CULT OF THE GODS

One of the main background themes to LOST was the temple and the clear Egyptian artwork that told the stories of Death and the Afterlife.

In ancient Egypt, it was believed that a person's soul would travel a dangerous journey through the underworld. It would be tested and a final judgment would be made if it would reunite with a body in heaven. It was said that the soul would be weighed against a feather by the god of the underworld. If the soul was heavy with sin, then the soul would be condemned to hell.

So Egyptian kings and queens and royals were buried in elaborate tombs and temples to "help" them on their afterlife journey. They were buried with gold and jewels to bribe ferrymen across the River Styx. They were buried with food and wine to sustain their souls on the journey. They were at time buried with their servants who would serve and protect them.

Egyptian rulers believed that they were gods from the stars. That there final place was to return to the heavens.

There are some who believe that there may be more truth in that myth.

The ancient Egyptians built thousands of years ago the largest free standing masonry structures in the history of the planet. Massive stone blocks were moved, placed and perfectly aligned to the stars. In modern times, the largest stone supported skyscraper was 10 stories. In ancient Egypt, it was 23 stories. Modern engineers still do not know how ancient people with stone and bronze chisels could move and lift 10 ton blocks to create the massive pyramids. Even with today's heavy industrial equipment and cranes, it is doubtful that we could achieve such structures.

So the mystery of how the pyramids were constructed is joined in the religious attributes of its creators. If the ancient kings were in fact aliens from another planet with advanced technology to move large stones with ease (which would show their great power and "magic" over the human race), then our own perception of history would be false.

Beyond Egypt, there were other ancient cultures who built massive pyramid structures in harsh climates and locations. Those ancient engineers also had a detailed and accurate grasp on astrophysics and hydrodynamics to built temples and water systems which could sustain a population of more than 50,000 (which is a huge amount in ancient times).

One explanation is that our ancient forefathers were a lot smarter than we think they were. We, today, think we have the most knowledge and savvy because of our own education, experience and accomplishments. But our ancient relatives were more tuned to nature and its properties since they were more dependent on direct interaction with nature than we are today in a our processed economies. After more than tens of thousands of years of trial and error, our forefathers could have developed technology to move large stones with ease - - - something completely lost on us today.

This is not as far fetched as you might believe. In the dark middle ages, much of human knowledge was lost (it was kept alive by monks writing manuscripts). Much of the great ancient inventions were lost in the great fire of the Library of Alexandria.  Those inventions may have included the first computer, navigation devices, the first automatic door and water fountains. Recall, inventors around the time of the Roman empire were magicians who entered the royal courts with fancy machines and usual feats of mechanical engineering. Leonardo had concepts of flying machines and modern tanks.

So ancient temple priests may have been the magicians of their time because they had superior knowledge. Knowledge equated to power. While much of human thought was harnessed in order to create the next superior weapon for conquest and defense (which is even true today), such knowledge could have been applied to solve the mysteries of life after death.

The pyramids could have been the launch pads for the exploration into outer space. Observation decks to the heavens or portals (physically or metaphysically or interpretive) would have been the quest of the powerful rulers who wanted "immortality" as their legacy.  All major religions believe in some form of afterlife. The ancient Egyptians may have tried to find the pathway to the afterlife and bring it into their present.

Likewise, LOST's island could have been a metaphor of the quest for the pathway to immortality. A weigh station along the underworld journey of lost souls trying to reach a final judgment; to release the burdens, sins and regrets attached to their human souls. The guardians of the island were like the cults of kings who oversaw the graves and temples of ancient Egyptian rulers. They stood guard over the buried souls so the living could not disturb the dead's journey. In the LOST story line, "outsiders" like Widmore wanted to come to the island to disrupt the guardians and to take the island's power to their present. It is that grave robber dynamic that pushed the guardians, including Jacob, to recruit his own army of "followers" (including the 815 castaways) to defend the island against the likes of Widmore and his kind.

INCARNATE

Every major religion has a creation myth that has elements of gods creating human beings on Earth. Several religions also believe that once a person dies, their spirit will be reincarnated into another person (or form).

The ancient Egyptians had a complex view of reincarnation. Their belief system is founded on two gods coming to Earth to begat mankind. The subsequent Pharaohs were believed to be the reincarnated souls of those original gods. Since they were gods, Pharaohs ruled with impunity.

But the incarnate god was not reserved just for royalty. The Egyptians believed that when a person died, his "ba," the spirit associated with one's character and personality, leaves the body to find a new vessel in which to be reborn. The souls of the departed continue to return to new bodies for an infinite cycle.

There have been several research papers on the subject. Scientists interviewed various people from different parts of the globe who claimed to have remembered clear details of their past lives. Scientists then would take this information and try to independently verify the recalled facts. In several instances, researchers concluded that the interviewees remembered things that they could have not known (personal information, names of relatives, phone numbers, houses, etc) that were not accessible to them in the present time.

There has always been a puzzle when reproduction happens in people. When the egg and sperm fuse, historically it was said there is a "spark of life," some form of energy which gives rise to fertility to the newborn. Theorists think that spark of energy may be a soul that the fuels the rebirth of a spirit.

On the other extreme, in the realm of B-movie sci-fi, science knows of all the elements of a human body, its chemical composition and structure. In theory, what is missing from the base elements is a form of electrical current that makes the human organs (including brain) function. In Frankenstein, the mad scientist uses lightning bolts to jump start "life" in a corpse. This "re-animation" is different than reincarnation since the former tries to re-use the old vessel to bring back a person's life.

It is not as far fetched as one would assume since emergency room personnel routinely revive cardiac arrest patients with electric stimulation. But in the re-animation world, it is assumed that the brain functions as a storage device for all memories, personality, speech, etc like a turned off hard drive. Turning the brain back on would revive that person's personality.

But the Egyptian view would say no. The dead person's character and personality is not located in the brain but in the spirit (or soul) of the individual. And once the person dies, their soul leaves the body so re-animation will not work.

In the Egyptian dead scrolls, it is said that the deceased spirits have to journey through the underworld to be judged before being reborn. And since one spirit can be reborn more than once, the journey could be fraught with danger.

In LOST, the island could be a representative underworld where souls travel to begin their journey to the after life. This would explain why certain characters, Mikhail Bakunin, could apparently die over and over again on the island. It could also explain how Desmond survived the Swan station implosion to be found naked wandering around the jungle (symbolic "reborn.")

One of the story principles in the series was giving the characters "a second opportunity" in life. Reincarnation would be a means to give a person (especially a tortured soul like Locke) a new beginning, a new life.

THE CURSE OF THE PHARAOHS

The curse of the pharaohs refers to an ancient alleged curse believed by some to be cast upon any person who disturbs the tomb of an Egyptian person, especially a pharaoh or king. This curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, allegedly can cause bad luck, illness or death. Since the mid-20th century, many authors and documentaries have argued that the curse is real in the sense of being caused by scientifically explicable causes such as bacteria or radiation.

When a tomb is opened after hundreds of years, it contains dust and bacteria that have not seen the light of day. Those bacteria or dust can contain pathogens that modern man has no immunity form.

The Book of the Dead contained passages to ward off people from disturbing the tombs. Religious beliefs stated that those possessions in the deceased chambers were needed in the afterlife. Grave robbers knew that the rich were buried with vast treasures of gold, silver and gems.

The curse legend grew in the 1920s and 1930s when Howard Carter's archeology team uncovered the best tomb of all time, King Tut's. After excavating the tomb, several members of the team died mysterious deaths, one from a mosquito bite and one from blood poisoning.

For those who still seek a unified theory to LOST's mythology, the curse theory may be the one.

The island was filled with Egyptian references, including columns of hieroglyphs in the Temple to Jacob's textiles. And if you review LOST's elements as an allegory to ancient Egyptian rituals and practices, you can weave a good theory.

In order to protect a pharaoah's afterlife, he would have gathered loyal subjects, his priests, to make continuous offerings and to protect his tomb from raiders. These priests were powerful men in society. Many were viewed to have magical properties and direct contact with the gods.

