Graham Chase Wrote:
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>
> Yes, you are overlooking the established
> correspondence between the pyramids and the
> stars.
>



In all my years of research I have found absolutely no "established correspondence between the pyramids and the stars". The sky, the duat and the stars as inhabitants of both are not conceptual equivalents. They are not interchangeable, and they should not be confused by us in any way, shape or form.

The closest piece of information you have that links a pyramid to the stars (and not a star, for which there is absolutely no evidence) is the name given to Djedefre's pyramid. This pyramid is roughly translated to mean "Djedefre's Starry Sky", or "The Firmament of Djedefre". We had quite a long discussion on this name several months ago here at Ma'at. Some read the name as "Djedefre is a Shining Star", as well, if I recall) There really is no equivalent concept in the English language. You will notice, however, that in the two first names suggested above, the star is not a noun, but an adjective describing a noun. It is not the central idea of the description of the pyramid or its function. The pyramid of Djedefre is one pyramid, though, and the other pyramids have names that make it clear they are not stellarly related. "Khufu's Horizon" does not relate to stars in any way. It is simply the Akhet, the place where things become "effective". The place where the king's spirit becomes an Akh. In general terms, there's little more to it than that.

In addition, I have seen no evidence from the culture that would allow for "pyramid=star". Most think that the stars are thought to be the "souls" of gods or royalty. By equating the pyramid with the star, one would have to make a jump to then having the pyramid equal a single star representing the royal Akh of the king inhabiting it. I don't see any references whatsoever in any texts from any part of Egyptian history that give this impression. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Although the king's body inhabits the pyramid, his Akh is destined to leave the pyramid as soon as possible and take its place outside the confines of the tomb.

Even if we wanted to make this argument, that Khufu's pyramid was supposed to be representative of "his" star, then one would expect to find some kind of "targeting" of that single star within the design of the pyramid. In fact, although I strongly disagree with the speculation that the four shafts in Khufu's pyramid were ever intended to target any star at any time of day or night, the fact that the shafts aim at no fewer than four prominent stars at some impossible time in Egyptian history (see Wall's article in JHA), easily negates the idea that the pyramid represents a single star.

I can go on with more reasons why it doesn't really work, but these alone should be enough to remove the idea from the table of concepts for understanding pyramid symbolism in the Old Kingdom.






Anthony

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.