The GLOBAL VISSUDHA (Throat) CHAKRA WORKING
Great Pyramid, Giza, and Saqqara,
Nov (Samhain) full moon 2006
The Fifth in a series of group rituals at the Sacred Site Chakras of the Earth, aimed at resonating within the microcosm of the human body the awakening of the Global Kundalini (serpent-fire) towards 2012.
The Vissudha is the Chakra of sound, vibration and communication, so the emphasis of our rituals at Giza was upon harmonic chanting and Words of Power, rooted in Ancient Egyptian magic and mythology to resonate with the site of activation.
{Photo by Marc'Aurelio}
Though drawn together in quite a rapid and unexpectedmanner -as it was originally planned for 2007- omens pointingtowards this working's execution now were confirmed as this wasone of the most potent group workings I haveexperienced, a feeling corroborated by others involvedlocally. Many performed linked rituals worldwide, andthe power of this was felt there in Egypt, andreciprocated as also consolidated by the reportscoming in from around the globe. The effects andresults continue to unravel...
This initial report details basically whathappened, mostly on an extant level. The inner worldsexperienced by each participant are further expanded uponby themselves in links from this page; although Iwill briefly touch here upon some of the visions andsensations others have expressed experiencing as wellas my own.
Then there are the transmissions: Part of our intentwas to each receive/create/ transmit a Word of Power,with the potential of this developing into a longertransmission from the Ancient Egyptian Gods and Neters ('principles').
Although the main focus for Vissudha -as Chakra ofSound and Vibration- is vocal/oral _expression,Communication in general is an aspect of the ThroatChakra. The Scribe was a vital figure in AncientEgypt, so we continued this tradition invokingTahuti/Thoth to record our Words and Glyphs on sacred papyrus parchment.
It seems we opened some major Akashic Gateways hereas information and inspiration continues to stream infaster than we can relay it...
PART I: ARRIVALS & PREPARATIONS:
Revisiting Glastonbury UK to reconnect with theenergies of this Global Anahata (heart) Chakra beforemoving on to the Global Vissudha, I met throughportentious circumstances a Thelemic Yogi who co-owns landin Egypt. Although we had only an hour to connectthere were many resonances and he most graciouslyallowed us to use his place -with its unfinishedtemples- as a base for us to prepare for the workingcollectively. Without this I doubt we would have beenable to do half of what we did, as it meant there wasa central and peaceful place for us to focus and earththe work away from the utter chaos of over-pollutedCairo and the commercialism of the tourist-orientatedGiza area.
Instead we were situated on the edge of thesmall village of Abu Sir, with desert sands stretchingout from the doorstep and the magnificent Zoser steppyramid on the horizon.
{Photos (left) by Lerry and (right) by Liz}
On the other side were the Abu Sir pyramids, reachablevia a short walk, and beyond them the greatsilhouettes of the massive Giza pyramids in thedistance. So I am most grateful to Oz (or 'Beasty' ashe is unwittingly known as by the modern Egyptiansof the Abu Sir village) and to Nasser -a local who lives there andcaretakes the property- and his family for their wonderful hospitality. His help and honesty saved usfrom having to negotiate so much the means and (veryvariable for foreigners!) prices of everything, includingunofficial access to some of the sites.
That this point of access for the land of the Throat Chakra camevia a meeting at the global Heart Chakra areademonstrated again the sense of continuity -despitethe diversity of participants and locations for each-in these progressive Global Chakra Workings of theChAOrder of the Silver Dusk.
Finding this place and its guardian once we arrivedin Egypt was not as simple as expected however and providedanother powerful synchronicity indicating this was allmeant to be:
Giselle and I as the first scouts hadlingered in our landing-place of Alexandria longerthan expected, feeling our way slowly into the spiritof this new land and recovering somewhat from ourintense mythic journeys in Greece. We finally made itto Cairo on the 29th Oct where -after looking around fora day and a night- we tried to call Nasser and wereinformed by the hotel staff supposedly aiding us thatone of the numbers we had been given was a fax, anotherout of service, and the third no answer. Confounded,we decided to stay in Cairo for another night and tryagain the next day.
Meanwhile the spectacular spires andintricately-carved stonework of magnificent medievalmosques and the colourful street-life atKahn-el-Kahlili Bazaar and 'Old Cairo' on the far sideof Central inspired us, but the thick and acrid fumes of theWorld's most polluted city hardly felt conducive tothe opening of our throat chakras!
