Great to have Nicki Scully here to discuss the spirituality between her books and oracle regarding Egypt. Both very beautiful delving into esoteric knowledge about the belief system of the Egyptians from Inner Traditions. I hope you enjoy this interview and the information contained within. Presenting.
1. You have a book out called "Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt: Awakening the Healing Power of the Heart." Could you tell us about this book and how it ties in with "The Anubis Oracle: A Journey into the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt?" What was the inspiration behind the creation of these books and oracle card deck?
NS: When Linda Star Wolf and I co-led a tour to Egypt with my company, Shamanic Journeys, Ltd in October 2005, we discovered that Star Wolf, who had attended a “Becoming an Oracle” Egyptian Mysteries class with me and Normandi Ellis a couple of years earlier, had awakened a latent, or perhaps atrophied, ability to “see” with great clarity. This had not been unknown to her, however it became obvious that she had reached a new level when she arrived in Egypt and we had an amazing complementary relationship. The initial inspiration for the first Rite of Passage came from a dream Star Wolf had just before coming on the trip, and my interpretation of it as it related to Jeremy Naydler’s------. Although she had very little knowledge or experience of Ancient Egypt or the family of neteru, the Egyptian pantheon, when called upon and directed she could “see” with amazing detail the intricacy of their clothing, symbols, crowns, and staffs, allowing me to determine who was coming through at any given moment. Recognizing her deep connection, I decided to work with her to bring forth completely new work, or, perhaps better put, new iterations of ancient rites of passage. This was accomplished with great suffering by Star Wolf, as she found herself unable to breathe most of the time, except when we were bringing in the work or presenting it at the sacred sites. It was quite scary for all of us, especially Star Wolf, but the magic that was being created was so potent that she showed up anyway. She would probably say she had no choice, yet I know that it was quite difficult for her. By the end of the tour, we knew we had the foundation of a book, but we went back to our respective worlds and continued our busy lives.
Star Wolf called me at the end of January 2006 to say that Thoth, The Egyptian god of wisdom who is my Teacher and Mentor, and who had directed our ed the work in Egypt, wanted us to write a book. “When?” we asked. “Now.” We were stunned at first, but when he told us it would be Anubis’s work, we had to consider how to do it, as we both love Anubis, the Egyptian jackal god who is the Opener of the Way in the Underworld, and wanted to be of service. Thoth told us that it would be a short book, and that it would pass through our lives like a comet, after which nothing would ever be the same. Ultimately, we couldn’t resist, and started working on the manuscript on Valentine’s Day. The first draft was completed by Summer Solstice, and it was published in 2007.
It was immediately apparent that The Anubis Oracle book and deck was needed to complete the project. The pair can be used individually or together;. Although the Oracle book and deck stand alone, the deeper initiations to the deities and their rites are found in Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt.
2. Kris Waldherr is part of these creations as well. Could you tell me about her and how she is involved?
NS: Kris is an amazing illustrator who created several of her own decks. I was looking at a framed poster of Isis that had been given to me and told a friend that I wanted the illustrations to have the power of hers. My friend suggested I phone her, which had never occurred to me. I did, and it was perfect, magical timing. She had awoken that morning thinking, “I wonder what my next project will be?” She was wonderful to work with. I sent her images of all the deities and where their temples were located and she was able to translate Star Wolf’s visions with impeccable detail. After Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt was published, she agreed to differentiate the images that had been composites in the first book into individual illustrations for each of the neteru, and create a deck. Star Wolf and I worked together to write the book that goes with the Oracle deck.
3. Why was Anubis the central figure picked to represent these Mysteries and The Oracle?
NS: Thoth is my teacher and mentor. This was a discovery through initiation from my teacher in the mid ‘80s, and he has been the architect of my work ever since. He and Anubis are very close. In Greece there was actually a blend of the two know as Hermanubis. It was Thoth that made the proposal offer to us, although he made it clear that it was Anubis’s work, and that we would be working directly with Anubis. Star Wolf and I both have a special affinity with Anubis, however she embodies his spirit as a wolf-person… and Anubis is a jackal, though . S some believe that he was initially a wolf. Whether or not that is true, he shares the canine attributes and is a wonderful teacher and guide. He has been my staunch guardian and protector perhaps my entire life. Since I hold a Thoth lineage and have an intimate connection with him, it was as though I represented Thoth and Star Wolf represented Anubis. Our joke at the end was that I am the road-runner and she is the wiley coyote.
We felt both honored and privileged to bring through this work. It is as though Anubis came up from his usual place in the underworld, where he is the Opener of the Way and the psychopomp, the one who leads lost souls home after death. He is also the protector of miscarried, aborted and abandoned children. He has been a staunch guardian, protector, teacher, and ally for me since the mid-80s.
4. Could you share with us some of the Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt?
NS: The rites in Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt are about discovering one’s
divinity. In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were required to celebrate their jubilees
every 30 years, however theose ceremonies usually happened quite a bit more
frequently, perhaps every six years. During the Heb Sed festival, as it was called,
the pharaoh had to undergo rites that helped him renew and retain his direct
connection to divinity. He needed that direct connection to hold the reigns of
power and the energy that goes with that office for the entire empire.
Anubis was the High Priest who officiated these rites, as stated in Jeremy
Naydler’s book. In his translation of theose texts he claims that the ose rites were
instructions for the living as well as the dead. In today’s world we can no longer
follow charismatic leaders; we have to claim our own inner authority. The rites
in SME are new iterations of the hidden renewal rites, designed for our time.
