About
The daily devotions are written by Her Holiness the Nisut (AUS) and include
prayers and special practices for the faithful, corresponding to the Kemetic Orthodox
calendar.
From 1994-1999, the daily devotions had been available exclusively to followers
of the House of Netjer. We share them now with the general public so that all may
learn from these enlightening and thought-provoking missives.
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 30-31, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Today and tomorrow we celebrate days in honor of Djehuty, Bast and Sekhmet, to protect the lands and to establish Ma'at. Each represents a differing form of power: knowledge, the protection of innocence, and the vengeance of wrongdoing. It is telling that in the mythology surrounding these days of the calendar, Knowledge (Djehuty) sends the two forms of Protection/Power out into the world, to guard and protect it. Knowledge, which can be understood as a form of Power itself, is also that which shapes power to its best use.
Power is an important facet of everyone's life, and perhaps one of the least understood. Where you place your power is often more important than how much or how little you have; where it is placed and why can even make a difference in its expression.
Where is your power?
Should it be in that place?
Where does your power serve you best?
Where does it serve others best? Are these the same areas?
Many questions to ponder in shrine. Be on the lookout for powerful forces.
Dua Djehuty! Dua Bast! Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
We give additional thanks (Dua-Netjer!) for those Feast of Offerings gifts that came in after the "official" list of donors was posted. It has been a most wonderful season of giving and we are looking forward to continuing to give back into 2001.
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 27-29, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
The Festival of Establishing the Celestial Cow and Placing Offerings Upon the Altar
This long name says it all -- we are in the midst of a three-day festival of gift-giving upon the return of Hethert-Sekhmet to our land, as observed in the lengthening of the days in the Northern Hemisphere where Egypt lies. However, unlike Kemetic New Year where the emphasis is upon giving gifts to each other, the Celestial Cow/Feast of Offerings days are geared toward giving gifts to Netjer, and Netjer's House in the form of gifts to our temple and temple community.
Each year, the priesthood of Kemetic Orthodoxy and myself make a special presentation to the temple of a gift much needed. This year, I offer a personal gift: a book about to be published, consisting of Kemetic prayers and simple household heka, for the use of all of Netjer's Children, both here in the House and in the general public. As more publication/availability information is available on the book it will be released, but the galley manuscript has been placed upon the altar for the Festival. Nekhtet!
May the Celestial Cow rain down prosperity from heaven upon you during this blessed holiday. Offer milk and warm drinks to our Mother Hethert in Her honor!
Dua Hethert! Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
Consider posting information about your gifts to Netjer, in the form of service or other forms, on the boards! Dua-Netjer to you for sharing prosperity during Her season of light!
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 26, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
We continue yesterday's honoring of Sokar-Wesir in the Tepy Abed ("Front of the Crescent," or New Moon) festival today. As the Eye returns to Its potency, lay the groundwork for new plans in the new month ahead.
Again I just wanted to say how proud I am of all the children of Netjer, Shemsu, Remetj and Probationers, who have been contributing to Ma'at by serving their fellow creations, whether people, animals, the environment, or a mixture of all of them. It is so exciting to know that other people are able to share the greatness of the moment, when you realize you have made a difference in the world.
Reach out a hand and help someone (or something) out today. It doesn't hurt, it's easy and the feeling you receive in return would be worth any effort put out. Carry Ma'at to the world as an offering to Netjer, so that Ma'at may be returned a thousandfold.
Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances - to choose one's own way."
Viktor Frankl
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 25, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
It's not our holiday.
In fact, my religion doesn't mark any special religious events today, so while many I know are doing something "special," are off work, or have been running around trying to get together gifts and cooking and family plans, in theory, there is nothing at all I am required to do today that is different from that of any other day, nor is there anything expected of the Kemetic Orthodox, Netjer's Children, on this day which is so holy to many people around the world.
Yet, I'll be damned if Netjer's Children aren't out making this a special day too.
So far, even though here where I am the Christmas holiday is yet to begin, I have heard about trips to the townships of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa to deliver food and gifts...serving food to the homeless in Los Angeles...helping out on Indian reservations...creating or purchasing blankets for those who have nowhere warm to stay in the winter...letter-writing to the terminally ill...tutoring children...donations for homeless children...environmental crusades in Ohio...social work in Chicago...and the list grows ever longer, as you can see if you visit the section of our boards where I ask these services to be shared.
