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Far Memory
Winged Pharaoh
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
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523 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 15, 2011
This book was recommended to me, because of the dreaming elements, and probably not the sort of book I'd normally read. It's difficult to review this book in one way, because you really need to look at it in two lights. On the one hand, you have an Edwardian England-era novel about a romantic, metaphysical 1st Dynasty Egypt, in which the ruling class was extremely wise, poetic, and spiritually adept. On the other hand, you have the story of one of the author's past lives, which recounts many "authentic facts" about Egypt, circa 3000 BCE.
Taking this as only a novel, Joan Grant paints a colorful "what-if" of ancient Egypt. Grant's characters are wholly just and honest, well versed in the qualities of Karma and of reincarnation. While I couldn't call it a "page-turner" and, admittedly, I skimmed over some of the sections of poetry and song, because they weren't all that interesting, the book itself was actually pretty decent, and I did enjoy the story, as a whole. If I could rate it differently, I'd score it at a 3.5, because I really did like it a little more than just an "average" rating, but not quite enough to give it an above-average score. There are parts of the story that I quite liked, and other parts that just seemed rushed, but I rate it on the low end of the star scale because, overall, the whole book gave me a "noble savage" vibe, and, taken as a whole, the main character was just south of being a Mary Sue, and I was reminded of characters like Bella, from Twilight, who are basically flawless, except that they have a petty sort of flaw- except that in this case, the ruling class of the Egyptian people were basically portrayed as being nearly as flawless as the protagonist herself. They are very close to being wholly enlightened beings, which seems, I'll say, very unlikely of an ancient people.
There was never really a time in the story in which you could look at the main character, Sekeeta (AKA Merneith, which is her name as a priest of Anubis), and think that she ever really needed to get her act together if she wanted to be the hero, because she just IS the hero. Character flaws are so slight, you could easily overlook them, and maybe even walk away thinking she had none. Egyptians, people of the land of Kam, are exemplary, and people of other lands or unenlightened and ignorant, and ancient Kam itself is a shining beacon of what society and kingship could be, lost in the annals of history. But the story itself has appeal, and I read it in just over a week, because I found myself somewhat committed to finding out what happens next.
And we could just leave it there, if you liked, and maybe you'd be interested in reading a story about a girl who can travel through dreams, and who becomes pharaoh, and who protects her land from, presumably, Sumerians- if that sounds like a way in which you could spend a few hours, stop my review here and go read this book. It's decent.
Shifting over to the other aspect of this book, that these are the recovered memories of Joan Grant in her past life as a co-Pharaoh nearly 5000 years ago... it's hard to detach from this element of the novel once it's been attached. I wish I hadn't known that, because I think I could have then suspended my questions and just enjoyed the story... but, knowing that this was, by the way, supposed to be actual history... I couldn't help but latch onto things here and there, which seemed suspect, which distracts from the story itself quite a bit.
As I said, there'a a major "noble savage" vibe permeating the book. These ancient Egyptians were INCREDIBLY fair, INCREDIBLY just, and just outright INCREDIBLE in nearly every aspect. If someone even slightly mocks another culture, the protagonist is here to shower you in tolerance... we don't even have that now! "Sure, these people are stupid and weird, but don't make fun!" Yes, history is full of cultural tolerance. So, Here you have a story written by a woman, against the backdrop of things like the Order of the Golden Dawn, during a time of women's suffrage, writing a story about an empowered woman with major metaphysical elements- and all of this was "remembered" only a few decades after the tomb of Merneith was discovered by William Petrie (1900)... cursory information which could have been rounded up during a trip to the museum, which an affluent girl in Edwardian England may have found herself in once or twice. You also have the fact that Grant herself was married to an Egyptologist for a while...
There are, I think, things that Grant omitted from the story, not for omission's sake, but only because she didn't KNOW any differently. For example, during her trials to become a priest, Sekeeta encounters a Peruvian who cuts out human hearts as a sacrifice, and because of his sins, he's trapped in a sort of purgatory... and this sort of human sacrifice would have been unthinkable to Grant's Egyptians. The problem is, of course, that during the 1st Dynasty, Pharaohs were buried with servants. Sekeeta's father and brother were buried with servants in surrounding tombs (her father had 338, according to a cursory search around the internet, AND there were signs of strangulation... something I don't normally associate with a willing death), and it wasn't until long after Grant's tenure as Pharaoh that Egyptians started using symbolic statues... presumably because people were tired of dying/being murdered so that they could serve their dead king in the afterlife. The idea that they were dying to serve Pharaoh in the afterlife contradicts Grant's view of "her people's" view of the afterlife, to boot. Sekeeta, her brother, and her father... none of these people, according to the story, would be cool with strangling people once they (Pharaohs) died so that they had servants in the afterlife.
Sekeeta's child, Tchekeea, is explicitly a girl, her daughter, and though in the book, she may eventually reach the point where she dresses as a guy, more or less, the fact is that Den, the name that "Tchekkea" takes, is widely thought to have been a male, who ruled as pharaoh after Merneith, and her brother Djet ("Neyah" in the book). I feel like, if you lived it, you'd know whether your daughter was actually a son.
Look, I realize Grant didn't have access to the internet, and didn't really bother to fact-check what she wrote- she based her story on things she knew at the time, and her imagination, and I really don't want to rain on her parade, but when her forward states that she realizes horses haven't been proven to have existed in ancient Egypt, when horses feature heavily in her story, I knew we were in trouble on the reincarnation front.
