Story of Ausar, Aset, and Heru
The story of Ausar, Aset, and Heru begins in Egypt.
Some of the great works of ancient Egyptian art and architectural influences have served as a blueprint for monuments in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. The construction of these great Washington D.C. monuments are based off the Egyptian story of Ausar, Aset, and Heru.
The Story of Ausar, Aset, and Heru
Ausar was an early leader of Kush, and genius who developed the written word, agriculture, and theology. Armed with this knowledge, Ausar left Kush to spread his teachings along the Nile Valley and around the world.
On his teaching travels, he met a beautiful Nubian woman named Auset, whom he married shortly thereafter. Auset remained in her homeland while her husband continued in his travels as a teacher. Ausar gained fame and admiration throughout Kemet as a unifier, a man of order and virtue, and an exemplary scholar.
This fame provoked the envy and hatred of his brother, Set. As Ausar traveled across Kemet unifying the wild and scattered tribes into the world’s first nation-state, his brother followed behind him like a harsh wind in an attempt to undo his brother's accomplishments.
Set stirred up animosity among those who had come under Ausar’s rule. “Who is he that you should listen to Ausar?” Set would proclaim. “Let each man do as he pleases! Lawlessness exploded across the region, and the order that Ausar brought to Kemet began to deteriorate. Nevertheless, Set was not satisfied with the chaos that he wrought – he wanted his brother dead.
Set followed behind Ausar, caught up to him, and murdered him while he slept. He dismembered Ausars body into 14 pieces and spread them across Kemet so that they could not be found. When Auset learned of the murder of her husband, she fled into hiding and then went searching for the missing parts of her husband’s body.
She found every piece, except for Ausars penis. It had been cast into the Nile and eaten by a crocodile. She cleaned each piece of her husband’s body, anointed it with oil, and wrapped him in linens. She grieved over her beloved, not only because he was murdered but because they hadn’t consummated their marriage – Auset was still a virgin.
The spirit of Ausar heard her cries and visited her in the night. Nine months later, Auset gave birth to Heru. Heru, endowed with the spirit of his father, was given the mission of defeating his wicked uncle Set and restoring order to his father’s kingdom on Earth as the rightful heir to a unified Kemet.
Heru grew up in hiding to prevent Set from discovering that Ausar had an anointed son, but all the while preached of his father’s kingdom and preparing his disciples for the day of battle. The battle between the forces of Set, in the North, against the forces of Heru, in the South, was apocalyptic.
Once the battle was over, instead of killing his uncle Set Heru bound him in chains and cast him into an abyss. At the moment of his victory, Heru was transformed into a falcon and was called up into heaven to stand before his father and give testament.
Ausar was well pleased, blessed him, and sent him back down to Earth to rule as the legitimate Pharaoh of a unified Kemet. Once Heru assumed his throne on Earth, Ausar was also able to be at rest and assumed his throne as the Lord of the Underworld.
To commemorate the victory of Heru, every temple and royal house carved a winged sun – the heru bedet – above its entrance. The heru bedet served as a reminder of the virtues of order and a warning against the dangers of greed and jealousy.