Kings of Darkness –

The Setian Pharaohs

Written by Ryan Scott

© 2019
 In the modern day the importance of Set to the Egyptians is largely
unknown if not outright ignored and suppressed. The author's previous book,
"Behold: The Prince of Darkness", looked into the history of Set to an
extent, but it was not the sole focus of the text. Here the author covers the
great kings of Egypt who honored Set above all: Peribsen, Khasekhemwy,
Horemheb, Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses II, Setnakhte, and Ramesses III. He
investigates what made these kings "Setian", how they inspire the Left Hand
Path and Setian tradition today, and the important roles they played in
Egyptian history. It will quickly become clear to the objective reader that the
role of Set was much greater than most modern traditions and conservative
academics are willing to admit, and that the Setian tradition of today was not
invented in 1975, but is the constant rediscovery of ancient traditions.

Contents
Pre-History and the Stellar Tradition ..................................................................................................... 3

Early Setian Pharaohs .............................................................................................................................. 6

Set-Peribsen ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Khasekhemwy ............................................................................................................................................ 13

Horemheb .................................................................................................................................................. 17

Ramesses I ................................................................................................................................................. 23

Seti I .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

Ramesses II ................................................................................................................................................ 29

Setnakhte .................................................................................................................................................. 32

Ramesses III ............................................................................................................................................... 33

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 35

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 Pre-History and the Stellar Tradition

In the earliest religions of humanity the focus was on the stars and the

night sky, specifically the northern circumpolar stars which never sank below the

horizon. This gave birth to our concepts of immortality, of separating ourselves

from the revolving cycles of nature (the stars, zodiac, sun, planets, gods

themselves), of becoming gods ourselves in some sort of afterlife. At the time

that this focus on the circumpolar stars was prominent, nomadic humans also

heavily relied on the rains, the storm gods being associated with the skies same

as the circumpolar stars. In Egypt the god Set was both the storm god and the

god of the northern circumpolar stars, fulfilling both of these important roles at

once. During this early period there was no reverence for the sun as with the

solar religions, and in the first religions of Egypt, the sun was hated and feared

as an enemy of mankind, drying things up and burning them. Rain was needed

for survival and growth, especially before settling in places like the Nile River or

Crescent Valley. Throughout the earliest traditions in Africa it is the sky and

storm gods who were supreme. This continued elsewhere like with Zeus to the

Greeks, or Perun to the Slavs, and into the Chaoskampf myths of storm

deities fighting primordial serpents of chaos.

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 For a long time focus on Egypt has been based on the solar traditions,

especially those of the god Osiris and his religion, and to a lesser extent Ra

and Amun. The story of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, which paints the sky/storm

god Set as an evil and demonic force, is easily the most well-known story from

ancient Egypt, and one of the most well-known in history. As G.A. Wainwright

says in his “The Sky Religion in Egypt: Its Antiquity and Effects”: “Very

little research had been done on this great system in Egypt. Indeed, until quite

recently this whole background… of Egyptian religion has been ignored.

Detailed study has been confined in the first place to the well-known Osiris

religion, which overrode almost everything else as time went on, and in the

second place to the sun worship which became prominent as the royal religion…

My work has shown that the sky and fertility religion of Egypt include some of

her most ancient gods” (p.7). Even with the increasingly frequent discoveries of

Set’s positive role before Osiris, this aspect of Egyptian mythology is largely

ignored. This is taken to the extreme of being called fake history and

pseudoscience! Yet as we will see some of the greatest, most accomplished, and

most significant kings to ever rule Egypt were dedicated to Set and this

Stellar Tradition.

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 A full look into Set and his role in Egypt and the modern world is

explored much more deeply in the author’s “Behold: The Prince of Darkness

(2nd ed.) – a Complete Introduction to Setian Religion”, and cannot be covered

again entirely here. To summarize from the history section of that text: “Set

was a God dating into pre-history who was associated with the Northern

Circumpolar Stars – mainly Ursa Major and Draco. He was originally a

benevolent God who helped the dead reach immortality and rise above the

other Gods. This religion of Set was over-taken by the religion of Osiris in

early Egyptian history. With the rise of Osiris, Set became demonized, a

scapegoat and a much more traditional “Satan” type character. His popularity

resurged with some of the greatest dynasties in the New Kingdom after

Akhenaten’s short stint with monotheism, but then Set completely fell out of

grace and faded away with the decline of Egypt.” This text is specifically

focused on giving a brief introduction to the Setian Pharaohs who ruled

Egypt, and looking at how their ideals and actions inspire the Companions of

Set in the modern day.

