Great Pyramid Anticipation As Early As Second Dynasty

Fixed stars aligned perfectly during the reign of Khufu

7 min readJul 16, 2020

[Disclaimer: The contents of this post are merely the reflections of the author’s opinions an beliefs, the subject matter holds no scientific weight. The aim is to explore alternative views on history.]

Archeology has made it clear that the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza was initiated by Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops. What isn’t clear is why it was built and how the ancient Egyptians managed to point it towards True North with great precision, a difficult accomplishment. Perhaps more can be revealed about Old Kingdom cosmology by researching these questions.

Crook and Flail

The crook (heka) and the flail or flabellum (nekhakha), are two of the most prominent items in the royal regalia of ancient Egypt. The shepherd’s crook stood for kingship and the flail for the fertility of the land. Approximately by the time of the Second Dynasty the crook and flail became paired.[1]

Below is an image of the crook and flail that are visible on pharaoh Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus next to that of pharaoh Khasekhemwy (c. 2690 BCE). It is interesting to note the cross folded clothing that Khasekhemwy was wearing compared to Tutankhamun’s cross held crook and flail regalia. Khasekhemwy was the final king of the Second Dynasty, His Horus name can be interpreted as: “The Two Powerful Ones Appear.[2]”

Figure 2 Left: Crook & Flail, right: Khasekhemwy.

The pharaoh name system suggests important events during the pharaoh’s life. Traditionally they used Horus names as a royal patron but there are exceptions, an example is Seth-Peribsen (c. 2740 BCE). Peribsen’s name is unusual, in that Set, not Horus, was his patron deity.[3] His Set name can be interpreted as: “His heart and will comes forth for them.” Set and Horus, the two poweful ones? Perhaps.

The Second Dynasty was founded by Hotepsekhemwy (c. 2890 BCE). The Egyptian word “Hotep” means “peaceful” and “to be pleased” though it can also mean “conciliation” or “to be reconciled”, too. So Hotepsekhemwy’s full name may be read as “the two powers are to be reconciled”.[4] The name suggests a future a future event that is greatly anticipated, with Khasekhemwy these two powers have become visible.

Figure 3 shows a depiction of Osiris, Anubis (son of Set) and Horus. Anthropomorphic images do not appear as early as the Old Kingdom, the resemblance between Anubis and Set is striking however. If the Egyptian gods are inspired by the fixed stars and their constellations throughout Egyptian history, then it might be justified to exchange Anubis for Set in this image.

Figure 3 From left to right: Osiris, Anubis (son of Set), Horus.

The Skies of Ancient Past

Figure 4 presents an upper perspective of the skies above on an autumn night in Giza during Hotepsekhemwy’s reign. When you look closely you can kind of see the resemblance between Orion and Set holding a flail, and the round shape of Auriga resembles the round headed shape of Horus or a crook.

Side note: Interestingly “the crook of Auriga stand for a goat-herd or shepherd”.[5] A parallel between Horus, the risen savior as Auriga the shepherd, and Jesus the good shepherd is striking.

Figure 4 Upper sky during Hotepsekhemwy’s reign.

When we follow a horizontal line from east to west we can presume it has something to do with Horus. After the sun has risen and crossed the noon meridian it starts to set. Therefore the vertical line in the midst of the sky between north and south can be appropriated to Set. Thus, the trajectory of Horus follows the arc from East to West, crossing its zenith point Z, which is the meridian of Set.

Figure 5 Southern sky during Hotepsekhemwy’s reign.

Figure 6 Western sky during Hotepsekhemwy’s reign.

Remember: “the two powers are reconciled”, or better yet: the two powers are “to be reconciled”. Auriga and Orion are close to their respective arcs when viewed towards the south and west.

The constellations will move into their position over the next few centuries. I have calibrated the next few images around the vertical axis so I will omit the upper and southern perspective here. The date of the 19th of October, the end of summer season could be counted by adding 120 days to the solstice.. Using Seth for a Horus-name implies that the boundaries still restrain Horus..

