Jackal at the Shaman’s Gate

a study of Anubis Lord of Ro-Setawe
with the conjuration to chthonic deities (PGM XXIII)
text, translation, and commentary, and
an annotated bibliography of the Anubis archetype by
Terence DuQuesne

(Oxfordshire Communications in Egyptology III)

NOW AVAILABLE AS A FREE PDF DOWNLOAD HERE

Published in 1991, Jackal at the Shaman’s Gate will be of interest to Egyptologists and to students of comparative religion. It considers the Egyptian god Anubis as guardian of the ‘Shaman’s Gate’ which bridges this world and the next. The author quotes liberally from Egyptian sources, some of which have not previously been translated. Anubis, the jackal god who presides over the embalming process, judge and guide of souls, has a critical function in the processes of death, rebirth, and reintegration. Comparaitive material from other mythologies is cited to illustrate the universality of the archetypes of the dog/wolf and the ‘strait gate’ between earth and heaven.

This book also includes a text, with translation and commentary, of the invocation to Anubis, Osiris, and other chthonic deiies (PGM XXIII; pOxy 412). This hymn from the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri is a fine poem and an excellent example of the profundities to be found in these texts. The author’s comprehensive annotated bibliography lists works in several languages which deal with Anubis, Egyptian funerary practices, Greco-Egyptian mysticism and magic, and the dog/wolf motif in comparative mythology and folklore.

Jackal at the Shaman’s Gate has been out of print for some years. The author had intended to republish it with updated references, but was unfortunately unable to do so before his death. However, because so many people have asked us for copies, we have decided to make it available as a free pdf download, which you can find here.

In questa monografia l’Autore espone, con ampiezza di erudizione, i tratti della figura di Anubi che lo caratterizzano come divinità sciamanica… Segue lo studio di una formula magica. Il commento accompagnante è accurato e puntuale… Siamo dunque grati all’Autore per question nuovo lavoro, denso di spunti ben oltre la figura di Anubis, di cui pure aiuta a capire meglio la funzione.
(Alessandro Roccati, Discussions in Egyptology)

publication date: 1991
large format (US Standard), 136 pages, illustrated
case-bound (cloth): ISBN 1-871266-14-9
out of print
paperback (stitched binding): ISBN 1-871266-13-0
out of print