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THE MIDNIGHT SUN
The Death and Rebirth of God in Ancient Egypt
 The
'midnight sun' is an image from the Greek mysteries, but it has
its roots
in the ancient Egyptian books of the afterlife, in particular
the myth of the sun-god's reunion with his mummified body in
the netherworld - a meeting which caused the soul to come forth
from the body, and light to come forth from the darkness. It
is a fitting title for this book, in which Alan F. Alford seeks
to decode the mysteries of ancient Egypt and thereby shed light
on the legacy which is to be found in the secret lores of Buddhism,
Christianity, the Hermetica, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam.
Many
books have dealt with the exoteric forms of the Egyptian mysteries.
From orthodox Egyptology, there have been numerous books on
the sun cult, while from
alternative or pseudo-Egyptology there have been several bestselling books
proclaiming the importance of the star cult, focusing in particular
on Orion or Sirius. Other
writings have emphasised the importance of the moon.
Unfortunately,
none of these books or theories has been able to explain the
monumental
scale of the buildings in Egypt. Supposedly the pyramids and
temples
were inspired
by a religious vision. Yet our interpretation of the Egyptian religion is
unable to make sense of the architectural splendour that stands
before our eyes. It
is for this reason that theories of aliens and Atlantians continue to gain
support among seemingly rational and intelligent people.
In
'The Midnight Sun', Alan F. Alford offers a new interpretation
of ancient Egyptian religion
that he believes explains once and for all the efforts that
were put into building the pyramids and temples. The essence of his theory
is that the religion was not a sun cult, nor a star cult per se, but a
'cult of creation', i.e. a cult whose primary aim was to celebrate
and re-enact
perpetually the myth of the creation of the cosmos. Pyramids and temples,
he argues, were
built as representations of the cosmos in its moment of coming-into-being,
in order to harness the magical energy of creation and thereby ensure the
immortality
of the world.
Central
to Alford's theory is a reappraisal of the Egyptian creation
myth. These myths have long been dismissed as 'simple folk
tales of the origins of the world', which are unable to bear the weight
of Egyptian religion. Alford, however,
is able to demonstrate that the myth actually describes a consistent
and rational physics of creation involving the death and rebirth
of the cosmos.
Moreover,
he is able to show that the re-enactment of this myth at the pyramids
and in the temples was absolutely fundamental to the Egyptian
vision of rejuvenating
the world.
This
book is the companion volume to 'Pyramid of Secrets' and Alford
draws the two books together in the final chapter by interpreting
the symbolism of
the Great Pyramid in the light of his 'cult of creation' theory.
His astonishing conclusion is that the tomb of its builder Khufu
remains
intact to this day,
hidden in a network of caves beneath the Pyramid. Having already
won support for this theory from the Egyptologist Christine El
Mahdy, Alford
believes that
this book will persuade the authorities to put his theories to the
test.
In
summary, 'The Midnight Sun' is a truly ground-breaking book which
offers a holistic solution to the myths, cults, and
rituals of ancient
Egypt. Although
aimed primarily at the academic specialist, it is written in an
accessible style for the general reader and will be appreciated
by all those
who desire an authentic
initiation into the secret lore of the ancient Egyptians. This
is Alan Alford's magnum opus - a great work that is destined
to
become an authoritative
manual
for 21st century students of Egyptology.
To
see a detailed synopsis of 'The Midnight Sun', please click
on Book
Contents.
To
read the Foreword to 'The Midnight Sun', please click on Foreword.
To
see readers' comments on 'The Midnight Sun', please click on Reviews .
For
information on ordering, please click on Ordering
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