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Legends of the Gods

By E. A. Wallis Budge

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The Chapter of Casting a Spell on the Cat

Recite [the following formula]:--

"Hail, Ra, come to thy daughter! A scorpion hath stung her 10 on a lonely road. Her cry hath penetrated the heights of heaven, and is heard along the paths. 11. The poison hath entered into her body, and circulateth through her flesh. She hath set her mouth against it; 1 verily the poison is in her members.

"12. Come then with thy strength, with thy fierce attack, and with thy red powers, and force it 13 to be hidden before thee. Behold, the poison hath entered into all the members of this Cat which is under my fingers. Be not afraid, be not afraid, 14 my daughter, my splendour, [for] I have set myself near (or, behind) thee. I have overthrown the poison 15 which is in all the limbs of this Cat. O thou Cat, thy head is the head of Ra, the Lord of the Two Lands, the smiter of the rebellious peoples. 16. Thy 1 fear is in all lands, O Lord of the living, Lord of eternity. O thou Cat, thy two eyes are the Eye of the Lord of the Khut uraeus, who illumineth 17 the Two Lands with his Eye, and illumineth the face on the path of darkness. O thou Cat, thy nose is the nose of 18 Thoth, the Twice Great, Lord of Khemenu (Hermopolis), the Chief of the Two Lands of Ra, who putteth breath into the nostrils of every person. O thou Cat, thine ears 19 are the ears of Nebertcher, who hearkeneth unto the voice of all persons when they appeal to him, and weigheth words (i.e., judgeth) in all the earth. 20. O thou Cat, thy mouth is the mouth of Tem, the Lord of life, the uniter (?) of creation, who hath caused the union (?) of creation; he shall deliver thee from every 21 poison. O thou Cat, thy neck (nehebt) is the neck of Neheb-ka, President of the Great House, vivifier of men and women by 22 means of the mouth of his two arms. O thou Cat, thy breast is the breast of Thoth, the Lord of Truth, who hath given to thee breath to 23 refresh (?) thy throat, and hath given breath to that which is therein. O thou Cat, thy heart is the heart of the god Ptah, who healeth 24 thy heart of the evil poison which is in all thy limbs. O thou Cat, thy hands 25 are the hands of the Great Company of the gods and the Little Company of the gods, and they shall deliver thy hand from the poison from the mouth of every serpent. O thou Cat, 26 thy belly is the belly of Osiris, Lord of Busiris, the poison shall not work any of its wishes in thy belly. O thou Cat, 27 thy thighs are the thighs of the god Menthu, who shall make thy thighs to stand up, and shall bring the 28 poison to the ground. O thou Cat, thy leg-bones are the leg-bones of Khensu, 1 29 who travelleth over all the Two Lands by day and by night, and shall lead the poison to the ground. O thou Cat, thy legs (or, feet) 30 are the legs of Amen the Great, Horus, Lord of Thebes, who shall stablish thy feet on the earth, and shall overthrow the poison. O thou Cat, thy haunches are the haunches of Horus, 31 the avenger (or, advocate) of his father Osiris, and they shall place Set in the evil which he hath wrought. O thou Cat, thy soles are the soles of Ra, who shall make the poison to return to the earth.

O thou Cat, thy bowels are the bowels of 32 the Cow-goddess Meh-urt, who shall overthrow and cut in pieces the poison which is in thy belly and in all the members in thee, and in [all] the members of the gods in heaven, and in [all] the members of the gods on earth, and shall overthrow 33 every poison in thee. There is no member in thee without the goddess who shall overthrow and cut in pieces the poison of every male serpent, and every female serpent, and every scorpion, and every reptile, which may be in any member 34 of this Cat which is under the knife. Verily Isis weaveth and Nephthys spinneth against the poison. This woven garment strengtheneth this [being, i.e., Horus], who is perfect in words of power, through 35 the speech of Ra Heru-khuti, the great god, President of the South and North: 'O evil poison which is in any member of this Cat which is under the knife, come, issue forth upon the earth.'"

Footnotes
145:1 I.e., she hath directed her words against it.

147:1 Literally "his."

149:1 He was the messenger of the gods, and travelled across the sky under the form of the Moon; he sometimes appears as a form of Thoth.