If Grant were really pulling from past life memory, she would have been able to say things that were later proven to be factual, but instead she wrote a story that comes across as something written by a romantic who likes Egypt but doesn't know much about it. Not only do you have horses, you have Egyptians keeping rats as pets, domesticated lions, and frequent mentions of corn... It's my understanding that corn is Mesoamerican in origin, the grain of the Indians... and I don't know that I've ever heard of a corn God that didn't originate in North or South America, but apparently, Egypt was once full of corn.
Grant can tell you how long it takes to sail to Minoa, but can't accurately number the years "Meniss'" ruled Egypt... Menes himself is up for a lot of debate, but I don't think anyone could look to Grant's writings and think that she's painted the final picture on Menes... Look, I realize that there really aren't a lot of records on the 1st Dynasty... maybe they had hover cars and could blow up each other's minds with psychic powers, and we'll never really know, but chances are not really in favor of any of that. I get the impression that Grant's imagination was much more instrumental in filling in history's gaps than actual recovered facts.
In the end, her past life mopes and moans about her brittle bones and gray hair at the ripe old age of 53, at the end of a book in which people in their 70's still traveled far from home on ships... and to me, it sounds like nothing more than a story someone might tell you over several nights as you lay in bed, just prior to sleep. An enjoyable story, but totally a story, crafted by imagination, and nothing else.
Taking this as only a novel, Joan Grant paints a colorful "what-if" of ancient Egypt. Grant's characters are wholly just and honest, well versed in the qualities of Karma and of reincarnation. While I couldn't call it a "page-turner" and, admittedly, I skimmed over some of the sections of poetry and song, because they weren't all that interesting, the book itself was actually pretty decent, and I did enjoy the story, as a whole. If I could rate it differently, I'd score it at a 3.5, because I really did like it a little more than just an "average" rating, but not quite enough to give it an above-average score. There are parts of the story that I quite liked, and other parts that just seemed rushed, but I rate it on the low end of the star scale because, overall, the whole book gave me a "noble savage" vibe, and, taken as a whole, the main character was just south of being a Mary Sue, and I was reminded of characters like Bella, from Twilight, who are basically flawless, except that they have a petty sort of flaw- except that in this case, the ruling class of the Egyptian people were basically portrayed as being nearly as flawless as the protagonist herself. They are very close to being wholly enlightened beings, which seems, I'll say, very unlikely of an ancient people.
There was never really a time in the story in which you could look at the main character, Sekeeta (AKA Merneith, which is her name as a priest of Anubis), and think that she ever really needed to get her act together if she wanted to be the hero, because she just IS the hero. Character flaws are so slight, you could easily overlook them, and maybe even walk away thinking she had none. Egyptians, people of the land of Kam, are exemplary, and people of other lands or unenlightened and ignorant, and ancient Kam itself is a shining beacon of what society and kingship could be, lost in the annals of history. But the story itself has appeal, and I read it in just over a week, because I found myself somewhat committed to finding out what happens next.
And we could just leave it there, if you liked, and maybe you'd be interested in reading a story about a girl who can travel through dreams, and who becomes pharaoh, and who protects her land from, presumably, Sumerians- if that sounds like a way in which you could spend a few hours, stop my review here and go read this book. It's decent.
Shifting over to the other aspect of this book, that these are the recovered memories of Joan Grant in her past life as a co-Pharaoh nearly 5000 years ago... it's hard to detach from this element of the novel once it's been attached. I wish I hadn't known that, because I think I could have then suspended my questions and just enjoyed the story... but, knowing that this was, by the way, supposed to be actual history... I couldn't help but latch onto things here and there, which seemed suspect, which distracts from the story itself quite a bit.
As I said, there'a a major "noble savage" vibe permeating the book. These ancient Egyptians were INCREDIBLY fair, INCREDIBLY just, and just outright INCREDIBLE in nearly every aspect. If someone even slightly mocks another culture, the protagonist is here to shower you in tolerance... we don't even have that now! "Sure, these people are stupid and weird, but don't make fun!" Yes, history is full of cultural tolerance. So, Here you have a story written by a woman, against the backdrop of things like the Order of the Golden Dawn, during a time of women's suffrage, writing a story about an empowered woman with major metaphysical elements- and all of this was "remembered" only a few decades after the tomb of Merneith was discovered by William Petrie (1900)... cursory information which could have been rounded up during a trip to the museum, which an affluent girl in Edwardian England may have found herself in once or twice. You also have the fact that Grant herself was married to an Egyptologist for a while...
There are, I think, things that Grant omitted from the story, not for omission's sake, but only because she didn't KNOW any differently. For example, during her trials to become a priest, Sekeeta encounters a Peruvian who cuts out human hearts as a sacrifice, and because of his sins, he's trapped in a sort of purgatory... and this sort of human sacrifice would have been unthinkable to Grant's Egyptians. The problem is, of course, that during the 1st Dynasty, Pharaohs were buried with servants. Sekeeta's father and brother were buried with servants in surrounding tombs (her father had 338, according to a cursory search around the internet, AND there were signs of strangulation... something I don't normally associate with a willing death), and it wasn't until long after Grant's tenure as Pharaoh that Egyptians started using symbolic statues... presumably because people were tired of dying/being murdered so that they could serve their dead king in the afterlife. The idea that they were dying to serve Pharaoh in the afterlife contradicts Grant's view of "her people's" view of the afterlife, to boot. Sekeeta, her brother, and her father... none of these people, according to the story, would be cool with strangling people once they (Pharaohs) died so that they had servants in the afterlife.
