Archive for January, 2013

Last week, my partner J and I had the pleasure of spending some time with one of J’s fellow martial artists, a fellow I’ll call C, who is a deeply passionate Christian. While he’s vaguely aware that J and I aren’t Christian, C certainly doesn’t know how liberal we are or that we’re queer.

Suffice it to say, our informal post-training dinner at Steak ‘n Shake was filled with considerable tact and careful courtesy.

At one point, J asked how the past few months had treated C, and as he relayed his somewhat rocky road to us, I did my best to listen openly. C spoke of God and Satan frankly, personally, having a strong relationship with the one and an alert enmity with the other. His level of traditionalism regarding Christian morals and ideals is, to be quite honest, not something I’m accustomed to digesting in person; normally, folks tote signs with those phrases, and I don’t hear them face-to-face.

What struck me, though, more than the novelty of listening to such powerful religious statements from a fundamentalist angle, were the similarities between us. I don’t run into a lot of Christians who casually but genuinely refer to what God told them; that’s something a lot more common among my polytheist and Kemetic comrades. How strange is it that we of many gods are all over one-on-one conversations with our deities, no middleman required, but when a Christian takes the same matter-of-fact tone about the experience, some of us balk? (I understand that many pagans and polytheists are gunshy about more fervent Christians due to personal history; in no way do I mean to dismiss or ignore that. Consider this as thinking outloud and exploring some common subconscious reactions that many non-Christians may feel.)

Another commonality I noticed was how strongly C feels about God, and how I can grok the depth of his emotions and loyalty, because I feel similarly towards Netjer— towards my name for God and my version of the divine. Many of the theists I know express a deep and boundless love, trust, and faith, and if you strip the names and trappings away, it sure feels like the same kind of love, trust, and faith a vehement Christian can have for God.

I may not agree with the level of control that C and some fundamentalists give over to God – I’m pretty fond of free will and some firm logic myself – but the idea of releasing something we humans cannot control to a higher power is far from alien, even for polytheists. If a situation is out of my hands, or another person’s actions are beyond my influence or assistance, I do pray – and I do my best to trust that Netjer’s got it covered, that the Universe will do its thing, and that my worrying won’t help anything at all. This is a concept that many polytheists and monotheists share, albeit to varying degrees of totality.

Lastly, both polytheists and Christians often pray– for ourselves, for the world, and for others. C has prayed, has meditated, and has fasted to come closer to his god; that’s not a very far cry from many polytheist or shamanic practices, though the definition and understanding of what and who God is can vary. I as a Kemetic may have vastly different conceptions of divinity than a Christian fundamentalist, but with open eyes and a steady heart, I can see where we can find common ground: in our interactions with divinity, in our love for Who we worship, and in our willingness to trust.

And in a society where many paths can be healthy and fulfilling, I find it well worth the effort to bridge the gaps and touch hands with my fellow humans, regardless of their choice of faith.

For my fellow Kemetics who are planning to attend my and Ekunyi’s Shemsu naming ceremony tomorrow, please be advised that it’s been shifted to next Wednesday, Feb 6, 8h30 pm Central, due to the passing of a wonderful lady who will be dearly missed by many. May her ka be justified, and may Nebt-het comfort her loved ones who mourn her.

(I would like to note that I wrote this post and scheduled it to post on Friday before I saw that Patheos had done an article with the same bloody title. *facepalm* So, please know that this post is utterly unrelated to that post.)

Belief: A statement that something is true or real, without scientific or objective substantiation, with or without direct personal experience in the realness of the something. It’s a subjective truth within your life and paradigm, but not necessarily solidly factual outside of that. Others may share your beliefs, but you have no verifiable proof that your beliefs are extant within the world outside of you.

Trust: The ability and willingness to implicitly rely upon someone or something. This is an emotional truth, though trust can be couched in intellectual, spiritual, or physical terms. To trust in someone is to be confident that they will not hurt you, even when you are weak or vulnerable or mistaken; to trust in an object is to be confident that it is functional and/or sufficient; to trust in a future event is to feel certain that it will come to pass, even though you have no current evidence.

