The Portal Of Ma’at

The reason I have created the 8th print is, I work in series of 8.  It represents infinity, balance, manifestation.  8 represents prosperity in Chinese, in math it is the perfect cube after 1, in nature it is the lunar cycle, in tarot it is strength and justice.  

From the Hermetic Perspective there are seven principles, but number 8 is often viewed as transcending the seven. Seven principles explain how reality operates. Eight represents the conscious being who learns to work with them. The 7 Hermetic Principles are the framework, and the 8th becomes the living expression of wisdom, the person who embodies the principles rather than merely understanding them. With this I give you the Actualization of the principles in The House of Ma'at: The Architecture of Cosmic Balance.

The print begins in daylight, just as the first shadow of the solar eclipse touches the sun. Queen Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten, stands at its center holding two of Ancient Egypt's most enduring symbols: the ankh and the was scepter. In one hand, the ankh which is the ancient symbol of life, represents the unbroken continuity connecting birth and death, body and spirit, humanity and nature. Egyptian gods are frequently depicted extending the ankh toward the nose of a pharaoh, offering not merely breath, but the gift of life itself. Within Thèria, however, the ankh carries an even broader meaning. It becomes an emblem of biocentrism, reminding us that life is not arranged in a hierarchy with humanity at its summit, but exists as a continuum in which every living being participates equally within the great web of existence.

In her other hand, Nefertiti carries the was scepter, an emblem of authority traditionally reserved for gods and pharaohs. Yet its meaning extends far beyond political power. The was signifies stewardship, the disciplined responsibility to preserve harmony within creation. Kings could govern through force, but the gods ruled through order. The scepter therefore reminds us that true authority is measured not by domination but by one's capacity to maintain balance among competing forces.

Nefertiti herself represents a remarkable moment in human history. Together with her husband Akhenaten, she participated in one of civilization's earliest known religious transformations by elevating the Aten - the radiant disk of the sun -  as the central focus of Egyptian worship. The Aten's rays, depicted as outstretched hands extending life to every corner of creation, nourish people, animals, plants, rivers, deserts, and entire ecosystems alike. Every living thing shares the same source of light. Whether this movement represented true monotheism or a unique form of exclusive devotion continues to be debated by historians, yet its influence on Egyptian religion and art remains undeniable. It is for this reason that Nefertiti presides over the moment of the total eclipse within this work. As the sun disappears behind the moon and darkness briefly envelops the world, a symbolic threshold is crossed. The portal opens, and Nefertiti is revealed in her eternal form. Ma'at.

Beneath Ma'at rests the blue hippopotamus, a symbol chosen to expand the traditional understanding of balance. In Ancient Egypt, the hippopotamus embodied both immense power and the fertile waters of the Nile from which civilization emerged. Sculptures of painted blue hippos would be places in tombs of the pharaohs.  Within Thèria, it becomes something greater: a living foundation representing nature itself. Its deep Egyptian blue recalls the sacred waters of creation and the celestial vault above, while the gilded hieroglyphs etched across its body remind us that wisdom is written not only in temples, but throughout the living world. Ma'at does not stand above nature rather she is supported by it. The hippopotamus becomes the quiet force beneath truth, reminding us that justice, civilization, and humanity itself can only endure when the ecosystems that sustain them remain in balance.

Emerging from the waters below Ma’at is Sobek, the ancient Egyptian crocodile god who represents the primal forces of life, protection, and transformation. Revered as the guardian of the Nile, the river that sustained an entire civilization, Sobek embodied both creation and destruction, reminding us that true power is inseparable from responsibility. His presence symbolizes courage, resilience, fertility, and the life-giving waters from which all civilizations emerge.

Within this composition, Sobek serves as the protector of Ma'at's eternal balance. Crowned with the ankh, the ancient symbol of life, he reminds us that harmony is sustained not only through wisdom, but through the strength to defend it. Together, Ma'at and Sobek represent the union of justice and power, inviting us to recognize that balance is preserved only when truth is protected with courage.

Ma'at is far more than the Egyptian goddess of truth or justice. She is the living architecture of the universe itself. She is the invisible principle that prevents existence from dissolving into chaos. The ancient Egyptians believed that every day, every ruler, every citizen, every god, and every living creature bore responsibility for sustaining Ma'at. She was not simply worshipped; she was enacted. Her presence was evident wherever harmony prevailed: in the orderly movement of stars across the heavens, the dependable flooding of the Nile, the migration of birds, the changing of the seasons, fair judgment within the courts, honest exchanges between neighbors, and every act of compassion freely given. Without these continual acts of balance, creation itself drifted toward Isfet known as the realm of disorder, falsehood, violence, fragmentation, and collapse.

Ma'at therefore performs no single task. She is the continual process through which life remains possible. More than a goddess, more than a philosophy, and more than a religious ideal, she embodies the invisible order upon which civilization depends. The ancient Egyptians understood that architecture, agriculture, astronomy, governance, and justice all arose from a shared recognition that harmony must be cultivated rather than assumed. The House of Ma'at became both a literal and symbolic place where these principles were practiced. Truth was not merely spoken but lived. Justice was not simply enforced but measured against the greater balance of creation. Within Thèria, the House of Ma'at becomes the beginning of a larger conversation: that beauty, ethics, philosophy, and our relationship with the living world are inseparable.

Ma’at is now holding the scales, one of the defining symbols of Egyptian civilization through the Weighing of the Heart. According to the Book of the Dead, every soul entered the Hall of Two Truths where the heart depicted as the seat of memory, intention, conscience, and moral character was weighed against Ma'at's feather, that is reimagined for Thèria as a peacock feather.  If the heart remained as light as the feather, the individual had lived in harmony with truth and could continue into the afterlife. If it proved heavy with selfishness, cruelty, or deceit, the journey ended there. The feather therefore represents integrity, justice, balance, and moral clarity. Within Thèria, it also becomes a symbol of awareness: a quiet invitation to move lightly through the world and to seek truth within every story.

