Scroll of Thoth

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Title: Scroll of Thoth, AKA Book of Thoth is from The Mummy (1932 film), from the Book of Thoth described in Egyptian legends.

Description

In general, the Scroll of Thoth (later, Book of Thoth) is presented as a series of conversations between the god of knowledge, Thoth (possibly as an avatar of Nyarlathotep), and an antediluvian cultist called "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge", describing the structure of the universe, the relationships between life and death, and dream and day, along with the names, origins, and ways of the Elder Gods of Egypt and their servants, along with the mathematics of the movements of stars, the foundations of alchemy, the principles of levitation and transmutation of matter. The scroll/tome contains the secret to "understanding the speech of animals", allowing the reader to perceive the realms of The Gods and The Dead, and to contact the avatars of the gods or even the gods themselves. Instructions for contacting and binding "Djinn" are also included, but are imperfect. The secrets by which the Pyramids and Sphinx were constructed and the Hollow Earth beneath the Pyramids was carved out are contained in the tome, as well as the secrets to reanimating the dead, and transferring one's mind into a new body ("reincarnation" and "Astral Projection") and Dreaming. The scroll is sometimes found in the tombs of reanimated mummies, and the tome in book form was apparently translated and preserved by the Cult of Bast and/or Cult of Thoth.


Original Scroll of Thoth

  • author: attributed to Thoth and "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge"
  • Language: Archaic Egyptian hieroglyphs
  • Number of known copies (if rare): (unique)
  • Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (Library of Alexandria; a copy might exist in the Dreamlands Library at Oneiros)

Physical Description: A large, fragile scroll of a strange, leathery material, inscribed in an antique form of Egyptian heiroglyphs.

General Content: Written in the form of a conversation between the god of knowledge, Thoth (possibly Nyarlathotep), and an antediluvian cultist called "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge", describing the structure of the universe, the relationships between life and death, and dream and day, along with the names, origins, and ways of the Elder Gods of Egypt and their servants, along with the mathematics of the movements of stars, the foundations of alchemy, the principles of levitation and transmutation of matter.

Mythos Content

  • Sanity Loss: mild
  • Mythos Knowledge: minimal, focused on Egyptian Elder Gods
  • Occult Knowledge: mostly focused on Egyptian mythology
  • Spells: Properly executed, the spells might:
    • facilitate Dreaming and Astral Projection into the realms of The Dead and The Gods
    • spells involving metempsychosis (thought transference), recovering past life memories, reincarnation
    • contact the avatars of one or more Elder Gods, and possibly the gods themselves
    • summon/bind Elemental
    • levitate massive blocks of stone, and possibly carve through the stone
    • perform various alchemical tricks, particularly concerning the obliteration and preservation of matter
    • most famously, animate mummies and Children of the Sphinx


Coptic Translation

  • author: attributed to Thoth and "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge"
  • Language: Coptic Script
  • Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare - maybe no more than a handful of original copies)
  • Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (sometimes entombed with cursed pharaohs and priests)

Physical Description: Fragile, antique papyrus scrolls in Coptic (or sometimes Late Egyptian) script.

General Content: Much the same content as the original scroll; the more esoteric and scientific elements are either omitted or poorly translated, apparently beyond the translator's grasp.

Mythos Content

  • Sanity Loss: mild
  • Mythos Knowledge: minimal, focused on Egyptian Elder Gods
  • Occult Knowledge: mostly focused on Egyptian mythology
  • Spells: Properly executed, the spells might:
    • facilitate Dreaming and Astral Projection into the realms of The Dead and The Gods
    • spells involving metempsychosis (thought transference), recovering past life memories, reincarnation
    • contact the avatars of one or more Elder Gods, and possibly the gods themselves
    • summon/bind Elemental
    • most famously, animate mummies and Children of the Sphinx


Book of Thoth, Demotic

  • author: attributed to Thoth and "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge"
  • Language: Demotic Script
  • Number of known copies (if rare): (unknown, but rare - maybe no more than a handful of original copies)
  • Last known location of surviving copies (if rare): (sometimes appears in particularly ancient and eclectic hordes of tomes held by Ghouls and Wizards; copies are known to be kept in temples dedicated to Bast on earth and the Dreamlands, and copies may also be maintained in temples dedicated to surviving cults of other Egyptian Elder Gods).

Physical Description: Generally appears in the form of antique volumes of papyrus sheets stitched together with linen cords, and sometimes bound between lead plates or sometimes dry, cracked leather covers

General Content: Much the same as the Coptic Translation, almost completely omitting the more esoteric scientific content to focus instead on the nature of life and death, Dream and Day, and the names and ways of the Elder Gods.

Mythos Content

  • Sanity Loss: mild
  • Mythos Knowledge: minimal, focused on Egyptian Elder Gods
  • Occult Knowledge: mostly focused on Egyptian mythology
  • Spells: Properly executed, the spells might:


Book of Thoth, English

  • author: attributed to Thoth and "He-Who-Seeks-Knowledge"; translated by The Great Garibaldi
  • Language: English Translation
  • Number of known copies (if rare): common

Physical Description: a pocket-sized book in black, fabric covers, with the title printed in yellow along with stylized hieroglyphic portraits of Bast and Thoth.

General Content: An imperfect 1930-era translation into English by the American mystic, The Great Garibaldi, inspired by the increased interest in Egypt following in the wake of the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb. Includes a number of stylized "hieroglypic" illustrations of the various Egyptian Elder Gods and their animal avatars, and the text is rendered into breathless but unevenly executed poetry which (according to contemporary critics) ranges from "adequately mysterious", to "forced and pretentious". Aside from these embellishments, the content is much the same as the Demotic Book of Thoth.

Mythos Content

  • Sanity Loss: mild
  • Mythos Knowledge: minimal, focused on Egyptian Elder Gods
  • Occult Knowledge: mostly focused on Egyptian mythology
  • Spells: the spells might:
    • facilitate Dreaming and Astral Projection into the realms of The Dead and The Gods
    • spells involving metempsychosis (thought transference), recovering past life memories, reincarnation
    • contact the avatars or possibly the gods themselves - Bast, Thoth, Osiris, Anubis, Ra, Set, a few other other well-known gods)
    • summon/command "Djinni"

Note: This translation is imperfect, and the spells are generally unreliable and in some cases dangerous.


Associated Mythos Elements


Heresies and Controversies

  • According to Egyptian legend, the Book of Thoth was originally hidden at the bottom of the Nile near Coptos, where it was locked inside a series of boxes guarded by serpents. The Egyptian prince Neferkaptah fought the serpents and retrieved the book, but in punishment for his theft from Thoth, the gods killed his wife Ahwere and son Merab. Neferkaptah committed suicide and was entombed along with the book. Generations later, the story's protagonist, Setne Khamwas (a character based on the historical prince Khaemwaset), steals the book from Neferkaptah's tomb despite opposition from Neferkaptah's ghost. Setne then meets a beautiful woman who seduces him into killing his children and humiliating himself in front of the pharaoh. He discovers that this episode was an illusion created by Neferkaptah, and in fear of further retribution, Setne returns the book to Neferkaptah's tomb. At Neferkaptah's request, Setne also finds the bodies of Neferkaptah's wife and son and buries them in Neferkaptah's tomb, which is then sealed. (The story reflects the Egyptian belief that the gods' knowledge is not meant for humans to possess.)

Appearances

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