EGYPTIAN MYSTERIES WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

A renowned expert on Egypt, Normandi Ellis is perhaps best known for her inspiring, contemporary translations from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, Awakening Osiris. She is also the author of a new work, Feasts of Light, which reconstructs the Egyptian goddess festival calendar. Her second book on Egypt, the critically praised spiritual autobiography, Dreams of Isis, explores her personal odyssey as a woman in Egypt in light of the Isis myth. In addition to these works on myth and the Mysteries, she has written two award-winning works of fiction, Sorrowful Mysteries and Other Stories and Voice Forms.

Coming Forth By Day: The Ancient Egyptian Mystery Tradition
July 17-21—Egyptian New Year
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY, (914) 266-4444

There's tremendous interest in ancient Egypt's culture, but not many people know how religion influenced the day-to-day lives of the people-concepts that are thoroughly modern and speak to our lives and times. Normandi Ellis says the Egyptians believed that the body was a temple for the spirit of the Divine, and that all people were an expression of that universal creative energy.

With Ellis as a guide, we penetrate into the occult Egyptian mysteries and recognize that we all co-create the universe. We begin to express the secret longings of our hearts and tap into dream realms and the akashic records. We learn to discern different ways that spirit manifests through our bodies, and explore multidimensional ways of thinking and writing—especially hieroglyphics.

"Hieroglyphics combine image and sound," says Ellis, who taught herself to read and write hieroglyphics. "I love the language for its twists and puns, for its way of creating multiple meanings." As we study sacred Egyptian texts and read the Logos of the world, we uncover secrets of living and dying well. We also compose hymns of praise, prayers of transformation, and our own book of "Coming Forth By Day." Ultimately, we discover that the Egyptian enigma is replete with sparkling relevance for our lives.

Celebration of Beginnings and the Work of the Hands
July 28-30—Feast of Anket
With Nicki Scully and Jane Bell, Eugene, OR, (800) 937-2991

As part of Nicki and Jane's fourth annual mystery school, Normandi, Nicki, and Jane will be celebrating the Initiation and Work of the Hands. The weekend festival will be held at Nicki's center in Eugene. All people with a love of Egypt will benefit from the weekend of journeys and rituals that take us through the temples and put us in touch with the presiding neters. Normandi's work will focus on understanding the power of the little known temple of Esna, dedicated to the goddesses Anket and Satis, and the ram-headed god Khnum. Because the god Khnum and the goddess Hathor sculpted the child and its spirit body from the earth, this work will provide hands-on experience in creativity. We will study the plastic (molded, sculpted or crafted) art forms, the names of power, and the channeling of divine energy through our fingertips.

My work in the past with Nicki and Jane has included consecrating a temple to the divine, setting the foundations for the physical temple without and the esoteric temple within; invoking the goddess in her many Egyptian forms, culminating with a sand mandala; honoring the divine, creating altars and writing invocations, and journeying to the neterworld.

For more information, contact Normandi at P.O. Box 51, Frankfort, KY 40602.