Liber Resh vel Helios
These are the adorations to be performed by aspirants to the A∴A∴:
- Let him greet the Sun at dawn, facing East, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night!
- Also at Noon, let him greet the Sun, facing South, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing, even unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy beauty, who travellest over the heavens in thy bark at the Mid-course of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!
- Also, at Sunset, let him greet the Sun, facing West, giving the sign of his grade. And let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto Thee who art Tum in Thy setting, even unto Thee who art Tum in Thy joy, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Down-going of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Day!
- Lastly, at Midnight, let him greet the Sun, facing North, giving the sign of his grade, and let him say in a loud voice:
Hail unto thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening.
- And after each of these invocations thou shalt give the sign of silence, and afterward thou shalt perform the adoration that is taught thee by thy Superior. And then do thou compose Thyself to holy meditation.
- Also it is better if in these adorations thou assume the God-form of Whom thou adorest, as if thou didst unite with Him in the adoration of That which is beyond Him.
- Thus shalt thou ever be mindful of the Great Work which thou hast undertaken to perform, and thus shalt thou be strengthened to pursue it unto the attainment of the Stone of the Wise, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
Ra, pronounced "rah" or "rey" is one of the many aspects of the Egyptian sun-god. Here associated with the rising sun, he is more often associated with the sun at mid-day.
Tahuti, or Djehuti, means "One who is like an Ibis". ("Ibis" is, more or less, "djw" in Egyptian.) This is another name for the god Thoth.
Ra-Hoor is more commonly rendered "Heru-ra-ha", and means (among other things) "Horus sun-flesh".
Ahathoor is Hathor, the cow-goddess. Originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow, she was thought of as the "eye of Ra". Her name, "Hat-Hor", means "House of Horus".
Tum or Atum is a god whose name means, more or less, "completeness". His worship centered in Heliopolis, "On" to the Egyptians, the city of the sun. Eventually the Egyptian pantheon merged him with Ra.
Khepra, or Khepri, is associated with the dung beetle. In Egyptian mythology, he pushed the sun through the underworld during the "solid hours" of the night. Khepri is also Ra's young form. His name in Egyptian means "to come into being". As such, he is more usually associated with the dawning sun, which here is ascribed to Ra.