I created the following essay to fulfill a homework assignment for Medu class. We were asked to give three examples of the principle of Heru-Set. I descided to use the assignment as an opportunity to practice my essay writing skills.

The Principle of
Heru-Set

Heru is the son of Wsr and Aishat. As such, he has chosen
to re-establish the kingdom of his Father. The kingdom of Wsr must be
re-established because his brother Set chose to destroy him. Therefore, Heru
and Set are forever at odds with each other.

Heru, as his father before him, is an immortal
incorruptible divine being, a “Neteru” in human form. Set is also a Neteru.
Unlike Heru and his father Wsr, Set chose to express his immortality in the
single form of his original self as created by Ptah. Wsr, Heru and their
descendents chose to express their immortality through the transcendence of
death and rebirth. The choice of transcendence comes with the added attribute
of fertility. It is the ability to re-produce in kind and re-incarnate through
our children that is characteristic of the choice of transcendent immortality.

Set, by virtue of his expression of immortality, is
detrimental to life. Set is the destroyer of life, whereas Wsr and his children
are the preservers of life.

Though the distinction of preservation versus destruction
is traditionally in western culture associated with judgments of “good” and “evil”, the morality of humans
does not apply to divine beings. It is the balance of the forces of Heru and
Set that must be maintained. Therefore, neither Heru nor Set can ever achieve
total victory in their battle for dominion of the divine, or the physical
world.

The battle between Heru and Set is reflected in every
aspect of the world in which we live. One of the most basic examples of the
principle of Heru-Set can be found in electricity and magnetism.

Electricity and magnetism are manifest in a form that we
can actually experience directly. Most of us have encountered static
electricity at some point in time. This is the familiar shock that we receive
after shuffling across a carpet on a dry winter day.

The electric shock is caused by the build-up of negative
charge around your body. Electrical charge is literally rubbed off of the
carpet and accumulates on the surface of your skin. This creates an imbalance
between you and the environment that ultimately must be reconciled. The
reconciliation of this imbalance is the electric shock.

Has the charge disappeared once the shock occurs? The
answer to this question must be no. The first law of thermodynamics states that
the total matter and energy in the universe is constant and that nothing is
ever destroyed. Matter and energy can only change form.

If ever a phenomenon has manifest, it always exists in a
state of becoming, transitioning from one form to another. We only experience a
small part of its becoming because our awareness is focused on our immediate
environment in space and time.

The existence of charge in all its forms is manifest in
the context of eternity. This is a true example of the principle of Heru-Set.
Electric charge is manifest in the existence of opposites. Even though positive
and negative charge are opposites, they arise from the same basic concept, just
as Heru and Set are both Neteru created by a single Self-Created Neteru, Ptah.
Like positive and negative charge, Heru and Set are similar in nature, but
opposite in effect.

The manifestation of electric charge is found in all
things. Electric charge is the principle behind all forms of radiant energy
from heat, to light, to X-Rays. Electric charge exists in the core of every
particle of matter. Electric charge is the principle behind the magnetic field
of the earth. Electric charge is the force that powers the chemical functions
of every cell in your body and the medium of the transmission of information
within the nervous system. Electric charge guides the rhythms of your heart.

Heru-Set is in all things physical.

Heru-Set can also be found in the ecology of the earth.

Consider a particular region of the earth that has not
been spoiled by the actions of humanity. Within such a region we can find both
predators and prey.

In the bush we will find both the lion and cattle. A lion
hunts cattle for its food. In the act of hunting and killing cattle, the lion
is expressing the principle of Set. There are very few lions compared to the
number in a herd of cattle, just as there is only one Set and there are an
innumerable number of the children of Heru.

Consider that a lion, by nature cannot and will not
destroy the strongest in the herd. A lion will always prey upon the weak and
the defenseless. In this way, the lion strengthens the herd because only the
strong are able to reproduce. The stronger the herd becomes, the more difficult
they are to hunt. Therefore, the lion (and its descendents) must become
stronger still to hunt them.

It is the balance between the destructive force of
predation and the creative force of reproduction that supports the continued
existence of the ecology of the bush.

The forces of Heru-Set also exist within our own
personality.

One of the most powerful forces in the human personality
is the ego. Many of us who are on the path of spiritual development have been
exposed to the idea of the death of the ego as part of the process of
enlightenment. Though this is our goal, we can also see the ego in the context
of the principle of Heru-Set.

The ego is that part of us that identifies with our
existence within this incarnation. It is a principle of singular existence that
takes a form similar to Set in that it will desire to continue its existence at
all costs. It is in the ego that we find our will to live, and without this
will to live we would not be able to sustain our individual consciousness.

Contrast this to the desire to pro-create. This desire and
process is embedded deep within us all. The act of physical sex, however, draws
down the best and purest of our life force in the sexual act. For men, this is
a result of the “little death” that is the male ejaculation, where as for women
this draining of energy takes the form of menstruation.

The contrast within the personality is also related to the
interaction within groups. In order to work harmoniously, each member of a
group must sacrifice the primacy their ego in order to preserve the group. Every
human being, as a result of the necessity of human interaction, holds within
them the balance between the ego and social interaction. The balance of
Heru-Set.