In archaic times The Raising of the Djed occurred at dawn. It was prefaced by the reenactment ofa mythic cosmological drama. The king himself opened the ceremony by honoring the four directions. Toward each of the cardinal points he shot an arrow from his bow as far as it would go and the spot where it landed was marked by a penant. As the Sun magestically rose above the desert horizon, the great Djed was slowly raised by ropes from a freshly dug furrow in the Earth. The ritual, pregnant with meaning, was officiated by the pharoah and royal family, under the auspices of the great Eqyptian pantheon of gods and goddesses, the prevailing Great Temple, its heirarchy of initiate priests, and attendant officials. Subjetcs pilgrimaged from all regions of Egypt to witness such a significant and important event: the regeneration of the known world. With its flying penants and colorful streamers, the ceremony was one of intense joy and celebration. Texts describe the Djed being raised to the resonant acoustic formulas of teams of sacred drummers and chanters. And initiates of the sacred science of sound are believed to have orchestrated cadence and sound into textures of form. Hypnotic rhythms of systrum and cymbal filled the air, and the percussive clapping of hands and beating of feet drew estatic faces toward the light and each other. When the Sun reached its zenith and the fluid symmetries of sound and light had opened up a sacred dimension, the Djed stood resplendent as a great beacon of transcendent power.
Although the recycling of old telegraph poles or the sacralising of a naturally downed tree into a Djed sculpture might be considered, it should be understood that the real Djed ( of which the gold-leafed wooden Djed pillar was but a symbol) was not an object but a force of nature-the polar axis itself. Ancient Djed raising techniques may have been similar to "raising the cone of power" in the wiccan tradition.