When people do not understand what they see, they call it magic or supernatural.  The magicians can use unknown science, illusion or slight of hand to deceive, manipulate or shock people. Some people know that one way to control people is to create chaos, fear or expectation of death.

We have Jacob as the island guardian. He is the high priest of the island. The island contains a temple - - - and temples were created for the specific purpose of burial of powerful people.

The smoke monster could be viewed as the deadly dust that is the manifestation of the curse for those foreigners who came to the island to disturb the temple rites.

Why did Jacob allow people to come to his island? Just as in ancient times, a pharaoh, dead or alive, needed subjects to protect him and his remains. The Flight 815 survivors could be unwittingly recruits for the pharaoh's subjects. They were placed in the way of raiders such as Widmore's men who wanted to take control (and plunder) the island.

One can see that the smoke monster's deaths were not indiscriminate. It killed people like Eko because he did not believe in the island's religion. He was wrapped up in his brother's religion out of guilt. As such, Eko had no role in protecting the temple or the island. Eko was then expendable.

Likewise, converts like Locke were used to try to recruit loyal subjects to return to the island. When he failed, he was killed because he had no value to the island high priest.

The one concept that stood the test of the series was that the island had to be protected (from the unknown). That was the reason and excuse for all the conflicting behaviors and story lines. 

Just as in Egyptian mythology, the smoke monster may have evolved to rival the high priest - - - to overthrow him to create his new cult. That is why Flocke did not kill Widmore's men in mass; he used the alleged conflict between the sides in order to oust Jacob from his position of power. Flocke's background was one of science (MIB was into Roman culture and technology as a young man) while Jacob was schooled in the metaphysics of religious beliefs tied to the island's mysterious past. The theme of science vs. religion was common in the series. It seems that it was tested at various stages in time, from the military coming to the island to challenge the inhabitants to Dharma's uneasy truce with the natives. There were two different views of the island. One was to keep the religious tenets in place (Jacob). The other was to abandon the old ways (MIB) and abandon the island.

In some ways, the latter prevailed just like it did in Egypt. Egyptian cult religion or worship its pharaohs died off to be replaced with modern religions in a secular government structure (with intermittent civil wars and political upheaval.)

Just as modern archeology triumphed over the safeguards of tomb construction, LOST's major change was the loss of the island's long standing structure and purpose.

When it was said that the characters had to "let go" in order to be free, it could mean that they had to let go their own past personal principle structures (which commonly is called religious beliefs) in order to embrace their own free will and their thoughts on morality and mortality.

FOUND IN TRANSLATION

The Guardian (UK) reports that the old stories from ancient Egypt will get a modern translation.

Toby Wilkinson said he had decided to begin work on the anthology because there was a missing dimension in how ancient Egypt was viewed: “The life of the mind, as expressed in the written word.”

The written tradition lasted nearly 3,500 years and writing is found on almost every tomb and temple wall. Yet there had been a temptation to see it as “mere decoration”, he said, with museums often displaying papyri as artefacts rather than texts.

The public were missing out on a rich literary tradition, Wilkinson said. “What will surprise people are the insights behind the well-known facade of ancient Egypt, behind the image that everyone has of the pharaohs, Tutankhamun’s mask and the pyramids.”

Hieroglyphs were pictures but they conveyed concepts in as sophisticated a manner as Greek or Latin script, he said. Filled with metaphor and symbolism, they reveal life through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians. Tales of shipwreck and wonder, first-hand descriptions of battles and natural disasters, songs and satires make up the anthology, titled Writings from Ancient Egypt.

Penguin Classics, which is releasing the book on Wednesday, described it as a groundbreaking publication because “these writings have never before been published together in an accessible collection."

Wilkinson, a fellow of Clare College and author of other books on ancient Egypt, said some of the texts had not been translated for the best part of 100 years. “The English in which they are rendered – assuming they are in English – is very old-fashioned and impenetrable, and actually makes ancient Egypt seem an even more remote society,” he said.

There was a heavy ancient Egyptian theme in LOST. I spent many days trying to translate the set hieroglyphs to determine meaning of the show's plots and basic premise. I always thought there had to be a reason for such difficult detail of set design with the hieroglyphs to NOT mean something important in the show mythology.

The Book of the Dead was the text that stated the ancient belief system of what happened to a person when they died (their body and soul would separate and reunite after a journey through the underworld). But this new book will translate everyday life of the Egyptians: from stories, songs and writings of average farmers to give us a view of what this society was thinking and doing thousands of years ago. I suspect it will be a fascinating read.

12

In order to probe for more meaning in the Series, this post postulates working the Numbers in order to see if something falls from the creative tree.

The Numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.
The Numbers were the winning picks for Hurley's cursed lottery ticket.
The Numbers were the SOS signal that Hurley's mental patient friend heard in the Pacific.
The Numbers were assigned by Jacob to his candidates.
The Numbers were used to control the electromagnetic discharge.

One of the themes of the show was time. Time was an important plot and action device to move characters into twisting situations.

Time is best represented by a clock face.

If the Numbers were the first part of a code, then using clock face we can try to find hidden information. If we start at 4 then add 8 we get to 12 (circled). If we add the next Number, 15, and count through the dial we land, we land at 3 (circled). If we continue this addition around the clock we land on 6, 7 and 12 again.

If the Numbers now lead us to another set of numbers (as codes often do), what does 3, 6, 7 and 12 represent?

If we go to the lighthouse candidate dial, there begins some speculative answers.

The Number 3 does not appear in the records. Neither does Number 6 or 7. If we use this set to represent people, the first thing that came to mind was the island's first "known" family.  The Number 3 could represent "Crazy Mother." Numbers 6 and 7 could represent Jacob and his brother who were born on the island. Crazy Mother killed their Roman mother in order to have company and a successor for her island guardianship.

But then who is 12?

In the lighthouse dial, the name FOSTER appears, struck out.
There was no known character with the surname Foster in the series.
But since this code has 12 doubled in occurrences, 12 must have important significance.

The word "foster" means to encourage, promote, nourish. It comes from the English word for feed, nourish. It also has a reference to "bring up another" as in being a foster parent or guardian. In English surname ancestry, the name Foster means forester, or forest ranger, a person in charge of the hunting territories.

One can make the supposition that the Number 12 represents a guardian, and in the context of the island, the island's natural guardian. It is possible that Crazy Mother was the third successor island guardian, and Numbers 4 and 5 could have been Jacob's parents who were killed prior to assuming the office or title.

Foster does impact on Jacob's childhood. Crazy Mother was actually his foster mother, not his birth mother. She raised him to become the island's new guardian. This fostering for an orphan or an abandoned child is the centerpiece of Locke's back story.

In the episode, "Cabin Fever," Locke's story starts with his mother, Emily, going out to see that older man, Cooper. Against her mother's wishes, Emily storms out to meet her boyfriend, but she is struck by an automobile. She is rushed to the the rural hospital where it is found that she is pregnant. Against all odds and 1950s medical technology, her child, Locke,  is born premature. Witnessing the miracle baby from the observation window is Richard Alpert. Alpert would return to visit Locke as a child, giving him the object test to determine his character for island leadership. Locke apparently picks the wrong item, and Alpert leaves disappointed in Locke's choice.

By this time, Locke has bounced around between foster homes. In his current situation, his foster sister, Melissa, does not like him. She disrupts his board game pieces. Locke is very unhappy with his situation. But when his foster sister Jeannie dies, a golden retriever appears at the house then takes residence in Jeannie's room. Locke sees the dog as a person, the spirit of Jeannie. Once Jeannie's mother passes, the dog vanishes.

Dogs play important roles in modern society. Dogs show unconditional love, support and companionship to human beings. Dogs provide protection and comfort to people. Dogs help people, especially young children, caring, nourishment, responsibility and play.

Dogs are also powerful symbols.

Dog is a symbol for companion and guardian. In a positive light they are a symbol of loyal, faithful, honesty and willing to fight injustice.

The dog is seen as a powerful symbol of loyalty, intelligence and vigilance. As a descendant from the Asiatic Wolf man’s relationships with dogs goes back over 40,000 years and then it was the 11th sign of the Zodiac where it represented symbols both positive and negative.

