The Original Name given by our Ancestors to the Form of the Creator was Neb Ptah, called Ra-Ptah (the "Opener-of-Light") when He called out the name of the Sun and brought It forth from non-existence. The Name Ptah means "The Opener", "to open", "to carve", "to sculpt", "to engrave", "to fashion", "to handle", "to form", "to make", and "to mold", and to our Ancestors He was the Fundamental and Supreme Manifestation of the Creative God-Force. Ra-Khopra, or Khopra, the "Creative Light", was the epithet bestowed upon God-the-Creator as He parted the darkness of Chaos and brought Himself into being. Ra was the Name of God when He dispelled the shadows of naught by extending His Force and Energies from one end of Chaos unto the other; and Ra is the Name of God when He mounts the Heavens as the glittering and omnipotent Face of the Sun. But, as the Physical Form of God-the-Creator, God, God-Head, God-Force Itself, His Name is Neb Ptah, the "Lord of Openings".

Indeed, the Creator has multitudes of Names and Forms, and was referred to by our Ancestors under a legion of epithets, but none are more ancient than the Name Ptah. In the Stories of Creation in the Nuhati Holy Book Djosar Ma Naha Nata we are told that God had named Himself Ra-Ptah-Greatest-Of-Manifestations when He called forth the names of all things in Creation, and brought them into existence:

"I am God, and at the beginning of all things, before there was time, Earth, or humankind, I did bring Myself into being, and cause the Essence of My Being to burn into the vastness of Chaos as Ra-Khopra! When I stood upon My High Place, the First Place, the Uwobyan Mound, I did speak the First Words of Creation and Existence, and I called My Form Ra-Ptah-Greatest-Of-Manifestations, the Lord of All Life! I did bring about breath within Myself, and did form the Words upon My Lips, and then spoke Them! I named the mass of the Sun, and brought It into being! I named the masses of planets and Cosmoses, and brought into existence the swirling gasses that would form the boundaries between Universes! I named the bodies of water that would fill the holes in the Earth, that would spring up from beneath the soil, that would fill the wells, that would cover the barren plains of the Created Lands! I named all manner of creeping creatures and soaring insects! I called them the children of the Sky, and gave them dominion over the Arch of Heaven! I gave the Earth to multitudes of creatures, great and small, who would take sovereignty over all the Earth until I placed the bosom of humankind upon It! I named the face of humankind, and made their forms unto My Own Image, for My Image had been brought into being by Myself, and It was perfection unto Myself! All manner of humankind did I name, and set down upon the Earth after a great period of years! I diversified their forms and complexions, as with their spoken words, giving them beauty in all mannerisms, which I named and caused to be diversified! I am God, the Supreme Force of Creation and life! None other is there like unto Myself, and none other is there with the Creative Power held by Myself Alone! There is no other Being like unto Myself, and there are no other Beings Who can hold the diversified Forms I hold within Myself Alone! Humankind as with other kind I have placed upon the Earth, by My Hand and by My Hand Alone! I am the Ultimate One and One of Ones, the Governor of the Nutjeru, Whom I did produce from Myself, and Who are Aspects of Myself Alone! To Earth are My Forms known, but not My One True Form! This shall be shown to them who live in righteousness, them who come to me after the Earthly life without a weight of wickedness upon their shoulders! I am the Creator of them and all others, but to them shall be revealed the One True Face of God Myself, that is not to be known by humankind who dwelleth upon the Earth! I am God!, the Great He-She!, the One and One of Ones!, the Supreme Creator in all Existence!, the Father and Mother over all things I have brought into being! I am Re-Ptah-Greatest-Of-Manifestations,Lord-the-Speaker-Who-Brings-All-Things-Into-Being!"

Here, God refers to Himself as Ra-Ptah-Greatest-Of-Manifestations, the Lord of All Life, and it is this Epithet that was used by our Ancestors when referring to Neb Ptah as the Principal Force of Creation.

