Kemetic Polytheism – Page 2

Kemetic Bright Moon 10/20

This full moon, as I have done on most full moons since I began my service to Bast and Sekhmet, I performed my usual ritual, and asked them for an omen to convey to my community. Here is what I received:

Many of you have had a difficult start to the season. But time flows on; do not dwell too much on the past. Look to the future when you will burn more brightly: firm and resolute in your bearing, sure of your path, and of what work you do.

Sekhmet and Bast then each spoke separately.

Sekhmet said:

I will lend you my strength and fierceness!

Bast said:

I will lend you my charm and my guile!

They then continued together, in unison, as is their usual manner when I ask for the omen:

Even when you flicker with doubts, you are a pillar of light for your community. Even when unsteady, a candle flame lights the way through the darkness.

The next full moon is November 19th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for November, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Image in the thumbnail is a stock photo (provided through Squarespace) of the sky seen through the pillars of a ruin of an Ancient Egyptian temple.

Kemetic Bright Moon 9/20

This time, when I did my Bright Moon ritual, I was also granted a vision of a temple, within which I performed my ceremony as I also performed it here. There was a chair for me, in front of two huge statues of Bast and Sekhmet, seated on thrones, and perhaps twenty feet high. I do not know if it was a temple that used to exist, or an astral one, or just a very vivid image, but in any case it was awe-inspiring. This is the message they told me to share.

If you have been struggling, take a moment to commune with Bast and Sekhmet. Let them ground you; rest against them for a while. If you have been attempting to create lasting change and have recently finally begun to see progress, do not be disheartened that it is not as much change as you had hoped for. It is coming still, you must keep working to see the full results of your labors. If you have been resisting change, stop resisting – it will bring you positive benefits. Follow the wind, and seek your fortune. Discernment will be important, however, to tell the worthwhile risks from those that will end poorly. Sharpen your intuition, and cut away the illusions. In this time of transitions, some upheaval will be required to purge the pollution from the soil so that you may sow new crops. Release what is holding you back, build something that will help you move forward.

The next full moon is October 20th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for October, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Wep Ronpet: the Kemetic New Year

I usually do a follow-along cycle on the tumblr e-shrine, but I thought this year I might aggregate all my prayers and images into one large recap post. I meant to do it earlier this month, but it kind of got away from me, and then I was at a funeral last weekend, so I skipped this past Bright Moon, and I’m finally posting this, instead.

Birth of Wesir

(Osiris)

Blessing from Wesir

Birth of Heru-Wer

(Horus the Elder)

Blessing from Heru-Wer

Birth of Set

Blessing from Set

Birth of Aset

(Isis)

Blessing from Aset

Birth of Nebthet

(Nephthys)

Blessing from Nebthet

Rising of Sopdet

(The Star Sirius)

Omen for the New Year

For each of the five Epagomenal Days, the intercalary period of the Ancient Egyptian calendar, I queued an image that served as a votive offering, and captioned it with an original prayer. I have also written an original prayer to Sopdet, a prayer for a Wep Ronpet execration rite, and a prayer to all the Netjeru for the Wep Ronpet celebration.

The morning prayers all follow the same format, and I’ve copied them below. I’ve also added this year’s blessing omens, which were drawn from the tarot cards included in the slideshow to the left.

Feel free to use these prayers in your own practice, or use them for inspiration to write your own. Please refrain from using them commercially, however, and contact me to ask before using them in a group ritual. I’ll probably give permission if you’re willing to credit me!

Morning Prayer to Wesir (Osiris):

DUA WESIR!
First born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Eldest-Born, we salute you!
Brilliant One, we rejoice in you!
Lord of Eternity, we honor you!
You Whose Places are Mysterious, we extol you!
Wesir, Bless us.

Blessing from Wesir:

He offers guidance in the ways of emotional balance and maturity, and he offers his superlative assistance, that our harvests may be abundant.

Morning Prayer to Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder):

DUA HERU-WER!
Second born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Great One of Speckled Plumage, we salute you!
Wings of Protection, we rejoice in you!
Lord of Terror, we honor you!
Mighty Falcon, we extol you!
Heru-Wer, Bless us.

Blessing from Heru-Wer:

He offers his help in all our struggles, that we may find respite from them.

Morning Prayer to Set:

DUA SET!
Third born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Overthrower of A/p/e/p, we salute you!
Red Haired One, we rejoice in you!
Lord of the Storm, we honor you!
You Who Are in the Heart of the Northern Sky, we extol you!
Set, Bless us.

Blessing from Set:

He blesses us with the ability to turn chaos and competition into a powerful force for positive change.

Morning Prayer to Aset (Isis):

DUA ASET!
Fourth born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Giver of Life, we salute you!
Great Lady of Magic, we rejoice in you!
Mistress of the Stars, we honor you!
Fiercely Bright One, we extol you!
Aset, Bless us.

Blessing from Aset:

She offers a portion of divine inspiration, and her guidance along the path of wisdom and magic, for those who seek understanding of the sacred mysteries.

