I highly recommend Rev. Dr. Tamara L. Siuda’s book, The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook. This book has many prayers, invocations and hymns for specific Kemetic deities (including Set!), prayers for holidays, children and certain situations. This book also has a daily ritual called the Senut which is the main daily rite for Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer. Siuda also has another book about Kemetic Holidays which is also excellent, The Ancient Egyptian Daybook. (Her books are also available through Amazon).
Richard Reidy’s book is very dense and extremely traditional. Many Kemetics use his daily ritual from this book in their daily practice. A link to his book is here: Eternal Egypt. His companion book to this one is here: Everlasting Egypt.
Kerry Wisner is the Head Priest of the Akhet Hethert (Hathor) temple. He has three books out about the Kemetic faith: Eye of the Sun (for beginners); Song of Hathor (intermediates); and Pillar of Ra (about festivals). These are great books to add to your library especially if you love Hathor.
Roses themselves were introduced to Egypt via the Greeks and Romans. The Goddess Aphrodite (or Venus) was born from the sea-foam and during her birth; a white rose was formed from the waves. This is why it is associated with Aphrodite. When Aphrodite’s lover Adonis died, she cried and the white rose became red with his blood. And this is why red roses are associated with the Goddess.[1]
Aset’s worship became greatly linked to Aphrodite so much so that there was a syncretic deity Isis-Aphrodite within the Ptolemaic period. Aset as a mourning Goddess would also be associated with the red rose.
Rhodophoria “Bearer of Roses” or Rosalia festivals were ancient Greek and Roman festivals to honor the dead, the military dead and various deities. It was also a spring festival about fertility and flowers, especially roses so many Goddesses were honored during this time such as Aphrodite, Venus, Hethert (Hathor), Aset, Isis and Isis-Aphrodite.
Some scholars think that a garland of roses may have been religiously associated with the Crown of Victory given to Wesir after his victory over death in the afterlife. Even though this was initially given to Heru, it was transferred to Wesir. Other gods associated with this festival are Heru and Ra. Other ways this occasion was celebrated was victory triumphing over enemies or protecting from harmful forces. During the Ptolemaic Period and later, the festival became more affiliated with Wesir’s mythos.[2]
A long Rhodophoria festival (lasting 13 days) is listed on the Temple Festival Calendar of Soknopaiou Nesos which was dedicated to the crocodile God Sobek and Aset as both Aset Neferset/Isis Nepherses (with the Beautiful Throne) and Nephremmis (of the Beautiful Arms).[3]
This festival for Aset comes from the Ptolemaic period. It is obviously Greek in origin, but was adapted to ancient Egyptian religion.
Roses were the flowers which were left on graves. Aset is honored here as the Lady of Beauty, Fertility of the Land and Abundance, Queen of the Land of the Dead (Amenti), Queen of the Ancestors and the Mourner of Wesir.
Make offerings to Aset and some family members such as Sobek and Wesir
Offer red roses in a vase or rose petals in a bowl
Make or buy garlands of roses to put in your hair or drape around the shrine
Offer red roses and other offerings to the dead in a separate ancestor shrine or at a graveyard
Sources
[1] J. Gwyn Griffiths, Apuleius of Madaurus: The Isis-Book: (Metamorphoses, Book XI) (Brill, 1975), pp 39; 159–161.
Forrest, M. Isidora. Offering to Isis: Knowing the Goddess Through Her Sacred Symbols. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2005. (Rose entry: page 258-259)
[2] J. Gwyn Griffiths. Apuleius of Madaurus: The Isis-Book: (Metamorphoses, Book XI) (Brill, 1975), pp 159–161.
[3] Capron, Laurent. “Déclarations fiscales du Temple de Soknopaiou Nêsos: éléments nouveaux,” in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. Bd. 165, Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany). (2008), pp. 142. 13 days.
Perpillou-Thomas, Francoise. Fêtes d’Egypte ptolémaïque et romaine, d’après la documentation papyrologique grecque. (Studia Hellenistica Series 31). (Peeters Publishers, 1993),127. From the Papyrus of Oxyrhynchos LII 3694. 12 day festival.
[4]Capron, Laurent. “Déclarations fiscales du Temple de Soknopaiou Nêsos: éléments nouveaux,” in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. Bd. 165, Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany). (2008), pp. 142. 13 days.
Perpillou-Thomas, Francoise. Fêtes d’Egypte ptolémaïque et romaine, d’après la documentation papyrologique grecque. (Studia Hellenistica Series 31). (Peeters Publishers, 1993),127. From the Papyrus of Oxyrhynchos LII 3694. 12 day festival. Hekster, Olivier. Rome and its Empire, AD 193-284. (Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 128. From the Feridale Duranum Calendar from the reign of Severus Alexander.