The rites begin with an open heart and an innocent, trusting mind, and
take the reader through two rounds of initiations and rites of passage in an
upward spiral into our direct connection to divinity, and to the discovery that we
are divine and have the same potential power for healing and co-creation with
divinity as did the enlightened pharaohs of old.
5. Metaphysically how would you describe the journey this oracle takes us
through when doing a reading?
NS: I suppose that every person that reads and interprets these cards does it in
their unique way, although we give very clear instructions to get people started.
As they work more and more with the cards and become more and more familiar
with the neteru represented, their access deepens and soon it is like communing
with family. We always start with the Heart Breath as the invocation to connect
with the person for whom we are reading and the cards. The person draws cards
according to the question/issue and the layout or spread that approaches the
question. I often do readings over the phone or on Skype, yet I am able to let the
person pick the cards by feeling as my hands move over the deck.
Single neteru cards give clear information that the person can work with, and when they draw a composite card it shows what they are going through at the moment, or what process or alchemical work they are engaged in during their day- to- day life. Often I will suggest they take the corresponding initiations or rites that are in Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt, and they do that as homework. I have found that mixing the cards with Alchemical Healing is very powerful, as the cards add another dimension and more information to the healing process.
6. Are all the gods and goddesses of the Egyptian belief system represented? Could you share a few more with us?
NS: No to the first question. Ancient Egyptians believed that the divine spirit
lives throughout nature, which is why they chose animals and plants to represent what they considered the most important principles of nature. We worked with the ones that came forward in our sessions with Anubis, including the five sacred elements. As for those who are missing, I would have liked to see Seshat, the goddess of writing, and Selket, the scorpion goddess, amongst a host of other family members that simply were not part of this text. Neith and Taueret are a couple of others that I favor, but were not included. This work is rich and full as it is, and I’m sure that others will be included in the next level, which I’m working on with Normandi Ellis.
7. Is there a Set card or a death type card in the oracle that represents the
underworld and darker aspects of life? Also is Set like the trickster of the
Egyptian belief system?
NS: Yes, and Yes. We call Set the adversarial ally as well as trickster. He represents our shadow self, or dark side. In Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt, there is a composite of Hathor, Set and Wadjet that includes rites that initiates the reader to the love of Hathor, and shows how the alchemy of meeting every Set experience with Her love, transforms the experience or situation to a higher level, preparing the initiate to meet Wadjet, the cobra goddess that (who comes in the place of the Tower in Tarot), in a state of harmony. Thus, instead of destroying the structures that have been built around you to support you, she will bless you with the kundalini and other energies required to complete your rite of passage, or the project you are working on.
The death card in this oracle is Osiris, and we call his attributes Beauty, Transfiguration, and Regeneration. The initiation in SME that includes Osiris also includes Anubis as the Heart Shaman who is in the place of the Hanged Man (in Tarot), and represents Surrender. In the composite the heart shaman is hanging from the tree of life, wrapped in mummy cloth like a cocoon covering all but his head which is sserene while waiting for the serpent (Thoth in his cobra aspect) to release its hold so that he can plunge into the river and meet his father, Osiris. The Cat goddess Bast is standing next to the tree, holding up a bunch of juicy, plump grapes as if to say that in order to taste and thoroughly enjoy the flavor of the grapes, he must die to be reborn.
8. I have always loved Shamanism and try to take in as much as I possibly can from books and documentaries and the Earth itself and what teachers life brings to me. What made you decide to tie in the world of Shamanism with the Egyptian spirituality and how are they intertwined?
NS: Ancient Egyptian theology/cosmology is deeply shamanic in nature, and
any serious exploration of her mysteries requires a shamanic perspective to fully
comprehend, if there is such a thing as full comprehension. Mysteries lead to
more mysteries, and I’m completely comfortable with that. I don’t think any of it
can be fathomed without direct experience. You can talk about it and read about
it, but true understanding only comes from experience, and the way I’ve been
shown is through shamanic journeys and initiations. All my teachings empower
people to discover for themselves the rich, multi-dimensional tapestry of these
sacred mysteries.
9. What future projects do you have planned and is there anything else you
would like to share with us information wise or events or links wise?
NS: I’m planning to spend this Winter Solstice, 2012 at Chichen Itza, where I
will be representing the ancient Egyptian perspective in ceremonies, workshops,
and as a Key Note Speaker. I have a couple of tours to Egypt planned for 2013,
and I’m developing an Alchemical Healing and Mystery School that I can present
here at my home center and simultaneously with the latest video-cast technology
so that people from all around the world can participate.
My latest book I co-wrote with my visionary husband, Mark Hallert: Planetary Healing, Spirit Medicine for Global Transformation. We spent a quarter of a century bringing in the tools and, processes and rites that are included. To ] support both the book and the planet, we do bi-monthly Planetary Healing Calls to Actions by way of free tele-Skype-web conferences. I’m also spending more time doing private readings and healing sessions, which I can do at home or by phone or Skype. I am organizing three tours to Egypt in 2013.
Please let your readers know about my website, www.ShamanicJourneys.com, and my webstore, HathorsMirror.com They can get a free Anubis Oracle reading at www.TheAnubisOracle.com
Thank you so much.
Jeffery Pritchett is the host of The Church Of Mabus Show bringing you high strange stories from professionals in the carousel of fields surrounding the paranormal.
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