Morning Prayer to Nebthet (Nephthys):

DUA NEBTHET!
Fifth born of Nut and Geb, we celebrate your birth today.
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Lady of Dawn and Dusk, we salute you!
Mistress of Renewal, we rejoice in you!
Averter of Evil, we honor you!
Friend of the Dead, we extol you!
Nebthet, Bless us.

Blessing from Nebthet:

She offers advice encouraging us to be strategic in how we engage with our obstacles, and she offers to help make luck be on our side.

Execration Inscription:

(to be inscribed on something red along with a drawing of A/p/e/p and ritually destroyed)
Obstructing, Obnoxious, Objectionable, Obfuscating, Obscuring, Obscene, Obtrusive, Obligating, Obstinate OBSTACLES!

Prayer for the Heliacal Rising of Sopdet (The Star Sirius):

DUA SOPDET!
Today you rise before the sun, ushering in the new year!
We give you offerings of bread, beer, cool water, sweet scented oils, and praise!
Harbinger of the Nile Flood, we salute you!
Bringer of the New Year, we rejoice in you!

Wep Ronpet Prayer to All the Netjeru:

Great Ones, we salute you!
Bright Shining Ones, we rejoice in you!
Mightiest Ones, we honor you!
Most Powerful Ones, we extol you!

Lords and Ladies of the Heavens,
Netjeru of all Places and Delights,
Today is your feast day,
Today we give you praise,
for a new year is dawning!

You who protect us from isfet,
You who perpetuate ma’at,
We offer you the best of our feast,
And we revel in your names!
As we share our gifts,
We ask you to gift us your blessings!

Omen for the New Year:

Things may seem obscured and uncertain now, but they are coming to a resolution faster than it appears. All cycles end; all things change in their time. Turn your attention to new opportunities. The natural order of ma’at will return.

Kemetic Bright Moon 7/23

This is the last full moon before the festival of Wep Ronpet, the Kemetic new year, timed locally by the heliacal rising of the star Sirius over Washington, DC. So the message this time was somewhat about that.

As you prepare for the return of Sopdet, the star that heralds the flooding of the Nile, as you prepare for your celebration of Wep Ronpet, you also must examine your inner tides. Are you aware of the flow of your own emotions, or have you distanced yourself from them? If there is too much distance, you will lose the ability to feel joy as well, and will not be able to truly give yourself over to the New Year’s celebrations. So be brave for the moment, and let yourself feel deeply: the good and the bad.

So – Wep Ronpet! By my calculations for DC (and thus for the local area, or potentially for anyone living in the USA who wants to use the capital city’s date), Sopdet, the star Sirius, will be visible before sunrise on August 9th this year. Working backwards, that gives us the following timeline for the Epagomenal Days:

Timeline:
- Aug 4th: Birth of Wesir (Osiris)
- Aug 5th: Birth of Heru-Wer (Horus the Elder)
- Aug 6th: Birth of Set
- Aug 7th: Birth of Aset (Isis)
- Aug 8th: Birth of Nebthet (Nephthys)
- Aug 9th: Wep Ronpet!

I’ll be reblogging my usual votive images and prayers on the Tumblr E-Shrine, so you can follow along there. And I’ll be doing my yearly execration in the evening on August 8th, the night before Wep Ronpet, so if you have anything you’d like to request me to ritually destroy for you, let me know in an email please and I’ll add it to mine. I’ll probably write up a blog about the execration and my Wep Ronpet celebration, but if I manage to launch my new website and blog it will be on that one (though I’ll be sure to leave a link on this one so you can find it! I have a new prayer I’ll be sharing, too.

The next full moon is August 22nd. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for August, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 6/24

June 24, 2021
by Alexandra

Earlier today, I did my usual Bright Moon Ritual to Bast and Sekhmet, and this is the message they gave me, to share with my community:

Many of you are standing at a precipice: take care how you fall. If you stand there, you will fall, for there is no longer a way to stay where you are. But you can choose how far and how painful an experience your fall is. You may be tempted to prepare a swansong and leave your destination to chance, but this is a beginning as well as an ending. Those of you who feel isolated may find compatriots where you land. Be more proactive than reactive — be careful what you reflect. Contribute to illumination, not misapprehension and obscurity. Grief swirls around each of you, and if you get caught in an eddy of that grief, you must learn to steer your emotions — do not let them control you. Move like water, and dance like flame: not all feelings can be processed in stillness and silence. Your struggles are the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm, and the doubts you have for yourself are also doubts for the victories of ma’at. Isfet is persistent, and the war is ongoing: we fight at night so that you may enjoy the day. Stand in the sun — let us warm you.

The next full moon is July 23rd, and after that we’ll be heading into the Epagomenal Days at the beginning of August. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for July, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 5/26

May 27, 2021
by Alexandra

I returned to my full ritual this month, though I was careful not to do it during the eclipse, as those energies don’t align well (and besides, I had other work to do then). The message this month builds on the one from last month, so if you don’t remember you may want to glance at that one again here.

