The journey is in the photography, the experience is in the oils.

This is not a book with a box. It is a unified object — two pieces designed to live together or apart, connected by a single magnetic close. The Egypt Initiated Founder's Edition brings together the 444-page hardcover photobook and Egypt Anointed — a set of 7 sacred organic oils — in a hand-assembled slipcase that is itself a work of considered design.

The first run of the Founder's Edition is limited to 22 numbered copies — one for each day of the journey. Each is hand-signed by photographer and author Rena Andrews, and numbered. Your edition number is yours alone.

Each Founder's Edition includes a fine art print from the journey. Closer to shipping, you will be contacted to select the print you would like included with your edition.

The Slipcase — Designed with intention

The slipcase is wrapped in a dark, directionally brushed tungsten metallic material with a depth and texture that reads differently in every light. Embossed on the cover is a red Nile map — the river as root system, branching at the delta, flowing northward toward the Mediterranean. The Egypt Anointed oil case sits on top, connecting magnetically. Pull them apart and each object stands independently. Together they form a single unified collector's piece.

The magnetic connection was designed so the oils are always within reach as you move through the book — each section has its own oil, its own deity, its own meditation. The physical design makes that ritual possible. Display them together on your shelf, or keep the oil case by your side as you read.

The Book — Egypt Initiated (444 pages)

In 2022, photographer Rena Andrews traveled to Egypt as a student on a 22-day mystery school pilgrimage — one of 42 travelers moving through ancient temples along the Nile, from Abu Simbel near the Sudanese border to Alexandria in the north. As she prepared for the trip, she picked up a 35mm prime lens — just in case she wanted to use a real camera and not just her phone. What she returned with was not a record of monuments — it was a witnessing of what happens to people inside them.

The Nile — Spine of Egypt, Pathway of Initiation

The Nile is the spirit of Kemet, modern day Egypt — she nourishes the soil and replenishes the soul. To journey down her waters is to journey inward, connecting to your truest self — if you choose to listen.

In a land where Upper Egypt lies in the south and Lower Egypt in the north, the Nile flows northward until it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. What many don’t realize is that the Nile is not only Egypt’s lifeline — it is its spiritual backbone. Like the spine in the human body, the Nile runs through the centre of Egypt, dividing East from West, sustaining all life. And just as the spine is the pathway of the chakras, the Nile is the pathway of the fessous — the ancient Egyptian energy centers — each one anchored in a temple along its banks.

To travel the Nile is not a sightseeing journey. It is an initiatory one. Each temple is a threshold. Each crossing of the water, a passage deeper inward.

The Egyptian initiatory path opens at the Heart, because with an open heart we are receptive to all the other energy centers. From there we travel down to the Root and then up to the higher three, culminating at the Third Eye and Crown. Egypt Initiated follows that path — seven energy centers, seven temples, seven invitations to go deeper. Each section opens with Set the Stage — a guided meditation to be experienced with the corresponding oil before you turn the page. Then a temple card: the site in Arabic, its chakra symbol, its color, its oil. Then the photographs — full color and black and white — of the people, the light, the stone, and the land.

• 444 pages, large format hardcover
• Dust jacket: mirrored temple guardian cover photograph, taken at Abydos on day two
• Crimson ribbon bookmark
• Set the Stage guided meditations for all 7 energy centers
• Temple cards: Arabic name, chakra symbol, color, oil
• Introduction by Rena Andrews
• Foreword and sacred oils essay by Mohamed A. Aziz — Egyptologist, archaeologist, National Geographic–recognised expert in Egypt since 2009
• Published by Lalita

Why scent — the most powerful sense you haven't used yet

Of all the senses, smell is the only one with a direct pathway to the limbic system — the part of the brain that governs emotion and memory. It bypasses the rational mind entirely. A scent doesn't remind you of something. It takes you there.

The ancient Egyptians understood this. Oils were not decoration or perfume — they were technology. Before entering sacred space, before ritual, before communion with the divine, the body was anointed. Scent was used to shift awareness, to prepare the nervous system, to cross a threshold.

Egypt Anointed restores that practice for a modern reader. Each of the 7 oils corresponds to a chakra, a temple, and a Set the Stage meditation in the book. Before you enter each section, you apply the oil, breathe it in, and allow your body to arrive before your eyes do.

The result is not just reading about Egypt. It is remembering what Egypt felt like — or for those who have never been, experiencing for the first time what it feels like to stand inside a 3,000-year-old temple as the light shifts and the stone hums.

This is the full sensory initiation the book was designed for. The hardcover edition alone is the journey. This edition is the initiation.

Egypt Anointed — 7 Sacred Oils

Formulated by Mohamed A. Aziz from years of decoding ancient Egyptian recipes found on temple walls at Dendera, Edfu, and Philae, and from instruments preserved at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Each oil corresponds to a chakra, an Egyptian deity, an ancient oil name, and a Set the Stage meditation in the book.

Apply before entering each section. Breathe it in slowly. This is not perfume — it is preparation. The ancient Egyptians anointed before entering sacred space. This set restores that practice.

• Crown · Ra · Haat-Tjehenu · Blue Lotus, Juniper
• Third Eye · Horus · Haat-Ash · Sandalwood, Cedarwood
• Throat · Thoth · Tuat · Amber, Lavender
• Heart · Hathor · Nekhenem · Rose, Pine
• Solar Plexus · Sekhmet · Sefet · Jasmine, Resin
• Sacral · Isis · Heknw · Acacia, White Musk
• Root · Osiris · Sti-Hb · Amber, Pine

Oils individually valued at $55 each · full set value $350

About the oils

Each oil comes in a 5ml UV Miron glass bottle — lightproof and airtight to preserve the integrity of the oil and extend shelf life.

All oils are 100% organic, ethically sourced directly from Egypt, and blended with 10% organic sweet almond oil for safe skin application. They contain no chemical additions. The extracts are prepared through the ancient traditions of enfleurage and distillation — the same methods used in Egyptian sacred practice for thousands of years.

The recipes were decoded and recreated by Mohamed A. Aziz from ancient Egyptian formulas found on temple walls at Dendera, Edfu, and Philae, and from instruments preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Each oil is named after the Egyptian deity whose energy corresponds to that chakra.

To use: Apply 1–2 drops to the area of each chakra before entering that section of the book. Breathe in the fragrance slowly, with the intention to open and receive.

What's included

• Egypt Initiated hardcover first edition — hand-signed and numbered by Rena Andrews
• Hand-assembled slipcase in brushed tungsten metallic with embossed red Nile map
• Egypt Anointed: 7 sacred organic oils in custom magnetic case, interior lined in deep crimson
• Slipcase and oil case connect magnetically — display together or use independently
• Fine art print from the journey — you will be contacted closer to shipping to make your selection
• Numbered certificate of authenticity: your edition, 1 of 22 through 22 of 22

Edition details

• First run: 22 numbered copies only
• Once this run sells out, the features and pricing will not be the same
• Hand-signed and numbered by Rena Andrews
• Ships July 2026
• This is a pre-order. Your set ships on or around the launch date.
• Please note that as this is a pre-order, there may be minor refinements to packaging and materials between now and shipping. The design and contents will remain as shown.
• For questions: rena@lalita.com