I know Netjer's Children are out there, bringing Ma'at to total strangers and honored guests, friends and family and people they have never seen before. On a day held sacred by one religion as the birth of its savior, my people are contributing to this sense of goodwill by sharing with others, even though it "isn't our holiday."
May Netjer bless all of you for your warm and open hearts on this day, and each day, whether it's a holiday or not. I love you and I am so proud of you all.
Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
We wish our Christian friends a blessed Christmas, a Happy Chanukah to our Jewish Friends, and for our friends in Egypt and elsewhere who follow the teachings of Mohammed (pbuH), Eid al-Fitr Ramadan mubarak!
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 24, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
I hope that your Bast Festival days were as happy as mine were!
Perhaps because it was She who called many of our priesthood to the Kemetic Orthodox religion, and She was the first influence in many an early member's life, Bast has a special place in the hearts of our Kemetic Orthodox priesthood. (As well She should; two of Her children serve as Kai-Imakhu.) Even though there are other larger festivals at this time of year for the House such as the Return of the Eye and the Feast of Offerings Upon the Altar, I often notice Netjer's presence more strongly during the two-day Bast Festival this month, and this year's festival was no exception.
Did you also notice small miracles in things normally taken for granted, spontaneous offers of giving, and a feeling of joyfulness that didn't necessarily have any physical source?
Such is the movement of the Invisible Paw in our world. I am honored to know Her and to give Her offerings at this time of the returning light. Hail to Bast for keeping all of Netjer's children safe for yet another year.
Dua Bast! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present."
Roger Babson
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 22, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
We celebrate a two-day Saq, or Ritual Appearance festival, of Bast.
Sometimes referred to in Old Kingdom texts as the "northern Hethert," it is entirely appropriate for Bast to be honored as we celebrate the return of the Eye of Ra. Today, make special offering to Her for Her protection in your household.
Dua Bast! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper."
Robert Frost
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 21, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
We continue to celebrate the Day of the Return of the Wandering Goddess (Hethert-Sekhmet, the mythological equivalent of Winter Solstice).
Last evening was one of particular joy in the House of Netjer family. After honoring the Return together in ritual Dua, we were honored to welcome four new Shemsu into the family of Netjer's Children with Kemetic Names!
It is always a really exciting and heart-warming time for me to bless the heads and the kas of Netjer's Children in giving them the name their Parent(s) have picked out. It is the spiritual birthday of a Kemetic Orthodox and a day of much celebration. I wish all four of them the deepest blessings of Netjer's love as they begin new lives in the faith.
Nekhtet!! to Tua-Aset, Setepenaset, Seshmet-itues, and Padineba'a (and happy physical birthday to you too, Padi!) Welcome to the family!
Dua Hethert-Sekhmet! Dua Shemsu Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
I am excited to add that more Shemsu Namings will be happening very soon. It is a good month for the People! Rejoice!
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 20, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
We celebrate the end of the short days of the year and the return of the sun, the Eye of Ra, on the Day of the Return of the Wandering Goddess.
According to myth, Hethert (Hathor) (in some stories, Hethert in Her guise as Tefnut or Sekhmet) became angry with Her Father, Ra, and left Kemet for lands unknown, lands to the south. One of Ra's messengers (Djehuty, Shu, or Anhur (a form of Heru-Shu Whose very name means "to bring back the far one")) managed to track Her down and convince Her to return. Today's festival coincides with the realization that the Sun is indeed returning to the Two Lands, in the form of the Winter Solstice.
Make a joyful celebration in your house today in honor of Her return! I look forward to seeing many Shemsu, Remetj and their loved ones and families at our Dua celebration in Her honor this evening.
Dua Hethert! Dua Sekhmet! Dua Tefnut! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
We also have an example for the return of the Sun in another form -- now that Kemetic Orthodoxy has spread even to the Southern Hemisphere with Shemsu and Remetj in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, we know that somewhere in the world the Summer Solstice is also being celebrated by our family! Nekhtet!
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 19, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
The Feast of Heru's Meshenet ("fishermen-harpooners") is upon us.
In situations of challenge, be like the Meshenet, who kept fishermen safe from crocodiles, water snakes and hippopotami, standing at the prow of the boat watching for danger. Keep your spear and your eyes sharp. Should you have to make a defensive throw, or even an offensive one -- make sure you know what you are attacking and whether or not your throw will be effective before you even try. (There is no trying again when a crocodile is bearing down upon you and your spear is already underwater!)
Be focused, disciplined, and fearless in the face of the challenge and perhaps it will turn away before the spear even leaves your hands. For even the Uncreated can be turned away by the threat of the preparations of Set, standing with His spear proudly at the prow of Ra's boat.