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 Early Setian Pharaohs

The best single academic work into the pre-historic Setian tradition and

its rulers comes from the aforementioned “Sky Religion in Egypt: Its Antiquity

and Effects” by G. A. Wainwright. It is one of the most important books on

ancient Egypt’s pre-historical beliefs. Even where Herman Te Velde falters in

tracing Set back in time in his magnum opus “Seth: God of Confusion”,

Wainwright is able to go further. This book confirms so much information that,

until now, many thought to be modern theory. This includes Set being the

original central deity of the Egyptians, a benevolent god interested in the

welfare of the people and in the deification of the pharaoh, with the pharaoh as

Set’s representative here on earth. Wainwright even traces the fall of this

original “Sky Religion” (or Stellar Tradition) through the elite class’ growing

obsession with this life and their power here in this world, moving towards Solar

Religion in order to maintain their power and position.

One key factor of this tradition was that the king should lay down his life,

literally or ritualistically, while still in his prime. At a time when life was short and

unpredictable, the pharaoh either needed to be strong or step aside. The

famous Sed Festival, which the pharaoh did for magical rejuvenation, appears

to have originated in this stellar tradition. To the early Egyptians it was

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“known” that Set was able to overcome his death – something which later

appears in The Pyramid Texts – and the king was the representative of Set on

earth. Due to this the pharaoh could overcome the day of his death like Set.

The god Min was also an important part of this tradition, as well as the god

Ash in Nubt.

Min was a deity of reproduction, a creator of both the gods themselves

and mankind. Min came in the form of Khnum to spin human beings on his

potter’s wheel, and festivals celebrated his “coming forth”, especially in Upper

Egypt where he originated. Ash was a god of the oases much like Set, and

both were associated with and likely from Libya. They were also gods of the

desert and the patrons of Nubt, though Ash may have been there even before

Set.

Upon death those dedicated to Set were originally cremated, their ashes

used in rituals for the rain. Later they were buried in simple graves with minor

grave-goods, but nothing suggests the body was overly important to the

afterlife at that time (and the cremation of the body contradicts the idea of the

body being needed beyond this life). Interestingly, it is in these early grave good

that we find our first ever examples of isolated pentagrams, which of course are

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important to the Setian traditions of today. Mummification, elaborate tombs,

and grave goods were a later aspect of the solar tradition.

It is most likely that Osiris was a foreign god, and to gain authenticity the

followers repurposed Horus as Osiris’ son and Set as evil. This can be

compared to Christianity stealing holidays from pagan cultures, such as the

Winter Solstice. For a while there was a struggle between the new solar culture

and the old stellar one, and while the myth had existed before in a humorous and

consensual way, this is where the common myth of a “war” between Horus and

Set comes in. As the victors of history the solar god in the myth won of course!

Wainwright theorizes that the move to a solar tradition was first started

by a corruption among the societal elite. Desiring to keep their power for longer

they manipulated the political landscape in order for the king to remain in power

for life. Sed-festivals still occurred, but only every thirty years instead of seven.

Even the later Setian pharaohs ruled for life, it simply became “how things

were” for the ruling class. The solar tradition also made the afterlife more

accessible, rather than requiring dedicated spiritual efforts, and it also lessened

the nature of that afterlife. Rather than self-deification the individual would

remain in the same place within the societal hierarchy after death, things would

just be more stable. For instance a farmer will always be a farmer, but they know

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the Nile will flood at the proper time without question. This is what we see

today in the solar religions of the West. It also did not have to be worked for,

you simply had to obey some rules and guidelines.

Despite the strength and appeal of this solar tradition, there was a brief

resurgence of Setian and stellar ideology in the 2nd dynasty. Today the role of

these early traditions has become much clearer – they were the foundation of

the entire Left Hand Path as it exists today, at least in the West. The focus on

immortality and self-deification, the hero-tradition of earning your afterlife

through action rather than submission, the darkness of the symbolism, so forth

and so on. Even the way the solar tradition oppressed the stellar one

throughout the history of Egypt resembles how it suppresses the Left Hand

Path now, both religiously and politically.