{Photo (left) by Giselle}
However the next day we were still unable to contactNasser, so decided to leave most of our luggage instorage at a hotel in Cairo and head out to try andfind him in person. We were told Saqqara Village wassmall enough that we would probably be able to locatehim with the picture and name on the card we had. Weonly discovered later that he didn't actually live inSaqqara village but Abu Sir village, which is on theother side of the Saqqara pyramids. Going to Saqqaravillage would have probably been fruitless andfrustrating, but a strange twist of fortune led us toNasser's doorstep nevertheless! :
Eventually locatingand boarding a minibus heading towards Saqqara (viaGiza) we were relieved to finally be getting out ofCairo. However half-an-hour later I sought morephysiological relief also as an unexpected urge tourinate had suddenly overwhelmed me with increasingintensity. I held on til my liver was aching butrealized I was going to have to get off before wereached our destination. The bus was now as congestedas the traffic outside it but somehow we pressed ourway to the front and eventually got the driver tostop.
Running for the nearest cafe where we were severelyovercharged for subsequent coffee and water, we thenfound ourselves on the side of the very busy PyramidRd in rush hour, with all minibuses packed to thepoint of people hanging out of the doors and taxisalso all occupied. While we were wondering how long itwould be before we could get one and how much we wouldbe overcharged at this time and place, a Germantraveller in similar circumstance approached us. Hewas with an Egyptian who- after helping us get a taxiwithin half an hour and at a reasonable price- wediscovered was taking the German to a village nearGiza to obtain some papyrus plant for an exhibition inBerlin. Though wary after our cafe experience, I had agood feeling from him and showed the Egyptian Nasser'scard. To our surprise he said he knew him well, 'He islike my uncle' and helped us get there, there being wediscovered actually Abu Sir rather than Saqqaravillage!
The chances of this meeting and re-routing on such amajor busy road halfway between Cairo and Giza seemedvery slim and it was a good sign, spirit apparentlyguiding us to our destin-ation via my bladder!
Nasser welcomed us and showed us the house where wecould stay and its adjoining temple, right on the edge of the village and the desert with the pyramids in the distance. (Photo by Tor}
An advantage ofbeing the first arrivals was that we claimed the Nuit chamber as our bedroom:
This white curved egg-like room is a work of architecturalgenius as a large hole has been cut in the curvedceiling to allow the stars above (veiled only by athin mosquito-screen) to form the Body of Nuit (theAncient Egyptian Sky Goddess) whose face is drawn onthe end of this aperture with hair cascading to thefloor, which is filled with hexagonal cushions in abeehive-like matrix. The chamber is entered and exitedvia a small crawl-through opening at the other end, asolar-disc-shaped aperture flanked by greatHadit-wings drawn on either side.
At first it seemedas if on entering the room one was like the Sun-Goddisappearing into the womb of Nuit for the night, buton reflection it was paradoxically the opposite, asinside the room one was actually 'outside' Nuitlooking up at Her arched body above and around. Soemerging back out into the Universe outside this placeoutside space and time was actually entering the Bodyof Nu...
Several of the other participants coming from other countries afew days later had less good fortune with theirarrivals, indeed with Mercury retrograde it seems thatpowers of Communication were tested to the utmostjust to get there for many of us- flights rescheduled, severe delays and mixed messageswhich were only overcome with patience andpersistence.
Negotiating with people on arrival whospeak primarily another language is also of courseoften a challenge to communications, especially whenmany of them are trying to take advantage of theirbelief that because you are western you must be muchricher than them (not actually the case with severalof us).
Most of us arrived on the 1st Nov (Samhain by date)and after a hectic day in Cairo of finding and pickingup everyone we eventually had an initial circle backin Saqqara. This was good although it seemed most werestill 'landing' and there was considerable discord inthe chanting. It occurred to me with a sudden sense ofdisillusion that I'd had no idea of the vocalcapacities of many of the participants (some whom I'donly known by email, others I'd spent time with intheir various homelands) and ironically for a workingrevolving around sound, the vocal harmony was not asgood as with many of the other group chanting sessionsI have facilitated over the years.
