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Category: Heru-sa-Aset, Horus son of Isis
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Ra and His Family Devotional
Solar Flares and Sunbeams: An Anthology for Ra and His Family
by Chelsea Luellon Bolton
Ra (Re) is the ancient Egyptian God of the Sun. He is the creator of the world, Gods and Humankind. He is both the warmth of the sun and its fiery, scorching rays. He is the one who travels through the sky during the day and through the Underworld at night, culminating in His defeat of the Evil Serpent. He merges with Wesir (Osiris), the King of the Underworld and renews the afterlife and creation.
He has many forms and syncretisms with other gods. He has many daughters who bear the title “Eye of Ra” which means they are His guardians and protectors who harness the fierce power of sun to dispose of enemies and evil forces.
Contributors can explore:
Ra as the creator of the world
Ra as the Creator of Humankind
Ra as the God of Kings
Ra as the Lord of All or Lord of the Limit
Ra and His Forms (Khepri, Ra and Atum as Morning, Noon and Night)
Ra and His Syncretisms (Amun-Ra, Atum-Ra, Khnum-Ra, Wepwawet-Ra, Sobek-Ra, Osiris-Ra, Ra Heru-akhety/Ra Horakhty)
Relationships with Ra and His Consorts (Hathor, Sekhmet, Bast, Nephthys) and as Amun-Ra (Mut)
Relationships between Ra and His Daughters (Bast, Sekhmet, Mut, Aset/Isis, Tefnut, Hathor, etc)
Relationships between Ra and the Celestial Cow/Mehet Weret (Forms: Neith, Hathor, Aset/Isis, Nephthys, Nut)
Relationships between Ra and His Sons (Anubis, Wepwawet, Shu)
Ra and His associations with Set or Thoth or Horus
Ra as a Fatherly figure, savior or personal God
We are seeking submissions of:
• poetry and oracles
• hymns and prayers
• devotions, rituals or magical practice
• essays
• academic or scholarly articles (with footnotes and bibliography)
• songs
• short fiction (5,000 word limit)
• artwork (300dpi; black and white only)
• translations of ancient works (must have permission of the copyright owner or translator if not translated directly from the hieroglyphs)
Deadline: October 1, 2017
Submission Formats: Word Document pasted within the body of an email or as an email attachment. Also please put RA SUBMISSION in the title of the email.
Rights: Worldwide, non-exclusive for print book and e-book formats (contributors retain all rights to their work); projected release date is TBA through Lulu.com;
Contributors: There is no monetary compensation for contributors. Contributors will receive a free PDF copy of the book for personal use and a coupon code to purchase the book at a discount. A permission to publish form will be sent out via email once all the submissions are received.
Email: lotusjewel4@gmail.com
Aset/Isis in Nubia
I just finished reading a new dissertation: Ashby, Solange. “Calling Out to Isis: the Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2016.
I found a few cultic references which I thought were interesting.
Some Nubian Altars to Her had:
- a horned altar–cow horns as she is a cow headed goddess
- a palm branch–to symbolize life and renewal
- Aset Emblem–sundisk encircling cow horns
- Pouring Libations–I’m assuming to the dead or to Wesir.
- Some altars had snake iconography
- Some altars had a three-petal flower emblem on bowls
- Within Nubia and at Philae, Aset was honored with Wesir, Heru-sa-Aset (with a Nubian place name epithet), Anubis and Nebet Het. She was also honored alongside some Nubian deities. (pages 195-202; 206-207; 243-244; and 256-258)
Feasts and Festivals of Aset for March
4 Peret/Parmuthi/March
1 to 8-Feast of Aset
Offer a feast to Aset. Wine, meat and other offerings were offered in antiquity.
1-Feast of Ra and the Eye of Ra
Honor Aset and Ra today. Honor Aset as an Eye of Ra, the protector of the sun god and a solar Goddess.
4 to 21-Aset, Mother of God Gives Birth to Heru-sa-Aset
Honor Aset and Heru-sa-Aset during this festival. Offer cakes and pastries to the Goddess and Her son. Offer Heru-sa-Aset a birthday cake.
5 to 6 of March-Navigation of Aset/Isidis Navigium
Here is my write-up on this festival: Navigation of Aset. This is the date on the Roman calendar for this festival.
9 of March-Adoration of Aset, the very Great Goddess, Sovereign and Savior/Proskynema of Isis
Here is my post about Proskynema: Proskynema
20 of March-Pelusia
Honor the Goddess today with Her son Heru, the Child (Heru-pa-khered/Harpokrates; a form of Heru-sa-Aset). During this festival, Sarapis was also honored along with Isis as both were patrons of the start of the sailing season. Here is the Wikipedia entry on this festival: Pelusia.
20 to 21-Navigation of Aset/Isidis Navigium
Here is my write-up on this festival: Navigation of Aset. This is the date on the ancient Egyptian calendar for this festival.
20 to 23-Festival of Aset
This is a festival recorded by Pausanias. According to him, this festival was about cleaning the temple and shrines as well as giving offerings to the Goddess.
28-Aset Births Heru-sa-Aset/Isis Births Horus the Younger
Honor Aset and Heru-sa-Aset during this festival. Offer cakes and pastries to the Goddess and Her son. Offer Heru-sa-Aset a birthday cake.
29-Dedication Feast of Aset
This may be the Nubian date found on the Temple of Philae for the Navigation of Aset. Here is my post about it: Navigation of Aset
Heru-sa-Aset: Offerings and Symbols
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
Monthly Festivals for Aset
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.
