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.
On my calendar from Lady of Praise, Lady of Power, this holiday begins on Monday.
Have a great festival everyone!
Festival Names: Procession of Aset, the Bright One, Mother of God a.k.a. Aset Luminous
This festival commemorates Aset’s nightly search by torchlight for Her husband Wesir. In modern times, paper boats are made (with written petitions on them) and they are placed in water with a tealight on top.
Aset is a goddess of sovereignty, kingship, magic of all kinds, life-power, personal power and authority, writing, words, gaining knowledge, honoring one’s ancestors, ancestral lineage and traditions, dreams, family relationships, self-love, alignment of the souls and healing. She is also a goddess of Heaven, starlight, the night sky and the star Sopdet (Sirius).
For offering ideas, go here: Offerings of Aset.
I channeled this message from Aset about this festival.
(This is included in my latest book, Queen of the Road)
by Chelsea Bolton
What are you doing for Her festival?
What will you do today for the Fiercely Bright One?
Light candles or lamps? Sing a hymn? Perform ritual before Her shrine? What will you offer to the Lady?
What will you do today for the Mother of God? The one who gave birth to Heru in the Marshes? The sole Mother who took care of Her son?
What will you do for Aset, the Fiercely Bright One? The One who leads the way in the darkness, dispelling shadows with Her light? The stellar and solar goddess of the dawn.
What will you do today? What will you accomplish? What will you profess?
What will you ask Me in your letter? What prayers and hopes will the boats carry on the water, with My light guiding the way?
What will you ask Me to dispel in your lives? What will you ask Me to cultivate?
What will you do for the Fiercely Bright One? What will you ask of the Brightest of Stars? What will you ask of the Solar Goddess?
I am the Mistress of Magic. I am the Goddess Who Knows Her Spells. What I speak comes to pass.
Do not worry, child. I will take care of you.
Who am I? Am I not the Goddess who knows Ra’s Name? Am I not the wisest and cleverest of Gods? Am I not the Goddess of all magic, all heka, all life-power, all kau?
So what will you ask Me on My festival day?
The words you speak and write have power. What I speak comes to pass. What you write is your heart’s desire.
For what you do, what you say and what you write will become.
Festivals for Bast or Bast-Mut
compiled by Chelsea Luellon Bolton
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.
Cauville, Sylvie. Dendara XV: Traduction. Peeters, 2012.
El-Sabban, Sherif. Temple Festival Calendars of Ancient Egypt. Wiltshire: Liverpool University Press, 2000.
Spalinger, Anthony. Three Studies on Egyptian Feasts and Their Chronological Implications. (Maryland: Halgo, 1992
Sauneron, Serge. Esna V: Les fetes religieuses d’esna aux derniers siecles du paganisme. Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 2004.
Siuda, Tamara. The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook. Illinois: Stargazer Design, 2009.
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
Happy Navigation of Aset Day! Here is a post I did discussing the festival, which I will re-post below.
The Romans celebrated Isis as the goddess of seafaring and the ocean. They honored Her on this day with boats filled with candles, flowers and offerings that they sent out to sea. She was the goddess of ships, the harbor and the sea.
For those who want to add more Kemetic things to this festival, Aset had navigation festivals (via the Nubian pilgrims during the Roman period and some Egyptian ones) who would make a procession of the Goddess to visit Her husband Wesir at His shrine on the island of Biggeh. Her statue in Her Barque would be taken to his shrine on a boat (with torches to help guide the way). Priests would give offerings of water and milk as libations for Wesir (I’m assuming Aset as well). Oracles would be given by the Goddess via the statue in Her Barque. It is believed by scholars that sistra and a situla, a curved libation jug were used during this festival. (1 and 2)
Within the Kemetic and Philae Calendar (Pilgrims left notes), this festival is called either:
*Festival of Entry (weekly by the Egyptians)
*Dedication Feast of Aset (4th Peret Day 29, by the Nubians)
And within the Greek or Roman calendars, this is:
*Navigation of Aset/Ploiphesia/Navigium Isidis (March 5-6)
*Navigation of Aset/Navigium Isidis (January 1-2) (3)
I can’t help shake the feeling that this festival in its Kemetic version was very much like the Aset Luminous celebration. They all have to do with Aset searching for Wesir (or going to His Temple), torches for guiding the way, boats traveling on water and giving offerings to the Goddess. Navigation Festivals sometimes had oracles.
So for today’s devotees of the Goddess, you could:
*Light candles or lamps or electric ones if open flame is an issue
*Offer water and/or milk
*Offer water libations (libating milk is not too feasible for most people)
*Offer food and drink to the Goddess (and also Her husband if you wish)
*Do divination or oracles for Aset
*Shake a sistrum for Aset
Sources
(1) Donalson, Malcolm. The Cult of Isis in the Roman Empire. Edwin Mellen Pr, 2003. Page 67-68.
(2) Rutherford, Ian. “Island of the Extremity: Space, Language and Power in the Pilgrimage Traditions of Philae.” In Pilgrimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt, edited by David Frankfurter. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 1998, pp. 230.
Bumbaugh, Solange. “Meroitic Worship of Isis at Philae”. in Egypt in its African Context: Proceedings of the conference held at The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, 2-4 October 2009. edited by Karen Exell. (Archaeopress, 2011), 67-69.
Griffith, F. Ll. Catalogue of the Demotic Graffiti of the Dodecaschoenus. (Oxford University Press, 1937), 75.
(3) Donalson, Malcolm Drew. The Cult of Isis in the Roman Empire: Isis Invicta. (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003), 73.
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
3 Peret/Pamenot/February
1 to 8-Feast of Aset
5 of February-Festival of Isis
10-Procession of Nesert
29-Adoration of Aset of Many Names/Proskynema of Isis of Many Names
30-Festival of Aset in Busiris
I’d just celebrate the last two festivals on the 28th of February or move it to March 1 and 2nd..