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 Set-Peribsen

Peribsen was a pharaoh of Egypt’s second dynasty, and is best known

for taking a Set- rather than Horus-name while king. Each pharaoh in history

has a special name they took, and the symbol it was originally put inside was

called a “serekh”. Usually this had a Horus falcon on top of it, the symbol of

the solar tradition, but in the case of Peribsen it had a Set-animal and that

alone. Peribsen fought to curb the abuse of power by high officials and bring

their power back in line. His rule is described as a time of religious and cultural

advancement, but it appears he may have only ruled over Upper (southern)

Egypt, the domain of Set (where Lower Egypt was the domain of Horus).

The mythology of Peribsen was that he had created himself by his own

will, born to try and restore Egypt to its old traditions. He created a cult center

for Set near Ombos, though Peribsen was happy to let the people worship

whichever gods they chose. In this sense he was both a pluralist and henotheist,

accepting the existence of all the gods but preferring Set personally. Some

historians once thought that Peribsen was a hated heretic, and even claimed he

tried to instill a form of Setian monotheism. However, the evidence discovered

since then has shown this to be untrue. In fact, Peribsen’s funerary cult was still

strong two entire dynasties later in the 4th dynasty, and underwent heavy

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restoration during the later Setian dynasties of Egypt. Even Peribsen’s

successor, another of our Setian Pharaohs, showed nothing but respect for the

late king. Peribsen’s tomb featured the heavy use of gods like Ash and Min,

mentioned above, along with Set.

Peribsen is a great inspiration to the modern Setian/Left Hand Pather

as the first man of his kind, a Setian leader in a solar time where his tradition

had been repressed. Not only was he an iconoclast and arguably “heretical” to

the solar tradition, but he was able to rise through the ranks to king despite it.

But Peribsen did not use his power to enforce his views or manipulate his

citizens, instead he was openly pluralist and allowed his people to worship

whichever of the gods they wished, Horus included. It was nothing like what we

will see later with Akhenaten enforcing his solar god as the only authentic one.

Peribsen also sought to liberate and empower his citizens, to balance the

powers of government and priesthood as to not abuse their positions. These

are excellent Setian ideals to strive for in the modern day.

Most of the West is currently absorbed in a destructive “us versus them”

mindset, everyone seeking to have things exactly their way and refusing all

compromise. One mistake and you are an evil monster, one quote of wisdom and

you are a brilliant sage. The Setian knows that this is utter nonsense. The only

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way to survive against the true horrors of natural disasters or

totalitarianism/fascism is for the free world to get on an at least similar page.

We bicker over things like if a Christian must make a cake for a Muslim wedding,

but is that really any kind of true problem? Is the solution all that difficult to

work out, the problem so hard to get around? Peribsen realized that there were

much deeper problems threatening his people – exclusivism and poor dogma, the

abuse of political and religious powers, a cultural mythology which itself strives

to cause dissent amoungst people, and a system that judges people by factors

out of their control.

On top of all this Peribsen was loved for this! His cult lasted decades if

not centuries and his predecessor followed his lead.

Tracing of Peribsen’s serekh next to the god Ash in his tomb, from “The Royal Tombs of the Early Dynasties” by
Petrie

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 Khasekhemwy

Khasekhemwy was the predecessor of Peribsen, and put both Horus and

Set on top of his serekh. Following the time of turmoil surrounding the struggle

between the Stellar and Solar tradition, Khasekhemwy brought peace back to

Egypt and unified the country. At the same time he kept in place the work done

by Peribsen to curb abuses of political and religious power. Khasekhemwy

sought to embody both Horus and Set back in unity, how things originally

ended in the myth before the religion of Osiris changed the story.

Tracing of Khasekhemwy’s serekh, the “kissing Horus and Set” from the Cairo Museum, JE 33986

Khasekhemwy also was the founder of the city of Nekhen

(Hierakonpolis), the capital of Upper Egypt. While Peribsen had built a cult

center dedicated to Set, Nekhen was a cult center dedicated to Horus – likely

in his original form rather than the Osirian one. He also built a unique

trapezoidal tomb for himself to be buried in. The symbol of the trapezoid

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became associated with the Pylon Gate, used as entrances to temples. This

symbol of the trapezoid/Pylon became associated with rebirth and recreation.