What an assurance then when even the next day therewas a marked improvement, and with every chantingcircle (2 or 3 a day) we harmonized ever more,dramatically proving the power of these tonesespecially in a group context to open the Vissudha andtransform the vocal and harmonizing potential ofchanting the energetic octave; so that within meredays the group became one of the most powerful vocallyI have experienced, as befitting a global throatchakra working!
The space helped align our spirits and sounds rapidlyalso: the unfinished temple was a large brickhemispherical dome, with eight arched gates (left- photo by Liz) in theadjoining unroofed smaller round room above it. Theacoustics of the space are incredible, highlyreverberant as if it was made for a throat chakraworking. Several times over the course of ourprogressive work there I was overwhelmed with how mucheach syllable resonated around the dome, making oneintensely conscious of clarity in focusing the Powerof the Word.
Another factor in the rapid opening and harmonizationof our throat chakras was the breathwork we didtogether: Kumbukka (breath-hold) Pranayama toclear the channels, Bastrika (firebreath and alternate-nostril) to energiseand at one stage an hour-long session of progressivedeep-breathing through each chakra alternated withchanting the tone of each and visualizing its relatedcolours, attributes and global sacred site.
Thus weall learnt to vocalize not just from the throat butfrom different energy centres in the body, using theabdomen and diaphragm to fully potentiate what thethroat focuses into resonance. Doing all of thistogether naturally also created a powerful unitybetween us quite quickly despite our disparatebackgrounds, perspectives and places of origin(Australia, UK, Italy, Germany). On the culminativeday of the working this unity proved to be a powerfuldeciding factor in the effectiveness of our ritual atGiza...
Our first group excursion was to the museum, pyramidsand mastabas (tombs) of Saqqara, although at thisearly stage it was quite a scattered expedition, mosthaving arrived just the night before. It was good tosee our first ancient sites however, finally viewingheiroglyphs carved in stone rather than just printedin a book, and following the extensive murals showingancient scenes along the walls of the differentchambers. The new Saqqara Museum is also interesting,with one actual displaced mummy in a glass cabinet andmany statuettes and figurines of Gods and Pharoahs.
Here was my first meeting with Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, alocal conflation of Gods of Creation and Death Who wasto have a lasting impact upon the work (and Words) tocome for me.
Photo at left by Orryelle: Giselle amidst the golden pillars of Saqqara
We wandered around in 2s and 3s and only all cametogether once briefly to chant in one of the tombs.Abstractly chanting to test its acoustics I was toldby a guard this was, 'not permitted' but then once outof their sight he indicated with gestures and brokenEnglish to me that once the current group of touristswere gone we could proceed, indicating with finger andthumb rubbed together that a small bribe was expectedfor such a privilege. So we came to know the usualprocedure of the caretakers of ancient sites andmonuments. Unlike in Greece where we were horrified tofind worshipping old Gods in the ruins of Their ownancient temples was illegal due to them beingcontrolled by the government and its nationwidesanctioned Orthodox Christianity, modern Egypt seemsto have an acceptance that foreigners might want topray or ritualise to their ancient Gods even thoughthey all seem to be almost invariably Muslimthemselves (apart from a small segment of CopticChristians). As with most things in Egypt however a little'Baksheesh' (monetary reward) was expected inacknowledgement of the vast difference in the homeeconomies of most foreign visitors compared to that ofmodern Egypt.
After the tour group left we began thechakra tones together but were halted when we reachedthe solar plexus as some more had turned up. This wasfrustrating and we hoped it wasn't an indication ofthe way things were going to go, but we left thatmastaba and agreed to reconvene and complete theoctave at the 'Tomb of Ti' on the far side of thesite.
In the meantime we saw the first pyramid (accordingto official archeology) ever built, the Zoser steppyramid with six obvious layers like the Mayanpyramids rather than the continuous faces of laterEgyptian ones. It was good seeing the first pyramidbuilt first, and it was even more impressive up closethan as we had seen it from Nasser's doorstep acrossthe desert.
{Photos by Orryelle (above right) and Alex Nym (left)}
Like the Unas pyramid next to it however,the step pyramid was not open to the public. The Unaspyramid looks like nothing much now from the outside,pretty much a huge pile of rubble still with a vaguelypyramidical shape. However we knew that within, mostlyunderground, are some of the oldest ancient Egyptianheiroglyphic texts known, the famous 'Pyramid Texts'which later formed the basis of The Egyptian Book of the Dead/'The Book of Coming Forth by Day'.