Faith: The intersection of belief and trust.

Faith requires belief, but belief does not require faith. One can believe in a god without trusting that god; one can believe in an afterlife without trusting that they’ll reach it personally. Faith is not innately religious or spiritual, either. One can believe that their significant other loves them, trust their significant other and rely upon them, and have faith that their relationship will continue indefinitely and remain positive.

Believe it exists. Trust it’s good. And then have faith.

Last year’s second B post was on Brigid.

This is a short post to let you know that I have, after a lot of foot-dragging, updated my Kemetic Resources page with a load of goodies: free and legal book downloads, links to scholarly sites and blogs, and other top-notch resources for new and seasoned Kemetics alike. I compiled these links myself, and though I have done my very best to include only reliable and informative sites/books, I cannot lay claim that all of them are 100% perfect. If, however, you have recommendations of links to add (or warnings of links to remove), please do chime in with a comment!

In direct relation to this, I’d like to point you all towards Sarduriur’s Academic Sources Guide for the Unversed, which explains how to discern a poor academic source from a trustworthy academic source. (Please note that this applies to research-based information, not personal experience and UPG!)

I’m delighted to share that the first episode of Kemetic Storytellers has been released!

A House of Netjer project spear-headed by Mose, Kemetic Storytellers features Kemetic stories in a radio-play format, written and voice-acted by modern Kemetics. We aim to entertain, educate, and express our creativity.

This first episode features two stories, Beauty & The Beak and Bring The Flood, retellings of the Distant Goddess myth and the Establishment of the Celestial Cow myth (aka Moomas). I was proud to provide the intro music for the project, as well as the artwork for both stories (one digital art collage and two paintings).

Please take a look and a listen, and enjoy!

I read a Patheos article by P.S.V. Lupus on this very subject and thought it an excellent one to discuss from a Kemetic viewpoint. My takeaway of that post is the contemplation of how many pagans define themselves without any mention of deities—typically as “earth-based” or “nature-worshipping”—and how important it can be that we don’t try to shuffle our gods under the rug when non-pagan company comes over. This quote in particular sums it up nicely:

… a major goal for modern Paganism should be the active attempt to return the existence of the gods as real, volitional, and individual beings to the wider human consciousness. By this, I mean the gods should be understood as beings with whom one can choose to interact and cultivate relationships. … Perhaps then the goal of bringing back the gods will not be hidden away as a source of potential conflict, but rather celebrated as a good and wonderful thing, something praiseworthy and deeply important.

I have been a culture-nonspecific neopagan who described paganism using the terms “earth-based spirituality” and referred to the gods as “the Divine.” Now, I am specifically Kemetic, albeit with additional Celtic history and inclinations, and my way of seeing divine beings and divinity has changed, along with the terminology I use to describe Them.

But even so, as a Kemetic, Netjer is the One and the Many, and Its Names are Netjeru, the gods. If I choose to say “the Divine,” I mean Netjer; if I choose to say “Universal Soul,” I mean Netjer. But if you don’t know me, those three terms can evoke drastically different ideas in your head—assuming you know the word Netjer at all. One is loosely theistic, another is animistic or non-theistic, and the other is distinctly Kemetic.

And Kemetic gods are gods and goddesses, yes, but They are also Names of Netjer—and that means that the gods are a human way of naming, and thus identifying and attempting to understand, portions of this great unknowable divinity that is Netjer. I do indeed consider the Netjeru as individuals with Their own characteristics and initiative… but the Many are also the One. Netjer is comprised of Netjeru, and Netjeru blur the lines between each other, taking on one another’s roles and duties fluidly. (Just look at Nebt-het, Nit, and Nut for an example.)

I am a pagan, and I am a polytheist, and I am a Kemetic. I could drop all association with any form of deity and still consider myself pagan, as I did briefly when I was younger. But now?

Now I live with the presence of Netjer and Its Names. Virtually no day passes without my thoughts going to Netjer; virtually no day passes without brushing up against the essence and color of one of my gods. I see Them in the world and its people; I rest against the sense of Their company when I am vulnerable or when I am delighted or any emotion between. I would, quite frankly, not be the person I currently am without the experience of Netjer and, very specifically, the individual Netjeru Who are in my life.