The scales upon which the heart is weighed offer a second lesson. Balance is never static. Every decision alters the equilibrium. Every act of generosity or exploitation, every structure we build, every species we protect or destroy, shifts the larger harmony of life. This understanding resonates profoundly with contemporary ecological thought. The ancient Egyptians believed that Ma'at governed not only kings and courts but rivers, stars, animals, seasons, and the unseen rhythms of creation itself. Thousands of years later, humanity confronts biodiversity loss, climate instability, ecological collapse, and the extinction of species at an unprecedented pace. We often describe these crises as technological or political failures. Ancient Egypt might have recognized them differently. They are failures of relationship. They are manifestations of Isfet.

Modern civilization frequently imagines humanity as standing outside nature, observing it as owner, manager, or consumer. Biocentrism rejects this illusion. Every organism participates in the larger intelligence of life. Every species contributes to the health of the whole. The Nile was not merely a river but the artery of a civilization. Bird migrations were not coincidences but celestial rhythms. Nature was never decoration; it was scripture. Within this understanding, Ma'at becomes not only an ethical principle but an ecological one, reminding us that balance is sustained through relationship rather than control.  This is one of the greatest lessons modern man must learn. 

Seen through the lens of Hermetic philosophy, Ma'at becomes the living expression of the Seven Hermetic Principles. Mentalism teaches that every civilization begins within consciousness; before justice can exist in society, it must first exist within the individual. Correspondence reminds us that the order of the heavens is reflected in the order of the human heart, that the branching of rivers resembles the branching of lungs, tree roots mirror neural networks, and galaxies echo microscopic cells because life unfolds through repeating patterns. Vibration reveals that harmony is never fixed but continually renewed through movement, whether in birdsong, whale calls, fungal communication beneath the forest floor, or the quiet conversations of trees.

Polarity teaches that Ma'at can only be understood in relationship to Isfet. Order reveals chaos just as compassion reveals cruelty. Predator and prey, death and nourishment, fire and regeneration are not opposing failures but complementary forces sustaining equilibrium. Rhythm reminds us that all existence unfolds through cycles—the flooding of the Nile, migration, flowering seasons, circadian clocks, tides, and the beating of the human heart. Cause and Effect reveals that no action exists in isolation; every disappearing bee alters a harvest, every warming ocean transforms coral reefs, and every human decision reverberates through countless unseen relationships. Finally, Gender teaches that creation flourishes through complementary forces: strength guided by compassion, authority tempered by humility, giving balanced by receiving, action united with receptivity. Together, these principles describe not merely the structure of reality but the living architecture through which Ma'at continually sustains the world.

At the heart of Thèria lies the belief that philosophy should not remain confined to temples, libraries, or museums. It should accompany us through the rituals of everyday life. A dinner plate can provoke a conversation on polarity.  A coffee cup can become a mediation on rhythm. A sculpture can become an invitation to contemplate balance. A painting can become a doorway into another way of seeing. By bringing Ma'at into contemporary art, Thèria does not seek to recreate Ancient Egypt but to continue one of its most enduring questions: What kind of world are we creating through the choices we make each day? If Ma'at teaches that harmony is the foundation of civilization, then perhaps art is one of the ways we remember how to build it again. The feather becomes not only a measure of moral truth but of ecological humility. Can we live lightly enough that future generations inherit abundance rather than absence? Can our technologies become extensions of life rather than instruments of extraction? The weighing of the heart becomes, ultimately, the weighing of civilization itself.

The House of Ma'at, once imagined as a sacred temple where truth was measured, no longer belongs solely to the ancient world. Today it may be found wherever humanity consciously chooses relationship over domination - in the rainforest, the coral reef, the mangrove forest, the old-growth cedar, the migrating whale, the desert after rain, the garden, the museum, and even the dining table. Every place where harmony is cultivated becomes a new House of Ma'at.

For this reason, I have depicted Ma'at as the winged serpent, one of humanity's oldest and most universal archetypes. Appearing across Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Mesoamerica, Greece, and later esoteric traditions, the winged serpent consistently unites earth and sky, instinct and consciousness, matter and spirit. The serpent has long symbolized renewal, hidden wisdom, healing, fertility, and continual transformation through the shedding of its skin. Wings signify vision, transcendence, freedom, and the aspiration to move beyond immediate perception. Together they form a profound image of awakened consciousness. The winged serpent belongs neither solely to the earth nor entirely to the heavens; it inhabits both. Upon Ma’at’s tail in hieroglyphics we tell you who we are, the creators of this piece.  Thèria Haus.  

Across cultures, serpents guard thresholds, sacred springs, temples, trees of life, and hidden treasures. Yet the greatest treasure is not gold but wisdom. Within Hermetic philosophy, the winged serpent becomes the embodiment of the Seven Principles themselves: consciousness awakening, hidden relationships revealed, continual transformation embraced, opposites reconciled, rhythms honored, responsibility accepted, and complementary forces united. It is therefore not simply a guardian of treasure but a guardian of relationship. It reminds us that wisdom is found neither by escaping the Earth nor by remaining bound to it alone. Wisdom emerges when we learn to carry the earth beneath our feet and the heavens within our imagination. In that union, the winged serpent becomes a timeless emblem of balance, transformation, and the enduring dialogue between the seen and the unseen which is the very dialogue that lies at the heart of Thèria.

With All our Lightness and All our LOVE,

The OG Thèria Family