Sekeeta's child, Tchekeea, is explicitly a girl, her daughter, and though in the book, she may eventually reach the point where she dresses as a guy, more or less, the fact is that Den, the name that "Tchekkea" takes, is widely thought to have been a male, who ruled as pharaoh after Merneith, and her brother Djet ("Neyah" in the book). I feel like, if you lived it, you'd know whether your daughter was actually a son.
Look, I realize Grant didn't have access to the internet, and didn't really bother to fact-check what she wrote- she based her story on things she knew at the time, and her imagination, and I really don't want to rain on her parade, but when her forward states that she realizes horses haven't been proven to have existed in ancient Egypt, when horses feature heavily in her story, I knew we were in trouble on the reincarnation front.
If Grant were really pulling from past life memory, she would have been able to say things that were later proven to be factual, but instead she wrote a story that comes across as something written by a romantic who likes Egypt but doesn't know much about it. Not only do you have horses, you have Egyptians keeping rats as pets, domesticated lions, and frequent mentions of corn... It's my understanding that corn is Mesoamerican in origin, the grain of the Indians... and I don't know that I've ever heard of a corn God that didn't originate in North or South America, but apparently, Egypt was once full of corn.
Grant can tell you how long it takes to sail to Minoa, but can't accurately number the years "Meniss'" ruled Egypt... Menes himself is up for a lot of debate, but I don't think anyone could look to Grant's writings and think that she's painted the final picture on Menes... Look, I realize that there really aren't a lot of records on the 1st Dynasty... maybe they had hover cars and could blow up each other's minds with psychic powers, and we'll never really know, but chances are not really in favor of any of that. I get the impression that Grant's imagination was much more instrumental in filling in history's gaps than actual recovered facts.
In the end, her past life mopes and moans about her brittle bones and gray hair at the ripe old age of 53, at the end of a book in which people in their 70's still traveled far from home on ships... and to me, it sounds like nothing more than a story someone might tell you over several nights as you lay in bed, just prior to sleep. An enjoyable story, but totally a story, crafted by imagination, and nothing else.
February 22, 2021
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Winged Pharaoh is entirely different to anything I have ever read before. The far-flung and metaphysical setting of Egypt in antiquity - whose rulers are wise, deeply spiritual, and want nothing more than to ensure the welfare of their people – is virgin ground for me. The novel follows a female pharaoh initiated into the priesthood of Anubis, where she trains her soul to leave her body as she sleeps. Count me in.
I’m not well-informed enough to pass an opinion on whether this really is a recollection of a past life as Grant maintained, or just an extraordinary work of imagination. Certainly, it is a rather romantic image of the period and its rulers. But the detail is majestic, sumptuous, and convincing.
In terms of downfalls, I found the multiple narrative digressions a little distracting; the parables and fables, as well as the verbatim teachings of priests stray into the verbose. The middle section, where Sekeeta describes her initiation, is also unexpectedly dry, but it was worth ploughing through to finally reach the descriptions of Cretan palaces and battles against the Sumerians.
I really enjoyed Sekeeta as a protagonist. Her flaws were rather thin on the ground, but she was honest about anger, jealousy and grief in way that made her a sympathetic character.
A pleasant surprise. I was anticipating something a little more sweeping, but the novel does not in any way lack stature. I am currently reading Grant’s second novel, Life as Carola, which I am finding far more engaging and compelling. Definitely a writer I will pursue.
January 26, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Winged Pharaoh! There is so much wisdom and compassion throughout the book; there is a depth to the story that is rich and colourful; this relived memory is magnificent!
The story is beautifully told and is written like a fiction novel, but this is clearly not a fiction novel. I thoroughly enjoyed how the language was used to describe many things in detail, and in my imagination, and the strong emotions I felt throughout the story, I felt like I was there in ancient Egypt.
I highly recommend reading this book; I think you might find it hard to put down, but at the same time it is a book that is enjoyed reading in short bursts.
I now intend to read more books written by Joan Grant!
The story is beautifully told and is written like a fiction novel, but this is clearly not a fiction novel. I thoroughly enjoyed how the language was used to describe many things in detail, and in my imagination, and the strong emotions I felt throughout the story, I felt like I was there in ancient Egypt.
I highly recommend reading this book; I think you might find it hard to put down, but at the same time it is a book that is enjoyed reading in short bursts.
I now intend to read more books written by Joan Grant!
August 19, 2018
Absolutely amazing!
Deep insight into a civilisation beyond our own ,where
we are still spiritual children dazed and confused by the material world ,still looking for the answers who we really are. Delightful depiction of what true priesthood and rulership should be all about. This book is a rare gem.
Deep insight into a civilisation beyond our own ,where
we are still spiritual children dazed and confused by the material world ,still looking for the answers who we really are. Delightful depiction of what true priesthood and rulership should be all about. This book is a rare gem.
