Ta Netjer (The Land of the Gods)
Ta Netjer was the symbolic name the Ancient Egyptians gave to the Golden Age, they also called it the Land of Punt. Punt was never a real geographical place, it was purely symbolic. The Egyptians understood the cycles of the Ages, they understood when the land was devoid of God's Light and when His Light returned.
The Ta Netjer was the symbolic birthplace of the gods because they understood the gods were only present in certain parts of the cycle.
The Ancient Egyptian creation myths held that the gods themselves originated from this "eastern" paradise, eastern because it is where the new Sun rises, before it sets into the west and the Iron Age.
Ta Netjer was closely associated with the dawn. It is why the Sun god Ra is symbolically said to be reborn every morning. The symbol of him washing himself in the sacred waters of Punt before sailing his solar bark across the sky is connected to the Aether where he reclaims his crown and throne.
The Ancient Egyptians symbolically viewed the "Horizon of the East," as liminal zone where the physical world connected directly with the divine realm of creation. They understood there was an athereal and physical plane and they used the "Horizon of the East" as a way to symbolically show a liminal zone, a sacred, transitional space or "threshold" where the boundaries between human physicality/reality and the spiritual universe dissolve.
It was said that exotic items imported from Ta Netjer were physical manifestations of pure divine energy.
Myrrh and frankincense harvested from Ta Netjer were believed to be the literal sweat or tears of the gods that had fallen and crystallized into trees.
Burning this incense in Egyptian temples was a way to symbolically connect to the spirit world and reminded the Egyptians of the Ages in which the aether would manifest the presence of the gods.
The baboons native to Punt held immense mythological significance many are depicted raising their paws at sunrise. The Baboon symbolises knowledge and intelligence which is why it is closely connected to Thoth. The chanting praises to Ra at the moment of his dawn rebirth is symbolically related to their celebration of the Golden Age and the return of the gods.
The most famous literary piece capturing the mythology of Ta Netjer is the Middle Kingdom papyrus story is The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor.
A sailor's ship sinks in the Red Sea, killing the entire crew. He washes ashore on a mysterious, phantom island. The island is a magical manifestation of Ta Netjer, overflowing with figs, grapes, incense, melons, and fish. The sailor is then confronted by a massive, 30-cubit-long serpent covered in gold and lapis lazuli. The serpent reveals himself as the Lord of Punt. The divine serpent treats the sailor with kindness, comforting him with a prophecy that he will return to Egypt. The serpent notes that once the sailor leaves, the magical island will sink back into the sea and vanish.
This myth is speaking of the mortal man finding himself in the Golden Age. The ocean symbolizes the aether returning to wash him up in a new land, the paradise Ta Netjer. The symbol of the Lapis Lazuli serpent is connected to the first born Divine Man, the Lord of the Punt. As shown in an earlier post about the Land of Punt, the Divine Tribe of Dan is also symbolised by the serpent.
Lapis lazuli is the divine stone of the gods. The Egyptians believed the gods had hair made of this stone, bones of silver, and flesh of gold. Pharaohs used it in sacred items, like Tutankhamun's mask, to show a direct link to the gods.
The serpent warning that once the man leaves the magical island it will sink back into the sea and vanish is connected to humanity descending into the Iron Age when the Aether recedes and this paradise of the gods remains forgotten and unreachable.
It was said the sacred resins of Ta Netjer were crucial for mummification. Anointing the corpse with myrrh was not just for preservation; it was symbolically connected to an Akh (thier transformed shining soul).
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