Following the rule of Khasekhemwy there do not appear to be many

Setian pharaohs. Many of these ideas do appear in the Pyramid Texts, such

as Set as a benevolent psychopamp, the sole son of Nut, the pharaoh

overcoming their death like Set, Set speaking to the gods on behalf of the

dead, and self-deification. Some foreign pharaohs identified with Set during

the intermediate periods, but this may have simply been because of Set’s

association with foreigners rather than spiritual beliefs.

Khasekhemwy is an inspiration for many of the same reasons as Peribsen,

but his use of both Horus with Set is particularly interesting. Of course all

Egyptian art was lesser magic to some extent already, but this is a true work of

lesser magic on a massive, political scale. Whereas Peribsen is respectable in his

open dedication to Set, Khasekhemwy realized that this could put people off

and distract from the goal, irrelevant of intentions. Khasekhemwy was also smart

to place Horus beside Set on his serekh, again avoiding an unintentional

division among the people.

Lesser magic is easily one of the most important concepts for the Setian

to understand, especially in a world that neither accepts nor understands us.

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Even among the Left Hand Path we tend to seek ways to separate ourselves

from other traditions, perhaps all traditions. Yet we also cannot put people off.

It is one thing to deck yourself out in satanic imagery on the weekends for

instance, but things can be quite difference in the context of a workplace, place

of education, and so forth. The Setian, and any Left Hand Pather really, must

learn how to master their outward appearance in any or all of these situations. It

does not mean betraying one’s own beliefs or values, there is a difference

between true belief and wearing a mask, commitment and playing a game. These

2nd dynasty kings are a fantastic example of early Left Hand Path lesser magic.

Like Peribsen before him, Khasekhemwy sought justice, balance,

pluralism, friendliness, etc. among his people. He further built upon Peribsen’s

lesser magic with his creation of Nekhen. While Peribsen had once again risked

seeming too much like a “heretic” (which early historians thought as well) by

building a center only dedicated to Set, Khasekhemwy balanced this out by

creating the center for Horus. This is symbolic of his very literal balancing of

the Egyptian state, leading into the times of the Pyramid Texts.

The trapezoid would also become an extremely important aspect of Left

Hand Path ideology years down the line. Anton LaVey, founder of the

Church of Satan, was very big on what he called the “Law of the Trapezoid”.

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Based on “The Command to Look” by William Mortensen (1937), LaVey

believed trapezoids to be inherently magical in nature. To him, trapezoids were

the symbols of all things strange and not normal, and became the focus of

several rituals in “The Satanic Rituals”. Both the Church of Satan and the

Temple of Set had central orders known as the Order of the Trapezoid, and

to the Temple of Set the trapezoid came to symbolize immortality itself.

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 Horemheb

Horemheb was the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The 18th dynasty is

one of the strangest times in Egyptian history as it saw the rise of the world’s

first monotheist – Akhenaten. Akhenaten believed in a solar deity known as the

Aten, and that it was the one and only true god. He also believed himself to be

the one true prophet of the Aten, all religious belief and practice needing to

have Akhenaten as the center of worship.

During this time the old, pluralistic, polytheistic traditions of Egypt were

cast down. Science was abandoned and was seen as being identical to religious

belief. Akhenaten closed all the temples, which were not just centers of worship

but city centers with massive responsibilities like storage of food and drink. The

priesthood was once again corrupted and religious practices that contradicted

Atenism were banned. Akhenaten built a new city for himself and locked himself

away, ignoring all problems outside of his own walls.

As may be expected, the citizens of Egypt were not fond of this. Once

Akhenaten died, the long and arduous process of rebuilding Egypt and the

polytheistic traditions began. While King Tut was the actual successor to

Akhenaten, he was just a child for the entirety of his rule and was closely

advised by Horemheb. He was so fond of Horemheb that the advisor was

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made the successor to Tut in case he died before bearing children, which he

did. However, Horemheb was away at the time of Tut’s death, and a

sympathsizer of Atenism – Ay – seized the throne for a brief amount of time.

