The Gift of Set

[Hadit]

Human beings, as well as a few other species to some extent, have something unique about them. While most of the universe goes by unquestioning, some species are able to ponder the world around them. Where a majority of “stuff” out there is wholly slaved to gravity, sunlight, sickness, etc., others have the ability to step aside from all this by way of the isolate consciousness – and individual “self” which can step aside from the world around us. Where this ability is minor, we can see the slight foundations of language, perhaps some use of tools, sexual fetishes, and things of that nature. In humans, this isolate intelligence is taken to the extreme. The planet that birthed us is enslaved to the gravity of the sun, but we can fly away from it. The earth can through viruses and bacteria at us, but we have an increasing ability to fight back against them. Even our lives are increasing in length, due to numerous victories of human beings over the flow of nature. This isolate intelligence, then, is likely to be something “unnatural”. A river does not turn back on itself, not without something other than itself forcing it to. But this is exactly what the isolate consciousness does, turns back against nature, questions it, manipulates it, fights back against it. The isolate consciousness (a) wants to survive as its own entity, and (b) wants to constantly change the world around it.

So who initiated this? Who was the first Form/Principle/God of isolate consciousness? As we said, a river does not turn back on itself, nor does the earth simply float away from the sun. Something had to cause it. This is Set, the deity who through human history has stood for everything “separate, isolated.” Set was the only god free of Maat, the only one who could shake the Order of Horus, kill the Stasis of Osiris, force the hand of Thoth who himself Writes the future.

What is the evidence of all this? (1) That the human psyche can violate what some call the “natural order.” We need not be entirely enslaved to our environment or even to our physiology. While this may not be true for all (or most?) humans, such as those with severe mental illness or a failure at introspection, it is certainly true is some, and possible in many. Psychology proves it, by having people mentally overcome the physiological disorder of depression, or by having them question themselves and change their behavior. (2) Human beings, as a species have existed for around 200,000 years. This means out structure, our brains, our body hair, all then would resemble what we look like now. There was nothing overly special, some tricks picked up from ancestors, brains structured similarly to other mammalian brains. Then, only 100,000 – 50,000 years ago humanity made a massive cognitive leap forwards. Humans began asking questions, forming societies, writing records, forming laws, creating art, etc. ad infinitum. 100,000 – 50,000 years ago, Set, the Form/Principle/God of isolate consciousness, gave human beings (and others?) a Gift, the only Gift he had to give. Why? Because the isolate consciousness wants to constantly change the world around it.

[Napoli]

I have a question Hadit, but it is not exactly related to this topic. Is Set more powerful than Atem?

[Hadit]

I have a question Hadit, but it is not exactly related to this topic. Is Set more powerful than Atem?

That depends what you mean by "powerful". Set is free of the cycle Atum is bound to.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

Very good post, ie. you drilled into some deep territory about who we are, where we come from, and why we can do what we do. What you're suggesting sounds a fair amount like the Lucifer impulse the way I've heard some people describe - ie. the urge to evolve.

The only thing is the concept still leaves a certain shroud of obscurity over the matter. Who or what is Set?

[Napoli]

I have a question Hadit, but it is not exactly related to this topic. Is Set more powerful than Atem?

That depends what you mean by "powerful". Set is free of the cycle Atum is bound to.

That's powerful enough for me.

[Hadit]

Very good post, ie. you drilled into some deep territory about who we are, where we come from, and why we can do what we do. What you're suggesting sounds a fair amount like the Lucifer impulse the way I've heard some people describe - ie. the urge to evolve.

The only thing is the concept still leaves a certain shroud of obscurity over the matter. Who or what is Set?

A good question. Here's a possible scenario:

In the beginning there was conscious spirit and unconscious matter. Imagine yourself as that conscious spirit - you have two options: (1) you can spread your consciousness infinitely into the chaos, discovering nothing and changing nothing, or (2) you penetrate matter, bring it to life with it's limited capabilities, temporal laws, eternal duality, and so one. Set may be this manifestation of Chaos in the material world, essentially a form of chaos based Gnosticism. But of course once matter has been moved to create the universe, Set is in the same predicament as before, where he is either the sole one in charge of the universe, or leaving him to create other life like him. Perhaps this is where other gods come from, Set giving them isolate intelligence in order to have other beings. Perhaps this is why Set chose to give humanity, and possibly others, this gift as well.