Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 30 - May 1, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 13

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Bast, coming forth from the shrine, I do not eat my heart.

I've given purification 13 a two-day run in our series, as I feel it is one of the most important of the purifications, and as we were unable to post it before the midpoint of Monday for each of you to read and reflect upon. Use the extra time to sink your teeth into it and all the previous purifications as a whole.

This purification invokes Bast, the Devouring Lady, from Her shrine, and declares that one has not "eaten his heart." The heart (ib) being the symbolic place of emotions, memories and conscience for a person, is a very important body center and the place where one feeds his or her ka, either with ma'at or, in some unfortunate cases, with isfet.

It is possible when engaging in situations that lead away from ma'at to get caught up in negative feelings like anger, jealousy, lust or revenge. When we allow our hearts to become filled with these emotions, instead of being able to feed our kas with the bread of ma'at, we are already filled, as if we had swallowed stones. Our hearts, unable to feed themselves, begin to turn inward, and consume themselves in hunger -- first slowly, than ever faster as the isfet builds up and chokes out the nourishment of Netjer.

To eat one's heart is to starve oneself of ma'at, to turn in upon oneself until there is nothing left but an empty husk. We must not eat of our own selves, not in pride, not in jealousy, not in self-loathing, not in hatred. We must not leave any room in our hearts for this evil to build up -- we must fill them instead with love so that no hunger can happen there. What is empty within us must be filled with nourishment, not more emptiness.

I pray to Min, to Whom these two days belong, for growth in your lives, for nourishment and food rather than hunger and pain.

Dua Min! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 28-29, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Our Nisut's lessons on the 42 Purifications will resume on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend. Be watching our website for Her Holiness' lecture transcript from the ARCE 2001 Annual Meeting!

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Weekend:
"Better to be occasionally cheated than perpetually suspicious."
B.C. Forbes

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 27, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 12

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail His-Face-Behind-Him, coming forth from his roof, I do not give the wink.

It's always interesting to find a word or phrase that has the same meaning it did many centuries ago, and such is the case with Purification 12. Invoking the keeper of Ra's boat in the Field of Reeds, "the one who looks behind him(self)," it purifies against "giving the wink." At first I was quite puzzled by this phrase and wondered if it had any similar connotation to the idea we often construe with "winking" in modern times. I was amazed to find it has nearly the same meaning.

To "give the wink" in ancient Egypt was a phrase used to describe people, in particular judges, who were corrupt or able to be corrupted; when paid off correctly, they would let a prisoner go, "giving the wink" to the person who put the fix in to let them know it had been done. Often in English this phrase is "to give the nod" rather than the wink, but an eye wink in Western culture still is associated with the idea of something not entirely serious, a body language point that says "I was just kidding" or "that's what he thinks; you and I know better" to the person being winked at.

Next time you feel inclined to a lazy eye, pray to Netjer for purification.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 26, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 11

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Qererti, coming forth from Amenti, I do not fornicate with minors.

Purification eleven's one of the most controversial, and has been mistranslated in many ways for many reasons.

Quite literally, the purification is dedicated to Wesir, "He Who is in His Caverns" (Qererti) in the West (Amenti). It speaks against, again quite literally while still remaining readable by our younger members, "having sex with a sex-boy." There's a play on words here. The verb nek, the most vulgar way to say "intercourse" in Egyptian, is played off of the very similar looking word "nekek," literally a prepubescent boy who is used to nek -- a child prostitute.

The sexual abuse of children has to be one of the strongest sins in our faith. I pray by all Names that children be protected.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 25, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 10

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Bright-Flame, coming forth from Ptah's temple in Mennefer (Hwt-ka-Ptah in Memphis), I do not dislike myself.

What an incredible statement in the tenth purification! The "bright flame" of Ptah's temple, of course, is Sekhmet, the goddess of Appropriate Action. Who better to appoint to the maintenance of a purification that talks about not indulging in keni-i, a verb that can be translated in several ways but all of which suggest self-pity, being overly hard on oneself, or even disgust or dislike?