In some ancient civilizations the Dog was a symbol of the underworld. In Egypt, the guardian of the dead was Anubis who was a dog-headed god. The jackal portrayed as black was the symbol of both death and regeneration.

The Dog’s quality made it associated to a guardian and therefore the protector of souls that entered the underworld. Its ability see well in the dark makes it a symbol of instinctive knowledge and the Greeks, North American Indians and Romans were said to associate Anubis with a star (Sirius) and called it a dog star.

Additionally, in ancient Mexico, the dog was buried with human sacrifice so that it could guide it to the hereafter while in ancient Scottish legend the green dog of the fairy world was believed to drive nursing mothers into the hills so as to provide milk for the fairy creatures.

It is important to connect the massive amount of ancient Egyptian symbolism in the LOST mythology.  Many believe that the time and resources to create these backgrounds, symbols and messages were important background clues to the island mysteries and the overall series premise.

And what did Crazy Mother tell Jacob about the light cave? It was the source for life, death, and re-birth. Anubis, the dog god of ancient Egypt was the symbol of death and regeneration (or rebirth). These stories fit perfectly like adjacent puzzle pieces.

The Number 12 must represent Anubis, as the guardian of life, death, the protector of souls, and the underworld's agent of regeneration in the after life. As the guardian of the underworld, this means that the island is a portal or intermediate stage along the journey from life, death and rebirth. That is why Crazy Mother and Jacob sought to protect it from outsiders like Widmore who had evil intentions.

As a way station between the living and the dead, it does not mean the main characters were "dead" on the island - - - they may have been caught between the two worlds. A person's candidacy to  immortality ends with their death; but to become the guardian, one needs to "accept their death" in order to be reborn. This could be what the series creators were asking in their big questions: what is life? what is death?

To assume such a powerful and important role, a viable candidate would need the compelling traits of a dog: loyalty, faithful, honest, willing to fight injustice, protect others, be vigilant, and nourish other people. The two successor guardians, Jack and Hurley, had those qualities.

The island guardians may be the gatekeepers, like the ferrymen on the River Styx, and not actually the heir to Anubis' throne. The island ordeals may have been the tests of who was worthy of the role of helping others in their journey to the next level of existence.

And this makes more sense when you realize that the last character "to awaken" to take the next step was Jack. On the island, he was the leader who rallied the survivors into a community. He continues to put himself behind the needs of other people. He helped, counseled, treated and risked his own life for them. In the sideways world, he was the last person in the church to realize what had happened to them. That they were now dead and ready for the next stage. His friends in the church greeted him warmly. Jack sat in the first pew, almost in a daze that "the most important people" in his life created the ending so they could stay together, forever.

And this parallels Jack's final moments on the island. For it is Walt's dog, Vincent, who comes from the jungle to lie next to Jack. Recall, it was Vincent who first awoke Jack after Flight 815 crashed on the island. It was Vincent's interaction with Jack that set Jack on the path to the beach, and into the chaos of helping all of the survivors - - -  without any judgment.

Some may doubt the importance of Vincent as a character. Vincent was in the jungle, he heard a whistle from Christian Shephard, who we would learn was the human manifestation of the smoke monster. We presume that there were two smoke monsters on the island: Jacob and MIB as being the two immortal beings. It called Vincent over and told him to go wake up "his son." That is not a true statement, unless you use it in the context of being a foster parent.  As Vincent ran off towards Jack to do this, Christian stated that Jack "had work to do." One could use those statements to indicate that this Christian form was in fact Jacob, who brought "his candidates" to the island to play a game with MIB.

But that opens the possibility that Vincent was the manifestation of MIB, taking the command from Jacob to start a "new" game. But there is a more plausible explanation - - - that Vincent was not MIB but a higher power in disguise. A higher power more important than Jacob, in a role that would not shine any light of suspicion or concern on the island hierarchy.

The final link in this decoding of the Numbers shows that Vincent is Anubis. Vincent found Jack in the bamboo clearing and led him to his flock of lost souls. In turn, it was Jack who guided the decisions for the survivors to find salvation. Vincent was present to observe all of the island tests. In a quiet way, Vincent also helped push the characters into finding clues or messages when he would "get lost" and search parties had to go and find him. It was in these searches that the characters began to bond which would be an important factor in facing the long journey and island trials. What better way to get people to do what they need to do by nudging them along instead of commanding them to so something?

And the symbolism of new numbers embodies the qualities of the family unit: mother, father, children. Parents are present to foster, nourish and develop their children into good human beings. Children are present to explore a new world, challenge it, learn about it, find their values and principles, to create purpose and understanding to their lives . . . . then repeat the process of creation.
 
Anubis creates new family units for the island over the eons on time. As society has developed from small tribes of hunter-gatherers into modern technology advanced families, Anubis recognizes and supports the concept of "foster" families to help lost souls find deep and meaningful relationships in life. And his foster families can include misfits, outcasts, cripples, criminals, the mentally weak, lonely and rebellious. . .  the main characters on the show.

AN ENDLESS BATTLE

One of the layers themes of LOST was akin to sibling rivalry.

We begin with the LOST mythology of using a waking eye. It is said to have symbolized an ancient Egyptian god.  The Eye of Horus was a powerful protective symbol, and represents the eye of the god Horus that was injured in a fight with the god of chaos, Set.  This battle was for control of the underworld from the god Osiris. 

Jacob and his brother were locked in a battle for the island. Jacob agreed to protect it, while his brother demanded to leave with the outsiders. But Crazy Mother said Jacob's brother could not leave. He killed her, then Jacob caused his brother's demise - - - and creating an eternal monster called The Man in Black, or a smoke monster. At some point there was a truce; and then a odd game between themselves using humans as pawns.

Then there was the battle of control over Dharma. Horus was challenged by Ben, who sided with the native Others. Ben used mass murder to overthrow Horus and eliminate any outsiders.

There were several rivalries around Jack. First, Jack had a rivalry between his father. His father's lack of interest or acceptance of Jack gnawed on his son. Second, Jack had a rivalry with Locke over the direction of the survivor's camp. Locke wanted to embrace the island. Jack wanted to find a means of leaving it. (The theme of mirroring as in the Jacob-MIB dynamic). Jack wanted the camp to move to the fresh water caves, but Sawyer, another rival, did not. And when Kate stayed on the beach with Sawyer, Jack had to suffer his first leadership defeat.

There were other personal battles. Desmond battled Widmore for Penny's affection. Hurley battled his own personal demons, including his "imaginary friend" Dave, for his own soul. Then there was Locke's rise to power in the Ben's Other's camp. The test was whether Locke could kill his father to become the leader. He could not, but since the Others had grown weary of Ben's tyranny, Alpert gave Locke a loophole to become king of the island.

So LOST could be viewed as a series of vignettes about two people butting heads. Stubbornness, anger, bruised egos, headstrong demands, illogical actions . . . . those were several key traits from the main characters draw out by the conflict between themselves.

AWAKENING

In ancient Egyptian mythology, when a person dies his or her body needed to be preserved so it could be reunited with the person's soul in the afterlife.

This ritual mummification has mysterious origins that archaeologists and scientists do not quite understand how a culture created such a complex death ritual.

In simple terms, when a person passes away their body "is at rest," but its spirit or soul, embarks on a journey through the underworld. There are many tests, dangers and judgments in this passage toward eternal paradise.

The disunion of the body and soul is the key element. Once the soul completes its journey, its body is resurrected in the after life to be joined back together again. This reconstruction apparently would incorporate all the deceased memories, personality, position and power had as a human being.

This ritual does have a parallel in the LOST universe.

It is hard to grapple with the fact that the characters were in the sideways world, but could not remember their past, especially their island time. If you look at the memory cycle of the main characters it was:

PRE-FLIGHT 815 . . . . . ISLAND CRASH . . . . . . .  SIDEWAYS WORLD AWAKENING

There are a few ways to comprehend this disconnect.

