Tehuti
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
| ||||||||||||||
Tehuti also known as Djehuty and Thoth is the god of the moon and writing. (Khonsu is another god of the moon). He is strongly associated with magic and acts as a divine mediator in disputes between the gods. He is most usually shown as an ibis-headed man but can also appear as a baboon, sometimes wearing a lunar disk on his head and with a tablet and stylus.
Tehuti invented writing (medu netjer “Divine Words”) and records births and lifetimes, the results of the Judgment of the Dead, and laws and decrees as the Scribe of the Gods. When the soul of the departed reaches the Hall of Judgement he is one of many gods that the individual encounters. He records the result of the weighing of the heart against the feather of Maat. He is the patron of earthly scribes and the Houses of Life in the temples – where ritual, magical, and other secret writings were stored and copied. In Egyptian society like many ancient civilizations, writing was considered a sacred art and magical. His magical powers are considerable, especially in terms of healing – Set, Horus, Isis, and Ra all benefited from his powerful spells. He is often seen in the company of Anubis, Osiris, and Ra. Tehuti accompanies Ra during his journey across the sky and is also found alongside Osiris in the Hall of Judgement where he records the outcome of the weighing of the heart.
Tehuti was worshipped as the Creator in Hermopolis, a town whose name reflects later Greek association of Tehuti with the messenger god Hermes. As Thrice-Great Hermes, Tehuti became the center of the Hermetic tradition of Graeco-Roman antiquity and from there has continued to influence thought and philosophy in Europe and beyond. He has a special role European hermetic and Neoplatonic thought. He continues to be a patron of magicians who trace their magical practice back to the Hermetic thought of ancient Egypt. As Hermes, he is the originator of Hermetic philosophy, astrology, alchemy, and hermetic magic. In other accounts, where other deities are put forth as the creator, Tehuti is the god who records all of creation from beginning to end and takes up the role of observer and adviser to the creator deity.
As patron of magic and magicians, Tehuti is a repository of spells, secrets, and mysteries. It was Tehuti who taught the secrets of magic to the various gods. Any of the gods who rely on magic have drawn upon the knowledge and power of Tehuti. Tehuti's epithets include “He Who Loves Maat”, “Lord of Divine Books”, “Powerful of Speech”, “The One Who Counts Lifetimes”, “Great of Magic in the Bark of Millions of Years”, and “He Who Makes the Multitudes Live”.
Hoodoo psychic readers, spirit workers, and root doctors who practice in the North African religion of ancient Egypt or contemporary Kemetic Neo-Paganism, and who call upon the netjeru on behalf of clients, may petition Tehuti for matters of healing, resolving disputes, protection, knowledge, and a peaceful home.