The more I review these hieroglyphs, the more I am inclined to smile and let them explain themselves. This one needs no lecture from me. I pray to bright Sekhmet for an end to dislike, even unto that of one to one's self. May She help you to an appropriate relationship with your own ka.

Dua Netjer!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 24, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 9

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Bone-Breaker, coming forth from Neni-nisut (Hierakonpolis), I do not carry off the offering-bread.

Purification Nine finds us in the first city of Egypt (Hierakonpolis, called Nekhen in Kemetic), with Heru-wer, called by one of His more physically intimidating nicknames. It is another purification against theft, though this time there's a specific theft in mind. Imyt here is a word for the standard offerings made in temples, the bread that is the basis of every day's offering to Netjer. It can be used as a euphemism for all offerings made, or as a catchphrase to indicate the entire daily offering made by a temple to Netjer.

Offerings to Netjer, especially in the form of food, actually were carried off, however: to serve as breakfast, lunch or dinner for the priesthood, the royal establishment, or the nobility or people who offered them. So, what does this purification mean, that one should not have partaken of the food passed out to the celebrants of a ritual after the ritual was over?

No -- it means that one should not take from these offerings before they have been given to Netjer -- before they are touched by Netjer and thus transformed into offerings from God to man. One must not take away from Netjer's table to feed oneself -- one must allow the god or goddess to share with him or her. This purification is all about letting Netjer have the first taste, in a literal sense -- and letting Netjer give you what you need in a symbolic one.

I pray that Heru-wer doesn't have to "break your bones" to get that one to sink in, and that you receive all you need, and then some, from His table.

Dua Netjer!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 23, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 8

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Fiery One, coming forth backwards, I do not speak lies.

The eighth of the purifications invokes the cobra-serpent called uraeus by most scholars: the Eye of Ra, form of Wadjet, Sekhmet, Bast, Tefnut and/or Het-hert seated upon the brow of a Nisut's crown or the crowns of certain gods and goddesses.

One of the Fiery One's main tasks, and in fact the one from which She gains this nickname, is to spit fire (or caustic venom) upon those who would harm the ones She is installed to protect: Ra, fellow divinities such as Heru, Aset, Het-hert and Wesir, the Nisut in the form of the kingly ka, or the Two Lands themselves. Her protection against harm is not limited to physical violence and often actually is not put toward such ends, for which Her wearers have many other guards and heka at their disposal.

Here, the Cobra-as-Eye of Ra is empowered to act as Ma'at, and thus lend the ability to "see through" lying to the one Who wears Her. The phrase "going forth backwards," rather than supplying a specific geographical locality, suggests this particular uraeus is not a "local god," but the one sitting on the crown of Wesir, whose chamber lies just to the West of the purification proceedings in the Pert em Hru. To "go backwards" in Kemetic also means "to go to the right" or "to go east (against the track of the sun)." So one is now made aware that his or her truth in these invocations is being checked against the Ultimate Authority: Wesir and His all-seeing Eye of Ra.

On this day of the New Crescent Festival of the new moon, may you be blessed with all truth, vouchsafed by Ra's Fiery Eye.

Dua Netjer!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 21-22, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Our Nisut's lessons on the 42 Purifications will resume on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend. Saturday's festival in particular, when Ma'at Judges in front of the Gods and Goddesses, should be a good time to go before Netjer in shrine and ask for forgiveness where you have wronged others -- and in turn, to go to those others and make amends. Let your judgment be right and your heart light. I pray to Ma'at that all of you are comfortable in your own selves.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Weekend:
"Divinity is an energy, an act. The serviteur does not say 'I believe.' He says, 'I serve.' And it is the act of service -- the ritual -- which infuses both man and matter with divine power."
Maya Deren, in "Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti"

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 20, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 7

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail His-Two-Eyes-Of-Fire, coming from Sauty (Lycopolis), I do not steal anything belonging to Netjer.

