Heka

Other Names:
Hike

(G/R Hike) - "Magical Speech" Heka is an abstract Name, embodying the concept that there is power in the spoken word - power which can be used for good or ill. While sometimes Heka is simply translated into English as "magic," Heka is more than a "magic word" or a "spell" - He is a lasting reminder of the responsibility to keep one's speech in accordance with Ma'at. Anyone who has spoken an unkind word can attest to the power speech has to change our lives; and Heka as embodied in the Ren, or name, is a personal force in Kemetic culture - to speak of a thing is to cause it to exist. Kemet's entire funerary industry may derive directly from this concept of "meaningful speech," as to continue to repeat a person's name was to render them immortal - so long as your name was known, you could not die. When depicted, Heka is shown standing in the prow of Ra's Boat of Millions of Years along with Hu (Authoritative Utterance/Command) and Sia (Perception).