TEMPLES & BODIES
In mysticism, the human body is the temple of the living god. It is the abode of the soul and spirit. Therefore, temples for worshiping god and initiating spiritual seekers were laid out in a manner to reflect this truth. The human body has three major chambers: 1) the abdominal cavity, 2) the cardio-pulmonary cavity, and 3) the cranial cavity. Most ancient temples also have three major chambers: a courtyard, a pillared hall, and a sanctuary. In most temples these three chambers rise as one moves through the temple, from the lower courtyard to the highest part of the temple, the sanctuary. The court is often open and large, as the abdomen, and is where seekers are to eliminate their selfish interests and urges. The next chamber is the hypostyle hall with many pillars or pylons, reflecting the ribs in the pulmonary cavity. After the hypostyle there is usually a narrow passage to the sanctuary, reflecting the body's narrow neck passage to the head. The courtyard, pillared hall, and sanctuary of an ancient temple represent the abdomen, chest, and head of the body, the true temple.

Why three? Mystically, three represents the three levels of consciousness (conscious, subconscious, and superconscious) and the three dimensions of life (physical, mental, and spiritual).

The courtyard is for cleansing and eliminating selfish thoughts and urges, the hypostyle hall is for lifting the thoughts to the higher ideals, the narrow passage leading to the sanctuary is for selectivity required by measuring the heart and intent of the seeker. Often temple sanctuaries are divided in two parts: the holy place and the holy of holies. The holy place is for preparation and sanctification before entering into the presence of God, and the Holy of Holies is where God meets the seeker. This is the way in the ancient temple and the human body. Just as an ancient initiate would proceed through the various chambers and ceremonies in the ancient temple, leading him or her to purity, wisdom, holiness, so would an individual move his consciousness and energy through the various chambers within his body, a process of meditation, leading to purity, wisdom, and holiness.

Mysticism also teaches that the human body has seven spiritual centers or chakras within it, physically operating through the seven endocrine glands. Not surprisingly, ancient temples often have sevens reflected in elements of their design as we will see in the first temple of ancient Egypt.

Here are a few of the temples in Egypt which reflect mystical truths. The main reason for studying these is to better understand one's own body as a temple.

ABYDOS, The Head
In the myth of Osiris, his evil brother cuts his body into many parts; legend has it that the head of Osiris was buried at the Abydos temple, making it the highest and most sacred of temples. In a manner of speaking, it was the Mecca, the Jerusalem, the Holy City of ancient Egypt.
In addition to having the traditional courtyard and hypostyle hall, this temple has seven sanctuaries instead of the usual single or occasional triune arrangement. These seven sanctuaries reflect the mystery of the seven spiritual centers of the body. Six of the seven sanctuaries have false doors on their back walls, but one has a real door that leads to the hidden, inner sanctuary of Osiris. Abydos' inner sanctuary has these two parts. One enters the Holy Place first; to the right are three rooms, symbolic of the three levels of consciousness. To the left is the door that leads to the Holy of Holies, which also has three small adjacent rooms.
Each of the outer seven sanctuaries of Abydos represents one of the ancient gods, its particular role in the growth of the godlings, and the endocrine gland within the body:

Sanctuary Godling Role or Power Gland
1. Seti Satan, self-seeking one Gonads
2. Ptah Seat of the Soul Leydig cells
3. Harakhte Warrior, challenger Adrenals
4. Amon-Ra Hidden, Unseen One Thymus
5. Osiris Tester of the souls Thyroid
6. Isis Conceiver of Messiah Pineal
7. Horus Messiah, Conqueror of Seti Pituitary

The western side of the Abydos temple has shrines to the Osirian triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. These three represent in order: the original consciousness, the bridging consciousness, and the redeemed consciousness.

