Month: February 2015

Names and Epithets, Ra

Epithets of Ra

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Epithets of Ra
All-Lord
Besouled
Far-Reaching
Far-Striding
Father of All
Father and Mother of All Living Things
Glorious
Great God Who Came into Being of Himself
He of the Horizon
He Who Comes into Being of Himself
King of the Gods
Lord of All the Gods
Lord of the Gods
Lord of the Heavens
Lord of the Horizon
Lord of the Nine Gods
Lord of the Secret Casket Belonging to Aset
Lord of the Sunbeams
Lord of Time
Luminous One
Mighty
One Who Comes into Being
Ruler of the Gods
Shining
Sovereign Who Created the Gods
Strong
Sun as the Sovereign Power in the Horizon
Who Created His Names
Who Gave Commands and the Gods Came into Being
Who Has No Opponent Among the Gods
Who Shines Forth from the Horizon Every Day

Bibliography

Faulkner, R. O. and Ogden Goelet. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth By Day. Chronicle Books, 1998. Spell 15, plate 20.

Foster, John. Hymns, Prayers and Songs: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Lyric Poetry. Scholars Press, 1995.

Muller, Maya. “Re and Re-Horakhty,” in Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion. edited by Donald Redford. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.325-328.

Piankoff, Alexandre. Tomb of Ramesses VI: Bollingen I. University of Princeton Press, 1954.

Piankoff, Alexandre. The Shrines of Tut-Ankh-Amun: Bollingen II. University of Princeton Press, 1955.

Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses and Traditions of Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Quirke, Stephen. The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2001.

Roberts, Alison. My Heart My Mother: Death and Rebirth in Ancient Egypt. England: Northgate Publishers, 2000.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.

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Names and Epithets, Wesir, Asar, Ausar, Osiris

Epithets of Wesir

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Epithets of Wesir
Beloved of Nut
Beloved of Ra
Beloved of Your Two Images
Born of Heru-Ra of the Two Horizons
Born the Image of the God of Gods
Brilliant One
Bull of Amenti
Bull of the Two Goddesses
Bull of the West
Dweller in the Underworld
Eldest Born
Enshrouded One
Foremost of Westerners
Foremost of the West
Giver of Years
Gold of Millions
God Above the Heavens
Great God
Great Heir of Geb
Great One Among the Gods
Guide
He at the Head of the West
He Who Awakens Whole at the Head of the Living
He Who Comes into Being in the Dark
He Who is in the God’s Tent
He Who is in the Heart of the Gods
Head of the Western Land
Heir of Geb
Heir of the Two Thrones
Hidden One
Inert One
King of Kings, Lord of Lords
King of the Gods
King of the West Who Commands the Region of Silence
Male One of Amenti
Messenger of Heaven to Earth
Mysterious One
Leader
Lord Worthy of Many Hundreds and Thousands of Praises
Lord of Abydos
Lord of Bounty
Lord of Busiris
Lord of Egypt
Lord of the Ennead
Lord of Eternity
Lord of Fear
Lord of Great Fear and Trembling
Lord of Life
Lord of Love
Lord of Rosetau
Lord of the Assembly
Lord of the Dead
Lord of the Holy Country
Lord of the Holy Land
Lord of the Living
Lord of the Mysteries in the Mysterious Place
Lord of the Pomegranate Nome
Lord of the Royal Crown
Lord of the Sky
Lord of the Ways
Lord of the West
Lord of the White Crown
Lord of Women
Of Many Paths
Of the South
On His Throne
One Beloved of Gods and Goddesses
One Who Inspires Dread in Busiris
One Who is in His Shrine
One Who Places Sokar on His Sledge
Opener of Ways to the Gods
Power of the Gods
Powerful in Abydos
Prince
Prince Great in His Terror
Ram Who Dwells in Busiris
Resplendent One with the White Crown
Ruler of Rulers
Ruler of the Region of Silence
Ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt
Ruler Who is in Abydos
Son of Nut
Soul of Ra
Strong One
Strong One Among the Gods
Sweet Lord
The Terrible
Uniter of Heaven to Earth
Unique God
Veiled One
Virile Infant
Wennefer-Beneficient One
Who Annihilates His Enemies
Who Behold the Two Goddesses United
Who Causes His Shadow Daily in the Land
Who Causes Himself to Come into Being
Who Causes the Inundation
Who Contains in Himself the Mysterious Power of Birth into New Life
Who Destroys the Souls in Revolt Against Him
Whose Heart Palpitates Not
Who is in His Coffin
Who is Unknown to Mankind
Whose Places are Mysterious
Whose Soul Lives
Whose Word Destroys His Enemies
Who Repulses His Enemies

