga Hammadi, things changed.

On the track to the new bridge
The old bridge is in the background

They have built a new bridge over the River Nile here, to replace the ageing barrage bridge. Ok, great! A new bridge to cross, and from a distance it looked like a wonderful bridge! But how to get there?
The only road was a small track running alongside the river and the police directed us along that track. So we bumped along, wondering how the big tour coaches and articulated lorries coped with it. Not to mention the people who live alongside this track. I imagine it was a very peaceful place to live, but it is obvious that the track will be widened and the houses will be demolished and these people will lose their land and their homes.

After 10 minutes we arrived at the new bridge.

There is small evidence that there will be a new access road to the bridge, but it is not there yet, just a sandy track leads us onto the bridge itself.  At that point we could not see the other side of the bridge but as we drove over the brow of the bridge, um.......... the road stopped after the end of the asphalt of the bridge. Another track leading to a t-junction.  Left or right? Toss a coin?  We spot a few men in the distance to the left, so we head that way to ask directions.  Not a good egyptian trait, asking directions is admitting they don't know something. But they send us on our way, another t-junction and take a right. But......... a young man on a motorbike is frantically indicating that we follow him........ to the left.  A decision is taken to take the right that the older man told us to take.

I have no idea where we ended up, but the villages that we passed through were full of confused faces at the "tourists" driving through their village.

But eventually we found the "high"road and quickly arrived in Abydos and had a wonderful day wandering in peace and quiet.

Thomson Holidays - scaremongering for profit!

Some friends of mine were here on holiday last week on a package booked with Thomson Holidays UK.

In their pre-holiday literature was one of the worse cases of scaremongering I have yet come across with regard to holidays in Egypt.

Basically they said


"the Foreign Office has instructed British tourists not to book excursions in Luxor except through representatives of their UK tour company."


I am appalled by this blatant lie!  There is nothing on the Foreign Office travel advise stating anything of the sort!  It is simply to line the pockets of the tour company and its reps! 


My friends spent a week in the Sheraton watching pretty much all the other holiday makers staying in the hotel unless they were on a Thomson coach!  They themselves had a brilliant holiday, all under their own steam and without any incidents whatsoever!  I met up with them twice, once at Snacktime overlooking Abu Haggag Square on Friday, immediately after Friday prayers...... and again for dinner and drinks on Monday night on the West Bank.  They loved Luxor and were upset that so many other tourists were not enjoying their holidays as they were too scared to go out of the hotel.


There is a link to the Trip Advisor hotel review that they did where you can see in Ben's own words what he thinks.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294205-d301831-r116958947-Sheraton_Luxor_Resort-Luxor_Nile_River_Valley.html 


Please share this with everyone you know, especially if they are planning a holiday to Egypt! They need to know this is a blatant lie!

Spirit of the Nile Website

Finally, my new website is live. It still needs a few tweaks here and there, but all the new packages are now available and online.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

Spirit of the Nile Website

Whatever your needs are while you are in Luxor, Egypt we will do OUR best to provide YOU with the very best.

We are now offering spiritual tours and workshops, in addition to the felucca packages and sightseeing packages.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

If you have any special requests, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We are not including external flights or hotels, so that you can have the freedom to choose a package holiday or independent travel. We can however, help with smaller hotel bookings or independent apartment rentals if required.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

We are also looking at working closely with a local photographer to offer courses on a daily or weekly basis and have access to egyptology courses for those who do not wish to partake of the spiritual aspects. A perfect solution for a couple with different interests!

We hope you find the time to check out the website. Please contact us if you require any further information.

Spirit of the Nile Website

Egypt Unveiled Photography