First, the characters were killed in the plane crash, but their "souls" continued to live on to journey through the underworld (the island) on their way to be reunited with their bodies in the sideways world (the awakening). It would then seem that the body and brain would contain the hardware in which to access the memories of the departed, especially those "unknown" or new ones of the soul's passage through the underworld.

Second, the characters were killed in the plane crash, but their "bodies" continued to live on in reincarnated form at a base level while their souls left this plane of existence to create the sideways world purgatory (limbo - - - waiting for their bodies to return). The ancient Egyptians respect for the dead body could be the answer here, since the body is the vessel for the soul. The "new" body could have the physical attributes to move in the plane of another dimension to be re-fused with the old body in the after life.

Third, the characters barely survived the crash but part of their spiritual being prematurely fled to the afterlife (and then had to create a second world, the sideways narrative, in order to provide a beacon for its full soul to find it.) The characters continue to live out their lives, both on and off the island, only coming to re-connect with their departed soul fragment after their death. But this does explain the delay in the reunification of the soul and body with the deep memories of the island time. The island experience is what brought the characters together.

One theory was that Eloise was suppressing the final unification of the body and spirits of the island friends so she could keep her son, Daniel, from awakening and realizing that she had killed him while he time traveled on the island. Only a strong emotional hit or jolt awakened the characters in the sideways world.

These elements do fit in the heavy Egyptian themes on the island but do not fully fit together in the sideways context.

KEY SYMBOL

This is an ancient Egyptian symbol that was found throughout the LOST series, including in the Temple where the original smoke monster hid and where the Others hid from it. The symbol, an ankh,  is called the Key of Life.

Originally, the Ankh was viewed as just meaning "life," but others believe it meant the creation of Life itself. In the context of LOST, the island was once called the place for life, death and rebirth which the latter two elements infer an afterlife then a new external life after death.

Many scholars believed that the Egyptians believed in a set of gods symbolized by various hybrid man-animal forms. But a newer approach believes that during the course of many different dynasties, modern interpretation clouded the real story of the ancient religions.

Inscriptions in the Hibis Temple shows that the Egyptians knew of one creator but acknowledge they had used several names and several stories but the one arose out of the primordial ocean.
Amun,  Atum,  Khepri, or Re were actually different names for a single god. This changes the view of the Egyptian culture and aligns it clearly with most modern religions.

Further, new theorists believe that the different names are merely elements of the god. The Ankh not only is a symbol of Life but the elements that create life. Wherever the Ankh is translated in Ancient Egypt Literature  it can be re-translated with the following insight:  The Ankh is the Life Code; The Egyptian’s so-called “Infinities or Chaos” Gods: Amen/Amenet, Nun/Nunet,Kuk,Kukhet, Heh/Hehet – the Ogdoad; The Meaning of Life is no longer just a flat definition but a multi-dimensional definition of the scientific and possibly spiritual definition of how life was created itself.

This is not that far off from some of LOST's formula themes, including the Valenzetti Equation which proposed the doom and destruction of mankind and the Numbers being symbolic of keeping the the island's electromagnetic properties in check in order to save mankind from destruction.

The new interpretation of the Ankh symbol representing 8 scientific and spiritual elements as the foundation of Life itself has merit to the understanding of the island symbolism. The island was not a normal island. It moved. It had supernatural and spiritual elements. It had unique properties. It had immortal beings and unusual smoke creators who could shape shift. It could recreate memories of people.

The Ankh takes the shape of a cross with a loop on top, resembling a key. In the ancient language of Egyptians, the ‘ankh’ meant ‘life.’ It is considered one of the earliest and most popular hieroglyphic symbols from ancient Egypt. It is said that the loop on the ankh symbolized the feminine or the womb, while the cross symbolized the masculine or the penis. When the two are put together, life is formed. Many believe that the Ankh is also a symbol for water and air, which are life-giving elements. Because of this, many water vessels were formed in the shape of an Ankh.

Used as an amulet, the Ankh was believed to be able to grant the wearer long life and health. Ancient Egyptians even put ankhs in tombs to give energy to the resurrected spirit. It is said that the symbol can even carry on its power to anyone within a certain proximity to it. As such, it is believed to be a conduit for life or power that stems from the universe. The Ankh can also be used as a strong protection against evil, decay and degeneration.

We can see various elements depicted: man + woman = life; water, air (life giving elements); health (immunities and spiritual energy); and power from the universe (nature).

But one modern theorist has a different formula which adds elements to science expressions:

 

This formula touches upon numerous LOST themes and elements. Some felt that the island was itself a wave, since it could travel through time and space (along with wormhole and event horizon applications). The dark and light theme was in the forefront of the Jacob-MIB plot. The separation of the light and dark creates an evolutionary train of events which some could consider the spiritual awakening of the soul to transform into an afterlife being.

Evolution was never a major theme in the series, but if truly the Big Question unanswered was "What if Life?" then one can think that since life itself is an evolutionary path (genetics, fertility, physical and mental traits) was LOST more a commentary on the current evolution of mankind? The main characters did have focal points on the sins of a modern industrial world. What was lacking in most of the series was a moral and spiritual link to a better life. It is a far stretch to try to get that lesson out of the conclusion of the show, but it is at least something new to think about.

BLACK & WHITE

It was a simple analogy: black and white.
It meant there are two things in the world: darkness and light.
It also means that the two represent many things, like good vs. evil; moral vs. immoral; trust vs. distrust; caring vs. apathy; friendship vs. enemy.

When you look at Locke's face above, you notice that he is scarred above and below his right eye. In Egyptian mythology, the Eye of Horus was a scar on the left eye of a sky god. In one story, Set and Horus fought over the throne after Osiris' death. Set gouged out Horus' left eye, which was restored by the magic of Thoth, the moon god. So the dark piece could be the moon and the light piece the sun, Ra, the most powerful god who had to traverse the dangerous underworld each night.

For the left eye of Horus represented "protection, royal power and good health."

But since it was a mirror image on Locke's face, would it represent the opposite?
"Insecurity, servitude and poor health."

In many ways, insecurity, servitude and poor health was Locke.  He was clearly insecure in his own self, his skill set, his dreams and his handling his own expectations. He thought of himself as a great man, but never had the drive to be his own boss or leader. He was boxed in various meaningless tasks like a clerk at a box company, or a pest control specialist. And his poor health, his disability, was direct result of mistrusting his con man father and his inability to defend himself.

In many ways, Locke was set up from the very beginning to be the series Fall Guy. He would never be the true leader. He would never have any true power over other people. And he would not live a happy or healthy life.  He embodied the dark fears of most people's subconscious. Even when things are going well, there is a hint of pending doom, despair or questioning in the back of one's mind. "This has to be too good to be true."  Self-doubt at times turns into real doubt on the road to failure.

It is ironic that Locke was trying to teach Walt, a young black child who had no mother and a stranger as a father, the symbolism of backgammon. Walt would wind up with a better fate than most island castaways: he would find some security with his grandmother, he would have a chance to control his own future, and he was in good health the last time Locke saw him. The time Locke could have tried to convince Walt to give up his new life and return to the island with him. But Locke did not even try to convince Walt to return to the island. It really was the clearest black and white decision Locke ever made in the show.

AMBIGUITY

One aspect of LOST left open to personal interpretation is whether Jacob was good and MIB was bad.

MIB seemed to represent the "dark," while Jacob the "light."  But the relationship between the two is more gray.

A key component of ancient Egyptian burial rights is the story of Set and his brother Osiris.

Set is portrayed as the usurper who killed and mutilated his own brother. Osiris' wife Isis reassembled Osiris' corpse and resurrected him long enough to conceive his son and heir Horus. Horus sought revenge upon Set, and the myths describe their conflicts. The death of Osiris and the battle between Horus and Set is a popular theme in Egyptian mythology.

In the temple, there is a painting of the smoke monster sitting across from Osiris, the god of the underworld. They look at each other on the same level, which may represent equality in the spirit world. 

In one interpretation, Jacob could be the Osiris character while MIB the boastful brother Set. In the island world, Osiris would have taken revenge on his brother as Jacob did with his brother. As a result, Set is transformed not into a sun god, but a smoke monster, to continue their underworld battle.