 
Bibliography

Dennis, James Teackle. Burden of Isis: Being the Laments of Isis and Nephthys. London: J. Murray, 1918.

Foster, John. Hymns, Prayers and Songs: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Lyric Poetry. Scholars Press, 1995.

Piankoff, Alexandre. Tomb of Ramesses VI: Bollingen I. University of Princeton Press, 1954.

Piankoff, Alexandre. The Shrines of Tut-Ankh-Amun: Bollingen II. University of Princeton Press, 1955.

Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses and Traditions of Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Roberts, Alison. My Heart My Mother: Death and Rebirth in Ancient Egypt. England: Northgate Publishers, 2000.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.

Aset, Auset, Isis, Goddesses, Gods, Hera, Initiation, Polytheism

Personal Epiphany

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I am learning throughout this time in my life where I am changing and shedding skin while making way for the new: There is so much more mercy, understanding and forgiveness than I could have possibly hoped for. I have more strength than I ever imagined.

I am loved by more people and spirits and Gods than I ever thought possible–and I am worthy of that love.

I am changing and growing. I am becoming someone new. I am becoming who I am. I am becoming myself.

I am not finished, yet the road is paved for me to walk. I travel on this road to embrace the star that is my soul.

May it become. Kheperu.

Hail the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt! Hail the Gods and Goddesses of Greece!

Offerings and Symbols, Wesir, Asar, Ausar, Osiris

Wesir: Offerings and Symbols

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Offerings to Wesir (also Asar; Greek: Osiris)

Some of these are attested in ancient sources while others come from my own (or other people’s) personal experience giving offerings to the God.

Liquid Offerings
Water
Beer
Pomegranate-Wine
Wine
Coffee
Tea

Food Offerings
Bread and Barley
Pasta
Fruits and Vegetables
Figs
Dates
Fig Newtons
Pastries; cookies and cakes
chocolate

Meat Offerings
chicken or duck
beef

Non-Food Offerings
Scents: myrrh, frankincense, cedar
Flowers: Red roses, roses, plants of various hues
Light: green candles; beeswax candles; lanterns
Colors: Green; Black
Jewelry: Silver,

Taboos
pork
fish; any seafood
sand
lettuce

Disposal of Offerings
1) Eat them
2) With wine or water, you can leave it to evaporate on the Shrine or pour it out as a libation when done.

Sacred Animals
Bull
Ram
Dogs, Jackals

Sacred Symbols
Moon
Sun at Night
Sah (Orion)
Nile
Green plants; Vegetation
Udjat Eye
Crook and Flail
Djed Pillar

Syncretisms
Ra-Wesir
Sobek-Wesir
Wesir-Apis
Wesir-Ra
Wesir-Sobek

Sources

Griffiths, J. Gwyn. The Origins of Osiris and His Cult. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980.

Clark, R. T. Rundle. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1959.

Zecchi, Marco. “Osiris in the Fayyum.” Fayyum Studies: Volume 2. Sergio Pernigotti and Marco Zecchi, ed. (Ante Quem and Dipartimento di Archeologia dell’Università di Bologna, 2006), pp. 117-145.

