". . . with the magical power of her mouth."

From time to time it is good to remember to give thanks, each in our own way, for received good fortune and even existence. For those who have no prayer handy with which to give thanks (and face it, just casting your eyes skyward and muttering "Thanks" does not really fit the bill, decidedly lacking elegance), here are two very ancient prayers that are as elegant as one could wish, as well as covering all of anyone's spiritual needs and requests. In the case of the Hymn to the Aten, you will need to substitute your own name for either the Pharoah or the Queen, mentioning as well the name of an opposite-sex person, your mate preferably. In the case of same sex couples, it is wiser to choose an opposite-sex attribute of your partner (as the purpose of your place in the prayer is to uphold the divine stability of the universe as one member of a "complete & complimentary" duality, male and female), or choose someone of the opposite sex who is of primary importance to you. Now let us pray:

HYMN TO THE ATEN

"Thy rising is beautiful in the horizon of heaven, O Aten, ordainer of life. Thou dost shoot up in the horizon of the East, thou fillest every land with thy beneficence. Thou art beautiful and great and sparkling, and exalted above every land.. Thy arrows envelop everywhere all the lands which thou hast made. Thou art as Ra. Thou bringest them according to their number, thou subduest them for thy beloved son. Thou thyself art afar off, but thy beams are upon the earth; thou art in their faces, they admire thy goings. Thou settest in the horizon of the west, the earth is in darkness, in the form of death. Men lie down in a booth wrapped up in cloths, one eye cannot see its fellow. If all their possessions, which are under their heads, be carried away they perceive it not. Every lion emergeth from his lair, all the creeping things bite, darkness a warm retreat. The land is in silence. He who made them hath set in his horizon. The earth becometh light, thou shootest up in the horizon, shining in the Aten in the day, thou scatterest the darkness. Thou sendest out thine arrows, the Two Lands make festival, men wake up, stand upon their feet, it is thou who raisest them up. They wash their members, they take their apparel and array themselves therein, their hands are stretched out in praise at thy rising, throughout the land they do their works. Beasts and cattle of all kinds settle down upon the pastures, shrubs and vegetables flourish, the feathered fowl fly about over their marshes, their feathers praising thy Ka. All the cattle rise up on their legs, creatures that fly and insects of all kinds spring into life, when thou risest up on them. The boats drop down and sail up the river, likewise every road openeth at thy rising, the fish in the river swim towards thy face, thy beams are in the depths of the Great Green. Thou makest offspring to take form in women, creating seed in men. Thou makest the son to live in the womb of his mother, making him to be quiet that he crieth not; thou art a nurse in the womb, giving breath to vivify that which he hath made. When he droppeth from the womb ... on the day of his birth he openeth his mouth in the ordinary manner, thou providest his sustenance. The young bird in the egg speaketh in the shell, thou givest breath to him inside it to make him to live. Thou makest for him his mature form so that he can crack the shell being inside the egg. He cometh forth from the egg, he chirpeth with all his might, when he hath come forth from it, he walketh on his two feet. O how many are the things which thou hast made! They are hidden from the face, O thou One God, like whom there is no other. Thou didst create the earth by thy heart, thou alone existing, men and women, cattle, beasts of every kind that are upon the earth, and that move upon feet, all the creatures that are in the sky and that fly with their wings, the deserts of Syria and Kesh, and the Land of Egypt. Thou settest every person in his place. Thou providest their daily food, every man having the portion allotted to him, thou dost compute the duration of his life. Their tongues are different in speech, their characteristics, and likewise their skins, giving distinguishing marks to the dwellers in foreign lands. Thou makest Hapi in the Tuat, thou bringest it when thou wishest to make mortals to live, inasmuch as thou hast made them for thyself, their Lord who dost support them to the uttermost, O thou Lord of every land, thou shinest upon them, O ATEN of the day, thou great one of majesty. Thou makest the life of all remote lands. Thou settest a Nile in heaven, which cometh down to them. It maketh a flood on the mountains like the Great Green Sea, it maketh to be watered their fields in their villages. How beneficent are thy plans, O Lord of Eternity! A Nile in heaven art thou for the dwellers in the foreign lands, and for all the beasts of the desert that go upon feet. Hapi cometh from the Tuat for the land of Egypt. Thy beams nourish every field; thou risest up and they live, they germinate for thee. Thou makest the Seasons to develop everything that thou hast made: The season of Pert so that they may refresh themselves, and the season Heh in order to taste thee. Thou hast made the heaven which is remote that thou mayest shine therein and look upon everything that thou hast made. Thy being is one, thou shinest among thy creatures as the LIVING ATEN, rising, shining, departing afar off, returning. Thou hast made millions of creations from thy one self, towns and cities, villages, fields, roads and river. Every eye beholdeth thee confronting it. Thou art the Aten of the day at its zenith. At thy departure thine eye ... thou didst create their faces so that thou mightest not see. ... ONE thou didst make ... Thou art in my heart. There is no other who knoweth thee except thy son Nefer-kheperu-Ra Ua-en-Ra. Thou hast made him wise to understand thy plans and thy power. The earth came into being by thy hand, even as thou hast created them. Thou risest, they live; thou settest, they die. As for thee, there is duration of life in thy members, life is in thee. All eyes gaze upon thy beauties until thou settest, when all labours are relinquished. Thou settest in the West, thou risest, making to flourish ... for the King. Every man who standeth on his foot, since thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, thou hast raised up for thy son who came forth from thy body, the King of the South and the North, Living in Truth, Lord of Crowns, Aakhun-Aten, great in the duration of his life, the Royal Wife, great of majesty, Lady of the Two Lands, Nefer-neferu-Aten Nefertiti, living and young for ever and ever."