Purification Seven invokes Wepwawet of the ancient city today known as Assiut in Middle Egypt. The Opener of Ways, Guard of the Netjeru, is a very appropriate Name to invoke in this purification against stealing, particularly against the stealing of things which belong to Netjer.

One can also read the verb in this purification, from the same root stem as the verb used in the third purification, as "taking on." Therefore, one does not take on the things which belong to Netjer, whether they are physical objects or intangible expressions.

On this day of Khonsu's festival, the Day of the Counting of Djehuty Who Heard Ma'at, may you be counted among the righteous, without coveting anything of Netjer and without having taken on any burden that can be carried for you by your god or goddess. I pray in Their Names that you are blessed and peaceful.

Dua Khonsu! Dua Djehuty! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 19, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 6

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Pair of Lions, coming from Heaven, I do not distort speech (khebet).

Purification Six invokes the blessing of the "Pair of Lions of Heaven," Who are Shu and Tefnut in Their Names of "Yesterday" and "Today. Their symbol, a pair of lions seated with Their backs to each other, echoes the hieroglyph for "horizon" (a pair of hills matching the rims of the Nile Valley). Each lion oversees one part of Ra's journey: either the rise into a new day ("today") or the set into the end of a day ("yesterday"). Being the movement of time rather than gods of any city or state, a purification dedicated to Yesterday and Today under heaven is very powerful.

"I do not distort speech" sounds fairly vague. However, it is well placed, after previous purifications about personal conduct or character not being known only from what a person does (physical action). The phrase used to describe a person who has been justified before Ma'at in the final judgment, ma'a kheru, literally "true of voice," has an opposite: the verb used in this purification (khebet) can also be used to describe someone in an unjustified or morally questionable state. To be khebet kheru, or "distorted of voice," is to defy having one's speech be in Ma'at and thus to fail to be vindicated before Netjer.

In not distorting one's speech, one does not distort one's character. In being true of voice, one becomes true of ka and thus true of character. Much to consider beyond just "doing good things," isn't it?

I pray to Sekhmet, defender of Ma'at, that you are able to be justified in character as well as in deed, Yesterday and Today.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 18, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 5

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Terrible-Faced One, coming from Rosetjau, I do not disobey requirements.

Our fifth purification invokes the guardian of the necropolis of Mennefer (Memphis), modern-day Saqqara. The "requirements" mentioned can be translated as "necessary offerings." So beyond being a simple rule of doing what one is told to do, this purification can be read as a specific statement concerning the importance of honoring the dead.

It is a requirement of our faith that we honor and offer to the Akhu, our Blessed Dead. Without sustenance from the living, their kas can suffer and die, and eventually become Muuet, unhappy dead who wander the earth in search of revenge or justification that they can never have. It is an important "requirement," then, that as we feed and bless ourselves and each other, we must also feed and bless those who are in the next world -- so that they might, in turn, feed and bless us.

I pray in the Name of Wesir, father and Nisut of the Akhu, that all of His children receive their necessary requirements, and that the Akhu continue to bless the living as the living continue to bless them.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 17, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 4

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Shadow-swallower, coming from Qernet, I do not murder (men); [to be said] twice.

It is not at all surprising to me that the fourth purification invokes Am-mit, the "monster" that eats the souls of the damned at the final judgment, to talk about being purified from killing.

This purification has an interesting rubric as well: that the words "I do not murder" should be said twice, repeated. In most invocations, to say something twice means it has double significance. It is important enough to be repeated. Here it might also have a symbolic or mystical meaning, given what it discusses and the Name of Netjer to which it is dedicated. Am-mit kills the already-dead, in a "second death" -- where those who have already died in a physical way go to their ultimate punishment of never being permitted to exist again. So one is purified from causing simple murder, and from causing the "second death."