May Heru's Meshenet protect you as you go about today.
Dua Heru! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"To do two things at once is to do neither."
Publilius Syrus
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 18, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Today we honor the Ritual Appearance (or Saq ) of Shu.
First to rise from the Creator was Shu, whose name can mean "wind" or "breath" or "emptiness" or even sometimes "sunshine." As the first Child of Creation and paired with Tefnut, "sky-spittle" (a poetic term for "dew" as "rain" does not truly occur in a reliable fashion in the Two Lands), Shu is also the engenderer of Sky (Nut) and Earth (Geb). Later, Shu is identified both with Heru-wer (Who is also Sky in another fashion), and with Heka, the Authoritative Utterance powered by the breath of air.
In shrine today, begin by simply breathing, noticing your breath, and contemplating the hidden powers of air. End by sharing your thoughts aloud, as heka on the breath, before Netjer.
May Shu's hidden forces guide you ever gently forward.
Dua Shu! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"If you want to speak with God, tell it to the wind."
Ghanaian Traditional Proverb
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 17, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Half-month Festival brings the Ritual Appearance (or Saq ) of Nun.
It might sound strange for there to be a ritual festival for the very stuff of creation. Perhaps not, though. Perhaps it is a day to take your ideas to shrine, those things which have yet to be taken from the spaces of your mind into the tangible forms of reality.
May you rise as the Benu bird from the Nun along with your hopes and dreams today.
Dua Nun! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality."
Erich Fromm
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 15, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
According to our ancient calendars, today is The Day of Prolonging Life and Making Ma'at Beneficial in the Temple.
Make special offerings to Ma'at today and also to Sekhmet, Her Protectress, that you are protected and given all the blessings of Netjer. (After yesterday, you should be on better terms with Her!) Ask in prayer that Ma'at enter your life and only grow, replacing all difficulty and all challenges.
May She Who is Truth be with you every day!
Dua Ma'at! Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand."
Josh Billings
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 14, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Today we Answer Every Speech of Sekhmet.
Sekhmet says to you:
Are your words appropriate?
Are your deeds appropriate?
Are your thoughts appropriate?
Is your work appropriate?
Is your service appropriate?
Is your worship appropriate?
What do you need to do to answer Her speeches if your answer is No to any of the above? Make offering of red beer or honey to cool Sekhmet's fierceness and gain Her protection on this day.
Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
Sekhmet's appropriateness can also be directed at medicinal issues. Are you taking good care of your health? Get a "check up" at Imakhu Niankhsekhmet's Sekhmet and Ancient Egyptian Medicinewebsite!
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Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 12-13, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
I wanted to share some photographs with all of you. In going through some images I have been collecting over the years I found three of differing shrines to Netjer I have established. Often, we do not share personal shrines with each other out of a sense of keeping them "sacred." Netjer assures me there will be no such lessening of sacredness by showing these images of my personal shrines to you, and so I am delighted to share.
Here is an image of a shrine dedicated primarily to Bast and Djehuty, the original "temple space" of the House of Netjer (then called the House of Bast), taken sometime during 1992 or 1993.
Here is a "travel shrine" -- a small shrine which I took with me carrying an image of Ma'at to the Parliament of World Religions one year ago this past week.
And finally, here is an image of an Akhu altar kept in my house. Its contents change with the seasons and holidays. This photograph was taken earlier in the year, and the golden shrine at its middle below the false offering-door contains the ka-statue of my spiritual son Wesir Amunemma'atef (Terry Atwood), who went West in February, 1999.
I hope you enjoy these photographs and they inspire your personal shrines as well. Netjer is always pleased with a sincere space no matter what it contains or its size or shape.
Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
A shrine is the seat of Netjer -- a place where you can commune with your Creator at any time. Don't forget to visit yours today!
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 11, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Tepy-Semdet, the day of Full Moon, is here. Add special prayers to Sokar-Wesir on His special monthly day when the Eye of Heru is restored in full!
May all Akhu and all gods and goddesses bless your moon festivals.
Dua Sokar-Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
Mark Twain
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 10, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
So, yesterday I talked about creation as the gift of Netjer to Its children (the ability to do things, make things, change things), and the reality of a need for responsibility around that gift, embodied in the concept (and the Name of Netjer) we call Ma'at.
