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Figure 68. Slaying Apep
Figure 65-0fferings of the Hours
The ceilings of the inner chambers depicted the firmament, with the various stages of celestial life and the divinities who inhabit the sky realm. Nut encompasses this region, and in many tombs her terrain is divided into linear time, represented by sacred hours.
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The Book of Gates, an enigmatic sacred text inscribed on the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I, is also featured on the walls of the corridor leading to the Osireion at Abydos. The latter was regarded in antiquity as the entry into the royal chamber of initiation, and its function continues to evade scholarly evaluation. Believed to be of very ancient origin, the text discloses the Solar journey of the soul through cosmic regions that culminates in a celestial rebirth through Nut, the sky goddess. Each hour of the Solar journey is described as a gate that is passed into by the conscious soul. In each, the meeting with a divine serpent is encountered, a symbol of the protective deities who guard the Sun god in his nightly journey through the Duat, the invisible sky. Observance This ceremony recapitulates, on an hourly basis, the annual Solar journey through the monthly mansions of the Zodiac, the constellational "houses" where the Neteru's powers reside. The Book of Hours compresses this cyclic event into one night what the Sun accomplishes in the sky through the year. The ceremony also reenacts the sejeryt (vigil) that the gods kept over the body of Asar, as it became renewed by the mystic processes performed by Auset and her retinue.
An offering and recitation will be made at each hour, following the Solar journey of twelve night hours that proceeds at dusk (the first hour). This symbolizes the twelvefold Solar cycle that is coming to a close, the conclusion of the Sun's journey through the twelve seasons before the spring equinox. The ancient rite included a comprehensive recitation of all divine forces throughout the hoursthe protective deities in the nomes, temples, celestial regions, and the shadow worlds. Calling upon these diverse powers serves the purpose of "drawing to-