Yet with the army and hatred for Atenism behind him Horemheb was able to

take his throne.

Horemheb had been born a commoner, there was no royalty in his blood.

During the reign of Akhenaten he had risen to power, but never was Horemheb

dedicated to the monotheistic Atenism. It appears Horemheb was the

spokesman of foreign affairs, royal scribe, and leader of the army and

administration – a well read and accomplished man. As soon as Akhenaten was

dead, Horemheb set about restoring the old traditions of Egypt. He tore

down monuments of Akhenaten and scratched his name from inscriptions. He

set out to put the priesthood in its place once again and curb the abuse of

authority. In a great edict, Horemheb set out to create an Egypt based on

justice, which protected lower classes from the abuse of the upper classes.

Seeking to leave Atenism behind, he moved the capital away from Akhenaten’s

city.

When it became clear to him that he would not have children, Horemheb

had to choose a successor in the same way he himself had been chosen. He

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found this successor in close confident Ramesses I, High Priest of Set

following the fall of Atenism.

We can learn a great deal from Horemheb and the preceding Armana

period of Akhenaten. To begin, this period gives insight into the first form of

monotheism. To date, nobody has found any real reason for Akhenaten to

suddenly worship the Aten alone, it was not some planned out ploy or political

manipulation, and indeed one of Akhenaten’s main problems was he became

obsessed with his spirituality and ignored all political things.

There are two possibilities at play: one that Akhenaten did this for some

unknown reason yet to be discovered, or he did it because he had an intense

religious experience. If we accept that forces beyond human beings are at play

in the universe, as many Setians do, perhaps this is the first real occurrence of a

deity trying to claim itself as the only god? Maybe it is the same as the

monotheistic god of today! In fact, many of the modern Right Hand Path ideas

from the monotheistic religions can be seen with Akhenaten. Besides there

being only one god, all communication with that god had to be done through

himself and his family. This is an almost identical role as played by the Pope and

priests in Catholicism. You cannot simply pray to god directly, you must go

through ordained individuals who work as a middleman for god. He also pushed

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his personal politics on his people at great cost – including destroying their

temples and traditions. Naming all other gods “false” and seeking their

destruction perfectly mimics both Christianity and Islam, with their crusades and

inquisitions, destruction of monuments and demonization of polytheistic gods.

Rather than the general pluralism of Egypt, Akhenaten sought strict

exclusivism, and led to a corrupted and unethical priesthood. Adorning himself

and his home in riches he left his citizens to fend for themselves.

Whether a literal god or simply a political move was involved here, it is

hard not to see the malevolence of this mindset and behavior. Horemheb was

perhaps the greatest force to work against that malevolency. Even as

discussed above, the false king Ay could have follow Akhenaten, tutored and

raised king Tut, and possibly even continued the Armana period and religion of

Atenism. What happened instead was Horemheb leading the path for

restoration of Egyptian polytheism and pluralism, and ending the corruption of

priests and government officials once again.

Horemheb might possibly embody Setian and Left Hand Path ideals

better than any other king. He did not simply continue with his king’s tradition,

nor did he roll over and let his kingdom be taken by a false leader. When hit on

one cheek he certainly smashed his enemy on theirs. One of the ultimate

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iconoclasts, he sought above all to literally and metaphorically destroy the

symbols of the monotheistic religion. He capitalized on the Egyptian traditions

of lesser magic and used it to create a strong and united kingdom, while

honoring every individual’s right to choose their family gods, to live their life

without violation from a corrupt higher-class, and to rebuilding their temples and

statues in ernest.

It also would have been easy for Horemheb to simply murder Tut and

take the throne at any time. This may have even avoided the short rise of Ay to

the throne! King Tut received a father-figure instead, to guide him in re-uniting

the land and becoming a strong king. There does not appear to have been any

intent on the part of Horemheb to harm the young king, building himself a

modest tomb and being far from home when the king was murdered or passed

away. It was this absence that led to Ay’s suspicious ascension.

