The Litany of Ra
The game of Senet is the basis of the Egyptian “Tarot” and is a repository of wisdom in the form of “archetypes”. During the New Kingdom the Egyptians expanded this set of 30 Senet squares into a “full deck” of 78 archetype cards enshrined in a book called the Litany of Ra. The “cards” could be painted or carved in various media. Each archetype is an expression of Ra’s creative energy. Each card generally represents either a “god”, a “goddess”, or a power accessory associated with a god or goddess. During the New Kingdom the suits and sequences of the cards were not yet fully determined. The Litany of Ra lists the “cards” and has images for each card as well as a label and a brief description of each. There is a handbook that describes how to study and use the “cards”. Each “card” represents an “avatar” of Ra, the Sun. As the Sun Ra represents creative source. Each card is an aspect of Ra, the Source. Pharaoh Thutmoses III made the first expanded set of 75 cards. Pharaoh Seti I later added 3 cards: Ra as the cover card for the deck as a whole, and two others: fear/illusion symbolized by a crocodile and ignorance symbolized by a python representing boundaries that “restrict”. These two cards “guard” the Sun card. The Sun Card is a circle with a goat-headed deity (Nighttime Sun) and a scarab beetle (Daytime Sun) inscribed inside it.
*You can find more information about the Senet Game and Tarot in Tarot and the Senet Game.
This is the earliest known book that lists the entire set of 78 cards that make up a traditional Tarot Deck and provides primitive Egyptian illustrations of each card plus a brief description of each card. The Egyptians developed the "Litany" during the New Kingdom (dynasties 18-20) and some of the greatest pharaohs of that period, such as Tutmoses III, Seti I, and Rameses II, had the text transcribed onto their tomb or temple walls. This remarkable little book introduces the 78 major Avatars of the Higher Self, explains how to use the set of Avatars and some of the benefits to be obtained by proper use of these Archetypes. This is the earliest book specifically dedicated to the Tarot as a coherent system of personal development. We meet here some of the earliest titles of the cards and a description of a profound system of meditation practiced in ancient Egypt. The Tarot was (is) not just a game and an oracle. It was (and still is) an amazing tool on the path to enlightenment. See Dr. White's book “The Senet Tarot of Ancient Egypt” (CREATE LINK)
The Litany of Ra is one of the most important spiritual texts of ancient Egypt. Some of Egypt's greatest pharaohs such as Thutmose III, Sety I, and Rameses II had illustrated editions of this text included in the decoration of their tombs. Budge's English version is known fairly widely, and Hornung has produced a German edition that includes transcriptions of all the texts. Douglass White presents a new translation of the Litany with its full set of illustrations [recently updated with a new revised edition 06/2010]. He has also produced a monograph as an introduction (Part I), a translation and commentary for the litany with card images based on the ancient drawings (Part II), a translation of the poetic Handbook that explains how to use the Litany (Part III), and a computer-generated hieroglyphic transcription of the entire text [Litany and Handbook](Part IV). Each portion of the text has copious notes that take the reader deep into how the material was used by the Egyptians as well as its relevance to our lives. Dr. White also finds evidence that the Litany of Ra played a role in the evolution of the Tarot (Tarok) cards.
(Printed version available for purchase in Store)