Site of Chelsea Luellon Bolton: Author, Scholar and Poet
Forthcoming Books:
The next book I’ll hopefully finish is either:
Lady of the Temple: Ancient Hymns for Nephthys is now available through Lulu.com! Here is the link: Lady of the Temple!
I have recovered from my eye surgery. I now have three glasses for near, middle and far vision, respectively. I’m very grateful to have what limited vision I do have.
On another note, before the surgery, I was able to publish Lady of the Temple in both PDF and Kindle formats. Lulu ate my paperback copy so I had to get a new ISBN. I hopefully can get the cover ISBN edited to the new one and then publish the paperback of this book.
I posted this on my Patreon and thought people here would find it useful.
So I have a book that just came out with ancient hymns in it (see here) and it occurred to me that many people may not know how this works.
Once I find a hymn or quote I want to use, I look up the publisher and email them with the information of what I want to include (the hymn, the full citation of the book or article, including page number) and information about my book (title, publisher, rights, distribution, approximate cost). Then starts the waiting game. Sometimes it takes a few days, a month and some take years to get back to me. Yes, years. (I’m still waiting on some in fact).
Now, once I hear back, I can get different kinds of responses:
And I must include the books in the bibliography as well.
So if the hymn is in German or French, I have to ask permission from either the author or the publisher to translate it and include it in my book. If it is already translated into English, I ask permission from the author/translator or publisher to include it in my book. Sometimes, they will ask for a copy of the book in exchange which I am more than happy to provide.
If it is in hieroglyphs then I ask someone who knows hieroglyphs to translate it for me in exchange for a book copy or monetary compensation. If I knew hieroglyphs, then I could just translate it myself. (But I digress…)
So I hope this helped to clear up any issues about what I include in my books as far as content or footnotes.
Thank you to all the authors, translators and publishers who kindly gave me permission to include their works in my books.
3 Peret/Pamenot/February
16 to 28-Rhodophoria
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.
Possible Dates to Celebrate:
Activities for this Festival
[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.
Oya is an Orisha over the winds, fire, rain, storms, transformation, commerce, and the dead. She is an Orisha of hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms and lightning. Her colors are multi-colors, purple or red. Her sacred number is 9. Her sacred animal is the water buffalo. She can shapeshift into the buffalo and is a hunter. She is a warrior woman armed with a sword and protects the sacred from impurities. She is the goddess of transitions and death. Her breath is the life-force of all things and the death of all things when it is taken away. She is a fierce mother who is said to be fiercer than Her husband, Shango. Oya loves eggplants, water, rum, red wine, beer, grapes, plums, and gin.
by JewelofAset
I am the Witch here.
I am the one who knows Her herbs.
I am the one who knows Her spells.
I am the one who knows Her heart.
What I want, What I need
is known to Me.
What you want, What you need
is known to you.
I am the Orisha
granting desires and boons.
Giving blessings to those who honor Me.
A calabash filled with offerings.
Libations poured out onto the Earth,
which Olorun made.
I am the Wind.
I am the Thunder.
I am the Lightning.
I am the Storm.
I am Oya–She tore.
One who tears down trees in My path,
One who topples houses,
as towering trees fall.
I bring destruction for new growth to occur.
I bring swift cleansing and change.
Faster I, twirl and My power
enchants and terrifies,
as things are uprooted in My path,
things that make one complacent or stagnant,
the ones who resist change fear Me.
Some loathe Me as they fear change
more than their own death.
more than their own demise.
And yet, I only come when you can’t quite see
what you are stuck in.
You can’t move on in a stagnant place,
or in a relationship that isn’t feeding you–
or worse, one where you are a victim.
Get out of your own way.
Accept My blessings and move.
Act.
Don’t sit idly by
and do nothing.
Take action in your life.
Do something–anything–
one thing–then two–then three
to help you change.
to help you move forward.
Then ask for My aid,
bring Me offerings in the calabash
or on your home shrine
and I will come.
Swiftly and without delay
I will come.
For I come to all those who call My name,
For I am Oya, of the Buffalo Horn.
For I am Oya,
the one who comes
when My children call.
Poem previously published in Divine Words, Divine Praise: Poetry for the Divine Powers.
My Poem “The Charge of the Goddess Aset” was published in Isian News: the Journal of the Fellowship of Isis. Here is the link to the 10th Anniversary issue: Isian News Brigantia 2019.
Another poem of mine was published in Isis-Seshat: Quarterly Journal of the Fellowship of Isis. Here is the link to that: Isis-Seshat Winter 2018/19.