Figure 7 Western sky during Seth-Peribsen’s reign.

Figure 8 Western sky during Khasekhemwy’s reign.

The Golden Age of Pyramid Building

The Third Dynasty marked the beginning of pyramid building under pharaoh Djoser (ca. 2686 BCE — 2648 BCE). Egypt starts to experiment with large pyramid structures, not only did the Egyptians progress in pyramid construction but they also yearned in anticipation.

The left side of figure 9 shows King Djoser running for the Heb-Sed celebration (relief from the underground galleries).[6] Djoser is depicted in the position of Orion (or Set), the man with the flail and is assisted by Horus who carries something that resembles a depiction of Auriga. Both seem to face west which is of course where the sun sets. Auriga is aligned instead of Orion and the southern perspective is presented.

Figure 9 King Djoser running for the Heb-Sed celebration (directed towards the west).

Pharaoh Huni’s chronological position as the last king of the third dynasty is seen as fairly certain, but there is still some uncertainty on the succession order of rulers at the end of the 3rd dynasty, (ending c. 2613 BCE).[7]

“In the late 1960s, the Louvre Museum bought a stele showing a king whose Horus name is Horus-Qahedjet (“the crown of Horus is raised”). For stylistical reasons the stele may be dated to the late Third Dynasty and it seems possible that it refers to Huni, whose Horus-name it provides. However, dating and authenticity have been put into question several times, and today the stela is believed to be either fake, or dedicated to king Thutmose III (18th dynasty) while imitating the artistic style of Dynasty III.[7]”

Figure 10 Horus embracing the king (Set).

“The authenticity of Qahedjet’s stela is questioned by Egyptologists such as Jean-Pierre Pätznik and Jacques Vandier. They point to several stylistic contradictions that can be found within the relief motif. Firstly, they stress that the earliest known depiction of an anthropomorphic Horus is found in the pyramid temple of Sahure, second pharaoh of the 5th dynasty. Secondly, they argue that the motif of a king embracing a god (or a god embracing a king) would be highly unusual for the Old Kingdom, since the king was then seen as the living representation of Horus (and Seth), but not seen on a par with them in this way. Depictions showing a king in an intimate pose with a god would therefore be heretical and provocative at the same time.[8]”

Khufu (c. 2589–2566 BCE): the alignment of the stars due South and West were near perfect as can be seen in the figures below.[9]

Figure 11 Upper sky during Khufu’s reign.

Figure 12 Southern sky during Khufu’s reign.

Figure 13 South west sky during Khufu’s reign (perspective). N.B. there is a great conjunction in this region of the sky.

With precession, like any cycle, there is an advent, a culminating point and then decay. When we take the same time for the decay then it could last until the end of the 24rd-century.

In figure 19 both Orion and Auriga are past their prime and the alignment starts to deteriorate. Auriga has started to drift towards the north and Orion towards the east.

Closing comments

The crook and flail were emblematic for the axes that define the cardinal directions. Celestial observations from as early as the Second Dynasty resulted in an advent that culminated with the construction of the Great Pyramid. The pyramid was built on principles that were communicated by the crook and flail.

The Egyptians were keenly aware of the movement of the fixed stars across the sky. During the fall certain constellations lined up to the north/south and east/west axes with increasing precision. The Egyptians seemed to celebrate this precession, they not only knew about it, they reveled in it.

During the Third Dynasty we see a depiction of pharaoh Djoser where he partakes in this event. The purpose of the image could be to record a space of time in the annals, perhaps to signal the pharaoh’s reign, like a timestamp for who speak the language. The same can be said for the depiction of Huni-Qahedjet be it authentic or not.

Because the Great Pyramid was aligned in October it started to drift over time. In order to capture the seasons you need to align the equinoctial points. To learn more about the Sphinx’s seasonal alignment read my previous article:

The Mystery of the Sphinx — How the Sphinx conquered the vernal equinox

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