So yes, I must say I do agree with those who believe that paganism should not lose sight and sound of its gods. One can have a perfectly fulfilling, valid spirituality without any hint of theism, and I would not say that person is not a pagan, but there is a powerful difference between a pagan sans gods and a pagan with Them. Neither better nor worse, mind, simply a wholly distinct experience, and that should not be hidden away under the blanket definition of paganism which so frequently stays silent about its gods.

For myself, I will be bringing back Kemet’s gods by living in Their presence and shining all the more for Their richness. My spirituality may not touch anyone outside of myself, and I neither need nor expect it to—but by gladdening my life with my faith, I bring my best self into the world and, hopefully, make it just a little bit better.

Last year’s first B post was on birthdays.

Tuesday was my birthday, and I was blessed with surprise snow (in Texas, THIS IS AMAZING) in the morning, a zillion wonderfully happy-making birthday wishes from friends and family, and a truly lovely evening spent with my gods in shrine.

Today is a festival of Nit, Who is one of my Mother Nebt-het’s three faces, and my heart is glad: After discourse with Netjer and some months of contemplation, I have made an important choice in my spirituality. I will be taking Shemsu vows, swearing to honor my gods foremost and devoting myself primarily (but not exclusively) to Kemetic Orthodoxy, both the religion and the community. I’ve let Hemet (AUS) know, and I will be standing for my Netjer-given Shemsu name on Wednesday the 30th of this month, at 8h30 CST. It is my great pleasure and honor that my sister Ekunyi and I will be named on the same day; she announced her intentions to become Shemsu earlier this month, to the joy of our Kemetic family.

It has been fourteen months since I underwent the Rite of Parent Divination; it has been almost two years since Sekhmet led me to the House; it has been a lot more years than that that I’ve followed the Red Lady and wholly adored Her. I have loved this community and the Netjeru Who have become my family, and I have grown as a person, for better and for deeper, since I have been a part of Kemetic Orthodoxy. I am proud and excited to step up as a Shemsu, and the four Netjeru of my divination– and Sekhmet as well– support my decision to take these vows.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

After seeing some gorgeous posts on arranging sacred space, I wanted to do my second A post on my altar, my shrine, my own sacred space.

This is my shrine area, in the corner of my bedroom:

I have been told it’s colorful. >_> On the floor, you can see the wooden box that holds my tealights, the brown prayerbook leaning against it, and the metal container that holds my incense on the opposite side of the cabinet. The piece of paper pinned to the wall is my printed-out copy of the rite of Senut, a Kemetic Orthodoxy ritual. I also have two wooden snakes, one rattlesnake statue, a giant seashell, and my metal container (and heat-safe rock) for fire magic. Plus the first painting of Hethert-Nut I did.

The center of the shrine is a wooden cabinet that was my grandfather’s; it has two shelves inside of it, one of which holds my “extra” Kemetic icons (and several lion and snake statues) and the other of which holds my non-Kemetic pagan icons and treasures. Atop the cabinet is my main working space:

From left to right, you can see my protective gargoyle which I have had forever, a sandalwood candle, my Capricorn lighter (I am terrible with matches), my incense holder, a glass “chalice” that holds my tealights, a bronze casting of an Egyptian sphinx, my offering plate, my four offering cups and the pourer, a tiny stone container of natron right in front of the pourer, a golden glass container specifically for Ma’ahes and Serqet that holds another tealight, a Persian sphinx statue, a cone incense burner, and a copper-colored dagger styled with Egyptian imagery.

The four-colored shelf above the cabinet is for the gods of my divine family; I oil-painted the shelf in Their colors. From left to right, we have Ma’ahes, Hethert-Nut, Nebt-het, and Serqet; the order flows, especially when taking into account that Sekhmet’s shelf is to the left. From Sekhmet, Eye of Ra, we have Ma’ahes, also an Eye, and Hethert-Nut, Who is the sky and thus home to the Eye, then Nebt-het, Who is also a celestial Netjeru, then Serqet, Who is related to Nebt-het by virtue of also being a protective goddess. (The four Netjeru Who are usually hailed as protective funerary goddesses are Nebt-het, Nit, Aset, and Serqet.)

