BOOK REVIEW

Volume 3, Issue 2
July 2000

KHUFU's picture (cheops)

Pyramid Illusions: 
 A Journey to the Truth

By Mustafa Gadalla
Tehuti Research Foundation (1997)

- Reviewed by The Ambassadors Research Foundation (ARF)

"Nobody likes being proved wrong, but in the case of the scholar or scientist, a sound 
theory that contradicts views held and pursued for a lifetime pulls the rug out from 
under his/her ego, and a familiar paradoxical situation develops. The people professionally 
engaged in discovering the truth, are those psychologically least capable of accepting the 
truth if it happens to contradict what they already believe."
- John Anthony West (1989) The Traveler's Key to Ancient Egypt  

 

There are controversial views regarding the great pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). In the previous issue, The Ambassadors published in the BOOK REVIEW section the review of "Pyramid Worship" written by Waleed Toughan, who mentioned that every sixth of March, the cults of "Crimson Crescent," "Solidarity Symbol," and "Sons of Light" gather in the Giza plateau in front of King Kufu's great pyramid. Their gathering has for its motto the principles of "life, death, afterlife, and supernatural powers." He added that more than seven million Americans, Europeans, and Japanese are associated with these cults and are practicing believers of their philosophies. All these people are looking for immortality and eternal life, an ideological reflection of the pyramid's owner, Pharaoh Khufu/Cheops (2551-2528 B.C.). 

Toughan's monumental work presents a crucial study of a modern contemporary movement towards pyramid worship. His assertions trigger interest for further research on the cosmological, theological, and astrological patterns involved with the pyramids as well as the social and behavioral dimensions of this movement.

In this issue, The Ambassadors will present Eng. Mustafa Gadalla's illustrated 192-page handbook entitled, "Pyramid Illusions: A Journey to the Truth". This book is more than just a guide to the ten pyramids which were erected within 80km from each other, in the pyramid age during the 3rd and 4th dynasties in Egypt (2630-2472 B.C.) and ended with a mountain range of man-made structures containing more than 25 million tons of limestone blocks. Along with the technical details about the ten pyramids, such as their locations, dimensions, interiors and exteriors, and the history of their builders, the book also looks into the purpose and the functions of the pyramids, the sacred geometry incorporated in their design, astronomical significance, and how they all fit into a specific master plan to represent heaven on earth.

In the next issue, we will be presenting the views of the distinguished international Egyptologist, Prof. Dr. Zahi Hawaas,  regarding both "Pyramid Worship" vs."Pyramid Illusions" hypotheses in an attempt to better understand this puzzle. 

Secrets of Khufu's Great Pyramid

In his interesting systematically-styled book, Gadalla expressed that the Great Pyramid was more than an initiation temple and not a funerary plot. He does so by employing the strategy of questions and answers. Interestingly, Pharaoh Snefru, who built 2 and possibly 3 pyramids each almost as large as the great pyramid, was not buried in either of them. He stated that, "Other societies in the world, such as the Masonic, Rosicrucian, Theosophist and many more, believed that the system of passages and rooms in the Great Pyramid served as centers for initiation ceremonies and the performance of sacred mysteries." 

Gadalla contends in the preface of his book that, "Many illusions have been re-told for so long that they are generally accepted as truth. This book is intended to undo many of the false perceptions about the Ancient Egyptians' pyramids, which have been absorbed into our minds, through our lives."

He is more than convinced that every culture has its own symbolism and that for Ancient Egyptians, every so-called "physical" fact of life has a symbolic meaning, and at the same time every symbolic act of expression had a "material" context.

"The Ancient Egyptians hade their own symbolic representations. Symbolism is present in everything we do in life. Symbols need only represent something meaningful to a particular intended audience. Most, if not all, symbols have private meanings known only to a group of people at a certain time in history. Their symbolism then is as unique as our symbolism now."

In an attempt to gain a better understanding of the secrets of the pyramids, we present some excerpts from Eng. Gadalla's book, "Pyramid Illusions" and his other books (see list at the end of this page). 