Working his way to king of all Egypt from birth as a commoner,

Horemheb is the ideal representation of a real life hero myth, a literal nobody

rising to the very rank of god. He is a fantastic symbol of personal growth, of

playing the long game even when it means doing something you may not like, of

overcoming any problem bestowed on him by status and birth as a strong and

distinct individual. Adding to this is his obvious dedication to Set himself, and

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his close friendship and trust in the High Priest of Set Ramesses I. It makes

perfect sense as Set was a god of strength and power, not to mention one of

the gods dating back to pre-history. He played an important role in the re-

establishment of Egyptian tradition and the force necessary to put it back in

place.

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 Ramesses I

Ramesses I was the son of a man named Seti (meaning Man of Set) and

was the High Priest of Set during the rule of Horemheb. His family was long

dedicated to the god Set and possibly dated all the way back to Nubt. As with

Horemheb, Ramesses I was not of royal birth, though it is not known if he began

as a commoner. Being close to Horemheb, Ramesses I spent much of his life

helping to rebuild Egypt following the decline of Atenism. By the time he was

chosen as Horemheb’s heir and became king he was a very old man, and the

famous pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II were already both alive by the time

Horemheb passed. While technically the founder of the 19th dynasty, it

appears Ramesses I and his family saw Horemheb as the true founder of the

dynasty.

Ramesses I greatly exemplifies the Left Hand Path in many of the same

ways Horemheb does. Becoming a king without having royal blood is never an

easy feat, and he must have been highly trusted by Horemheb to be chosen as

advisor. As Ramesses was the High Priest of Set we can see that Set’s cult

must have been quickly recreated after the fall of Atenism, during Tut or

Horemheb’s rule. He aided in stabilizing the dire situation within Egypt and

returning a balance of power to the people and their leaders. Ignoring the

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eternal glory that would come with being founder of the 19th dynasty, Ramesses

and his family gave that credit to the true founder – Horemheb – regardless of

him lacking any blood relation to them.

That Ramesses and his family descend from a sacred home of Set again

ties them deeply to the Setian tradition. It is even thought that the family

sported pale-skinned, red-headed children who had always been seen as the

children of Set (associated with both red and the “foreign” look of paler skin).

While it is unknown if any of the previous kings here had esoteric connections

to Set, with the first kings of the 19th dynasty we can clearly see this

connection.

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 Seti I

Seti I was the son of Ramesses I and father of Ramesses II, the latter of

which was alive through Seti’s entire rule. “Seti” literally translates to “Man of

Set”. Like the pharaohs before him, Seti continued to restore Egypt from the

damange done by Akhenaten on all levels of society. It is during the reign of

Seti in which we see Egypt finally returned to its pre-Aten glory.

Seti was mainly focused on rebuilding temples and shrines, as well as

beginning many new mining projects. With Egypt strong once again, Seti

turned his focus to foreign policy and the expansion of the Egyptian empire.

He defeated the Hittite threat and increased the size of Egypt greatly. Seti

also kept an eye on the state and ruling class, ensuring they did not take

advantage of the people.

Seti’s tomb is a fantastic work of art heavy in stellar symbolism. For

instance there is an extravagant ceiling painting of the constellations – a literal

star map rather than something simply artistic as originally though – which focus

on the northern circumpolar stars. The Setian pharaohs of this time were also

careful not to push their own personal reverence for Set too much, knowing

what to strong of a break in tradition could do after the actions of Akhenaten.

They were henotheists anyways and did not mind the worship of other gods.

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Yet they kept the symbolism in place, for instance in the tomb where Osiris is

placed far below and separate from the northern stars. It can also be seen in the

use of Seti’s name in some places,

where he used the images of Osiris and Isis to spell his name without anything

related to Set!

Tracing of a cartouche of Set, provided by Joan Lansberry, which shows “Seti” depicted with Osiris (S) and the Isis
knot (T), plus the reeds making S(w)t(y)

Seti had a co-regency with Ramesses II, and started passing

responsibility to his son at a young age. In fact Ramesses II was only a very

young man when Seti passed. Seti I was also responsible for the Four

Hundred Years stele, shown in part below. The scene depicts his son,

Ramesses II, shown honoring the god Set in the form of the foreign god Ba’al.