Hanging below each Netjeru’s portion of the shelf is a necklace I made for Them, plus a bracelet that I found and bought for Them. Above the shelf are paintings of and for each of Them, and on the shelf are various objects and icons. Ma’ahes has the silver lion’s-head ring I wear constantly, a leaping lion relief (not Egyptian), and a lying lion statue, made by Nicolas of Shadow of the Sphinx, who is a fabulously talented and kind artisan that I recommend to everyone. Hethert-Nut has an awful lot of shinies, including the starcow statue, a Hethert prayer card from a fellow Kemetic, yet another necklace with a cow pendant made out of Sculpey, a tiny Celestial Cow figurine (made by Mimafdet), and the leftover gold and night-sky beads from Her necklaces. Nebt-het has a variety of dried flowers, a buckwheat-seed “pillow,” a black bone ankh, a large amethyst stone, and a tiny amethyst earring; I wear the other earring of the pair. Serqet has a scorpion conch shell, a scorpion made of woven wire, and a lovely statue of Her human form, which was a gift from my sister.

To the left of the main shelf is my smaller shelf for Sekhmet, painted bright red:

You can see several Sekhmet icons, most of which were gifts; the rightmost was made by Nicolas of Shadow of the Sphinx. There’s also a tiny white bird carved out of shell and a lion vertebra (obtained legally and ethically). Hanging from the bar of the shelf is a necklace that has Sekhmet’s name and another small lion bone.

To the right of the main shelf is a new installation for Set, Heru-wer, Yinepu, and Wepwawet:

Like the big shelf, I painted this according to Their colors, then offered stones (mahogany obsidian to Set, jet to the Jqls, and picture jasper to Heru-wer) and paintings of Their names in hieroglyphs. The Jqls also get a copper-and-pewter ring and two pennies.

In the corner, below the tapestry of Aker and above Serqet’s corner, is my akhu (ancestor) shrine:

You can see photos of my dad’s dad and mom’s mom, as well as a white candle, cone incense, and behind the photos is a little glass of water, which rests in a coffee cup that was my grandma’s. You can also see a little wooden bird, painted blue with silver stars, and a necklace and pin that were my grandpa’s. Near Grama’s photo is a blue lotus-like glass flower with four golden freshwater pearl beads (from Hethert-Nut’s stash) and a wee vial of scented oil that reminds me of my grandpa’s house. There is, of course, the colorful akhu painting above the shelf and Grama’s silver flapper-ish purse hanging to the right of the shelf. Below the shelf is a hand-written prayer, which I read weekly while offering fresh water and lighting the candle and incense.

To the right of my akhu shrine, above the little shelf for Set and Heru-wer and the Jqls, is a corkboard that holds my religious and personal jewelry. I hung it all up for the purposes of this photo; on any given day, I’m wearing one or two bracelets, my watch, and 1-4 necklaces, though usually only two are visible on the outside of my shirt.

From left to right, we’ve got two necklaces for Serqet, one a scorpion in amber resin and the other one I made for us, featuring a sphinx medallion with a tiger’s-eye silver scorpion. Next are two necklaces for Hethert-Nut; the copper one was custom-made by Riv of PurpleShiny, and the round one is an image from the Orion Nebula. Next to those are two personal necklaces, one of twin sphinxes and the other of a lion skull cast in metal. To the right of those are two bracelets, a custom chainmaille bracelet woven by J. Koyanagi of Helix Chainmaille, and the akhu bracelet I made. Next to that is the pewter Sekhmet pendant I wear under my shirt; I’ve had it for years and years, a gift from another Sekhmet devotee. After that are a few more chainmaille creations: some singular earrings and a chainmaille bracelet for Hethert-Nut, plus a copper “coin” earring and a magnetic rainbowized hematite bracelet. Lastly, you’ve got my watch and two seed-bead bracelets (that I did not make).

