Joseph's Hypocephalus
A unique nugget of Latter-day Saint scripture is Facsimile 2 in the Book of Abraham. It is a picture-scripture called a hypocephalus and it is overflowing with symbolic meaning. Joseph Smith gave partial explanations of the figures and their meaning and then wrote: "The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present time." Joseph knew there was more to discover! He left it for later generations to uncover. The original owners knew the original meaning and could easily describe each scenes. These owners, Abrahamic-believers from Ptolemaic-era, Thebes, Egypt, intentionally obscured the meaning of the symbols to protect their pristine mysteries. The message, obscure to some, was clear to the initiated. This book, Joseph's Hypocephalus, allows the student to read the original message of Facsimile 2. The message of Facsimile 2 is the message of the Path of Souls. It describes the path a dead man takes on his journey to Heaven. Egyptologists have equated this path with the path of the sun. This is incorrect! Original sources are consistent on this point. The path of the sun god, Re and the path of the dead man, Osiris, are two distinct and different paths. Facsimile 2 depicts Osiris' path, the path of the dead man. The same message painted on the hypocephalus is also enshrined in rituals and etched in the night's sky.
Hugh Nibley said the hypocephalus was only one volume in an ancient sacred library of sacred devices that all had the same purpose. This book, Joseph's Hypocephalus, points out a handful of additional volumes. Early Orphics, Hermetic groups, and an early Christian Gnostic group all had remarkable volumes in this library. One volume added to Nibley's library is from pre-Columbus American Indians. Their volume comes in the form of shell gorgets. A gorget-hypocephalus connection is out-of-place because no historical tie between the ancient Near East and Native Americans from a later time is known. Yet, the traditions behind the shell gorgets outline the Path of Souls in remarkable detail and those details align so intricately with the Path of Souls illustrated on the facsimile that the two must be considered the same type of document.
What is wonderful about Native American traditions is the relatively recent nature of their records. This means one is able to glean a more intimate understanding of their traditions. For instance, a few first-hand records of beautiful secret initiation rites into holy orders of Indian priesthoods are extant. The most poignant example is the Osage Songs of the Wa-xo'-be, recorded a hundred years ago with the full blessing of the Osage priesthood. What is uncovered is breathtaking. Rituals and myths of the Native peoples find significant parallels with Egyptian myth and rituals. These both compare snuggly with Joseph Smith's modern rituals.
The same Path of Souls found on Facsimile 2 and on Mississippian gorgets is also found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Utilizing Margaret Barker's Temple Theology, Joseph's Hypocephalus points out the Path of Souls as a fundamental part of the ancient Hebrew religion. The Path was attacked by King Josiah. Adherents to pathway beliefs scattered to different areas of the world. Some of these people ended up in the Jordanian wilderness, only to reappear centuries later as the Christians. Others ended up in America and others in Egypt. All tell the story of the Path of Souls. The Path of Souls which Facsimile 2 describes is the esoteric essence of revealed religion. It is the secret of the magi, the shaman, and the prophet. Holding up the Path of Souls as a lantern to the words of the ancient scripture produces new images and gives an augmented sense of what the scriptures are really all about. Reading the scriptures in the light of this prism is delightfully insightful.