Pyramid Power

There is no direct evidence that we know of, at this time, to answer this question.  However, once we grasp the main function of the ancient Egyptian stone buildings, we can easily see their connection to the supernatural forces of the universe. Ancient Egyptian monuments, such as the pyramids and other temples, were deliberately constructed at specific sites with specific orientations.
 

Yes, the pyramids were closed and sealed structures.  They were not open for daily activities/rituals, which was the case in the Egyptian temples. Each pyramid was a part of a complex that contained some temples.  So, all the rituals were carried out in these temples, and not in the pyramids. The stone pyramids were aligned with the cardinal points, which indicates the significance of earth, in their function.  The temples in other regions of Egypt were each positioned according to astronomical alignments, i.e. the earth in relationship to other heavenly bodies.
 

The pyramids were harmonically proportioned to act/function in the same fashion as greenhouses, i.e. to attract and retain certain energies.  In the case of the pyramid, it should be called the bluehouse effect.
 

It is the retention of heat from sunlight at the earth’s surface, caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide that admits short-wave radiation but absorbs the long-wave radiation emitted by the earth.
 

In the case of the bluehouse effect, the building retains the orgone energy.
 

Orgone comes from outer space.  It is what makes the stars twinkle, and the sky blue. Orgone can be accumulated by building a box with wood on the outside and sheet iron on the inside.  The organic material lets the orgone through, and the metal interior reflects it.  This condition/phenomenon could therefore be called the bluehouse effect.  Abnormally high concentrations of psi-org energy build up inside such a box.

Psi-org combines abbreviations for psychic and orgone energy.  They are different names for the same force.  The psi field, which produces the human aura and is responsible for all psychic powers, is none other than what Wilhelm Reich, Freud’s controversial Austrian disciple, called orgone energy.

The Egyptians knew all about psi-org energy, because they used it.  The ancient Egyptians were the first to discover that the shape of the well-proportioned pyramid can concentrate the psi-org energy.

The bluehouse effect increases drastically when the surface of the pyramid is laminated.
 

Yes, definitely.  Early historians and travelers told us how the casing stones of the pyramids used to shine.
 
 

Dr. Harald Puton, a very competent Belgian physicist, found that every form of psi energy is increased by sitting under such a harmonically-proportioned pyramid. A person is more telepathic, more clairvoyant, more precognitive. It is easier to initiate out-of-body experiences under these conditions.  Additionally, the body’s aura is more intense inside a pyramid.
 
 

The facts are that if you place highly perishable materials in the so-called King’s Room of the Khufu Pyramid, or in a similar model of the pyramid, the materials decompose at a much slower rate than if placed anywhere else in the world.

Also, people who experiment with blunt old-fashioned carbon steel razor blades, by placing them overnight in a model pyramid, they find that the dull blades regain their edges by the next morning.

The evidence from all experiments is clear that the pyramid shape itself is responsible somehow for altering or affecting the physical, chemical and biological processes, that might take place within a well-proportioned pyramid shape.
 
 So, a person may feel this powerful energy inside the pyramid.

One feels the power of these pyramids, when inside or outside them, because their configuration is harmonically proportioned.

Harmonic Proportions

People love to look at them.  They are overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty.  They are beautiful because they are proportionally harmonious and appealing to our inner as well as outer feelings.

Gustave Flaubert, in Letters from Egypt, 1840, sums it up: “There is something curious about them, these famous pyramids, the more one looks at them, the bigger they become.”

The slopes of the pyramids were not arbitrarily determined for their aesthetic appearance, but as a result of particular geometrical criteria, and investigations into ratios between their parts: height, edges, base, and so on.
 

Geometry is not a good word for it, because geometry means the measure of the earth. The subject is better described as harmonic proportions, where all figures could be drawn or created using a straight line (not even necessarily a ruler) and compass.

Ancient Egyptians were more than aware of it — they created it and executed it. Harmonic proportions are evident in their temples, buildings, theology, ...etc. The ancient Egyptian design followed these principles in well-detailed canons.
 
 

The evidence is clear as far back as the Zoser Complex (2630-2611 BCE), which consists of a double square, i.e. its sides have an exact ratio of 2:1, and align perfectly with the cardinal points. The diagonal of a 2:1 rectangle is very significant.  In a religious sense, when the one became two, the result (diagonal) is the universe.  The diagonal symbolizes the functions of creation itself. 
 