Of course, the Theological Center of Ptah was Monnofra (Greek Memphis, modern Mit Rahina and Saqqara), the "Place of Established Beauty", which was, alongside Auwnnuw, the most ancient of cities in the Two Lands. There seems to have been some dispute amongst our Ancestors as to which of these two capitals had been instituted first. The priests and theologians of Neb Ptah, from the very beginning, claimed Monnofra as the Spiritual Center of the Earth, and as the oldest city in Khemet. But the Sages of Auwnnuw, Who studied and adored the Manifestations of the Creator Ra as Sun, insisted that the Creator had first come to Auwnnuw in His physical Form of Ra-Khopra and established It as His Divine Kingdom on Earth. It could be said that both cities are of equal antiquity, and most certainly of equal significance, but it is more than probable that Auwnnuw is the older city. Auwnnuw was named "The Gift" by the Creator, and we are told in the Stories of Creation that it was here that Ra-Atumuw-Greatest-Of-Manifestations ascended to the pinnacle of the Holy Uwobyan Stone as the Bennu Bird, and peered out over all the lands that He had brought into being.

But the theologians of Neb Ptah at Monnofra still maintained that their Sacred City contained the first structures to be consecrated by the Creator. They upheld the view that Ra-Atumuw had brought the Uwobyan Stone to Monnofra, and then constructed massive white walls on either side of It to mark the boundaries of the House of God On Earth. In fact, these walls were the famous landmarks that gave Monnofra its traditional name, Ineb-hedj , the "Place of the White Walls". Despite these ramifications (debated also by the priests of our Ancestors), there can be no doubt whatsoever that Monnofra was a Capital of tremendous importance to our Ancestors.

Aside from being called Inab-hadj, Monnofra was referred to under other meaningful epithets. Throughout most of its history, Monnofra was named Ankh-Tawy, the "Life of the Two Lands", and was considered to be an influential center for the arts and education. Here, the future theologians, priests, politicians, administrators, accountants, lawyers, and doctors were trained in the Hawat-Ma-Ankh, the "House of Life", and were given a cosmopolitan education. The finest Par-madjauws, "Houses of Knowledge", or libraries, were located at Monnofra, in which were kept the oldest and most valuable manuscripts in the nation, such as the Histories of the Nutjeru. The national workshops, where the royal craftsmen and their families labored and dwelt, were held in Monnofra. And the most ancient cemeteries and funerary monuments in the Two Lands were located on the outskirts of the city.

But the central idea behind the significance of Monnofra as one of the nation's capitals was that Neb Ptah Himself had chosen it as a working and dwelling place. Here He had come in His human Form, built the protective, fortress-like walls around His Palace, and developed the first foundry in Khemet. The Great Palace of Ptah was named Hawat-Ka-Ptah, the "Mansion of the Spirit-Essence of Ptah", which eventually became one of the names of Monnofra, and also the name from which the ancient Greeks drew their name for the Two Lands, AIGYPTOS, Egypt.

One of the earliest names bestowed upon Neb Ptah as the Creator of the Universe was Ptah-Ra, the "Opener of Light". At Auwnnuw, Ptah-Ra was venerated especially as the Creator of the Sun, which they often referred to as being the "Shining Face (or Soul) of Ptah". Along with producing the sphere of the Sun Itself, Ptah-Ra was held responsible for bringing into being all physical matter of the Universe. He did this by speaking the names of all things that would exist, and, by simply calling out their names and forms into the darkness of Chaos, He brought them into existence.

Other names and functions were deemed to be those of Ptah. He was called, for example, Ptah-Neb-Ankh, the "Opening-Lord-of-Life", and was regarded by many theologians to be the very Source of life in the Cosmos. At Auwnnuw it was held that Ptah had been the Initiator of time and cycle, and that by His Will the Sun arose at dawn and then set in the evening. Another of the ancient names of Ptah was Ptah-Hapi, He Who was the "Opener-of-the-Waters". Because it was taught in the Holy Books of Neb Ptah that Ptah had brought about the waters of Earth and Heaven, He was therefore held in conjunction with the River Hap, that yearly watered the Two Lands and brought nourishment and fertility to Them. In His Manifestation of Ptah-Hapi, Neb Ptah was, for that reason, considered to be a tremendous Force of regeneration. In certain texts we may find that Ptah is referred to as Ptah-Nut, the "Opener-of-the-Sky"; this alluding to the fact that it was Ptah Who brought the Sky into being and set it above the Earth and Atmosphere.

