The Stele of Revealing - The Book of the Law

Finding the Stèle of Revealing

“A glass case stood in the distance, too far off for its contents to be recognized. But [Rose Kelly] recognised it! ‘There,’ she cried, ‘There he is!’”

“Fra. P. advanced to the case. There was the image of Horus in the form of Ra Hoor Khuit painted upon a wooden stele of the 26th dynasty—and the exhibit bore the number 666!”

“In the museum at Cairo, No. 666 is the stele of the Priest Ankh-f-n- khonsu. Horus has a red Disk and green Uraeus.
His face is green, his skin indigo.
His necklace, anklets, and bracelets are gold.
His nemyss nearly black from blue.
His tunic is the Leopard’s skin, and his apron green and gold.
Green is the wand of double Power; his r.h. is empty.
His throne is indigo the gnomon, red the square.
The light is gamboge.
Above his are the Winged Globe and the bent figure of the heavenly Isis, her hands and feet touching earth.”

— The Temple of Solomon the King, Equinox I vii

& The Equinox of the Gods, Chapter 6

Translations

The Gardiner Translation

A translation of the Stèle text, by Dr. Alan Gardiner and Battiscombe Gunn.

STELE OF ANKH-F-NA-KHONSU.

OBVERSE.

Topmost Register (under Winged Disk).

Behdet (? Hadit ?), the Great God, the Lord of Heaven.

Middle Register.
Two vertical lines to left: –

Ra-Harakhti, Master of the Gods.

Five vertical lines to right: —

Osiris, the Priest of Montu, Lord of Thebes, Opener of the doors of Nut in Karnak, Ankh-f-na-Khonsu, the Justified.

Below Altar: –

Oxen, Geese, Wine, (?) Bread.

Behind the god is the hieroglyph of Amenti.
Lowest Register.

(1) Saith Osiris, the Priest of Montu, Lord of Thebes, the Opener of the Doors of Nut in Karnak, Ankh-f-na-Khonsu, (2) the Justified: — “Hail, Thou whose praise is high (the highly praised), thou great- willed, O Soul (ba) very awful (lit. mighty of awe) that giveth the terror of him (3) among the Gods, shining in glory upon his great throne, making ways for the Soul (ba), for the Spirit (yekh) and for the Shadow (khabt). I am prepared, and I shine forth as one that is prepared. (4) I have made way to the place in which are Ra, Tom, Khepri and Hathor.”
Osiris, the Priest of Montu, Lord of Thebes, (5) Ankh-f-na-Khonsu, the Justified; son of MNBSNMT (The father's name. The method of spelling shows that he was a foreigner. There is no clue to the vocalisation); born of the Sistrum-bearer of Amon, the Lady Atne-sher.

REVERSE

Eleven lines of writing.

(1) Saith Osiris, the Priest of Montu, Lord of Thebes, Ankh-f- (2)na-Khonsu, the Justified:—“My heart from my mother, my heart from my mother, my heart of my existence (3) upon earth, stand not forth against me as a witness, drive me not back (4) among the Sovereign Judges, neither incline against me in the presence of the Great God, the Lord of the West. (5) Now that I am united with Earth in the Great West, and endure no longer upon Earth.”
(6) Saith Osiris, he who is in Thebes, Ankh-f-na-Khonsu, the Justified:—&“O Only- (7)One, shining like (or in) the Moon; Osiris Ankh-f- (8)na-Khonsu has come forth upon high among these thy multitudes. (9) He that gathereth together those that are in the Light, the Underworld (duat) is [also] (10) opened to him; lo, Osiris Ankh-f-na-Khonsu, cometh forth by (11) day to do all that he wisheth upon earth among the living.”

Crowley’s Stèle Poem

Aleister Crowley’s poetic rendition of the Stèle text, from The Temple of Solomon the King in Equinox I vii:

Above, the gemmèd azure is
The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
The secret ardours of Hadit.
The wingèd globe, the starry blue
Are mine, o Ankh-f-n-Khonsu.

I am the Lord of Thebes, and I
The inspired forth-speaker of Mentu;
For me unveils the veiled sky,
The self-slain Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
Whose words are truth. I invoke, I greet
Thy presence, o Ra-Hoor-Khuit!

Unity uttermost showed!
I adore the might of Thy breath,
Supreme and terrible God,
Who makest the gods and death
To tremble before Thee: —
I, I adore thee!

Appear on the throne of Ra!
Open the ways of the Khu!
Lighten the ways of the Ka!
The ways of the Khabs run through
To stir me or still me!
Aum! let it kill me!

The Light is mine; its rays consume
Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
Of Khephra, and of Ahathoor.
I am thy Theban, o Mentu,
The prophet Ankh-f-n-Khonsu!

By Bes-na-Maut my breast I beat:
By wise Ta-nech I weave my spell.
Show thy star-splendour, O Nuit!
Bid me within thine House to dwell,
O winged snake of light, Hadith!
Abide with me, Ra-Hoor-Khuit!

Front

Back

Saith of Mentu the truth-telling brother
Who was master of Thebes from his birth:
O heart of me, heart of my mother!
O heart which I had upon earth!
Stand not thou up against me as a witness!
Oppose me not, judge, in my quest!
Accuse me not now of unfitness
Before the Great God, the dread Lord of the West!
For I fastened the one to the other
With a spell for their mystical girth,
The earth and the wonderful West,
When I flourished, o earth, on thy breast!

The dead man Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
Saith with his voice of truth and calm:
O thou that hast a single arm!
O thou that glitterest in the moon!
I weave thee in the spinning charm;
I lure thee with the billowy tune.

The dead man Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
Hath parted from the darkling crowds,
Hath joined the dwellers of the light,
Opening Duant, the star-abodes,
Their keys receiving.
The dead man Ankh-f-n-Khonsu
Hath made his passage into night,
His pleasure on the earth to do
Among the living.

Parts of this poetic version also appear in Liber NU, Liber Resh vel Helios, in the text of Liber AL vel Legis and many more.

The Liber Portal Hieroglyphics

If you’ve wondered what the hieroglyphics at the bottom of the portal graphic used for all of Crowley’s libers are, then you can find out by examining the Stèle. From Gardiner’s translation these are the sections “Behdet (? Hadit ?), the Great God, the Lord of Heaven” and “Oxen, Geese, Wine, (?) Bread”. Essentially, the language suggests “Meat”, “Drink” and “Hadit”.

Compare the Stèle to the Liber Portal
Hadit Detail
Food Detail