Cult of the Stars
Cult of the Stars is a book on Egyptian astrology written by occultist Travis McHenry in 2022.
Content
In the book, the author examines evidence for the religious worship of stars by the ancient Egyptians. This was a fundamental part of the Egyptian religion, although one that has not been thoroughly written about by Egyptologists.
McHenry proposes a theory that the religious practices for the dead were intended to connect the deceased with the goddess Sopdet, as embodied by the star Sirius. To aid the deceased in their transition from dead body to living star, the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts invoked the 36 Egyptian decans to guide them through the night sky, following the path of Sopdet in the barque of the Sun god Ra. This theory has enjoyed wider acceptance in the past 20 years, since the discovery and translation of final piece of the Naos of the Decades.
One of McHenry's less-accepted theories is that the Giza Pyramids were used by wealthy Egyptians to temporarily store their bodies for 70 days after their death in alignment with Egyptian funerary practices. He proposes each body was kept in the pyramid and moved between the three chambers from bottom to top during the course of the 70-day mummification process. This would have mimicked the course of Sirius and the other decanal stars as they travel from the Duat, to their heliacal rise, and finally culminating.
In chapter five, McHenry provides a textual link using Medieval grimoires to establish that the 36 Egyptian decans are the same spirits/entities as the 72 Goetic demons and 72 Kabbalistic angels.
Chapters
Chapter One: The Rise of spdt, the Rise of Egypt
Chapter Two: The Decans – Living Stars With Tousled Hair
Chapter Three: The 36 Gods of the Sky
Chapter Four: Evidence for the Decans
Chapter Five: The Hermetic Tradition – From Decans to Demons
Chapter Six: Practical Application of Egyptian Astrology
Publication history
Cult of the Stars was first published in 2022 by Bloodstone Studios. The first edition was limited to 450 copies, which were completely sold out within two months of being released.
Bloodstone Studios published a slightly updated second edition as a digital release with a prospective second printing in 2024.