Along with these other names and epithets of the Creator Neb Ptah, there are two that especially display the high regard in which He was held by our ancient Ancestors. Ptah-Tatanen, "Opener-of-the-Primeval-Earth", is the most primitive name and Form of Ptah to have come down to us. Tatanen, the "Ancient Earth", was thought by our Ancestors to be the greatest Spirit or Energy of the Earth Father Geb. In the Nuhati Scriptures of Ptah, we see that Tatanen was considered to be the Sokham, or Divine Energy, of the Creator Ptah in His fleshly Form as Lord of the Earth:

"I came up from My Place in the Great Abyss of Nuw as Ptah-Masanti-Ma-Ankh (the "Opening-Sculptor-of-Life"), and from that Place I produced He-Geb-the-Father-Earth! I molded the soil with My Own Hands, and at this time I was Ptah-Khanummuw, the "Molder-of-Substance". Into the Earth I placed My Sokham, called Tatanen, that He might establish My Powers upon the great plains of the Earth! I did this so all lands would be blessed, and no piece of land would be barren of the Essence of Him Who Created It".

The priests of Auwnnuw regarded Ptah-Tatanen as the Father of All Seed and Creation, and instructed that the Spirit of Tatanen was produced from the Holy Uwobyan Mound from which the Cosmos was brought into being. At Abdju, the City held Sacred to the Lord of Resurrection and Fertility, Auwsar, Ptah-Tatanen was viewed alongside Auwsar as the Producer of generative soil and vegetation. The theologians of Abdju further believed that the first plot of farming land was indicated to the people of Khemet when Ptah-Tatanen, in human Form, masturbated, and spread His Divine Seed upon a mound of black soil. Their theologies maintained that from this mound arose the first tree of Creation, in which was held the Egg of the Bennu Bird.

Also named in the Sacred Texts of Ptah is Ptah-Khanummuw, "He Who Molds Substance". Ptah-Khanummuw is described in many Sacred Texts as being the actual Shaper of the diverse physical forms of the Universe. It was believed by our Ancestors that after speaking the names of all things that were to be Created, Ptah-Khanummuw worked the physical matter of these things into their recognizable forms. He was therefore venerated as the Manifestation of Ptah the Creator that, as a Divine Artist, sculpted existence into beautiful and functional shapes.

We have already seen how Neb Ptah was associated with Auwsar by certain theologians, and that is precisely why He was depicted wrapped in the shrouds of the deceased. As the Creator of Heaven and Earth, Ptah is also the Creator of a new body for the deceased upon their arrival at the Twelve Gates of Paradise. Our Ancestors believed that Neb Ptah would place the Spiritual Attributes of the deceased in His Divine Mold, and would then sculpt the Spirit and flesh of the deceased into something that was eternal. The dead man or woman would then be given the Breath of Life by the Creator as Shuw, and awakened to their eternal life as one of the Glorified Spirits of Heaven.

Ptah was also associated with the Divine Energy of Time, Cycle, and the movements of the constellations, called Sokar, Whom some religious texts declare as being the Aakhuw of Ptah. As Ptah-Sokar-Auwsar, the Creator would guide the Aakhuws of the deceased into the Heavens, where They would become Imperishable Stars, and burn for eternity as silver fires in the midnight Sky.

But it was as the Divine Artificer of the Cosmos that Neb Ptah was esteemed most by our Ancestors. In being the Creator, Fashioner, and Molder of all the Universe, Ptah was looked upon as the Master Artist and Craftsman. He was that Great Being that through His Love and Will to Create, and desire to fill the blackness of naught with beautiful forms, produced a countless number of material things, and brought forth the seed of humankind into existence. He should therefore be regarded as the Father of humankind, and as the Lord of the Cosmos.

The Feminine Principle of Ptah is Sokhamit, the contentious and fiery Manifestation of the Creator-As-Sun, with Whose Energy Ptah United, and produced the healing Energy of Nofra-Atumuw. It was believed by our Ancestors that the Prophet Amhotep was the physical Form of Nofra-Atumuw on Earth, and was therefore the Living Son of Neb Ptah.