May 1, 2011
This book was almost a fantasy, describing a perfect ancient Egypt, where Pharaoh is wise and kind and wants only the welfare of his people. Also, certain people are able to be trained to be clairvoyant, in order to see dangers for Egypt. This is the story of one of those people, Sekeeta, from her time as a spirit before being born to the current Pharaoh, through her idyllic childhood, followed by her training as a seer, to her marriage to her brother, ending in her death and return to the spirit world. The language is very lyrical and somewhat soothing. It would sure be nice if there were a place like the one in the book.
Read
December 16, 2021As a child, I read this book which my brother gave me to read ~ granted that I was most interested in anything that he liked. However, once I began reading, I could not put it down. It was by far the most interesting and enlightening book that I'd read in my life. The book came alive as I read it and it continued to expand my horizons the further the read. It was as though I was experiencing memories of things that I had never seen nor done before I had begun reading. It made me hungry for more as I neared the end of the book.
May 23, 2014
I suggested this for my book club because I figured we should try something out of left field. I think this fits the bill. It's beautifully written, albeit a bit dry in places. The whole thing has this stately, formal feel to it, much like the Bible. So it took me a little while to warm up to it. But somewhere around the halfway mark (about when Sekeeta enters the temple and starts having visions), everything slid into place. This is not historical fiction, but rather a supposedly nonfiction account of what the author honest-to-God believed to be a past life. So if you're not interested in spirituality and reincarnation, this book is not for you. I don't believe in reincarnation, but went along with it anyway and was glad I did. The imagery is vivid, the moral and theological lessons challenging, and the depiction of an ancient time and place--whether accurate or not--never less than utterly convincing. I recommend it.
November 19, 2019
F’ing brilliant
Every person whom desires to lead - be that a child or a group should be required to read this. I will read over & over until I too walk in the light F’ing brilliant
Every person whom desires to lead - be that a child or a group should be required to read this. I will read over & over until I too walk in the light F’ing brilliant
Read
June 13, 2020A fascinating read I am a confirmed believer in reincarnation and this book
simply reinforced my view that Death is not the end,simply the closing of a chapter
like in a book. Its been a great comfort to me to know this.
simply reinforced my view that Death is not the end,simply the closing of a chapter
like in a book. Its been a great comfort to me to know this.
June 19, 2011
Great style of writing, good description of world, believes, style of life,hopes, and fears of "Kamu" people.
However there is very little action. So I did not gave 6 but only 5 ;)
However there is very little action. So I did not gave 6 but only 5 ;)
June 15, 2016
One of my all-time favorite's
August 19, 2019
Outstanding
Wisdom for young and old, strong and weak, loved and unloved, this book will touch and expand your heart. Truly.
Wisdom for young and old, strong and weak, loved and unloved, this book will touch and expand your heart. Truly.
July 13, 2016
I really enjoyed this book very much. Before reading it I read _Far Memory_ and _Many Lifetimes_, I enjoyed them both very much as well. While I take Joan at face value and think her ability to remember previous incarnations is legit, the story stands on its own.
A quote from her Wikipedia page applies, "Her first and most famous novel was Winged Pharaoh (1937). Grant shot to unexpected fame upon publication. The New York Times hailed it as "A book of fine idealism, deep compassion and a spiritual quality pure and bright as flame'" a sentiment echoed in countless reviews the world over."
That is a great summary. It's just a great story. I look forward to reading it again in a few years.
Addendum: In her book Joan talks about her training as a priestess, and how she had to be shut away in a chamber for 4 days and nights, with 3 dropstones closing off egress. I just saw this today, 3 dropstones sealing access to chambers in pyramids!!
http://www.livescience.com/55347-prim...
A quote from her Wikipedia page applies, "Her first and most famous novel was Winged Pharaoh (1937). Grant shot to unexpected fame upon publication. The New York Times hailed it as "A book of fine idealism, deep compassion and a spiritual quality pure and bright as flame'" a sentiment echoed in countless reviews the world over."
That is a great summary. It's just a great story. I look forward to reading it again in a few years.
Addendum: In her book Joan talks about her training as a priestess, and how she had to be shut away in a chamber for 4 days and nights, with 3 dropstones closing off egress. I just saw this today, 3 dropstones sealing access to chambers in pyramids!!
http://www.livescience.com/55347-prim...
June 8, 2014
A really remarkable book, not for the story-line but simply for the wisdom it tells of within it's pages. This is the story of Sekeeta, child of the Pharaoh in 1st Dynasty Egypt (called Kam) who herself becomes joint Pharaoh. This is her story from birth to death, taking you through her childhood and into the Temple for training to become a Winged Pharaoh. How she fares as Pharaoh as well as a person. A vivid account of life as seen through the eyes and heart of one living there. After reading this it is easy to believe that Joan Grant really was seeing a past life and telling it as it was. If anyone has a fear of death then read this as it shows how life continues from one life to another. Death is but the release of the Spirit from an aged or broken body.Very highly recommended.
September 16, 2018
I think Joan Grant is my new enthusiasm. One does not read, but is transported by. The writing is spare, simple, not a word missing or added or out of place.
She says these are not novels, but memoirs of previous lives that she can remember clearly. The book reads like truth.
I've already started Scarlet Feather.
Incidentally, I learned about Joan Grant from an interview with her publisher on Open Minds on gaia.com. This is a great show, and three times I've listened to five minutes of an interview, stopped the interview, ordered the book, and gone back to finish the interview.
She says these are not novels, but memoirs of previous lives that she can remember clearly. The book reads like truth.