This Website: Wepwawet Wiki: Wesir

Offerings and Symbols, Sobek, Sebek

Sobek: Offerings and Symbols

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Offerings to Sobek (also Sebek)

Some of these are attested in ancient sources while others come from my own (or other people’s) personal experience giving offerings to the God.

Liquid Offerings
Water
Beer
Pomegranate-Wine
Wine
Coffee
Tea

Food Offerings
Bread and Barley
Fruits and Vegetables
Figs
Dates
Fig Newtons
Pastries; cookies and cakes
chocolate

Meat Offerings
chicken or duck
beef

Non-Food Offerings
Scents: myrrh, frankincense, sandalwood
Flowers: Red roses,
Light: green candles; beeswax candles; lanterns
Colors: Green; Blue
Jewelry: Gold, solar colors

Taboos
pork
fish; any seafood

Disposal of Offerings
1) Eat them
2) With wine or water, you can leave it to evaporate on the Shrine or pour it out as a libation when done.

Sacred Animals
Crocodile

Sacred Symbols
Sun
Nile
Green plants
Udjat Eye

Specialized Form
Soknopais (Sobek, Lord of the Island)

Syncretisms
Sobek-Heru
Sobek-Ra
Sobek-Wesir

Sources

Quirke, Stephen. The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2001.

Widmer, Ghislaine. “On Egyptian Religion at Soknopaiou Nesos in the Roman Period,” in Tebtynis und Soknopaiu Nesos. Leben im römerzeitlichen Fajum. Sandra Lippert. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005, pp. 171-184.

Zecchi, Marco. “Osiris in the Fayyum.” Fayyum Studies: Volume 2. Sergio Pernigotti and Marco Zecchi, ed. (Ante Quem and Dipartimento di Archeologia dell’Università di Bologna, 2006), pp. 117-145.

Heru-sa-Aset, Horus son of Isis, Offerings and Symbols

Heru-sa-Aset: Offerings and Symbols

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Offerings to Heru-sa-Aset: (Greek: Harsiese; Horus son of Isis)-

Some of these are attested in ancient sources while others come from my own (or other people’s) personal experience giving offerings to the God.

Liquid Offerings
Water
Milk
Beer
Pomegranate-Wine
Wine
Coffee
Tea

Food Offerings
Bread and Barley
Fruits and Vegetables
Figs
Dates
Fig Newtons
Pastries; cookies and cakes
chocolate; chocolate with nuts

Meat Offerings
chicken or duck
beef

Non-Food Offerings
Scents: myrrh, frankincense, Kapet (Kyphi)
Flowers: Roses, blue flowers
Light: Blue candles; beeswax candles; lanterns
Colors: Blue,
Jewelry: Gold, solar colors; silver, bronze

Taboos
pork
fish; any seafood

Disposal of Offerings
1) Eat them
2) With wine or water, you can leave it to evaporate on the Shrine or pour it out as a libation when done.

Sacred Animals
Falcon
Hawk
Bull
Lion

Sacred Symbols
Udjat Eye
Moon
Sun

Aspects
Heru pa Khered: (Greek: Harpocrates; Horus the Child)
Heru nedj itef: (Greek: Harendotes; Horus, Savior of His Father)

Syncretisms
Min-Heru
Sobek-Heru

Devotional Practice, Offerings and Symbols, Ra, Shrine

Offerings and Symbols of Ra

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Offerings to Ra

Some of these are attested in ancient sources while others come from my own (or other people’s) personal experience giving offerings to the God.

Liquid Offerings
Water
Beer
Pomegranate-Wine
Wine
Orange Juice
Coffee
Tea

Food Offerings
Bread and Barley
Fruits and Vegetables
Oranges, Apples
Figs
Dates
Fig Newtons
Pastries; cookies and cakes
chocolate

Meat Offerings
chicken or duck
beef

Non-Food Offerings
Scents: myrrh, frankincense, sandalwood
Flowers: Yellow, Orange or Red Roses, Sunflowers, Yellow or Red flowers, Water lilies, lotus
Light: yellow, red, gold or orange candles; beeswax candles; lanterns
Colors: Red, Orange and Yellow; White
Jewelry: Gold, solar colors

Taboos
pork
fish; any seafood
ram

Disposal of Offerings
1) Eat them
2) With wine or water, you can leave it to evaporate on the Shrine or pour it out as a libation when done.