In the time of our Ancestors, all engineers, metalworkers, carpenters, shipbuilders, masons, craftsmen, artists, and all others employed in handicrafts, revered Neb Ptah as their Divine Patron. Ptah was the Sculptor of the Earth, Stars, and Planets, and of all other forms in existence, and is likewise the Proprietor of any act that is based upon development or construction. In Scriptures of Neb Ptah contained in the Djosar Ma Naha Nata, the student can fathom the very essence of the Creative Act:

"It is I Who, being the Master Craftsman and Smelter of precious metals, Ptah-Nofra-Her ("Maker-of-the-Beautiful-Face"), called up the masses of Created forms from non-existence. I am the One of Created Forms, He Who places His hammer upon the anvil and, with His Hands, breathes life into the forms that should inhabit the Universe. With My Hands, and by My Heart and Tongue, I did bring out the Universe!, calling up the gasses from the blackness of naught, and causing them to converge together that there might be Universe and solid forms. This was done out of My Will, from the Inner Core of My Heart!, for I did not wish to remain inert upon the dark Ocean of Nuw! I am God!, the Lord of All Life!, the Producer of what has come into being and what has not come into being! My name was Ra-Khopra at the beginning of all things, and I stood upon My High Place with the Desire in My Bosom to Create, to bring achievement into the Void, light into the darkness of naught, movement where there was no movement! And upon My High Place, the Uwobyan that was brought up from the Primeval Waters by My Desire, I did bring about all these things, that there might be the vastness of Creation and Existence! From the Bosom of My Desire came the name and Form of humankind, who was constructed from My Hands, and fashioned to be in My Image; that Image that is without imperfection! Lo!, it had come about that I brought humankind into existence from My Tears, and from the soil of the Earth, which I had molded in My Hands and set amidst the swirling gasses of the Universe! I have placed humankind, the creatures, the children of My Tears, within existence as extensions of My Khat! They were broke from the Divine Mold of My Hands, and fashioned by the quickness of My Tongue, that they might be ones of Creation, even as I am the One of Creation Itself! In My Heart dwelleth the seed of all existence, coming about from My Being, and coming about from the being of humankind is the Will of Creation, which I have set within the heart and will of humankind because that is what I Will in My Heart! I am the Supreme Creator from nothingness, the Master Artist Who raised the Arch of Heaven above the Earth and brought life into the Cosmos! Humankind who were Created in My Image are ones of Creation, as I am the Divine Creator of the All! I am Neb-Ptah-Mesenti-em-Ankh (the "Lord-Opening-Sculptor-of-Life")!, the One and the One of Ones!, the Great He-She!, the Divine Father!, the Divine Mother!, the Lord of All Life!, the Creator of Creation!, the Producer of Fitted Forms!, the Ejaculator of the Seed of Existence!, the Supreme Will of the Universe!, the Ultimate Heart of the Cosmos!, the Heavenly Image Maker!, the Smelter of the metal from which all life is brought forth!, the Carver of the Sahu of man and woman!, the Raiser of Stars!, the Molder of Planets!, the Architect Who constructed Universe and Universes!, the One before all others, to Whom no other is likened! Before Myself there was nothing but naught, until I lifted Myself out from the Great Ocean of Chaos! There shall be none after Me, for I shall exist for a period of infinity and forever, beyond the measurement of cycle and time, beyond the understanding of humankind!"

From the Scriptures of Neb Ptah we learn that existence was brought about by God's Desire to Create, by His Yearning to fill the vast emptiness of Chaos with varied and beautiful forms. We learn that Creation Itself is an act of Divine Will, stemming from the Nucleus of the Supreme God-Force. Why does humankind exist? Why are we here? What purpose do we serve? In the Ptahian Tradition, these questions have very definite answers: we, humankind, are here to Create. We are extensions of the Creative God-Force, Who brought Itself into being in order to produce life, existence, and purpose. Because we are made in the Image of God, we are therefore Creators, producers, and constructors, just as God is the Ultimate High-Power of formation. We, like God, have the overpowering desire within us to Create that which has never been Created, and fill a void in the Creative cycle. This desire is the seed of all technology.

To those who follow the Faith of the Nutjeru, Neb Ptah embodies ALL Creativity, action, production, and accomplishment. He is artistry, and is the central Force behind anything that grows from the artistic mind. To the painter, the sculptor, the jewelry maker, and metalworker, Lord Ptah is Father and Divine Inspiration. For it is He Who guides the working artist, or the craftsman seeking perfection in design. He is all design and definition, and is the powerful Energy behind human progression.