I've already started Scarlet Feather.
Incidentally, I learned about Joan Grant from an interview with her publisher on Open Minds on gaia.com. This is a great show, and three times I've listened to five minutes of an interview, stopped the interview, ordered the book, and gone back to finish the interview.
January 12, 2008
the dream magic of ancient egypt. The author Joan Grant was a very interesting woman who believed she remembered her previous incarnations of other times and her stories were "far memories." fantastic story, very creative.
February 12, 2013
One of those books which poses the question 'is reincarnation a valid experience?' and unlikely as it may seem, answers 'yes'. Totally convincing portrait all the more so for the mundane detail - also an excellent read.
August 1, 2021
Beautiful perspective of an ancient civilization and how they lived told through a personal experience of being very connected to it all- humanely, spiritually, intellectually, etherically - incredibly unique
April 29, 2019
Changed the course of my interest in Egypt. Went from completely academic to completely esoteric after this account. I wish I could give everyone a copy
January 31, 2022
I have read this many times collecting the spiritual knowledge and wisdom it contains.
February 14, 2022
What a beautiful book, It totally changed the way I looked at life.
August 12, 2023
“Then like a sun-shaft breaking through the a cloud I left the shadow-land of tears and pain, to walk with my dear companions in the Light.”
A beautiful book, full of rich spiritual prose and detail. Inspired to me to dream, to remember, and to write.
“Pull on your yokes, my oxen, pull on your yokes.
Run straightly, O plough! So that my field is furrowed
Smooth as as a comb divides a woman’s hair.
Earth, open your womb to my scattered corn, shelter it in your warmth and bring it forth under the sun.
Listen, O seed! To the singing-birds, and spring upwards to hear them more clearly.
Water, run quickly, through the channels and pour sap into my plants.
Warm them, O sun! Warm them with your life-giving rays.
Be gentle, wind to my ripening corn, so that the heavy ear does not bear down its slender stalk.
Cut through the stalks, my sickle, as the young moon cleaves the darkness, so that my threshing floor is deep with gold.
Pound in the mortar, pestle and grind my flour, so that my house lacks not the dust of life.
Burn strongly, fire, let the oven be hot and my bread be well baked, so that I may cut of it and be strong.
To yoke my oxen.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#poem #ecospirituality #agriculture #cycleoflife
“So I but string my words upon the thread of gratitude for the loveliness of the Earth — the slumberous murmuration of the sea; the patient pattern of an ancient vine; the muted gold of sunlight through a mist; the mountain’s still impatience for the sky— into a necklace carven of my thoughts, unwarned by the touch of her that I make it for.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#beauty #Gaia #naturewriting
“How do they live, these people? How can they laugh, and sing, and praise the stars, thinking each day the sun that rises brings them nearer to a timeless dark? Why do they try to steer their lives, when they think the endless river a stagnant pool? Why, when they do not see the ordered pattern of life, do the not rail against the blind injustice which for them ousts the Gods? For they think themselves a grain in a great sandstorm of blinded forces seeking disordered doom.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#existentialism #faith #hedonism
“Secreeta, why will you always ponder on strange immensities? Leave all these thoughts until you need their warmth when you feel cold wind blowing from your tomb. Why spoil the joy of a sycamore tree at noon when it patterns the dust in shadows? What does matter who made it or why it is there? Rejoice in the sunshine, and do not think of is as one of your ponderous gods; think of the river as clear water in which we can bathe, and not as a symbol of interminable life. Be grateful for beauty and rejoice and think not of the past. Be grateful for beauty and do not always compare it to a vision, which you think puts it in a shadow. Delight in music, and do not listen for echoes from the stars. When you are old you may have to bemuse your loneliness with memories, but now you do not need them, for the present is glorious before your eyes.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#levity #senses #animal #aliveness
A beautiful book, full of rich spiritual prose and detail. Inspired to me to dream, to remember, and to write.
“Pull on your yokes, my oxen, pull on your yokes.
Run straightly, O plough! So that my field is furrowed
Smooth as as a comb divides a woman’s hair.
Earth, open your womb to my scattered corn, shelter it in your warmth and bring it forth under the sun.
Listen, O seed! To the singing-birds, and spring upwards to hear them more clearly.
Water, run quickly, through the channels and pour sap into my plants.
Warm them, O sun! Warm them with your life-giving rays.
Be gentle, wind to my ripening corn, so that the heavy ear does not bear down its slender stalk.
Cut through the stalks, my sickle, as the young moon cleaves the darkness, so that my threshing floor is deep with gold.
Pound in the mortar, pestle and grind my flour, so that my house lacks not the dust of life.
Burn strongly, fire, let the oven be hot and my bread be well baked, so that I may cut of it and be strong.
