The lyrics are taken respectfully from The Papyrus of the Undying, particularly from chapters 22 and 25--The Chapter for Transforming into a Snake
and The Chapter for Transforming into a Crocodile. It bears and incredible resemblance to plate 27 of the Papyrus of Ani--The Book of the Dead. In both the religious and profane literature of the ancient Egyptians, we learn both the gods and man were able to assume at will the form of any animal or
bird in the next life. No less than 12 chapters of the Book of the Dead are devoted to providing the deceased with the words of power necessary to
transform oneself. Within modern magickal systems, these passages are commonly regarded as possibly a protective spiritual metaphor, or thought
of perhaps as a precursor to the common modern working "taking on the godform." But because of its inclusion in an obscure serpent cult text, it puts
the Book of the Dead versions in a new, darker, more literal and terrifying
light. Of special curiosity is the last line "I am the Lord of those who bow
down in Sekhem." In the Faulkner translation of The Book of the Dead,
Faulkner renders the last reference of Sekhem as Letopolis (a city in Egypt located on the west bank of the River Nile, some 55 km south of Luxor). This ancient city was devoted to the worship of Sebek, the crocodile god. There is undeniable phonetic word play considering the several distinctly different hieroglyphs pronounced "Sekhem." There are several hieroglyphs interpreted as
being pronounced "Sekhem" and consequently several different meanings.
For instance, Sekhem is also interpreted to describe the divine right of
power of a pharaoh to use violent force granted to him by gods for the
sake of Maat in Egypt. But in the context of The Papyrus of the Dying,
Sekhem is used many times as meaning a "shrine" or "sanctuary," a place of
emptiness, or sometimes as a state of forgetfulness or a trance-like state.
Within the framework of death metal song lyrics, any or all of these meanings could "work" i.e. "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Violence" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down to Power" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in a trance-like state" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Letopolis."
The lyrics are taken respectfully from The Papyrus of the Undying, particularly from chapters 22 and 25--The Chapter for Transforming into a Snake and The Chapter for Transforming into a Crocodile. It bears and incredible resemblance to plate 27 of the Papyrus of Ani--The Book of the Dead. In both the religious and profane literature of the ancient Egyptians, we learn both the gods and man were able to assume at will the form of any animal or bird in the next life. No less than 12 chapters of the Book of the Dead are devoted to providing the deceased with the words of power necessary to transform oneself. Within modern magickal systems, these passages are commonly regarded as possibly a protective spiritual metaphor, or thought of perhaps as a precursor to the common modern working "taking on the godform." But because of its inclusion in an obscure serpent cult text, it puts the Book of the Dead versions in a new, darker, more literal and terrifying light. Of special curiosity is the last line "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Sekhem." In the Faulkner translation of The Book of the Dead, Faulkner renders the last reference of Sekhem as Letopolis (a city in Egypt located on the west bank of the River Nile, some 55 km south of Luxor). This ancient city was devoted to the worship of Sebek, the crocodile god. There is undeniable phonetic word play considering the several distinctly different hieroglyphs pronounced "Sekhem." There are several hieroglyphs interpreted as being pronounced "Sekhem" and consequently several different meanings. For instance, Sekhem is also interpreted to describe the divine right of power of a pharaoh to use violent force granted to him by gods for the sake of Maat in Egypt. But in the context of The Papyrus of the Dying, Sekhem is used many times as meaning a "shrine" or "sanctuary," a place of emptiness, or sometimes as a state of forgetfulness or a trance-like state. Within the framework of death metal song lyrics, any or all of these meanings could "work" i.e. "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Violence" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down to Power" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in a trance-like state" or "I am the Lord of those who bow down in Letopolis."