Another interpretation could be that Jacob is Horus, the nephew of Set, who set out to revenge his father's death. The crocodile statue of Tawaret represents fertility so the island can be considered a place of rebirth of Osiris. So it is possible that the smoke monster is a transformation of the underworld god (who can shape shift) while MIB is is also a disembodied spirit. Jacob, as Horus, the sun god, must be weary of the night in the underworld where he is most vulnerable. So the dynamic between Jacob and MIB is one of caution.

In either case, they are not purely evil or purely good.

WAKING UP DEAD

"He woke, and remembered dying." - Ken MacLeod, The Stone Canal.

That opening line has been considered one of the great starts to science fiction novel.

I have not read it, but the premise is an excellent leaping off point to a story.

In the case of LOST, the seminal Season One scene is Jack opening his eyes in the bamboo grove.
Some would now say, he woke up and did not remember dying in the plane crash.

Because the stated mechanism to "resolve" the series story lines was to "awaken" in the sideways world and "remember" you were dead, it could be logically concluded that Jack was dead on the island but he did not realize it.

Adding the Egyptian mythology sewn into the fabric of the show, that makes sense. Jack's soul ("the ba") would have passed to another dimension (the sideways) while his body and mind ("the ka")would have to journey through the underworld (the island) in order to be judged worthy of "reuniting" with his soul.

This simple premise makes the most sense in dealing with the polarizing, negative debates on what really happened in the series.

It also validates two different theories and beliefs.

The characters were "alive" on the island. Yes, they were alive on the island because they did not know they were dead. What happened on the island did happen to Jack's "ka," but only to part of his spiritual being in physical form. For all intensive purposes, Jack was living in a physical form.

The other part of the character's mortal being, the ba, were transported to what we would consider an afterlife realm, a forehell or purgatory, in which the souls are also "unaware" that they have lost connection with their physical, mortal, human body. These souls are continuing their former "lives" on memories in a spiritual form. The characters were in an illusion of physical beings; the reality was shown when Christian opened the church doors to show the reality of their realm was only white light.

The spiritual circuit can only re-connect when the character's island ka realizes that it is dead at the same time the character's ba realizes that it is also dead. Jack's moment of enlightenment happened at Christian's coffin, and his father replied that everyone has to die sometime.

THE LOST PHAROAH

One of the major aspects of the was the Temple. It was an Egyptian temple. It's importance seems to be immaterial to the overall LOST story line. But with so much work put into sets, hieroglyphs, and ancient custom, the island as a temple brings about a unique theory (or sub-story context).

Temples were bult for the pharaohs as their burial chambers. But under Egyptian death practices, the temple is not just a burial place, but a large complex to continually feed the king's spirit in the after life to make sure that his journey for under ground will be complete so he can join and become part of the Sun. In order to make this journey work, priests and servants would live in the temple complex, praying and making offerings to their dead king. Inside the temple, the king is buried with all the things he would need in the after life: food, clothes, gold, women, servants, spell books and preserved organs.

It was believed that a pharoah's body and soul would separate into two distinct entities. They would journey through the after life to be reunited in the heavens. But there was great danger, as the underworld gods would attempt to thwart the king's path.

The most important clue about this ritual is the hieroglyph under the temple wall which depicts the smoke monster sitting across from Anubis, the god of the underworld. This may mean something startling to the average LOST fan. Why would the smoke monster be sitting equal, eye to eye, with a god?

Because pharaohs were considered themselves as gods, children of the most important entity, Ra, the Sun god.

Because in order to control the people, a new pharaoh often sacked the old king's temple in order to "take" full command and loyalty of his subjects. But that was not always the case. In certain dynasties, the temples were controlled by loyalists who cared and protected the temple and its occupant. But since this ruling culture and customs lasted for thousands of years, many of the pharaohs and their tombs were lost literally in the sands of time.

Which brings us back to the LOST island.

The supposition is that the island contained immortal beings trying to control it from outsiders.

The island was the lost temple of an ancient king.

It is not unusual for king's to be lost in history. For example, recently  the remains of a previously unknown pharaoh who reigned more than 3,600 years ago have emerged from the desert sand at South Abydos in Sohag province, about 300 miles south of Cairo, the Egyptian antiquities ministry said.

The skeleton of Woseribre Senebkay, who appears to be one of the earliest kings of a forgotten Abydos Dynasty (1650–1600 B.C.) was found by a University of Pennsylvania expedition working with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. It rested in a four-chambered tomb amidst the fragmented debris of his coffin, funerary mask and canopic chest. Such chests were used to contain the organs of an individual.

Senebkay's tomb dates to about 1650 B.C., during Egypt's Second Intermediate Period, when central authority collapsed, giving rise to several small kingdoms. It was found close to a larger royal sarcophagus chamber, recently identified as belonging to king Sobekhotep (probably Sobekhotep I, ca. 1780 BC) of the 13th Dynasty.

"It's exciting to find not just the tomb of one previously unknown pharaoh, but the necropolis of an entire forgotten dynasty," said Josef Wegner, Egyptian Section Associate Curator of the Penn Museum, who led the University of Pennsylvania team.

Badly plundered by ancient tomb robbers, the tomb of Senebkay is modest in scale. It features a limestone burial chamber painted with images of the goddesses Nut, Nephthys, Selket, and Isis flanking Senebkay's canopic shrine.

Other texts in the tomb identify the pharaoh as the "king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Woseribre, the son of Re, Senebkay."

If the island was the transposed "lost" temple complex of a pharaoh trying to get into the after life, that makes some logical sense in the Jacob back story.  If the island was the temple, then the guardian is the high priest whose duty was to protect and nourish the dead king's spirit. The priest would need to have followers, a cult, to help maintain this balance. So when Jacob brought people to this island, he was using them as substitute  worshippers and offerings to the dead king.

And the smoke monster was the spirit of the disembodied pharaoh. Because of the time shifting island physics, the dead king's soul could not find its path through the underworld and became trapped on the island. It needed to reunite with its body in order to move on. So the idea that the island had to be protected was true only in the context that the people on it had to serve the purpose of getting the pharaoh to the light of the after life.

And it makes sense, since the first incident shows the historical conflict that would doom ancient Egypt. When the Romans conquered Egypt, that signaled the end of the pharaohs. On the island, the arrival of Claudia's Roman boat signaled the potential end of the pharaoh's temple. The last cult member, Crazy Mother, had to make sure the Romans did not destroy the island (temple) because the king's spirit still had a chance to live and reincarnate.

What caused the smoke monster to become mortal again was the fact that the 815 survivors broke the historical chain that bound the spirits to the island. It was the actions of the survivors that caused a chain reaction which killed off the temple priests (Jacob and Dogen), which lifted the metaphysical chains tying the pharaoh's spirit to the island. Once his cult leaders were gone, and the castaways personal sacrifices were made, the dead king's soul reunited with a human body which would allow his dream to come true: the ability to leave the island. But the way he had to leave was simple: he had to die. He had to get out of the darkness (the smoke monster form) and into the light (human form) in order to transcend into the heavens. For thousands of years, he tried to accomplish this, but the island's unique properties kept him at bay.

This was the theme the smoke monster told many of the castaways, including Locke, that they had to die in order to protect or serve the island (pharaoh). The collective spiritual energy of dead souls on the island helped the pharaoh get the critical mass to become one in the after life.

The island visitors were spiritual fuel to re-launch a lost pharaoh back into his time and place in the ancient Egyptian Pantheon.

HIDDEN MIRACLES

There are several important things captured in this image.

First, a pensive to surprised expression on Locke's face. He is looking down at his legs, which we would later learn were not functioning when he boarded Flight 815.

Second, he has facial scar above and below his right eye.

Third, he was ejected from the plane and landed on his back. Such a fall would be worse than the one from the building that caused his paralysis.

If time is not linear, but circular, then this moment in the series is a prime example of reliving the past in the present. But the one difference is that this fall from the sky reversed Locke's paralysis, which in most circles be a true miracle.