In the time of our Ancestors, the great forges, and the places where metalworkers smelted the precious metals and pounded them, were called Het-Ptah, "Houses-of-the-Opener". The smelters and metalworkers themselves were often apt to take on the title of Ptah-Nofra-Har, the "Maker-of-the-Beautiful-Face", or Neb-Khotuw, "Lord-of-the-Flames"; these of coursebeing names under which Neb Ptah Himself was recognized. To these craftsmen, their work was an embodiment of the Creative Energies of Neb Ptah. It was believed by them that the moment when a molten metal was poured into its mold, the productive Spirit of Ptah the Artificer was released from the waves of sweltering heat. Their actions symbolically coincided with the moment of Creation, when the Creator arose from the opaque mold of Chaos as an omnipotent and burning Light, and gave shape to the Cosmos.

Our Ancestors identified Neb Ptah under a number of Forms. The greatest of These was the Hap Bull (called Apis by the Greeks; which was honored at Auwnnuw as an Incarnate Form of Ra, and at Abdju as a Guise of Auwsar), an Incarnation of the Creator as Ptah-Hapi.

"From under the Belly of Nut, from the clouds of the Breath of Shuw, came the Majesty of Him Who sculpted the forms of the Earth. He-Ptah-Creator-of-Creation descended from Pet as lightning, within ropes of fire, placing His Sokham within the vulva of a young cow. She conceived the perfect Form of Ptah within her vulva, and gave birth to Him as a fine black bull. He had been marked as the Sokham of Ptah,to carry the name and Forms of Ptah unto the Lands of Creation!"

It was a persistent belief amongst the Ptahian Priesthood that Neb Ptah had first presented Himself to humankind in the Form of the Hap Bull. The dwellers in Khemet during the Primeval Time saw the massive black bull rising up from the waters of the Hap, and immediately recognized Him by the markings upon His Body. It was the Nutjer-hom, the "Divine Prophet" of Ptah, who selected the Hap Bull from amongst the multitude of other Sacred Bulls kept in the temple precincts of the House of Ptah in Monnofra. It was held that the Hap Bull, the true Manifestation of Neb Ptah on Earth, would have a triangular patch of white fur on His forehead (a representation of the Sacred Uwobyan Stone), an eagle-shaped patch upon his back or haunches, two white hairs protruding from His tail, and a set of scarab-shaped, purple blotches upon His tongue. After the selection of the Hap Bull by the Nutjer-hem, the animal would be placed in its own palace, fed fresh vegetables and sweet grasses three times a day, and bathed in Holy Water and precious oils at night.

Upon Its death, the Hap Bull, being a physical Representation of the Creator on Earth, was given the most expensive form of Beautification available, and then laid to rest in a splendid sarcophagus of diorite in the Sacred Monmanatt (cemetery or necropolis) at Ka-Khemet. Today, the burial place of the Hap Bulls, a cavernous vault stretching more than 800 feet into the ground, is called the Serapeum of Saqqara. The ancient Greeks identified the Sacred Bulls resting there with a Manifestation of Auwsar they called Oriris-Apis, or Serapis; hence their name for the underground burial place of the bulls: the Serapeum.

Neb Ptah may be recognized chiefly in the art of our Ancestors as a Man Who is partly Beautified, having His Head and Hands exposed, His Hands bearing the Staff or Scepter of Creation, an animal-headed implement called the Uwas, which is topped by the Djad Column or Backbone of the Lord Auwsar. His Head is most always depicted covered by the tight blue skull-cap of the artisan or metalworker, and from His Chin extends a short black beard. As Ptah-Auwsar He is portrayed with green skin, signifying Creativity and fertility, carrying the Hakha (Shepherd's Crook) and Nakhakha (Flabellum or Flail) Scepters, and as Ptah-Sokar-Auwsar His Body is shown wrapped in the wings of a falcon, His Head surmounted by the double plumes of the Dual Principles of Creation and destruction, and Activity and inertness. Sometimes He is pictured United with the Energies of the Sun Ra, as Ptah-Ra, and in this Guise He carries the Face or Disk of the Sun upon His Head, which is guarded by the Aakhuwt Serpent, the Essence of Ra.