HYMN TO OSIRIS

"Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the Gods, whose names are manifold, whose forms are holy, thou being of hidden form in the temples, whose Ka is holy. Thou art the governor of Tattu, and also the mighty one in Sekhem. Thou art the Lord to whom praises are ascribed in the nome of Ati, thou art the Prince of divine food in Anu. Thou art the Lord who iscommemorated in Maati, the Hidden Soul, the Lord of Qerrt, the Ruler supreme in White Wall. Thou art the Soul of Ra, his own body, and hast thy place of rest in Henensu. Thou art the beneficent one, and art praised in Nart. Thou makest thy soul to be raised up. Thou art the Lord of the Great House in Khemenu. Thou art the mighty one of victories in Shas-hetep, the Lord of eternity, the Governor of Abydos. The path of his throne is in Ta-tcheser. Thy name is established in the mouths of men. Thou art the substance of Two Lands. Thou art Tem, the feeder of Kau, the Governor of the Companies of the gods. Thou art the beneficent Spirit among the spirits. The god of the Celestial Ocean draweth from thee his waters. Thou sendest forth the north wind at eventide, and breath from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of thy heart. Thy heart reneweth its youth, thou producest the.... The stars in the celestial heights are obedient unto thee, and the great doors of the sky open themselves before thee. Thou art he to whom praises are ascribed in the southern heaven, and thanks are given for thee in the northern heaven. The imperishable stars are under thy supervision, and the stars which never set are thy thrones. Offerings appear before thee at the decree of Keb. The Companies of the Gods praise thee, and the gods of the Tuat smell the earth in paying homage to thee. The uttermost parts of the earth bow before thee, and the limits of the skies entreat thee with supplications when they see thee. The holy ones are overcome before thee, and all Egypt offereth thanksgiving unto thee when it meeteth Thy Majesty. Thou art a shining Spirit-Body, the governor of Spirit-Bodies; permanent is thy rank, established is thy rule. Thou art the well-doing Sekhem of the Company of the Gods, gracious is thy face, and beloved by him that seeth it. Thy fear is set in all the lands by reason of thy perfect love, and they cry out to thy name making it the first of names, and all people make offerings to thee. Thou art the lord who art commemorated in heaven and upon earth. Many are the cries which are made to thee at the Uak festival, and with one heart and voice Egypt raiseth cries of joy to thee. Thou art the Great Chief, the first among thy brethren, the Prince of the Company of the Gods, the stablisher of Right and Truth throughout the World, the Son who was set on the great throne of his father Keb. Thou art the beloved of thy mother Nut, the mighty one of valour, who overthrew the Sebau-fiend. Thou didst stand up and smite thine enemy, and set thy fear in thine adversary. Thou dost bring the boundaries of the mountains. Thy heart is fixed, thy legs are set firm. Thou art the heir of Keb and of the sovereignty of the Two Lands. He hath seen his splendours, he hath decreed for him the guidance of the world by thy hand as long as times endure. Thou hast made this earth with thy hand, and the waters, and the winds, and the vegetation, and all the cattle, and all the feathered fowl, and all the fish, and all the creeping things, and all the wild animals therof. The desert is the lawful possession of the son of Nut. The Two Lands are content to crown thee upon the throne of thy father, like Ra. Thou rollest up into the horizon, thou hast set light over the darkness, thou sendest forth air from thy plumes, and thou floodest the Two Lands like the Disk at daybreak. Thy crown penetrateth the height of heaven, thou art the companion of the stars, and the guide of every god. Thou art beneficent in decree and speech, the favoured one of the Great Company of the Gods, and the beloved of the Little Company of the Gods. His sister hath protected him, and hath repulsed the fiends, and turned aside calamities of evil. She uttered the spell with the magical power of her mouth. Her tongue was perfect, and it never halted at a word. Beneficent in command and word was Isis, the woman of magical spells, the advocate of her brother. She sought him untiringly, she wandered round and round about this earth in sorrow, and she alighted not without finding him. She made light with her feathers, she created air with her wings, and she uttered the death wail for her brother. She raised up the inactive members of whose heart was still, she drew from him his essence, she made an heir, she reared the child in loneliness, and the place where he was not known, and he grew in strength and stature, and his hand was mighty in the House of Keb. The Company of the Gods rejoiced, rejoiced, at the coming of Horus, the son of Osiris, whose heart was firm, the triumphant, the son of Isis, the heir of Osiris."