In the future, there was a deep theme of Egyptian mythology. Locke's scar could be a symbol of the connection to those stories. For example, Horus was an ancient sky god usually depicted as a falcon.
His right eye was associated with the sun god, Ra, the most important god. The eye symbol represents the marking around the eye of the falcon, including a teardrop marking sometimes found below the eye. The mirror image, or left eye, sometimes represented the moon and the god Djehuti, Thoth, a god the underworld.

In one myth, Horus and his brother, Set, are fighting for the throne after Osiris' death. Set gouges Horace's left eye. The majority of the eye was restored by another god magically, probably by Thoth. When the eye was restored, Horus offered it to Osiris in the hope of restoring his life. Hence, the eye of Horus was often used a symbol of sacrifice, healing, restoration and protection.

Sacrifice, healing, restoration and protection were all themes tied to Locke's character.

But the scar on Locke's face is on his right eye (the moon or underworld) and not his left (the sun). One could argue that this is reverse symbolism - - - that in the underworld non-sacrifice, infliction of pain, destruction and self-preservation are the goals. In fact, those reverse themes pair well with Sawyer's character, one of the few who got off the island alive.

For some reason, the island "healed" Locke to give him back the ability to walk and run. The purpose of this gift was to allow Locke to disrupt the groups he was associated with: first the survivors camp and then the Others. He did not restore order to these groups, but created conflict. He decided not to protect his friends or fellow castaways, but to protect the island for no apparent reason other than he saw its inner beauty. He took it upon himself to become a guardian of the island, which the island did not need for it had a powerful god named Jacob. So the island decided that Locke would be the anti-symbol of the myth of the eye of Horus.

Which means that the other survivor found waking up on his back in the jungle, Jack, would be symbolic of sun god, Ra. In Egyptian mythology, it was the sun god that took a dangerous, nightly journey through the underworld. If he was able to get through the perils and pitfalls of darkness, the sun would rise the next day. This captured the circle of life.

It was also a miracle that Jack was not severely injured when he fell to the ground. The island also gave him the miracle of life to begin his island journey. The camera focused on Jack's eye opening . . . . . . symbolic of the journey's beginning. Jack's first steps were to heal other injured passengers, to restore order in the group and protect them from the perils of the island, such as the Others attacks. It is questionable whether Jack sacrifices anything to the island (except his own life at the end of the series). As Locke's death was a small catalyst to get the Oceanic 6 back to the island, Jack's death on the island had no closing bargain. When his eye closed for the last time, the journey was over and if Jack was the symbol of the sun god, the sunrise would never happen again. The island would be no more.

When Locke arrives at the sideways church, he is in a wheelchair just as he was as he boarded Flight 815. But he is reminded that he does not need that wheelchair to enter the church. This may be the connection between the sideways world and the island plane crash. Some have argued that Locke's ability to walk on the island meant that he had died; and that Locke's inability to walk in the sideways world was his punishment for being unable to move on from the baggage he left behind during his mortal life. In both places, Locke was looking a miracle cure. But it seems only in death could he achieve that miracle.

NEW QUESTION

There is a new gnawing question that just popped into my head. It is like "Who is Buried in Grant's Tomb?"

Who is buried in the Temple?

It is a major question because under Egyptian death rituals, the Pharaohs built temples as part of a complex burial mythology. The island temple was filled with hieroglyphs, many with passages from the Book of the Dead, an ancient text on how a soul can manage the journey through the underworld to paradise.

Since the temple was built on the island with Egyptian mythology and construction, one must assume that an Egyptian demi-god had it built in his honor. In the tradition of the culture, the temple would have been built in the king's life time, and his priests would manage the ceremonies when the king died so that he would be guaranteed passage to the stars. The priests would break a part the body, organs into separate vessels, to be reunited in the after life. There would be offerings of gold, food, beer, servants and weapons that the king could use during his journey through the underworld as they believed that the soul took a human form in its path through the after life.

After death, the priests and their followers would be charged with maintaining the temple and praying for the soul of their departed leader. But over a long period of time, one could imagine that their ranks would thin and their time on the island would die out.

Egyptian culture was the first civilization. It predates the empires of Greece and Rome. As such, parts of it remain in today's current societal foundations. As such, since it goes back thousands of years, the temple on the island could be that of a "lost" Pharaoh. Some scholars believe that the ancient Egyptians did possess the engineering knowledge to create ocean faring boats to explore the seas. As such, a conquering king could have made it to the Pacific with a large crew of soldiers and servants. Once shipwrecked, he would have ordered a temple be built in order to fulfill his destiny.

In a series that loved its complex back stories (like Alpert's), this could have been a good one - - - and set a solid foundation for the LOST mythology. Given the detail in the temple sets, one would think that some one gave it a great deal of thought - - - a great deal of importance that was somehow itself lost in the story line as it went forward.

So who was buried in the temple? We will never know.

But what happened to the king? We can assume that his passage to the stars may have been interrupted, intercepted or thwarted by the mere fact that his temple was not in Egypt, and aligned to magical stars of Orion. If his temple was not properly "aligned with the stars," his soul (ba and ka) could never reunite in paradise, so in essence, his spirit would be trapped on the island.

A spirit trapped on the island seems to fit the profile of the smoke monster.  It wanted to leave the island to go "home," which could mean Egypt or even the after life paradise promised in the ancient texts. After thousands of years, the spirit would become angry, frustrated and desperate. The spirit would know how things should happen, and who should help him in this time (his priests and servants). But once they were gone, it had to wait for humans to shipwreck on the island in order to fashion a way out of its island limbo.

The spirit could have convinced many men or women that it was a god. It may have promised immortality and special favors such as power or wealth. Whether Crazy Mother was the final Egyptian follower of the Pharaoh or whether Alpert eyeshadow took on the markings of an ancient Egyptian priest, they seem resigned to their own fate to serve the island (spirit) in its quest to find a loophole in trap. Desperate, the spirit recruits more and more priests to his service, such as Jacob to find humans with the ability to cross time and space (realms) or Dogen to revitalize the reincarnation rituals inside the temple pool. Everything done on the island by modern man had the tangential goal of helping bridge the present with the after life.

The hieroglyphs in the frozen donkey wheel chamber indicated the words "travel" or "open Earth" gates. This is a possible portal to the after life which needed a human being (and its life force) to operate.  The smoke monster became frustrated with the humans who came to the island, as they turned corrupt and failed in their mission to worship him or help him escape Earth. The guardian of the island must be considered the High Priest of the Temple, who has the special knowledge of the ages, i.e. the after life. If one can control the power of life and death, that person could control the universe. And that is probably the true corruption that frustrated the spirit the most.

The real LOST story may be the island plight of the unknown, trapped Pharaoh spirit. For the most important and revealing quote in the show was from MIB to Jacob:

“They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.”
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

TIME AS LIGHT

Another fan theory from the later seasons dealt with trying to answer the question of what was the light in the secret cave that Jacob was protecting.

Fan Theory: The Light is Time.
The Egyptians partially blocked and channeled the light (i.e., time) and began to manipulate it. In fact it appears that the Egyptians installed some sort of valve device that could alter the flow of time, depending on how the cork was placed in the device time could be slowed, sped up, or even regulated to flow normally (as it was in the end of the End). The instant that the Egyptians manipulated time there was two serious side-effects. First, the past, was no longer just a memory. The past became an actual entity because now the past exists in more than just the mind, now the past actually exists in the real world because by manipulating time you are not allowing the past to be “let go” (by creating the ability to travel back to it). Ultimately the entire message of the show LOST was our struggle to let go of the past and not be consumed by it, yet LOST took this concept a step further and designed the show around our character’s battling their pasts in a very real way. In LOST the flash backs of our characters not only told the back story but also helped to define the monster which was a combination of all of their pasts and others that had come before them. Thus, the birth of the smoke monster was a side effect of the very first manipulation of time.

Therefore, the ancient Egyptians were the first to manipulate time, but in doing so they created the smoke monster which is really nothing more than a physical version of the past.