It is true that humans can accomplish amazing feats through their intelligence, strength, extrapolative ability and sheer willpower. Technology alone would support this idea. Sometimes it seems that the human mind has no impediments, the human spirit no limitations. We walk as gods among our own creations, splitting the atom, creating life out of life either naturally or through genetic manipulation. What is there that humans cannot accomplish?
Are all the things that humans accomplish "good"? Is the act of creation, the gift of Netjer, a "good" thing that thereby renders all creations "good" by default? Where do "bad" creations come from -- or are there such things? More to discuss on the boards....
May Netjer bless you richly today and every day.
Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"The deepest experience of the creator is feminine, for it is experience of receiving and bearing."
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 9, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
I am always proud of my students in my Wisdom Literature class, but the past two nights in particular I really have to commend them. They have done a wonderful job of extrapolating "take-home wisdom" from 4,000-year old documents and even teach me a thing or two in the process!
This week we discussed Ma'at in relation to personal responsibility. It wasn't the original intent of the discussion, but surely enough as often happens when we discuss Wisdom Literature we came right back to two principles or "rules of the universe" as someone called them:
1. Netjer created people, and gave to them the gift of Creation as well.
2. In order to use the gift given in #1, one must obey the law of responsibility, in other words, Ma'at.
Much to think about and perhaps even a board discussion in the making....more tomorrow.
Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"The price of greatness is responsibility."
Sir Winston Churchill
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 8, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Today we offer food to Khenty-Irety, a form of Wesir, Who guards the Akhu.
List the names of your Akhu before the shrine today. All Akhu whose names have been supplied to me will also be listed by me in our main shrine and recorded in the Book of the Names of the Akhu kept there. (If you would like to have a prayer said for your Akhu today, please send me a prayer request using the link below and it shall be done!)
May Those Who Soar with Nut receive all of our offerings today and always.
Dua Wesir! Dua Akhu! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"He is able who thinks he is able."
Buddha
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 7, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Wesir's Coronation Festival continues, along with the Day that Sekhmet Places the Flame at the Altar.
Add a red candle or a lamp with red oil to your shrine today in honor of the Eye of Ra. Ask for Her assistance in protection in your life.
How did your meditations (see yesterday's devotion) turn out?
Dua Wesir! Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses."
C. G. Jung
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 6, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Wesir's Coronation Festival continues.
Remember that the seeds you sow at this time to become goals in the new season do not grow by desire alone. They will require your dedication, your hard work and your attention. You will need to go within occasionally to "check up" on the status of those seeds, to nurture them and to bring them to fruition.
In pursuit of this "going within," I'd like for each of you to try a new form of meditation, just before you go to rest. When vision recedes and hearing is just a memory, in that small space between asleep and awake, reach out to Netjer with your ka.
You may be very surprised at the results.
Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"It takes a great man to be a good listener."
Calvin Coolidge
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 5, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Wesir's Coronation Festival continues, along with a celebration in honor of the Drunkenness of the Eye of Ra.
Celebrate in shrine by offering red beer or red wine if appropriate, to appease She Who is Divine Vengeance, and honor Her sacrifice of white-hot anger to rid the world of Isfet. May She turn a kindly Eye upon you and yours as She rids your life of all the baggage it does not require.
Dua Wesir! Dua Sekhmet-Hethert! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough."
Bede Jarrett
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 4, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Wesir's Coronation Festival continues today with a notation in the ancient calendars: Make a holiday in your house today.
Enjoy the day and make sure to include Netjer and the Akhu in your festivities!
Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 3, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Today we mark the first day of a new month and a new season. Let goals be made and celebrations commence!
We celebrate also the Festival of Wesir's Coronation along with a special day in honor of Nehebkau, "He Who Harnesses the Spirits." Son of Serqet, Nehebkau in the form of a great snake encircles and protects the unseen world.
Give special offering today to Nehebkau to gain the protection of the Akhu and Netjer.
Dua Nehebkau! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
"The soul that is within me no man can degrade."
Frederick Douglass
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Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
December 2, 2000
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.
Ptah-Sokar-Wesir Festival is completed today with the "Raising of the Djed Pillar."
Today also marks the last day of the month and festivals in honor of the Akhu. Leave special offerings for Ra, Heru, Wesir and the Akhu in shrine today, and remember your Akhu with cool water and all the things they enjoy.
Stability has returned in the form of Wesir's establishment upon the throne of the West. May we enter into the year fully now, with our goals well set and our preparations made.
Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
Just because World AIDS day (see yesterday's devotion) is only one day, doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to think about it....keep up the good work!
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