How one could kill someone who is already dead, is a natural question. The answer comes from the psychological "death" of persons caused by Isfet in thoughts and deeds. Related to all of our purifications gone before, it is important not to speak ill of the dead; it is also important not to wish harm on another mortal, to hope that they "get their just reward" in a sense of revenge. Am-mit knows who She should eat; we should pray rather for Her hungering than Her being sated, that all kas no matter how much evil their owners may have done in life, will ultimately be justified and freed from Isfet in the second life.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 16, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 3

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Beaky-one, coming from Khmun (Hermopolis), I do not harbor enemies.

This third purification invokes Djehuty, Lord of Wisdom, from His ancestral home of Khmun in middle Egypt (near modern Beni-Hasan). "Beaky," (fenedjiu) or "the one with the nose," is a nickname for the divinity Whose form is of the long-beaked ibis.

The word often translated "to steal" in this purification (Kemetic tjau'a) is specifically spelled in hieroglyphs with an extra sound than the word tjau "to steal." This very different word, tjau'a, means "to harbor enemies."

According to the dictionary, harbor means "to give shelter or refuge" or, perhaps more interesting in the context of this purification, "to hold especially persistently in the mind."

Do you have enemies? Why? (And what makes them your enemy?) Are they people who attack you that you permit to do so? Do you permit your abusers "safe harbor" by refusing to defend yourself...or perhaps by carrying them and turning to blame yourself for their actions, thus giving them the latitude to grow in Isfet and take advantage of your kindness?

Or are they, more insidiously, enemies of your own making -- people you have harbored by focusing on them more than they deserve, building them up "especially persistently"? Do you create large issues out of small ones, carry many grudges, or refuse to forgive past slights or insults until a person becomes an enemy in your mind, far larger than life, far greater than any one harm?

I pray to Wepwawet, Opener of the Way, that He help you to empty your personal "harbor" of any Isfet, or any doers of Isfet, so that you might harbor friends and neighbors instead of people who wish you only harm. And in the Name of Djehuty Lord of Khnum may you have the wisdom to respond with Ma'at to any enemies, real or imagined.

At this Half-Month festival and a day of purification dedicated to Het-hert, I pray that you cleanse yourselves of all types of residual Isfet: that of your own making or that put upon you by others.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 14-15, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Our Nisut's lessons on the 42 Purifications will resume on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend. Make offering to your Akhu and god or goddess so that we might return refreshed and renewed to our meditations upon purifications after the weekend.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Weekend:
"The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us, and though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden."
Goethe

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 13, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 2

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Hept-seshet, coming from Kher-aha, I do not steal (literally, "there is no stealing [in] me.")

Our second purification invokes the local spirit ("Flame-embracer") of Kher-aha, moving outward from Iunu and toward the city of Mennefer (Memphis), a district called later in antiquity Babylon and today associated with Old Cairo.

Robbery as mentioned in the second purification (using the word a'awau), is literally the taking of something for oneself which belongs to someone else. As there is literally "no instance of robbery" being declared in this purification, one could read into the line that it is not talking simply about literal theft but perhaps even mental forms of theft: plagiarism, misrepresentation, jealousy, exaggeration -- taking knowledge or thoughts without permission from others. We will however see theft again in these purifications, and even in forms that cover mental theft in addition to the physical forms.

There would not be a prescription against property theft if it was not believed that people were entitled to own something. This is in spite of common assumptions that in ancient Egypt everything "belonged to the king," and modern religions where material possessions are not valued; if you're not supposed to have any goods, why would you have to worry about telling God you didn't steal any? For the Kemetic Orthodox prosperity, so long as it does not come at the expense of others -- or here, at the expense of stealing it from someone else -- is then considered to be a good thing.

Last night in our biweekly Dua worship service, we prayed to Hethert for prosperity this month. May She bring us what we need, and even more, without it being stolen from another.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 12, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Purification 1

For an explanation/introduction to this lesson, click here.

Hail Strider coming from Iunu (Heliopolis), I am not doing (making) Isfet.