To yoke my oxen.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#poem #ecospirituality #agriculture #cycleoflife
“So I but string my words upon the thread of gratitude for the loveliness of the Earth — the slumberous murmuration of the sea; the patient pattern of an ancient vine; the muted gold of sunlight through a mist; the mountain’s still impatience for the sky— into a necklace carven of my thoughts, unwarned by the touch of her that I make it for.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#beauty #Gaia #naturewriting
“How do they live, these people? How can they laugh, and sing, and praise the stars, thinking each day the sun that rises brings them nearer to a timeless dark? Why do they try to steer their lives, when they think the endless river a stagnant pool? Why, when they do not see the ordered pattern of life, do the not rail against the blind injustice which for them ousts the Gods? For they think themselves a grain in a great sandstorm of blinded forces seeking disordered doom.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#existentialism #faith #hedonism
“Secreeta, why will you always ponder on strange immensities? Leave all these thoughts until you need their warmth when you feel cold wind blowing from your tomb. Why spoil the joy of a sycamore tree at noon when it patterns the dust in shadows? What does matter who made it or why it is there? Rejoice in the sunshine, and do not think of is as one of your ponderous gods; think of the river as clear water in which we can bathe, and not as a symbol of interminable life. Be grateful for beauty and rejoice and think not of the past. Be grateful for beauty and do not always compare it to a vision, which you think puts it in a shadow. Delight in music, and do not listen for echoes from the stars. When you are old you may have to bemuse your loneliness with memories, but now you do not need them, for the present is glorious before your eyes.” (Joan Grant, Winged Pharaoh)
#levity #senses #animal #aliveness
June 18, 2025
LEADING OFF WITH MY REVIEW
Not surprising, given that I've been slowly rereading this book for months, writing this review today feels like speaking after a few days of not talking to anyone.
Mainly what I'd like to share with you, my fellow Goodreaders, is what I've learned as a spiritual teacher. This Enlightenment Coach often reminds students that -- nowadays -- psychic is not spiritual. However, what I've learned in detail from this book involves how in Ancient Egypt -- deep into what I call "The Age of Faith" -- the most spiritual understanding available did involve experiencing at HIGH Astral Vibrational Frequencies. In contrast to experience at the Divine Vibrational Frequency, such as today's potential to cocreate with God.
Regarding today's very Age of Awakening process of cocreating with God; this process has made possible all of the books I've authored here on Goodreads. In addition, active cocreating with God was taught in specific techniques made available in Aura Reading Through All Your Senses, Use Your Power of Command for Spiritual Cleansing and Protection; and Let Today Be a Holiday: 365 Ways to Cocreate with God.
ABOUT THOSE MEMORABLE ANECDOTES FROM JOAN'S LIFE AS A CO-PHARAOH AND A SEER
Seems to me, Joan's book wasn't so much plotted as it was built out of memorable anecdotes from a past life that she was able to research by undergoing many past-life regressions (as she described in her memoir of her 20th century lifetime in England, "Far Memory").
Anecdotes in "Winged Pharaoh" convinced me that, in the time of the First Dynasty, in the land called Kam... Both aura reading and energy healing, and also other specialites of the pharaoh's family recounted here... were as close to spiritual as spiritual could be in that era, given that humanity was living so many thousands of years before the dwindling, then lifting, of the Psychic Barrier.
In Kam, much was experienced at what I would now call HIGH Astral Vibrational Frequencies. These I wrote about in Part II of Seeking Enlightenment in the Age of Awakening. Only there I also wrote about experiences of MEDIUM Astral Vibrational Frequencies, LOW Astral Vibrational Frequencies, the Divine Vibrational Frequency and, of course, experience at Human Vibrational Frequencies.
Not that most of you Goodreaders are in the habit of making these subtle distinctions, but for any of you who do... I think you will love to read Grant's description of the technologies for using consciousness that were available so long ago.
ONE MORE NOTE BEFORE THIS FIVE STAR BOOK REVIEW ENDS
Minutes ago I happened to reread the "Author's Note." Right at the end, Joan Grant wrote:
"Although horses are introduced into this story, I am aware that no record has so far been found of the horse in Egypt prior to the XVIIIth Dynasty."
Appended by Goodreads, beneath this book review, are notes that I shared here on Goodreads while reading this book. Toward the end, you'll find my registering surprise to find that this book referred to horses in Egypt. Ha, I'm not the least bit surprised that in this regard Joan Grant knew exactly what she was doing.
And now, below, is my provisional review... begun so that I could share and comment with my friends here on Goodreads, all the long while that I was reading this magnificent book by Joan Grant.
ADDED WHEN I'M ABOUT ONE THIRD THROUGH THIS FASCINATING READ
The main reason why I find this book fascinating is what I'm convinced of, thanks to what I've read so far...
So many thousands of years deep into the Age of Faith, the sort of learning done by Sekeeta during her Temple training... was the highest kind of "spiritual" work available to humans.
Seems to me, it's a blend of psychic and spiritual.
By now, in the Age of Awakening (that is, ever since Dec. 21, 2012) it is very important to avoid mixing up psychic work and spiritual work; astral and Divine. But not so, in very Ancient Egypt.
HOW I BEGAN THIS BOOK REVIEW
"Winged Pharaoh" was the first book I ever read about past-life regression. Back in the 1960's I read it, and then proceeded to read every other one of Joan Grant's books that I could find.
Now it's September 2023 and, once again, I'm taking a dive into this deeply personal history. Joan Grant had such courage to publish this book in 1937.
MANY THINGS ARE DIFFERENT FOR THIS GOODREADER AS I START THIS SECOND READING
By now I've been a client for a small-but-significant number of past-life regressions. Life-changing they've been. Later, in 2006, I graduated from a course offered by the superb past-life regression leader, Coletta Long, Ph.D. Following that I went on to develop, then trademark, the system of Soul Energy Awakening Hypnosis®.