Sacred Animals
Falcon
Hawk
White Heron/Bennu Bird
Cat
Bull
Ram (as Ra-Atum or Ra-Wesir)

Sacred Symbols
Sun
His Barque
Pyramids
Obelisks
The Bennu Bird (White Heron; Phoenix)

Syncretisms
Amun-Ra
Atum-Ra
Khepera-Ra
Khepera-Ra-Atum (Dawn, Noon, Dusk)
Khnum-Ra
Nefertem-Ra
Ra-Atum
Ra-Heruakhety (Ra Horakhty; Ra and Horus of the Two Horizons)
Ra-Wesir
Sobek-Ra
Wesir-Ra

Sources

Quirke, Stephen. The Cult of Ra: Sun-Worship in Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2001.

This Website: Wepwawet Wiki: Ra

Aset, Auset, Isis, Calendar, Devotional Practice, Festivals, Heru-sa-Aset, Horus son of Isis, Wesir, Asar, Ausar, Osiris

Monthly Festivals for Aset

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These are the days sacred to Aset within each month. These are not the yearly festivals, but monthly ones. Some were Egyptian in origin and belong on the lunar calendar and others were adopted from the Greeks or Romans living in Egypt.

Many of these festivals are governed by the cycles of the moon. Aset (Isis) is honored on these days along with either Her son Heru-sa-Aset or Her Husband Wesir as they are both moon gods. Aset Herself is more associated with the sun in Egyptian cosmology than the moon. Her association here has to do more with the cycles of Heru-sa-Aset (birth to death or injury and healing of the Eye of Heru) and Wesir (death and renewal).

Monthly Festivals

1st Day of Each Lunar Month-Sacred to Aset
From the astronomical ceiling of Senmut, this day is being noted as being sacred to Aset.

3rd Day of Each Month-Birth of Aset
This festival is from this book Ahnas el Medineh: The Tomb of Paheri at El Kab. Aset’s birthdays were celebrated with the lighting of candles and feasts were made in Her honor. Today, you could offer Aset a Birthday cake (blue, white or chocolate seem to go over well) and cook a great feast.

4th Day of Each Month-Offering to Aset of Philae
Make offerings to Aset, the Goddess of Philae today. Possible offering ideas can be found here: Offerings.

6th Day of Each Month-Sixth-Day Feast
This feast was associated with honoring the ancestors as well as Ra and Wesir. Aset Herself was given an oblation on this day.

7th Day of Each Month-Seventh Day Feast
Listed within a hymn from the Temple of Philae, this festival was initially associated with Ra. You could honor Aset and Ra on this day.

8th Day of Each Lunar Month-Sacred to Aset
This is listed within the Frieze of the Temple of Edfu. I don’t have much more information on this besides that at the moment.

15th Day of Each Lunar Month-Goddess Fifteen
This is supposed to be the Full Moon. You could honor Aset along with Her son Heru-sa-Aset and Her husband Wesir who are both moon gods. You could incorporate various myth cycles into your celebration such as the healing of Heru-sa-Aset and the renewal of Wesir. There is one of the myths of the Healing of Heru’s Eye which I particularly like: Aset and the Vineyard

22nd Day of Each Lunar Month-Festival of Sopdet
Aset can be honored here as Sopdet as the cycle of the star’s departing and returning can be celebrated monthly along with being celebrated yearly.

New Moon-Festival of the New Moon of Aset
This is listed on the Temple of Abydos and it mentions oxen are given to the Goddess. This may also be the First Day of the Lunar Month as that is normally on the New Moon.