There is a festival from the Roman period temple of Soknopaiou Nesos (a temple of Sobek) which lists a 19 day festival to Aset called Festival of the Birth of Aset Neferset, (with the Beautiful Throne) the Great Goddess (in Greek this is Isis Nepherses). The dates for this festival are: 26 of 3 Shomu to 15 of 4 Shomu.
So, I got permissions back for Mother of Magic: Ancient Hymns for Aset. Now, all I need to do is go over the manuscript and send it off to the formatters. This book has hymns from Philae, Dendera, Soknopaiou Nesos, Shanhur and some New Kingdom texts. There is also an updated festival calendar and epithets list.
She Speaks Through Silence: An Anthology for Nephthys. I have hymns from various sources such as Philae, Dendera, Komir and Edfu. I have essays, articles, tons of poetry, rituals and a festival calendar and epithets list.
Solar Flares and Sunbeams: An Anthology for Ra and His Daughters. I have some hymns for Ra, poetry, a festival calendar and an epithets list.
Lady of the Double Crown: An Anthology for Mut. I have some ancient hymns, an essay, poetry, a festival calendar and an epithets list.
Lioness Goddess, Lioness Queen: An Anthology for Sekhmet. I have some ancient hymns, poetry, a festival calendar and an epithets list.
Lord of Eternity: An Anthology for Osiris. I have some ancient hymns, poetry, a festival calendar and an epithets list.
2nd Akhet/Paopi/September
10-Procession of Bast, Goddess of Ankhtawy
18-Eve of the Festival of Opet
19 to 3 Akhet 10 (24 days)-Festival of Opet
3rd Akhet/Hethara/October
1-Speech of Sekhmet-Bast
20-Procession of Bast, Mistress of Ankhtawy, Before Ra She is Angry
29-Speech of Bast
4th Akhet/Koiak/November
10-Speech of Bast, Lady of Memphis
12-Speech of the Image of Bast
15-Feast of Sekhmet and Bast
1 Peret/Tybi/December
3-Feast of the Drunkenness of the Eye of Ra
19-Speech of Bast
19-Feast of Bast
20-Procession of Bast Who Protects the Two Lands
21-Bast Guards the Two Lands
28 to 2 Peret Day 4-The Distant Goddess Returns from Nubia (6 day festival)
29-Bast and Sekhmet Guide the Two Lands
2 Peret/Mechir/January
29-Feast of the Navigation of Bast
4 Peret/Parmuthi/March
1-Feast of Ra and the Eye of Ra
4-Day of Chewing Onions for Bast
11-Speech of Bast
2 Shomu/Payni/May
16-Feast of Bast, Purifying Sekhmet
Sources
Bakir, Abd el-Mohsen. The Cairo Calendar No. 86637. Cairo, 1966.
Brier, Bob. Ancient Egyptian Magic. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1980.
4 Peret/Parmuthi/March
1 to 8-Feast of Aset
1-Feast of Ra and the Eye of Ra
4 to 21-Aset, Mother of God Gives Birth to Heru-sa-Aset
5 to 6 of March-Navigation of Aset/Isidis Navigium
9 of March-Adoration of Aset, the very Great Goddess, Sovereign and Savior/Proskynema of Isis
20 of March-Pelusia
20 to 21-Navigation of Aset/Isidis Navigium
20 to 23-Festival of Aset
28-Aset Births Heru-sa-Aset/Isis Births Horus the Younger
29-Dedication Feast of Aset
Since my book is coming out soon, I thought I’d show you some of the books I used in my research. (Not all of them are here as some I got through the library and I had to return them). I feel like Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I’m getting all excited (adorkable) over books!
This collection has taken me over 15 years to build. I just wanted to share this with others in order to share my joy. I do not have a lot of money. I buy books new (if it is within my budget), used or on sale. (Here is an article I wrote about finding books online: Books and Where to Find Them). Continue reading “Books, Books and More Books!”→
I highly recommend Rev. Dr. Tamara L. Siuda’s book, The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook. This book has many prayers, invocations and hymns for specific Kemetic deities (including Set!), prayers for holidays, children and certain situations. This book also has a daily ritual called the Senut which is the main daily rite for Kemetic Orthodox House of Netjer. Siuda also has another book about Kemetic Holidays which is also excellent, The Ancient Egyptian Daybook. (Her books are also available through Amazon).
Richard Reidy’s book is very dense and extremely traditional. Many Kemetics use his daily ritual from this book in their daily practice. A link to his book is here: Eternal Egypt. His companion book to this one is here: Everlasting Egypt.
