Figure 71. Sceptres for the Opening of the Mouth

Temple priests often oversaw the preparation of objects charged with Heka to serve specific purposes. Such items were produced in great quantity at the temples and distributed as souvenirs-though still sacred-of pilgrimages by the faithful to the Divine House. These were infused in special ceremonies with the Heka of the temple's deity. Examples include the miniature cat figures from the temple of Bastet worn as protective jewelry, and the Menat collars of Het-Her that ensure breath.

Images of the Neteru who are closely associated with high magic also possess amuletic power-figures of Djehuti can make the spoken word effective to the gods, while those of Selqit may banish physical or psychic poisons.

Nile water and soil from the sacred precincts possess Heka, as revealed by the worn stones, walls, wells, and courtyards of the temples that are visible today. Diminished by the hands of pilgrims taking dust on their journeys home through the ages, they are testimony to the enduring belief in the powers of sacred places. Objects crafted by the human hand, such as written spells on papyrus and linen, are also talismanic because they contain the signs and images of the Neteru, considered sacred in themselves.

All these apotropaic devices possess Heka that can be transmitted to the owner. They may purify, influence special conditions, or deflect adversarial forces. They transmit their power by being worn, burnt, or placed in strategic locations. The magical Harris papyrus describes the manufacture of images of Hapi in the time of Rameses III, fashioned in precious stone and metal. These were inscribed with spells invoking a plentiful inundation, and were cast into the Nile as offerings to the Neter.

The creation and use of amulets is an honorable and often necessary function of the temple. The names of the Neteru, inscribed upon papyrus or cippi (plaques of clay, stone, or wood), along with their associated talismanic figures, offer considerable psychic protection. They may be empowered during the Iru of the Neter to which they belong, separately, or in a special observance of the Ushabtiu ceremony. For those that were regarded as the highest magic, the hekau are included here.