Before the Pandemic, I facilitated these sessions for clients in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Besides helping one client at a time, I've learned so much from the privilege of accompanying them as their cocreating session facilitator.
By now I've also developed (and learned how to teach) the system of Aura Reading Through All Your Senses®. This includes a degree of energetic literacy that makes it possible to research not only auras in general, not only chakras, but chakra databanks. And to read them from ordinary photographs. (For details, search on ""Energetic Literacy Skills in 2023. 44 Stages" and be sure to include the quotes.)
Of course, I was curious to research chakra databanks belonging to author Joan Grant. For this purpose I made use of a photo of her on the back cover of my edition, from Ariel Press. By now the paperback pages are somewhat limp and discolored, but Grant's aura-level story shines brightly, like a burning candle's flickering flame.
LATER, MAYBE
Perhaps in the future I'll blog about what I learned from researching many of Joan's chakra databanks. And I'll share some related technical observations, not on Goodreads but perhaps at my personal blog, "Deeper Perception Made Practical." (On the day I'm publishing this full review, it's Dec. 7, 2023. And on this day, that blog passed a new milestone: 127,000 comments.)
This far into "Winged Pharaoh," one thing's for sure already. IMO, Joan Grant's past-life "novel" from her life as Sekeeta has a powerful authenticity. As you Goodreaders may know, not all past-life regression techniques are equally effective. But Joan found somebody very good at this delicate kind of work.
Having read Joan Grant's memoir from her life in England, "Far Memory," I know that she went through many sessions of past-life regression in order to wake up the details in this book, and her other "novels" of this kind. Magnificent!
IN CONCLUSION, FOR NOW
I approach this book with a quiet namaste. Although I'm also thinking of a teeshirt I recently saw a woman wearing at an airport.
Mostly that teeshirt was white, with black letters. Only the first word was colorful, and colorful it was, verging on psychedelic. The teeshirt read:
WEIRDNESS-MASTE
Below followed the definition:
The weirdness in me salutes the weirdness in you.
By now, unlike my perspective during the 1960s, I've learned to value what it means to be human: How personal development and spiritual growth can coexist with people becoming increasingly individual. (At least, unless they're in cults, at which point, they generally stop growing until they exit the cult.)
These days I'm still a lover of truth, just as I was in the 1960s. By now, though, I have gained far more appreciation for human quirkiness. And courage.
This second-time reader of "Winged Pharaoh" is now ready to salute the quirkiness, the weirdness and courage of Joan Grant.
Not surprising, given that I've been slowly rereading this book for months, writing this review today feels like speaking after a few days of not talking to anyone.
Mainly what I'd like to share with you, my fellow Goodreaders, is what I've learned as a spiritual teacher. This Enlightenment Coach often reminds students that -- nowadays -- psychic is not spiritual. However, what I've learned in detail from this book involves how in Ancient Egypt -- deep into what I call "The Age of Faith" -- the most spiritual understanding available did involve experiencing at HIGH Astral Vibrational Frequencies. In contrast to experience at the Divine Vibrational Frequency, such as today's potential to cocreate with God.
Regarding today's very Age of Awakening process of cocreating with God; this process has made possible all of the books I've authored here on Goodreads. In addition, active cocreating with God was taught in specific techniques made available in Aura Reading Through All Your Senses, Use Your Power of Command for Spiritual Cleansing and Protection; and Let Today Be a Holiday: 365 Ways to Cocreate with God.
ABOUT THOSE MEMORABLE ANECDOTES FROM JOAN'S LIFE AS A CO-PHARAOH AND A SEER
Seems to me, Joan's book wasn't so much plotted as it was built out of memorable anecdotes from a past life that she was able to research by undergoing many past-life regressions (as she described in her memoir of her 20th century lifetime in England, "Far Memory").
Anecdotes in "Winged Pharaoh" convinced me that, in the time of the First Dynasty, in the land called Kam... Both aura reading and energy healing, and also other specialites of the pharaoh's family recounted here... were as close to spiritual as spiritual could be in that era, given that humanity was living so many thousands of years before the dwindling, then lifting, of the Psychic Barrier.
In Kam, much was experienced at what I would now call HIGH Astral Vibrational Frequencies. These I wrote about in Part II of Seeking Enlightenment in the Age of Awakening. Only there I also wrote about experiences of MEDIUM Astral Vibrational Frequencies, LOW Astral Vibrational Frequencies, the Divine Vibrational Frequency and, of course, experience at Human Vibrational Frequencies.
Not that most of you Goodreaders are in the habit of making these subtle distinctions, but for any of you who do... I think you will love to read Grant's description of the technologies for using consciousness that were available so long ago.
ONE MORE NOTE BEFORE THIS FIVE STAR BOOK REVIEW ENDS
Minutes ago I happened to reread the "Author's Note." Right at the end, Joan Grant wrote:
"Although horses are introduced into this story, I am aware that no record has so far been found of the horse in Egypt prior to the XVIIIth Dynasty."
Appended by Goodreads, beneath this book review, are notes that I shared here on Goodreads while reading this book. Toward the end, you'll find my registering surprise to find that this book referred to horses in Egypt. Ha, I'm not the least bit surprised that in this regard Joan Grant knew exactly what she was doing.
And now, below, is my provisional review... begun so that I could share and comment with my friends here on Goodreads, all the long while that I was reading this magnificent book by Joan Grant.