Sources

David, Rosalie. A Guide to Religious Ritual at Abydos. Warminster: Aris and Phillips, 1981.

Donalson, Malcolm Drew. The Cult of Isis in the Roman Empire: Isis Invicta. (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003), 82.

Griffith, F. Ll. Catalogue of the Demotic Graffiti of the Dodecaschoenus. Volume 1 Text. (Oxford University Press, 1937), 46.

Morgan, Mogg. The Wheel of the Year in Ancient Egypt. Mandrake of Oxford, 2011.

Naville, Édouard Henri and Francis Llewellyn Griffith, et al. Ahnas el Medineh: The Tomb of Paheri at El Kab. (Egyptian Exploration Fund, 1894) 28.

Parker, Richard. The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Studies in ancient oriental civilization). University of Chicago Press, 1950.

Zabkar, Louis V. Hymns to Isis in Her Temple at Philae. London: University Press of New England, 1988.

Aset, Auset, Isis, Oracles, Poems, Poetry,, Priesthood

Aset Oracle: Mantle of Priesthood

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The Mantle of Priesthood
by TahekerutAset

The First Maxim of being a Priest or Priestess is to Know Yourself

The Second is to Serve your Gods

What are you doing, dear child?

What are you doing?

You cast Us away and push Us aside.

You do not integrate Us into your life.

You leave Us in shrine as if We are only located there.

We are everywhere.

Let Us in.

Let Us in.

We are interwoven through the World and through the lives of Our Priests.

We are everywhere.

Not just in shrine.

When it gets to be too much, tell Us.

When you need a break, let Us know.

These are your boundaries.

Know them and We will work within them.

A broken Priest serves no one.

A half-assed Priest serves none.

Know who you are and what you want.

Know who you are and what you want.

Know who you are and what you want.

In all you are

In all your parts

Align your souls.

Align your ka, ba and heart.

Align all the elements.

Align your souls in anyway you can.

And know who you are.

If you have not forgiven yourself for past mistakes,

or purged your self-loathing or doubt or fear.

If you have not faced down the darkest parts of your souls,

ripped them from their roots and burned them clean away

through flame;

If you have not cleansed or cleaned out your soul

through a flood of tears that drown your very heart

If you have not been through the crucible of Set,

or the transformation of Aset,

then how do you know who you are?

The ritual is not enough.

They do not know who they are in order to perform it.

They come to you asking for this mantle, this job, this honor,

not knowing what it means.

Not knowing what it means.

Not knowing what is expected.

Not knowing what is being asked or accepted.

A weekend alone does not make you a Priest.

This is absurd.

How can one become a Priest in three days?

This is not enough.

They do not understand.

And I am done.

I am done.

I am done with accepting Priests with these low standards.

They do not know who they are.

They have not worshiped Me long enough to know who they are.

And this is a task for those who honor Me and for those who are My children.

You are not the Ancient Egyptians.

You are not prepared as they were to perform this task.

The ritual is not enough–it never was.

The House of Life taught them for years in ancient times.

You have done this in three days. A weekend. A short time.

This takes years to prepare for.

Years.

This is not enough.

Another has left the fold.

Another has fled the mantle that We have bestowed upon them.

Because of whimsy or self doubt or other tasks took precedence.

Or wanting to serve Us and not knowing what to do,

and thinking Priesthood is the only answer.

It is not.

It is a vocation.

It is a calling.

It is a damn job.

And this is not something you can have if you do not know who you are.

And this is not something that you can leave

because of whimsy or self-doubt or other insecurities

that should have been purged before you took on the mantle.

You took this mantle and threw it away.

Threw it back in Our faces.

Do not come to Us asking for Priesthood

if you do not know who you are.

If you have not been purged of the shadows in yourself,

If you have not gone through the crucible of Set,

Or My tears or flame–

then do not ask.

We will say no.

Not yes. Not anymore.

We will say no.

This is enough.

You are not ancient Egyptians.

Stop acting like it!