The light = time (the future, hope, etc.)
The smoke = the past (the exhaust of our lives)

The second side effect of the first instance of time travel was that the area around the source of light/time was no longer attached to it’s surroundings either geographically or in time. The entire area was “lifted” from it’s location and had become a “floating” island in time. Finding the island took more than just knowing geography but also took knowing how to determine where the island might be in time via reading other similar electromagnetic pockets of energy around the world. The ancient Egyptians secretly handed down the instructions for locating the island in time from generation to generation (eventually ending up in the hands of Eloise Hawking).

This is a more elaborate version of the "second chance" theories, wherein the main characters were brought to the island to have a "second chance" to redeem their inner fears, demons or mistakes. However, this theory postulates that the way one can re-live the past is to actually go back in the past.

The ability to harness the "power" of time would drive men like Widmore to do anything to get their hands on the island. By being able to control time, a person could be immortal, rich and powerful. One could move people around the globe like chess pieces to change past events to re-write the future.

The explanation that the ancient Egyptians found the source of time, as a tangible thing, tries to tie in the Egyptian materials shown throughout the series. The Egyptians were highly advanced in engineering, mathematics and astrology. Further, ancient people did not view time as a linear constant that modern mankind thinks of time today. The ancients thought time was cyclical, like the seasons.

The idea that the smoke monster was the creation of the first attempt to control time (by embodying the past in a cloud of smoke) appeals to the clues that how did the smoke monster manipulate itself by creating past memories for Jack (his father) or Kate (her horse)? The smoke monster was more than just the concentrated events of the past, since it could also manipulate matter to create human beings and interact with others in present.

If LOST was merely about letting go one's regrets, that seems to be an underwhelming lesson for the show. Because not all characters seem to redeem themselves or change their ways. It also does not fully explain why some characters died on the island after confronting their past regrets instead of living forward in the present (like Boone, who found out that Shannon no longer needed him and vice versa, was killed by falling off a cliff).

The light and dark themes could be time (present) and the past. It could also represent in Egyptian culture life (light) and death (darkness) for the Sun god, Ra, had a nightly journey through the underworld only to rise at the dawn of each new day.

Even those who may have understood the light being time, were not able to control it. Turning the FDW teleported a person backward in time to the North African desert. Eloise Hawking had trouble finding the island since it may have been moving in both time and space. If she could not control the island, who could?

ANCIENT CONCEPTS

Many ancient cultures had elaborate burial rituals, with some of the concepts unclear to modern archaeologists.

In ancient Egypt, there were burial manuals, Book of the Dead, which were supposed to help the deceased in his or her passage through the underworld in order to have their souls reunite with their body in paradise.

The scarab beetle was a significant symbol in that culture. It is known to roll large balls of dung and depositing them in deep burrows. The female beetle would lay its eggs inside the ball. When hatched, the larvae would consume the ball as a food source. When consumed, the young beetles would emerge from the burrow. At that time, the ancients believed they were "born."

The ancient Egyptians worshipped the beetles as "Khepera," associated with the creator god, Atum. Khepera was thought to use its antenna to symbolically push the setting sun along the sky, which was directly related to the passage from night (the underworld) to the day (rebirth).

Scarab amulets were often placed over the heart of the mummified deceased. These heart scarabs were supposed to be weighed against "the feather of truth" during the underworld's final judgment ritual. Many were inscribed with magic spells. At that ritual, a person's heart, if heavy with sin, would be weighed against a feather. If one's heart weighed less than a feather, the soul could move on to paradise. If not, the soul was damned to eternal nothingness.

The Egyptians took things that they saw in nature, used them as symbols to connect with their gods, in order to bridge the gap between this world and their god's paradise after death.

The concept of mummification is another key aspect of the burial rites. Just as with the scarab beetle, a body is encased and then buried in the ground. It was that procedure that would lead to a metamorphosis from an Earthly body to change into a spiritual one that could move on in the after life. Again, the ancients saw in nature a caterpillar spin a cocoon to seemingly die in a airless pouch, only to later emerge as a "new" being, a butterfly. This is what the Egyptians thought was going to happen to them after death: that their body would be transformed into a new being - - - the five aspects of the human soul reuniting with a new body in heaven.

We dwell on Egyptian mythology because LOST itself dwelled on Egyptian mythology a lot. This was an intentional choice by the creators and writers of the series to have hieroglyphs in the temple which contained passages from the Book of the Dead. One has to assume that so much time and effort in the background words and symbols was important to understand the series as a whole.

Whether the Island's main characters were going through an underworld journey or symbolically going through a metamorphosis of their soul, mind or personality, it really does not matter in this discussion. What the Island was trying to accomplish was to give each person an opportunity to have an introspective ritual for which that person could realize a fundamental change so that they could be "reborn" and live a better life (now or in the future). For some, the future was death itself. Others, it was the opportunity to live a better, more meaningful life, off the island.

Whether the LOST writers pulled off this complex symbolism to actual character development is debatable because of the conflicting narratives used throughout the series. But seen through the eyes of an ancient Egyptian priest, LOST does contain many ancient life and death concepts.

PYRAMIDS

The science community will always have debates about ancient history. One of the most diverse debate is how various ancient cultures from around the world created the same type of massive structures when they had no contact with each other.

Science researchers have found massive pyramid structures in Egypt, central China, Mexico and South America. Some archaeologists believe that these ancient people found that stepping back stones to form a pyramid would be the easiest way to make a large structure because its base is wider at the bottom. However, others point out that the same people did not make pyramid shaped houses, granaries or other basic structures (went more to a box form of walls.)

Then there is a debate about what the pyramids purpose was to those ancient civilizations. Most believe that these towering structures were used as astronomical observatories to align important cosmic events such as the solstice or equinox to the planting or harvesting cycles of the land. Many believe that these structures served as the centerpiece of community rituals, including religious ceremonies. Other historians believe that some of these structures were made to show the power and authority of the king against his own people and other tribal rivals. Pyramids were symbols of power, wealth, control and status.

In Egypt, the consensus is that the pyramids were used as tombs for the kings. However, no modern science expedition found any Pharoah remains inside the pyramid itself; the temple and burial complex usually was found around the main pyramid structure.

The pyramids are tied to ritual beliefs. Apparently the Pharaoh believed, like any commoner among his people, that every living body was inhabited by a double, or ka, which need not die with the breath; and that the ka would survive all the more completely if the flesh were preserved against hunger, violence and decay.

The pyramids of Egypt, by its height, its form and its position, sought stability as a means to traverse death; and except for its square corners it took the natural form that any homogeneous group of solids would take if allowed to fall unimpeded to the earth. The symbolic nature of the pyramid pointing to the sky, or aligned with the constellations, are clues to the ancient philosophies.

But most science teams cannot understand how these massive structures were built. Even today, with modern machinery and crane technologies, it would be very difficult for the 2013 construction crews to build a pyramid with such precision and in the time frame that the ancients completed their work. So the speculation is that the ancients had help or technology that we cannot comprehend. Pyramids are a lasting mystery hidden in plain site.

In LOST, we go into the walled temple structure with two outside court yards. We are taken into the magical pool inside the temple, where there are columns of Egyptian hieroglyphs which appear to be prayers to the underworld gods. But it is interesting to note, we never see an actual pyramid on the island. What happened to it? Or why was it not built?  The people brought to the island once built the massive Taweret statue that was destroyed with the Black Rock hurricane ship wreck.

If the pyramids were the "space ships" for the spiritual soul to go to the underworld or heavens, then that could explain why there was no pyramid on the island: it was not needed. The island was the destination. Except, that does not explain why modern men who did not share ancient Egyptian beliefs, would have this island was their destination, alive or dead.

THE JOURNEY

Some believe LOST was merely a journey by the various characters through the pitfalls of danger and friendship which led to a lasting impression to reunited in the afterlife.

Others believe that LOST symbolized the ancient religious journeys through the afterlife.

Thoth, the Ibis headed humanoid, was the guardian of the souls on their journey through the afterlife. Other cultures around the globe used bird-men to symbolize the passage from life on Earth to new life in the stars. Ancient cultures believed that the Earth had been visited by star children who gave them knowledge and spiritual rituals to guide them.