The key is the relationship between progression of growth and proportion.  Harmonic proportion and progression are the essence of the created universe.  It is consistent with nature around us.  Nature around us follows this harmonious relationship.  The natural progression follows a series that is popularized in the West as the “Fibonacci Series”.
 

It is a summation series.  Since it was in existence before Fibonacci (born in 1179 CE), it should not bear his name.  Fibonacci himself and his Western commentators, did not even claim that it was his “creation”.  Let us call it as it is - a Summation Series.  It is a progressive series, where you start with a number, say 1, then you add this number to its preceding number, and on and on; any figure is the sum of the two preceding ones.  The series would therefore be: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,...

This series is reflected throughout nature.  The number of seeds in a sunflower, the petals of any flower, the arrangement of pine cones, the growth of a nautilus shell, etc...all follow the same pattern of these harmonious continuous additions.
 

Yes, with overwhelming evidence.  Many ancient Egyptian plans of temples and tombs, throughout the history of ancient Egypt, show along their longitudinal axis and transversely, dimensions in cubits of 1.72' (0.523 m), giving “in clear” consecutive terms of the Summation Series 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, . . .
The Summation Series conforms perfectly with, and can be regarded as an expression of, Egyptian mathematics, which has been defined by everyone as an essentially additive procedure. The summation character of the series, and its use, would be in accord with the practical aspect of Egyptian science.  This additivity is obvious in their reduction of multiplication and division to the same process by breaking up higher multiples into a sum of consecutive duplications.
 

There is evidence about the knowledge of the Summation Series, ever since the Pyramid (erroneously known as mortuary) Temple of Khafra (Chephren), at Giza, built in 2500 BCE, i.e. about 3700 years before Fibonacci.
Notice how the essential points of the temple comply with the Summation Series.
 

Not at all.  The ancient Egyptians designed according to a very strict canon of proportion.  The evidence is overwhelming, of this detailed canon and its application throughout the history of ancient Egypt.  For more information, see the book, Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music, ISBN 0-9652509-8-9.
 
 

This series was the origin of ancient Egyptian harmonic design.  It offers the true pulsation of natural growth.  As an example, the ratio between each group of two consecutive numbers follows the human heartbeat pulsation: sudden increase, a small dip, a rise again, and then even progression, until the next heartbeat.  So, as the series progresses, the ratio between successive numbers tends towards the Divine Proportion, to which Western academia assigned the Greek alphabet letter f, even though it was known and used long before the Greeks.  And what is worse is that there is not even factual evidence that the Greeks knew it at all!
 

The 8:5 isosceles triangle, where the height is to the base as 5 is to 8, was by far the most widely used in constructional and harmonic diagrams throughout ancient Egyptian’s history.  It was no whim for Viollet-le-Duc to call it the Egyptian Triangle.  The ratio of 5:8 (0.625) represents the most practical ratio of the Summation Series, which is the closest to the theoretical value of the Divine Proportion of 0.618.

You can find ancient Egyptian amulets with the 8:5 isosceles triangle, among other geometric shapes, throughout the museums of the world.

Oh, yes.  But in this book, we will deal with the subject only as it relates to the ten stone pyramids of Egypt.

Khufu's Pyramid

The very small variations [of several inches over the 754' length (230m) of the base] were deliberate.  They were meant to  incorporate into the pyramid the “discrepancies” of the earth itself, which is the flattening of the earth’s globe at the poles.  As a result, they incorporated both ratios into the pyramid.  With such intended construction, the Egyptians were able to embody in the pyramid’s shape both:
- the Divine Proportion (so-called f)
- the Circle Index (so-called p)

The angle of the slope of each face is considered to be 51o 50' 35".  This would indicate it being built according to the Circle Index and the height being the perimeter divided by double the Circle Index.  If the angle is 51o 49' 38", the Divine Proportion would be implicated and the apothem would be half the base length times the Divine Proportion. In reality, this involved inches in difference, which is the case here, and as such both the Proportion and Index are reflected in the external dimensions of this pyramid. 
 