On our way back from Saqqara (most of us walked throught the desert) we stopped at a little cave on a hill just near the village from where all the pyramids could be seen in a magnificent panorama, from where we quietly watched the sun set.
{Photos by Orryelle and Tor}
Video: Sun Salute (Atum as the Red One of the Setting Sun) from the Saqqara cave.
Footage by Tor, edited by Orryelle, with music by Orryelle (violin & vocals), Shiko (female vocals) and Amordios (percussion).
In the days before the others' arrival I had begun toscout out possibilities in relation to our main riteon Sat the 4th (Samhain full moon), questioningconnected locals about possibilities at differentnearby sites. As suspected it was pretty muchimpossible to do anything in the Great Pyramid of Gizawithout tourists and guards present during officialopen hours. While there was a vague possibility ofunofficial access elsewhen, it would be expensive waybeyond our means due to the amount of people needingto be paid and dealt with and seemed dubious anyway.
So we gave up on that and determined to do an initialritual in the daytime there (despite the presence oftourists and guards) if possible and our longer,deeper rite alone somewhere else in the night.
It came up that we might be able to do this night rite in Unas,which was very exciting as the site of the originalpyramid texts seemed most relevant for the throatchakra with its emphasis on the Word, as well as forSamhain as they concern the passage twixt life anddeath. It would be expensive, but if we all pitched injust achievable? Nasser told us Beasty used tomeditate in the Unas pyramid often and it was hisfavourite place around here...
On that first day at the Saqqara Pyramids, Giselleand I were diverted by a frustrating false promise (ithad seemed a bit too easy!) from bribed guards wholet us through the outer gate to scramble down intoUnas already, only to find a locked door at the bottomof the chute. After this and other lingerings we hadlost track of the time and weren't able to meet at theTomb of Ti as planned due to closing time. Only two ofus did get there that day, so our collective chakricoctave remained incomplete until we got back to base.There we were joined by Tristram who had finally madeit after a delay at an unexpectedly- extendedAmsterdamstopover and then being strangely unable to contact usfor twelve hours or so. So he was very relieved to see us all at last and be welcomed straight into a chanting circle upon arrival at the village.
{Photos by Giselle (left) and Tor (right)}
So the next day we began with a 2-hour circle-chanting, breathwork and also sharing different yogaasanas we each knew- before even having breakfast sothat there was a sense of group focus before we setoff into the outer world.
Besides traditional Hindu asanas and Tai Chiexercises some of us had more personal postures toshare, and several of these were inspired by Egyptianiconography. So we decided to all come up with an'Egyptian Asana' or two each in the next few days andshare these with the group. These were based onpostures adopted by various Gods and Goddesses inAncient Egyptian heiroglyphs and pictures, and provedmost powerful. They affirmed the idea that many ofthese glyphs demonstrate postures and mudras of poweralready which may be put back into motion with thebreath and reactivated.
Mine is shown diagrammatically at left- Ptah and Sekhmet asanas with accompanying breathwork and mantras.
I hope more of them will beshared here in time...
Charged from our morning session, we went to thePyramids of Dahshur, another group nearby.
The 'RedPyramid' {Right -Photo by Orryelle}
was open and as soon as we began theextensive descent into its interior I suspected ourchanting would be more successful there. It was a longway down the narrow dark passage and I doubted any ofthe watchmen outside would make the stooped trek in toask us to stop.
The small but high-ceilinged room within was hot andstuffy, but extremely resonant. Soon after we were allin we silently sat down, joined hands and began tochant. It was incredible, the sound lifting up intothe tiered vault of the ceiling and ringing throughthe pyramid. Thrice we reverberated each tone up theoctave and our spines, almost oblivious to an Egyptianon our periphery who watched in nervous fascination. Grounding with return to the low base tone, we thenafter a few minutes silence -energy buzzing around-broke circle and rose. I began to chant the powerfulAncient Egyptian mantra, 'Sa Sekhem Sahu' (loose translation: Open to the Power -of Kundalini fire- with Protection) and one by one theothers joined in. As we chanted we walked- slowly,processionally- across the chamber and up thestairways at its far side, the sound and its palpableenergy rising with and around us.
This was all quitespontaneous but flowed as if it was exactly what wewere meant to be doing. There was an atmosphere ofutmost sanctity. The vast difference from the daybefore was testament to the unity achieved from ourmorning circle back at the dome.