Our first purification invokes the local spirit of Iunu, the city which for much of Kemet's history served as its religious capital, home of the Great Nine Gods. This might assume that the first purification is the most important, or that it, like the religious teachings of Iunu, influence all the rest. It is indeed a very important statement.

It's interesting to note that while most translations of Chapter 125 of the Pert put the purifications into past tense (one is, after all, recalling the story of one's life before the assessors, so in English, the "narrative past tense" is quite appropriate), the lines in Egyptian really are not in a past tense. They are rather written in a continuative tense, suggesting that the thing the person states is ongoing. This is not something a person did, but rather does and is continuing to do.

Also, Isfet, the opposite of Ma'at, is being done or made (or in this case, not being done/made). It is understood as an action or a behavior. This is a very important point, and brings us back to the idea that a person's being is not to be confused with his or her behavior -- you are not what you do. We may through this purification, in effect, love the sinner yet hate the sin. Just because a person does Isfet does not make his or her being part of it necessarily.

Contemplate how you can avoid doing or making Isfet on this day when we celebrate Shu and Tefnut's birthday and the festivals of Het-hert and Heru.

Dua Shu! Dua Tefnut Dua Heru! Nekhtet!

I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 11, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Over the next month or so, I hope to spend some time in the Devotions meditating with you on the ethical precepts given to us from antiquity within funerary documents called Pert-em-Hru or "Chapters of Coming Forth by Day," most commonly referred to as the "Egyptian Book of the Dead." I'll be using my own translations of the ancient texts, and talking about their meanings. Today, I'll introduce what we're talking about and why.

Some people have likened the precepts I have chosen to focus on, from Chapter 125 (a modern designation) of the Pert, to the "Ten Commandments" of Judaism and Christianity. They are referred to as the "Negative Confessions" or the "42 Laws," yet they are really neither. What each of the 42 lines consists of is a prayer and a purification. Beginning with the invocation of a local god for each of the 42 provinces of Kemet, and ending with a recitation of a thing which a person did not do (as opposed to reciting what a person did do, an interesting declaration of innocence rather than of guilt in itself), the 42 lines were actually priestly requirements, from a list of things that priests in life were required to perform (or in this case not) perform, immediately before serving before Netjer in a temple. As the deceased is about to enter the presence of Wesir, it makes sense that he or she must be "purified" in the same way as a priest and prove it to "the 42 assessors," symbolic of the entire land and people of Kemet.

This being said, the 42 purifications also give us some idea of what the people of Kemet considered appropriate behavior, and even the living person who is not a priest cannot help but benefit from that study.

Tomorrow we'll begin with the declarations. I invite your discussion and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.

Celebrate Het-hert's ongoing festival today and rejoice!

Dua Het-hert! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"I have brought Ma'at to you; I have done away with Isfet for you."
from the Introduction to Chapter 125 of the Pert

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 10, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

So what is this all about, anyway?

What does it mean to have a daily devotion? What does it mean to honor Netjer in the calendar of a people who have not practiced their religion in this way for nearly 2,000 years, by many people who aren't even descended from those people?

Devotion, according to the dictionary, means:
1 a : religious fervor : PIETY b : an act of prayer or private worship -- usually used in plural c : a religious exercise or practice other than the regular corporate worship of a congregation
2 a : the act of devoting b : the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal (as to an idea or person)
3 obsolete : the object of one's devotion

So devotion is an act of piety, prayer or private worship separate from official religious practices. It sounds like something that could be done anywhere, by anyone. It sounds like it doesn't even have to take any specific form, other than to be religious. The second meaning sheds some light on its purpose, perhaps: "to be ardently dedicated and loyal."

I am ardently dedicated and loyal to Netjer. You may say many things about me but no one could say I do not love Netjer, and particularly Heru-wer and Nebt-het my spiritual Mother and Father. I love Them so much it is impossible to express in words, although I do try. I am also, as it turns out, ardently dedicated and loyal to each of you, the children of the gods and goddesses, who approach Netjer with a sincere heart. I love you, too -- and so my devotion to Netjer is also a devotion to you. It is a powerful thing to say, yet it is not any less true.