Herodotus was told by the temple priests that the Great Pyramid was constructed in such a way that the area of each face was equal to the square of its height.  This relationship can be seen to embody the Divine Proportion.
Herodotus’ reports are further corroborated by the actual dimensions in the ancient Egyptian units of cubits: 280 for the original height and 440 for the side of the base. The ratio of these two figures [280/220 = h/b = 14/11] corresponds to the square root of the Divine Proportion.

There is a surprising bonus.  Divide twice the base by the height and you get 3.14, a practically perfect value of the Circle Index.

A theoretical “value” of the Circle Index (3.1415927) is useless.  If you cannot measure and/or build to such a meaningless fraction, it is a waste of time to calculate it.
 

The angle of elevation of 51o 50' 35", expresses the Circle Index (22/7) with very considerable precision.  The angle of ascent gives the pyramid a unique geometrical property that represents the mystic squaring of the circle:  that the ratio of the pyramid’s perimeter to its height is equal to double the Circle Index.
 

I will give you a quick answer, but a more elaborate explanation and background can be found in the book, "Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music", ISBN 0-9652509-8-9.
The circle in ancient Egypt was the symbol for Ra, representing the Absolute, or undifferentiated unity.  As such, ancient Egyptians rarely use the circle in their monuments.

In ancient Egypt, wherever there was a problem that required obtaining the area of a circle, they consistently squared the circle.  The square represents the physical manifestation of the metaphysical circle.
So, the ancient Egyptians knew these important (irrational) numbers so early in history.

“Irrational numbers” is a wrong but common term.  The Divine Proportion and the Circle Index were seen by the ancient Egyptians not in numerical terms but as emblematical of the creative or generative function, the fundamental of an infinite series, i.e. the Summation (so-called Fibonacci) Series.  One cannot just reduce a process/function to a meaningless, immeasurable “value”.  These are functions representing a ratio/proportion between independent but related parts/function.

This, however, is not the first time that the ancient Egyptians used these important relationships, because Snefru’s Pyramid at Meidum has the same geometric characteristics as Khufu’s Pyramid.
This is a wonderful implementation of Divine Harmonic Proportions (sacred geometry).


Menkaura's Pyramid

The 12th century Iraqi physician, Abdul Latif, made a special note of this in his book, The Eastern Sky:

"The last one appears small compared with the other two, but viewed at a short distance and to the exclusion of these it excites in the imagination a singular oppression, and cannot be contemplated without painfully affecting the sight."

Notwithstanding Abdul Latif’s expression (or poor English translation), the point is that there is almost unanimous agreement that the pyramid produces an effect of concentrated power.

With such effects, the design must have conformed to subtle sacred and harmonious proportions.

Exactly.  It is not its size, but its proportions that overwhelm us.  Although it is the smallest and youngest of the three pyramids on the Giza plateau, it has the most interesting harmonic design. Its cross section is very nearly an 8:5 triangle, representing the Divine Proportion.
Additionally, the ratio of the height to half the diagonal would be 8:9 (the perfect musical tone), with an angle between the edge and the horizontal of 51° 29' 53".

Wow!  No wonder Menkaura's Pyramid is so appealing to our senses. Yes, it is the perfect application of harmonic proportion (commonly known as sacred geometry). This pyramid signified the end of the Pyramid Age. What a beautiful ending!


Engineer Moustafa Gadalla is the Chairman of the Tehuti Research Foundation at Greensboro, NC, USA. He graduated from Cairo University with a BSc in civil engineering in 1967. In 1971, he immigrated to the United States. Eng. Gadalla works as an independent Egyptologist who alternates his residence between the USA and Egypt. He is the author of Egyptology books available worldwide. They are; "Historical Deception: The untold story of Ancient Egypt", "Egyptian Cosmology", "Exiled Egyptians", "Tutankhamun: The living image of the Lord", "Egypt: A practical guide" and "Egyptian Harmony: The visual music". Some of his books have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Chinese (Taiwanese), German, Russian, and Turkish. 
http://www.egypt-tehuti.org

The Ambassadors has arranged to take-in free consultations from any reader to Eng. Gadalla, who is kindly willing to respond to any concerns about Egyptology in general and pyramid power in particular.
Send to The Ambassadors at ambassadors@sprint.ca.


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