Legends of the Gods

The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations

by E. A. Wallis Budge

London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Trner & Co. Ltd.

[1912]

THE CHAPTER OF CASTING A SPELL ON THE CAT

Recite [the following formula]:–

“Hail, Ra, come to thy daughter! A scorpion hath stung her on a lonely road.
Her cry hath penetrated the heights of heaven, and is heard along the paths. 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.

“Come then with thy strength, with thy fierce attack, and with thy red powers,
and force it 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,
my daughter, my splendour, [for] I have set myself near (or, behind) thee. I have
overthrown the poison 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.

Thy 2 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 the Two Lands with his Eye, and illumineth the face on the path
of darkness. O thou Cat, thy nose is the nose of 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 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.

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 poison. O thou Cat, thy neck (nehebt) is the neck of Neheb-ka, President
of the Great House, vivifier of men and women by 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 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
thy heart of the evil poison which is in all thy limbs.

O thou Cat, thy hands 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, 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,
thy thighs are the thighs of the god Menthu, who shall make thy thighs to stand
up, and shall bring the poison to the ground. O thou Cat, thy leg-bones are the
leg-bones of Khensu, 3 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) 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, 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 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 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 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 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

1 I.e., she hath directed her words against it.
2 Literally “his.”
3 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.