EDFU, The Mind
This temple is dedicated to the god Horus, the Savior. His symbol is the falcon or hawk. He represents the higher mind. It has a huge courtyard, a magnificent hypostyle hall, and a sanctuary with the tabernacle and altar in place. In the courtyard, just before entering the hypostyle hall, is a huge granite statue of a falcon wearing two hats, one within the other. The outer hat is the red, angular hat of the ruler of lower Egypt, symbolizing the lower self. The inner hat is the white, rounded hat of the ruler of upper Egypt, symbolizing the higher self. The higher mind can blend the human and divine consciousnesses of our being in an eternal harmony.
This is a marvelous temple. Surrounding it is a high wall on the inner side of which is carved the story of the struggle between good and evil, higher self and lower self, cooperation and selfishness. With the help of all the gods of heaven, good over comes evil, the higher self subdues the lower self, and cooperation rises above selfishness.

DENDERA, The Heart
This temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, patron of love, music, and dancing. Her glyph is the falcon or hawk of Horus within a room, symbolizing that the place of the higher mind (Horus) is in the heart (Hathor). In Egyptian mythology, Hathor is the mate of Horus.
This temple has three sanctuaries, one each for Horus, Hathor, and Iky. Its courtyard contains a statue of Bes, god of music, childbirth, marriage, and domestic happiness, protector of woman in labor. It has twenty-four magnificent pylons in its hypostyle hall. The temple also has the beautiful, circular zodiac of Egypt (a replica has replaced the original).

KOM OMBO, The Twin Forces
This unique temple, located on the edge of the ancient lands of Nubia, is divided into two halves: one dedicated to Horus the Great, god of war (Haroeris) and the other to the crocodile god Sobek, symbolizing the baser urges of the physical life. Here the mind and the body struggle to coexist. Horus' half of the temple runs along the left side, and Sobek's along the right. Each has its own courtyard, hypostyle hall, and sanctuary with altar. If we compare this arrangement with our bodies, we might note that the right-brain hemisphere governs the left side of the body (Horus' side of the temple), and the left hemisphere the right side (Sobek's side).
This magnificent temple sits atop a hill on the bank of the Nile, with a view in both directions, up to the higher country and down to the lower. It is as if the builders are asking the temple worshipers, which direction to you choose or, like Isis, can you travel in both without losing your soul? Balancing the two great forces in one's being is what this temple is all about.

PHILAE, Isis' Flower on the Nile
Few goddesses are as revered as Isis. Hers is a compelling story that touches everyone. She gave so much of herself to help humanity subdue evil and reduce suffering. In Egyptian mythology, she is the conceiver of Horus, the savior from the reign of the evil Set, and she suffers much to bring Horus to his victorious destiny.
Hers is an island temple. Its outer courtyard is lined with magnificent pillars on both sides. The inner court is small, with a huge, hieroglyph-covered granite stone to the right of the steps leading into the hypostyle hall. Coptic Christians used the hypostyle hall during the Roman periods. Their crosses are carved on the sandstone pylons and walls; an altar and tabernacle still remain of their worship services. The walls show how they attempted to remove the visual voluptuousness of the ancient Egyptian goddess, scraping the sandstone away or covering it with mortar. Despite these attempts, the temple walls still reveal the beauty and expression of a more innocent time.
Just beyond the hall is the single sanctuary with altar. One can stand at the head of the altar and look straight out through the hypostyle hall into the courtyard, sunlight penetrating the inner darkness of the small sanctuary.
This temple floor plan reflects the human body well, especially the female body. The outer courtyard, with its unique rows of pillars, are like two long legs. Its small, inner courtyard, with the birthing chamber just to the left of it, is like the abdomen with its womb. Then the hypostyle hall, with its rib-like pylons, reflects the heart of the temple, where the worshipers spent much of their time (Egyptian and Christian). The dark, single sanctuary reflects the single-mindedness of its goddess, despite all the challenges placed before her. Her eye was truly single, seeking only the light of heavenly victory.

The ancient temples reflect the inner temple. Anyone who truly grasps this truth and budgets a little time day to move his or her consciousness and energy through one's temple will find oneself purer, wiser, and holier (in the best sense of that word).