I hope you’ve enjoyed this virtual, visual tour through my shrine! :)

Last year’s second A post was on Anhur.

Two weeks ago, I returned to the mountains of Nevada for the first time I moved almost two years ago… and for the first time since I met the Netjeru Who would be divined my Mother: Nebt-het.

My Mother is quiet and more subtle than any of the other gods of my divined family. While I’ve drawn incredibly close with my Beloveds, Ma’ahes and Serqet, and while I have a lot of indirect interaction with my Mama Hethert-Nut through my love of space and all my creative hobbies, Nebt-het and I remain much less… talkative.

On Christmas Day, white misty clouds rolled in over the gorgeous Nevada mountains and brought with them the snow that I have pined for since leaving for Texas. I stood outside, in socks and a flannel overshirt, and watched the mountains disappear and the first snowflakes begin falling.

It was cold, and still, and shushed-quiet, though I could hear the happy burble of my rowdy extended family inside the house behind me. Everything was calm and greyscale and absolutely, perfectly beautiful.

And I realized… this was Her. This was my Mother; this was Nebt-het. This greyness, this chill, this solemn quietude, these tiny white pieces of the sky drifting downwards, this half-light between day and night. This was Her peace, the soothing touch of cool hands that help the living transition from life.

I started Wiccan, and there’s enough of that left in me that I find it no stretch at all to link the death-stage of the Wheel of the Year, winter’s cold hibernation, to the death of individuals passing from warm and vibrant life to the Otherworld, and thus to the goddess Who facilitates that transition and Who comforts those left behind. She is, after all, married to Set, the god of all storms– including even blizzards. It is not so hard to believe that a Netjeru of Egypt could be linked to snow in the Nevada desert.

Standing in the cold, my nose and feet gone numb, my hair dusted white, I was surrounded by my Mother’s presence, and quietly overjoyed.

Alternate post title: Who The Hell Is On My Wall?

This is the hand-made painted tapestry that hangs over my shrine area:

I adore it. It was a gift from a one-time next-door-neighbor in Colorado, along with most of my other Egyptian paintings. It is one of my very favorite pieces my neighbor-artist graciously gave me.

I also don’t know, for sure, Who it depicts. I’ve run the gamut in my research and circled back, and forth, and sideways.

A lot of my sources suggest that these twin lions are, in fact, the lions of Yesterday and Today, Sef and Duau, which are akeru, the plural of the Egyptian god Aker, a pre-dynastic earth Netjeru. Other sources say this is Ruti, the “two lions.” Others say this pair is Shu and Tefnut, ancient gods of wind and moisture respectively.

Of course, since Kemeticism is full of polyvalent logic, this tapestry could easily depict all of the above. Conveniently, I am extremely fond of Shu and Tefnut, as well as deeply interested in Aker, so it’s pretty much a win-win situation for me.

For the purpose of this post, I’d like to talk a little more about Aker, Who is not one of the better-known deities of ancient Egypt. Aker is depicted as a single-bodied lion with a head at each end, symbolizing the rising and setting sun on the horizon; in this form, He is often shown with the barque of the sun god Ra on His back. The version we see in my tapestry, however, is of two physically-separate lions, with leopard-like spots, holding the sun rising or setting between two mountains. That sun-and-mountains symbol indicates the horizon, the akhet. Both two-headed and two-bodied versions of Aker can have human or lion heads, making Him occasionally a sphinx (or pair of sphinxes).

Aker, being the earth and the horizon, was both protector and gateway; He defended Ra and the king against serpents small and large, as well as allowing passage into and out of the underworld (which was His body). Because of His guardian aspects and funerary associations, twin lions were often placed near palaces, tombs, and thresholds as protectors and wards against evil. Additionally, Aker could neutralize poisons in those who had been stung by scorpions or bitten by snakes, or even had just swallowed something toxic. He was occasionally shown on protective amulets or apotropaic wands from the Middle Kingdom.

