continuing exploration of ancient Egyptian religion
I’ve been writing about Jackal’s Eve, the fictional Kemetic holiday in which Wepwawet and Yinepu deliver gifts on the Night Before Moomas. Moomas is, of course, based on “The Establishment of the Celestial Cow,” which was a relatively unimportant holiday in ancient Egypt. The Rev. Siuda has written a blog entry about Moomas, which she…
My friend Setken, one of my fellow Kemetic Interfaith Network bloggers, wrote an interesting post that posed several questions and invited comment. Take a look! I’m putting my responses here. I think we Kemetics are making something very new. We can’t help but do it, because re-creating the past is an impossibility. But what are we…
I’ve started a second website/blog called shrinebeautiful.com, Enspiring, Enchanting Sacred Spaces- Altars and Shrines from Many Pagan Paths. Its goal is to go beyond being a photo collection, have people discuss the “why” and “how,” and categorize each shrine by path(s), with links to pages with more information. Why Shrine Beautiful? The neo-pagan* world is wonderfully diverse….
The ancient Egyptians went to a lot of trouble for their religion. Herodotus certainly thought so, and said they were “religious to a higher degree than any other people.” The temple complex at Karnak, dedicated to Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, covered 200 acres. It’s one of the largest religious sites in the world. There were…
Why DO we worship the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt? “Why Follow An Ancient Religion?“, from the website of the Kemetic Temple of San Jose (one of two temples that author Richard Reidy is associated with,) might be a good place to start. In modern practice, I think Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) often trumps what we…
In ancient Egypt, there was a well-established principle that a replica of something could be a magical stand-in for the real item. Tombs contained miniature houses and boats. Even servants- the ushabti, of course. In temples, the same principle applied. Menu lists of offerings, magically activated, could substitute for real ones if necessary. Important symbolic…
Are you interested in Kemeticism, but don’t know how to begin? The Kemetic Starter Guideis an excellent overview! What would you suggest to a beginner? Are there things you wish you had known when you were starting out?
The Ausir Misteries – The exciting Bast conclusion! You might remember from the last entry that we made an Osiris Bed, with lush green wheat grass. The miracle of life from “dead” wheat grain. Now it’s time to offer it! On the offering table. Another view… Close-up And after the ritual.. These your divine offerings…
The Ausir Mysteries – Bast Side Project Begins! Remember a few posts ago, when I had deliberately made a few more sprouts? What happened to them? A shallow pot, and some potting soil. I had a spare bonsai pot sitting around, but you could use anything that will hold an inch or two of soil….
Ausir Mysteries – The Final Chapter? The Offering Bread is Baked! At last! Here’s the loaf. The top sunk a tiny bit, an indication that there was too much liquid, but at least it didn’t collapse. That’s a common problem when you’re adding ingredients with a liquid component. It might have helped if I had…