As you emerge from isolation, do not rush too quickly back into so much busyness that you find yourself burning faster than a lamp wick. That will lead you to burnout faster again than before. Burning so quickly only leaves more ash. Ease in slowly to new social arenas, let the scent of the oil in your lamp rise and fill your atmosphere. Emerge slowly from your solitude, scented and captivating, to meet with those who will best fill your life, and to do what will best bring you contentment. Although others may rush, you shall not. Be steady as the Apis Bull; do not join the stampede. Let their chaotic energy pass you by, and leave you unaffected in your bliss, as you begin to enjoy the things you have missed. Their eddies make pretty trails to look at, but bad paths to follow. Stay on your own road, where we walk beside you.

The bit about the Apis Bull was unexpected, but the imagery and message were clear. It does make me wonder if there was a proverb of sorts about its steadyness. Hopefully this message reaches those who need to hear it most. I’ll be back next full moon with another message, but the summer is here, and I’m beginning to think about Wep Ronpet (Aug 9th in DC this year!)

The next full moon is June 24th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for June, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 4/26

I was not well enough this past weekend to do my full ritual, so this month I did an abbreviated ritual, and have received a shorter message.

When I spoke with them, Bast and Sekhmet stressed that this was not a good month to start new things: new travel plans, new ventures, or new gatherings. This is a period of careful transition, not a time for leaps of faith, or of reckless return to old patterns, as though the past year had not happened. We can’t go back to exactly the way things were before – we need to plan a new way forward.

So: plan carefully, friends. Try to smooth the transition, and look where your foot will fall before you commit to stepping forward.

The next full moon is May 26th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for May, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 3/28

This month I again sought an omen for my community, from Bast and Sekhmet, Eyes of Ra, on the occasion of the full moon. Their message follows:

You are besieged by worries, fears, bewilderment and anguish – they swirl around you, like incense smoke in the breeze. Ask for our help, and we will send a strong breeze. Ask for our help and we will blow those anxieties away! Our powers are for more than just spiritual problems. As in days of old, we have sway in worldly matters, as well. We can bless your material prospects, we can protect the path you tread. We wish to uplift you, to see you burn fiercely! Our power rises with the sun, and as the earth warms, we grow in might. Draw on our strength, when yours falters. Draw on our courage when yours fails. Let our fire burn through you, and destroy that which binds you.

It’s a good reminder, I think! And a hopeful message as we move into spring (and eventually, summer!)

The next full moon is April 26th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for April, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 2/27

March 1, 2021
by Alexandra

After a few months where I was too ill to properly do the oracular ritual, I spent extra time with my Eye Goddesses this month, copying prayers I had previously written into the new book that will house all my ritual material. The omen they gave me is very positive:

This moon cycle, let us fill you with joy and nourishment, as the sun returns to awaken and nourish the plants. This is a time of renewal, a time to celebrate abundance, and to make way for new things. It has been a hard year, but do not notice only the bad. Celebrate those things which went well! Celebrate what you accomplished! And plan for even better things to come. Join us, chewing onions and cucumbers, and be awash with the light of the Sun!

The message this time is also confirmation for an upcoming event in my religious calendar: The Feast of Ra and His Eyes, IV Peret 1-5. (Various sources will give various days, but I’d drawn a few together for this one, into something cohesive, which would make sense for a temple to both Bast and Sekhmet.) My celebration is as follows:

IV Peret 1 (March 7): Feast of RA, and the Presentation of the Boat
IV Peret 2-4 (March 8-10): Sailing Procession
IV Peret 5 (March 11): Feast of the Eyes!
- Chewing Onions for Bast
- Chewing Cucumbers for Sekhmet

You’re welcome to join me in celebrating this way, or devising your own celebration, but at the very least make time to notice the return of the light! (In the Northern Hemisphere, at least – sorry to any folks from the Southern Hemisphere, but you may need to devise your own religious calendar!) I will hopefully be sharing pictures of my shrine during the celebration, on the shrine tumblr.

The next full moon is March 28th. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for March, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

Kemetic Bright Moon 12/29

December 31, 2020
by Alexandra

This month, my Bright Moon Ritual first began with the celebration of the return of Bast and Sekhmet, as the second half of the Wandering Eye Holiday, She Is Led Back. I wrote a prayer after last month for the first half, The Eye Wanders, and you can see that Lamentation, and the accompanying Exultation for their return on my tumblr e-shrine.

After the rejoicing at their return, I did my usual ritual, and received this omen:

There are hidden currents swirling around you: some for good and some for ill. Use your intuition to discern between them. Cleanse yourself and your surroundings when you feel polluted, when you are overcome with despair, when you waver in your commitment to ma’at. This moon cycle is a time for waiting, but hold your ground while you wait. Do not run in fear. Let the chaos swirl around you. This transition will be difficult, and will not bring immediate release. Coals can smolder for a long time.

The next full moon is January 28. If you have any questions, or if you would like to request a personal message or heka for January, please email the shrine here. And if you are interested in supporting the shrine, I have a tip jar set up here. Thanks!

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