ADDED WHEN I'M ABOUT ONE THIRD THROUGH THIS FASCINATING READ
The main reason why I find this book fascinating is what I'm convinced of, thanks to what I've read so far...
So many thousands of years deep into the Age of Faith, the sort of learning done by Sekeeta during her Temple training... was the highest kind of "spiritual" work available to humans.
Seems to me, it's a blend of psychic and spiritual.
By now, in the Age of Awakening (that is, ever since Dec. 21, 2012) it is very important to avoid mixing up psychic work and spiritual work; astral and Divine. But not so, in very Ancient Egypt.
HOW I BEGAN THIS BOOK REVIEW
"Winged Pharaoh" was the first book I ever read about past-life regression. Back in the 1960's I read it, and then proceeded to read every other one of Joan Grant's books that I could find.
Now it's September 2023 and, once again, I'm taking a dive into this deeply personal history. Joan Grant had such courage to publish this book in 1937.
MANY THINGS ARE DIFFERENT FOR THIS GOODREADER AS I START THIS SECOND READING
By now I've been a client for a small-but-significant number of past-life regressions. Life-changing they've been. Later, in 2006, I graduated from a course offered by the superb past-life regression leader, Coletta Long, Ph.D. Following that I went on to develop, then trademark, the system of Soul Energy Awakening Hypnosis®.
Before the Pandemic, I facilitated these sessions for clients in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Besides helping one client at a time, I've learned so much from the privilege of accompanying them as their cocreating session facilitator.
By now I've also developed (and learned how to teach) the system of Aura Reading Through All Your Senses®. This includes a degree of energetic literacy that makes it possible to research not only auras in general, not only chakras, but chakra databanks. And to read them from ordinary photographs. (For details, search on ""Energetic Literacy Skills in 2023. 44 Stages" and be sure to include the quotes.)
Of course, I was curious to research chakra databanks belonging to author Joan Grant. For this purpose I made use of a photo of her on the back cover of my edition, from Ariel Press. By now the paperback pages are somewhat limp and discolored, but Grant's aura-level story shines brightly, like a burning candle's flickering flame.
LATER, MAYBE
Perhaps in the future I'll blog about what I learned from researching many of Joan's chakra databanks. And I'll share some related technical observations, not on Goodreads but perhaps at my personal blog, "Deeper Perception Made Practical." (On the day I'm publishing this full review, it's Dec. 7, 2023. And on this day, that blog passed a new milestone: 127,000 comments.)
This far into "Winged Pharaoh," one thing's for sure already. IMO, Joan Grant's past-life "novel" from her life as Sekeeta has a powerful authenticity. As you Goodreaders may know, not all past-life regression techniques are equally effective. But Joan found somebody very good at this delicate kind of work.
Having read Joan Grant's memoir from her life in England, "Far Memory," I know that she went through many sessions of past-life regression in order to wake up the details in this book, and her other "novels" of this kind. Magnificent!
IN CONCLUSION, FOR NOW
I approach this book with a quiet namaste. Although I'm also thinking of a teeshirt I recently saw a woman wearing at an airport.
Mostly that teeshirt was white, with black letters. Only the first word was colorful, and colorful it was, verging on psychedelic. The teeshirt read:
WEIRDNESS-MASTE
Below followed the definition:
The weirdness in me salutes the weirdness in you.
By now, unlike my perspective during the 1960s, I've learned to value what it means to be human: How personal development and spiritual growth can coexist with people becoming increasingly individual. (At least, unless they're in cults, at which point, they generally stop growing until they exit the cult.)
These days I'm still a lover of truth, just as I was in the 1960s. By now, though, I have gained far more appreciation for human quirkiness. And courage.
This second-time reader of "Winged Pharaoh" is now ready to salute the quirkiness, the weirdness and courage of Joan Grant.
April 19, 2023
Egypt was one of my favourite countries with all its history and this book shows what Ancient Egypt could have been like with the enlightenment that they nurtured in their children and the wisdom imparted by the Pharaoh. What an amazing world to live in. The author has ‘past memories’ and so made it a little more believable that this sort of utopian society could have existed.
December 4, 2023
Kam and The Legacy Of The Pharoah
The journey of the Priestly ordained Pharaohs was a splendid experience. Sekeeta and her brother becoming one Pharaoh. She became a priestess. The journey of good over evil. Her final departure to the afterlife. A masterpiece in a book! Thank you so much!
The journey of the Priestly ordained Pharaohs was a splendid experience. Sekeeta and her brother becoming one Pharaoh. She became a priestess. The journey of good over evil. Her final departure to the afterlife. A masterpiece in a book! Thank you so much!
December 17, 2020
Dreary and utterly boring. Gave up after struggling through about a third of it.
May 11, 2021
The novel claims to be recorded 'memories' of the author's past life. And it's exactly what you'd expect. Stupid bullshit.
September 10, 2022
Lo disfrute como una novela de ficción, no desde el punto de vista de una de las vidas pasadas de Joan Grant.
February 5, 2023
fascinating
This book gave me great peace when I read it. So many words to live by. I will have to look deeper into this culture.
This book gave me great peace when I read it. So many words to live by. I will have to look deeper into this culture.
April 10, 2022
Vreemd boek dat terug gaat naar de verdwenen wereld van het oude Egypte met een nobele filosofie van leven en grote beproevingen.
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