Djehuty (Thoth)

I found myself sitting upright on a table. I was in a semi-permanent camp. The roof was made of heavy green canvas, and the table was the folding type. My friend stood in front of me. He was wearing a neat white shirt, black rimmed glasses, and had short black hair. I realized that I was dreaming.

I looked him in the face. Overwhelmed by homesickness, I told him, “I don’t want to go back.” Without moving a muscle, he helped me focus and become more centered in the dream. He calmly suggested that he could take my place. I asked him why he’d want to do that, the people were nuts there. I stood up from the table and kissed him on the cheek. More of a greeting among old friends than anything sensual.

He took me outside to a swampy forest. The trees were thin and scraggly but provided good shade. There were fish swimming in the water, a cross between goldfish and koi.

“These are wisdom,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I asked. I watched one fish, with part of its tail missing, struggling sideways in water that was too shallow. It didn’t look very wise to me. It ducked down into a tunnel in the rocks and came back out in deeper water. As we walked up the bank, my foot squelched in the swampy mud.

We walked a little way, and without words we talked about how what we saw was just a translation of the real thing. After all, you couldn’t really see the ones and zeroes. He told me that he saw hickory trees and books.

The next day, I realized who my nerdy-looking friend was. It was Djehuty, AKA Thoth. I wanted to write about him, but I wasn’t sure what to say. A dry recitation of his attributes would not convey what I felt about him. To most people, he is Thoth, god of writing. If you’re lucky, they might hit the physician aspect too. Then I remembered that dream. He felt like my oldest friend in the world. His offer to take my burden was genuine, though I’m sure he also knew my stubbornness would have me refuse. I guess if I ever stop being stubborn, than it really is time for him to step in.

He sees wisdom in the struggles and experiences of simple creatures. It doesn’t matter if you’re a goldfish, an insect, or a human. There is a deep knowledge in the things we take for granted. Like that fish with part of its tail missing, sometimes the greater struggle brings greater wisdom. Even that one? “Especially that one,” he’d say. Every life is a rich and complex tale in vivid panoramic HD. He records those tales because he finds them fascinating.