symbolic 64: heka
The Egyptians have two translations for heka: one is a proper name and the other is a more generic term for "magic." In ancient Egypt, magic had none of the dark connotations which it gathered in its translation to the West; magic was, to them, a natural and critical aspect of the religious structure. Heka was one of the three creative energies attributed to the sun god Ra which were necessary in order for Creation to come about. Hu was the personification of the Divine Utterance and Sia was the Divine Omniscience which the king (Ra) employed in concert with the Divine Life Force -- Heka -- as the trinity which was the source of his creative powers.
Heka as a term for "magic" is more appropriately translated as "life force in action" and was the application of energy into ritual. Each person had some of the divine life force in them and utilization of this force through ritual and ceremony was believed to allow the individual the power to communicate with the gods. There is a connection between the name of something and its divine spark, and knowing the name gave you power over the object. Weret-Hekau -- Great of Magic -- is one of the names given to Isis who, as legend tells us, managed to trick Ra into telling her his secret name.
If you look past the charlatans and the dumbed down stories of black masses and horrific rituals, you see that magic is about learning the proper methods of addressing the powers of the universe. Dee's Enochian rituals were very specific about the names of the angels and the powers which they brought with them. Magic is about using language to change the world around you. Language is the key to the codes of the universe.
writing
This is a reasonably comprehensive list of my published work, both virtual and physical.
THE MISFIT LIBRARY
I am Nine of Thirteen, one of the members of the Misfit Library, a writing collective which puts out a quarterly journal of our respective work. We are scattered across the globe and determined to change the face of the planet one story at a time. The link above will take you to Misfit Central where you can acquire copies of the journal as well as read exclusive online material.
SYMBOLIC
I wrote a column for OPi8.com's Transmit blogs: journals of the new dark underground. SYMBOLIC tracked the novel I was working on, referencing the process and the research materials which mad up the backbone of the work. In addition, SYMBOLIC busied itself with ruminations and considerations on the nature of language and communication. And a wee bit of mythology. The first 100 entries of SYMBOLIC can be found here on this site as well as at OPi8.com.
LITERARY REPRESENTATION
I am represented by Scribe Agency as my literary agents. Please contact these gentleman if you have any queries about my work.