Some sources suggest that Aker’s differing depictions seem to have given clues to His intended role. As the two-headed horizon, He was a more passively beneficial earth deity that held the severed pieces of Apep imprisoned safely. In His form of two lions, however, He was more active in destroying evil, and references in the Pyramid Texts indicate the twin lions had to refrain from “seizing” the deceased king traveling through the underworld, which is likely why that depiction of Aker was more commonly featured on entryways to keep evil from passing through.

References include G. Pinch’s Egyptian Mythology, R. Wilkinson’s The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, G. Hart’s Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, and T. Siuda’s Kemet.org.

Last year’s first A post was Apotropaic Deities.

And thus we happen upon the second year of the Pagan Blog Project! Last year, I did a total of 28 posts, petering out around the midpoint of the year as dayjob busyness hit an all-time high. You can see last year’s posts here.

I’ll be endeavoring to complete the full year this time around, with a couple small caveats.

1) For the letters I covered last year, I may only do one post instead of the ideal two.
2) If I can’t think up a substantial post for a given letter, I may write a prayer or hymn, or even do a painting and share a photograph, instead. That way I can still contribute and be active without stressing over it.
3) Like last year, I won’t be doing 101 posts or writing about topics that aren’t deeply interesting and/or relevant to me and my experiences as a Kemetic and pagan.
4) I’m still going to try to do a non-PBP post every Wednesday, in addition to the Friday PBPs.

Let the blogging begin!

PS: I made a few Kemetic PBP banners, two for main posts and two for sidebars. Please feel free to use them! :) The long ones feature Nebt-het (Nephthys) on the left and Seshat on the right; the sidebar ones feature either Seshat or Djehuty (Thoth).

I’ve been quiet, I know – the onset of winter usually finds me drawing inwards and socializing less – but I’d like to make a concentrated effort to post more here. This isn’t a New Year’s resolution so much as an ongoing goal, a habit I’d like to ingrain into my weekly routine. I’m aiming for every Wednesday. I like Wednesday; it’s a good day.

To get back into the swing of things, I’ll share a few holiday anecdotes:

It took me hours to write up and send Moomas cards. My hand cramped by the end. But it brought me joy to send out these little pieces of me to my brothers and sisters, my Kemetic kin, and I look forward to doing it next year, too. (But I’ll try to start a week or so earlier…!)

I put up all the Moomas cards I received over our fireplace, carefully so we could still read the insides and see the outsides. Seeing them all brings me such happiness. I love my community.

I spent Christmas* week in Nevada, where my partner’s family is and where I’d lived for a couple years before we moved to Texas. We drove, my partner J and I, and our two dogs, and we stayed with Mama J. None of J’s family are very religious in any direction, but Christmas is a time for family and joy nonetheless. Being around people who loved and welcomed us, being able to exchange handcrafted gifts… it felt like a real Christmas for the first time in a while, and I am deeply grateful.

*Christmas, while a Christian holiday, is to me a cultural one. I do celebrate it as a secular holiday, similarly to Thanksgiving; I remove the religious and the materialistic trappings and focus on the cornerstones of family, love, and generosity. And warmth. My childhood Christmasses left deeply emotional and visceral memories, and I strive to recreate that wonder and love each new Christmas.

I did not do much in particular to mark the Solstice, either to celebrate the reborn sun as a pagan or to welcome back the Eye as a Kemetic. I also didn’t do much to celebrate Moomas on the 25th, the Establishment of the Celestial Cow, despite lofty hopes of going back to last year’s Moomas post (which has gotten some link-love this year! ♥) and improving some of the translation quality… or practicing and recording a sharable version of the Moomas song I wrote last year… *sheepish*

I say this not because these holidays don’t matter to me, but because it’s important to acknowledge that, sometimes, I miss even really big days. I love my winter holidays, more dearly than most any others, but this year, being in the presence of my loved ones was enough celebration for me. (Even if I feel I really ought to have done more!)

I hope you’ve all had a blessed holiday season, and I look forward to catching up with everyone in the coming days.

Welcome back, Eye of Ra, we cherish the warmth You return to us!

Hail Hethert-Nut, Celestial Cow, Who holds Ra aloft in the safety and peace of the stars!