During the second intermediate period some of the Hyksos rulers had

associated themselves with Set as a god of foreigners. This left a troubled

relationship with the god immediately following the period, likely until the times

of the 19th dynasty. This stele was intended to reclaim Set as a true and

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ancient god of the Egyptians, and not a deity of the foreign rulers. Doing so

allowed the worship of Set to thrive again as a true Egyptian deity. That Set

is shown in the form of Ba’al was not intended to show Set as foreign, but

rather that this god was another form of Set! With the boarders of the empire

expanding, it became more and more important to understand the existence of

other pantheons, which the Egyptians did by envisioning them as simply

different interpretations of the same gods. It further shows the pluralistic nature

of Setian rulers.

Tracing of Set as Ba’al from the 400 Years Stele

As a Setian there is a special connection to the tomb of Seti I. Its

symbolism and the very look of it is glorious, focused beautifully on the

circumpolar stars. More than that, it was this tomb which suggested to Patricia

Hardy, former High Priestess of the Temple of Set, that these were more than

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mere images. It was her peer reviewed paper, “The Cairo Calendar as a Stellar

Almanac”, which clearly showed the Egyptians associated the gods with

specific stars and their movement through the sky. Of course, the importance of

this stellar symbolism continues into the modern esoteric Left Hand Path of

today.

Tracing of Taweret (Draco) and Set (Ursa Major), from the Tomb of Seti I

Seti also sought expansion of the Egyptian empire, setting his eyes on

foreign territories. Again the association of Set with foreign lands brings an

interesting connection, and it is possible to theorize Seti’s reverence for Set

led him to seek farther horizons. A deeply spiritual man, he focused greatly on

the rebuilding of religious institutions like his father and Horemheb. As with the

other Setian pharaohs he sought to protect the people from corruption.

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 Ramesses II

Known by many as the greatest pharaoh, Ramesses the Great ruled from

a very young age to a very old one. He brought a time of peace to Egypt by

defeating many of their greatest enemies. On one side he defeated the

infamous sea pirates who were ravaging the Mediterranean, and on the other he

created the first peace treaty in human history with the Hittite empire.

Following this was a time of great growth and prosperity for the empire.

Ramesses was renowned and loved as a wonderful king across the kingdom, and

he ruled across the entire lifetime of many of his citizens. Indeed, there was a

belief that when Ramesses died the world itself may end.

Ramesses built many important works including Abu Simbel, the

Ramesseum, and most importantly the new capital of Pi-Ramesses. Pi-

Ramesses was intentionally built near the city of Avaris, a city with a heavy

focus on the worship of Set (sometimes called “Lord of Avaris”). In the city

each quarter was assigned a deity, and the residing deity in the south was Set,

with his wife Astarte residing in the east. Wadjet, the eye of Horus (which

according to the Pyramid Texts only became magic after Set touched it), rules

the north, and Amun, the hidden god, rules the west. As the former director of

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Cairo’s French Oriental Archaeological Institute, Serge Sauneron,

beautifully put it:

“But finally, wearied of Thebes and its ambitious priests, he [Ramesses

II] departed to build a new capital, Pi-Ramesses, in the eastern delta – where he

could quietly worship the god dearest to him [Set], with Amun occupying a

secondary prominence.”

Abu Simbel was built to recognize the Battle of Kadesh, the fight

between the Egyptians and Hittites which led to the first peace-treaty. It

further acted as a temple commemorating the deification of Ramesses himself.

Each side of the entrance bore two massive statues of the deified king wearing

the crown of united Egypt. The Ramesseum was built as a temple to

Ramesses, mostly from the ground up. Pylons marked the entrance, and each

entrance as you worked your way inside the temple. It also once contained a

temple to Seti I which no longer stands. What may be the first 12 month

calendar appears here in the Astronomy Hall.

Like the Setian pharaohs of old, Ramesses celebrated his Sed-Festival,

numerous times in his case. Ramesses ruled so long and to such a great age that

he had incalculable numbers of children, and many could barely conceive of a

pharaoh without him. This led to chaos during his death, an Egypt divided

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amongst itself squabbling for power. The reign of the great Setian pharaohs

had come to an end, but they would not be the last.