At the top of the steps and around the corner westood on a high balcony overlooking the adjoiningchamber of the pyramid. As the Sekhem chant faded intoits last trailing echoes, we overlooked the rock-hewnchamber below in silence. Kundalini was tingling in myhead. Then a new mantra emerged unexpectedly from mymouth: 'Ptah-Sokar'.
It seemed completely complementary to the one we had just done, and theothers soon joined in, harmonics spiralling up anddown. Then I registered that lioness-headed Sekhmet-whose primary mantra is Sa Sekhem Sahu- and Ptah asHer consort were the primary Gods of the area, formingwith their son Nefertum -God of the Lotus (chakra?)-the Triad of nearby Memphis.
A few tourists wandered in and looked surprised byour ceremony, but moved around the periphery of thegroup in respectful (or stunned?) silence.
On our return back down, then up and out from themain chamber, we returned to the Sa Sekhem Sahumantra. This sequence with Ptah-Sokar later developedinto a specific pair of complementary asanas, mudrasand mantras with potentiating breathwork to invoke theenergies of this divine couple, facilitating theblossoming of their lotus child within.
After the steep ascent emerging into the brightsunlight was dramatic- somewhat of a rebirth initself. We were informed later by Nasser -who waswaiting for us outside- that the guards had heard uschanting within and were actually somewhat freaked outby it, but didn't try to stop us. Not being such atourist mecca as Giza, it was not a heavily controlledarea.
{Photos by Tor}
From the Red Pyramid we went to the nearby 'BentPyramid' which though unenterable is uniquelyspectacular from without: Its angle changes two-thirdsof the way up (thus the name) and it is the onlypyramid which has retained most of its limestonecasing, unable to be as effectively pillaged over themillenia due to these angles. The casing gives thepyramid a smoother and lighter appearance so that itshines white-golden in the searing sun.
{Photos by Giselle}
Where the casing was missing on the corners, juttingangular stone blocks were able to be climbed easily,and to my surprise the caretakers of the site werequite happy for me to scramble half-way up (therebeing no other tourists about) to view the surroundingdesert sands and pyramid complexes from this vantagepoint. Below, Dorryn tapped sticks together andchanted himself into shamanic trance in the shade onone side of the looming edifice.
We returned to the base house and temple in Abu Sirvillage invigorated and inspired, to greet the finaltwo arrivals, Alex and Lerry from Germany. Afterdinner they joined us for an extensive evening circleof more chanting and breathwork, and discussion of ourintent as we began to consolidate as a group what wewere going to do for our culminative ritual on the4th.
Now we were eleven- including one-and-a-half year oldFox (guarding the temple door at left -photo by Tor) who loved to sit and chant with us, adding hisendearing and often comical touch to the proceedingswith his high-pitched oooos and aaaahs and makeshiftyoga asanas twixt shifting from one cross-legged lapto another around the circle.
Many were tired but we knew that tomorrow was theculminative day of our work -with hundreds linking inworldwide- so stayed up to consolidate as much aspossible of our intended proceedings. While leeway wasleft for spontaneity and an openness to the fact thateverything was unlikely to go exactly as planned inchaotic Egypt anyway, we devised a basic ritual agendafor the following day and evening. There was anexpressed wish that we'd had more time to prepare andinclude all elements that had come up, but also asense that the concentrated plunge into this work hadits own powerful momentum.
After planning to go there after Giza, it had becomeapparent that we would not be able to enter the UnasPyramid after dark after all and that as several of uswere also uncomfortable with the high expense for justan hour in there in the afternoon, it wasunfortunately removed from the plan. Insteadwe opted for spending an hour alone together later atnight in one of the pyramids of Abu Sir- directlybetween the powerful nexus of Saqqara and that of Giza-which although not open to the public were accessiblevia our contacts in the village and with much smallerbaksheesh than Unas.
Although initially disappointed to have to leave outUnas, as it turned out the replacement Abu Sir Pyramid visit wasmost potent and perhaps even more synchronistically appropriate to ourwork; and there -after a staggering affirmation of thepower of united activated throat chakras at Giza- wewere able to chant, sing gibber gabber babble andshriek wildly to our hearts' content beneath the fullmoon, distilling from this glossolalia our Words ofPower...
ON to PART II- GIZA (includes video footage)
The VISION behind the GLOBAL CHAKRA WORKINGS
Chanting the Chakra Tones