In both ancient Egypt and China, leaders of those civilizations were entombed with a massive amount of supplies and other people, such as wives, consorts, guards, soldiers, and servants. The reason was simple: the leaders needed to have people around his soul to help navigate the after life to find paradise. So they were buried with their closest staff members, along with food, weapons and important writings. They left behind cult priests who would pray for their leader's safe passage and appease the gods during his journey.

The statement "live together or die alone" is a modern take on this ancient ritual. In order to move along in the afterlife, a person needs to have "friends" to help him make it to the end. That is why most cultures revere their ancestors, whom they hope to meet in the afterlife to help them get to heaven.

LOST was never heavy on overt religious symbolism. Religion rituals and symbols may be an explanation of what the writers were trying to hide in the plain sight as their vision of what was really happening to the characters. They kept on saying the it was the journey that was the most important thing of the show. That could mean the wild ride of plot twists given the viewer, or the slow progression of angst, loss and perseverance that the characters had to show in order to move on with their lives.

THOTH

If the island had name, it would have been Thoth.

Thoth was an ancient Egyptian god-like being who was said to have represented knowledge, science, magic and guidance of souls through the passage in the underworld.

He was often depicted as a half-man, half Ibis. He often helped Ra, the Sun God, through his nightly passage through the underworld. The image of a winged god of knowledge is also found in other cultures, including ancient religions of Hindu, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were both numerous and varied. First, Thoth served as a mediating power, especially between the forces of good and evil, making sure neither had a decisive victory over the other. This aspect was particularly relevant in his arbitration of the conflict between  Set and Horus.  Likewise, Thoth's mediation role was also evident in his netherworldly alter ego A'an, the god of equilibrium, who monitored the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals and recorded the results in a celestial ledger.

Thoth was also understood to serve as the scribe of the gods, and was credited with the invention of writing and alphabets. As a result, he was also acknowledged as the progenitor of all works of science, religion, philosophy and magic. In the Hellenistic period, the Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, numerology, mathematics, geometry, surveying, medicine, botany,  theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory.  The Greeks further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.

Thoth was also characterized as a creator deity: the self-begotten and self-produced One. In this context, he was understood to be the master of both physical and moral law, both of which corresponded to the proper understanding and application of Ma'at.  As such, he was credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth, and everything in them, and to direct the motions of the heavenly bodies.

In this particular context of the Egyptian pantheon, Thoth's this-worldly and other-worldly power was almost unlimited, rivaling both Ra and Osiris.  

Thoth was also prominent in the Osiris myth, being of great aid to Isis. After Isis gathered together the pieces of Osiris' dismembered body, he gave her the words to resurrect him so she could be impregnated and bring forth Horus, named for his uncle. When Horus was slain, Thoth gave the formula to resurrect him as well.

Mythological accounts also assign him credit for the creation of the 365 day calendar. According to this tale, the sky goddess  Nut was cursed with barrenness by Shu, who declared that she would be unable to conceive during any of the months of the year. Coming to her aid, Thoth, the crafty god, discovered a loophole—since the lunar calendar year was only 360 days long, the addition of days that were not contained in any given month would circumvent the hex. Thus, Thoth gambled with Khonsu, the moon, for 1/72nd of its light (five days) and won. During these five days, the goddess conceived and gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, Nepthys, and (in some versions) Kheru-ur (Horus the Elder, Face of Heaven). For his exploits, Thoth was acknowledged as "Lord of Time."

All of Thoth's powers dovetail nicely into the various aspects of the elements of the island.  

Throughout the series, the conflicts between the forces of good and evil resulted with neither having a decisive victory over the other. The ideas of lists and missions and judgments follow Thoth's monitoring of  the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals on ledgers. The island was filled with themes of science, religion, philosophy and magic. It would appear that the island had certain unbroken "rules," as stated in the Jacob-MIB conflict which may represent Thoth's mastery of both physical and moral law. In his myths, there are great stories about being a guardian in the underworld and healer of infertility. Infertility and guardianship of the island were two prominent themes in the series. Also, Sayid's resurrection from the dead in the Temple waters was surrounded by columns of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs which were probably the formula for the ceremony and magic.

The island would best be described as Thoth or his domain. It is apparent that there may have been an unseen entity behind the curtain beyond Jacob or MIB.  With all his powers, Thoth seems to fit the bill as being the man behind such a supernatural curtain.

A BELIEF SYSTEM

The finality of LOST has one element that no one can dispute: death.

Everyone was dead in The End.

It is just a question of fact, metaphysical, spiritual or cosmic, when each character actually died.

But they all died.

Then one must ponder if that is the ultimate truth, that everyone dies, what was the show's belief system towards death?

In The End, all major religious symbols were contained in the stain glass. But the series as a whole had no deep moral, right or wrong, punishment for sins or crimes lessons. It had an atheist tone even though there were clear religious themes like faith versus science, etc.

There were three main religious philosophies that were in the series. First, there was a deep connection to the ancient Egyptians. The first great civilization had extremely detailed religious death rituals, embodied in the Book of the Dead and other tomb hieroglyphs. In order for a dead person to reach paradise in the afterlife, the deceased body and soul would be separated upon death. The dead would be reanimated in the underworld, where there would be numerous tests, dangers and conflicts. If at the time of judgment, one's heart weighed less than a feather, that person was fit to move on to the afterlife, to be reunited with its soul in paradise.

The ancient Greeks also had a similar view of the after life. In it, they believed that a dead person's soul would be re-established with speech and movement in the after life realm, where the person would be subject to punishment and purification. After this stage was completed, the dead person would be "reborn" in the realm of the gods.

Then there was the Buddhism-Hindu elements. Buddhism follows the basic Hindu doctrines of reincarnation and karma, as well as the notion that the ultimate goal of the religious life is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Buddha asserted that what keeps us bound to the death/rebirth process is desire, desire in the sense of wanting or craving anything in the world. Hence, the goal of getting off the endless wheel of reincarnation necessarily involves freeing oneself from desire.Nirvana   is the Buddhist term for liberation. Nirvana literally means extinction, and it refers to the extinction of all craving, an extinction that allows one to become liberated. Individuals do not possess eternal souls. Instead of eternal souls, individuals consist of a "bundle" of habits, memories, sensations, desires, and so forth, which together delude one into thinking that he or she consists of a stable, lasting self. Despite its transitory nature, this false self hangs together as a unit, and even reincarnates in body after body. In Buddhism, as well as in Hinduism, life in a corporeal body is viewed negatively, as the source of all suffering. Hence, the goal is to obtain release. In Buddhism, this means abandoning the false sense of self so that the bundle of memories and impulses disintegrates, leaving nothing to reincarnate and hence nothing to experience pain. It is imperative that the dying individual remain fully aware for as long as possible because the thoughts one has while passing over into death heavily influence the nature of both the after-death experience and, if one fails to achieve nirvana, the state of one's next incarnation.

The root of Hindu religious beliefs is that one should strive to connect one's self, the Atman, with the Godhead, the Brahman, which is the spiritual source of the material world. Hindus also believe in reincarnation, samsara, and that one is reborn into a station and particular set of circumstances in life depending on one's actions, karma, and duties, dharma, in the previous life.

The goal is join the Godhead and get off the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, which only leads to suffering, because of man's incessant and insatiable desires. In Hindu religious beliefs, there are four ways (yoga = path) of achieving this union:

Jnana Yoga: based on knowledge
Bhakti Yoga: based on service to God
Karma Yoga: based on work for God (ie, not for oneself)
Raja Yoga: based on psychophysical exercise.

In LOST, the light cave force was described as "life, death and rebirth," which parallels the Hindu principles of the after life. LOST was also a bundle of character memories being re-worked or re-ordered which follows a pattern of thought in Buddhism. The ancient Greeks felt that after death, punishment and purification was necessary in order for a soul to move on in the after life. Likewise, the ancient Egyptians believed that there had to be final judgment in order for one's body to be reunited with its soul.

Perhaps the problem with LOST was that it jumbled these religious tenets not create a unified belief system for the show, but only to add a layer of conceptual confusion to the show's premise.