Of course, having esoteric ties to the greatest king of Egypt is a perk

and inspiration on its own, but Ramesses II continued many of the Setian

traditions, such as pluralism, growth, prosperity, a managed priesthood and

government, and so forth. The awe Ramesses II inspired in later pharaohs and

cultures rivals perhaps even Alexander the Great, who shared the same title as

the earlier Ramesses (“the Great”). Ramesses was not just seen as a god-king,

but as a god full stop, a being who became fully deified and joined his ranks

among the gods. He honored the idea of magical rejuvenation at certain ages,

and led a life filled with carnal victories and pleasures.

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 Setnakhte

Setnakhte and his son were the last great Setian pharaohs, and indeed

the last great pharaohs of Egypt after the death of Ramesses II. After the

chaos at the end of the 19th dynasty, Setnakhte became the founder of the

new 20th dynasty. It is likely that Setnakhte was once again a commoner, though

at best he may be a grandson or distant relative to Ramesses II. Through

strength of will and might, Setnakhte stabilized Egypt one final time, and it was

known that “He was Khepri-Set when he is enraged”. The name Setnakhte

itself means “Victorious of Set, Beloved of Ra”, and similar to Peribsen he was

thought to be self-created. Setnakhte was only able to reign for two or three

years before his death, leaving his son as the last great ruler of an ancient land.

It also appears that during the reign of Setnakhte, foreign rulers had

once again attempted to take Egypt, hoping to start another intermediate

period like those before. The king worked to save his cities from the invaders

and make a country safe for his people to life in. Unfortunately not much more

is known of Setnakhte, and it appears he had a very short rule before passing

the torch to his son, Ramesses III. Yet we can still see the same self-

identications with Set, focus on the same values, drive towards the same goals

as the other Setian pharaohs.

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 Ramesses III

Known by many sources as the last great pharaoh, Ramesses III took his

name after his great inspiration – Ramesses II. Ramesses was known as a warrior

pharaoh, and spent a large portion of his rule defending his country against

invasion. The Sea Peoples, who had destroyed many of the Bronze Age

civilizations in the area, were defeated by Ramesses and made citizens of the

empire thanks to an Egypt unified by Setnakhte. During his rule the world saw

events such as the Trojan War and the fall of Mycenae, and thanks to the Sea

People there were many people without homes or even countries.

After the wars Ramesses focused heavily on domestic building projects

and foreign expeditions, such as into the important land of Punt, which had been

abandoned since the time of Ramesses II. Similar to his inspiration, Ramesses

III celebrated his own Sed-festival. Like the others before him he sought to

inspect and reorganize the priesthoods and government to minimize the abuses

of power present at the end of the 19th dynasty.

However, the corrupt priestly cast was once again tired of being

controlled and maintained by the Setian rulers. Ramesses was murder in a

conspiracy for the throne by the priests and their royal supporters, and with his

murder came the murder of his country. Egypt faced severe economic problems

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after Ramesses’ death, and the ruling class became increasingly corrupt. This

eventually led to a divided nation ready to be taken over by Greco-Roman

culture.

As we have seen, the traits of the Setian pharaohs are very specific and

appear here yet again, one final time before the decline of ancient Egypt.

Ramesses III was inspired by Ramesses the Great and the Setian kings of the

19th dynasty. Following in their footsteps, as well as his father’s, he sought to

empower his citizens and protect them from those who would do them harm. As

a war god, Set played a very important role in the destruction of the Sea

People, perhaps one of the greatest and most important victories in history.

Who knows what history would tell had they continue decimating the civilizations

around the Mediterranean.

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 Conclusion

This has simply been a brief investigation into the Setian Kings of

ancient Egypt. The importance of this to modern Setianism is twofold. First, it

is important to understand the deeds and beliefs of these pharaohs to inspire

modern Setian ideology. Their use of both lesser and greater magic is

unmatched, and their political and religious revolutions always sought to emulate

modern Left Hand Path ideas such as self-deification and heroism, judgement

based on individuals and not things beyond their control, pluralism and

pragmatism, darkness-based symbolism, and so on. Second, it is important for

the many out there who act as if Setianism is some unfounded or historically

inaccurate path. Yes, perhaps the modern world has caused changes to some of

those ideas and practices, but as this clearly shows there is a precedence for

the cult of Set, Stellar Tradition, and Left Hand Path dating back into pre-

historical Egypt. This is not some new path created out of thin air in 1975, it is

the constant rediscovery of a path older than time, one which has influenced us

for thousands of years.

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