Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The king's sarcophagus


6) Four weeks after I nearly died in a fire, I found myself lying in the king's sarcophagus in the Great Pyramid of Egypt. This is not a drawing of the king's sarcophagus, it's a clay pot that I bought for thirty cents at a market in Luxor. My friend Hassan's mother treated it for me by rubbing the inside with honey, baking it, then scouring the charred honey off. Egyptian teflon! But that was on my second trip to Egypt.

I took the first trip because I decided that after almost dying, I was going to truly live. Myself and fifteen other goddesses-in-training cruised along the Nile, performing rituals and exploring temples along the way. The Nile was considered to be the spine, with temples built at the corresponding chakras. At Abydos, the temple of death and rebirth, I gasped when I saw my story on the wall. Osiris being brought back to life, hovering above him, the phoenix. Our journey ended in Cairo where our guide, who was friends with the guards, got us into the Great Pyramid after tourist hours. It was dark and everyone toned (similar to chanting) as we each took a turn lying inside, surrounded by the power of the stone. My turn, and all I could think was, "I am lying here in the king's sarcophagus in the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Anything is possible".

In honor of incredible journeys to far away lands, I introduce to you my amazingly talented friend Juliana Coles.

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