I hope that you enjoy these devotions, and that you will continue to teach me as I teach you, to permit me to share with you my love for Netjer so that we can all worship together, this divine Entity Who is many gods and goddesses, Beings beyond imagination Who permitted us to know Them, even though we are far removed from Their first home in time and sometimes also in space. What a blessing this is to share. Devotion. A small word that says so much!

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"God is a great eye. He sees everything in the world."
Sudanese proverb

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 9, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

It is an honor to stand in my shrine and pray for each of you every day. Most of my day now is spent in these private moments, I find, even when I am not in the shrine itself, asking Netjer to watch out for each person who asks me to pray for him or her. I pray also for those who don't have prayers to send me. I pray for every child of Netjer I know of, to each of the gods and goddesses. Every day is a mixture of prayers and praises, of saying thank you for this or that blessing, or asking special attention for this or that problem.

Life is this mixture of prayers and praises, of thank you and please help. Each of my days reflects each of our lives, I find. There is a richness in the love of it, in being able to address serious problems in one breath and give thanks for other problems solved in the next, in knowing that Netjer is paying attention and does care. You can pray these prayers, too. You can turn your life into an outward expression of your personal and intimate relation with the god or goddess of your ka. It is one of the easiest things to do, which ironically for some people makes it very hard.

Thinking is a form of action, too. Spend just as much time thinking as you do any other action, and you will find a good balance in your inner and outer lives. Be contented in yourself and express this contentment outward. Live in contentment (hotep), the word in Kemetic which means to be content or at peace, but is also the name of our most common offering.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right."
Nelson Mandela

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 8, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

In the final season of the year we have less festivals than in the previous seasons. Partially this is due to ancient convention related to climate: it was often too hot to don heavy robes and carry sacred barges through town, food and beverages were more expensive as the harvest wasn't quite finished yet and supplies were low, and people were busy performing that harvest.

Today we aren't tied to this ancient calendar in a geographical or weather related way, so what are we to make of the shift away from community festivals, at least not on a daily basis? I believe a harvest time doesn't just have to be celebrated with armfulls of grain. Harvest can mean any gathering of produce, whether it is the results of one's behaviors or conscious effort. A harvest, like any other creation, doesn't have to be tangible to be real. We are bringing in the sheaves, not just of emmer and barley, grapes and figs, but of past experiences and relationships, goals and work.

At the beginning of this time we separate the wheat from the chaff: we sort out what we've accomplished, letting those things that no longer serve us fall to the wayside as we bring the results we choose to keep back home from the threshing-grounds. As you separate out your own accomplishments, may you find true seeds of future growth and gifts of Netjer hiding amongst the things that are now past. I pray to Wesir, the Lord of Hidden Growth, that all the seeds you have planted in the past have borne fruit, and that you are able to use what you have grown to feed yourself and others.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Alexander Graham Bell

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 7, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Yesterday there was no devotion on the Internet as I was performing a live devotion, caring for my grandmother. I was honored to spend the day in the presence of an elder and likely the wisest woman I have ever known. It saddens me to think that many other 94-year-olds have no one to talk to them every day. Those of you looking for a particular source of service might consider striking up a conversation with an elder man or woman. Certainly they deserve our honor and our love as they for so many years have given it to us.

Today, we continue a celebration of the birth-giving of Het-hert, and in fact this celebration will go from the Full Moon (evening of the 7th) until the return of New Moon. As the moon gives up its light, Het-hert, the House (womb) of Heru, gives up Her blessed Child: Ihy, the divine sistrum-player, maker of music for the praises of Netjer. Play music during these next days in honor of Netjer in your shrine: either music you have made yourself or music that reminds you of particular Akhu or your Parent Name(s). Witness the birth of joyfulness and harmony in your own life.

I pray to She of Gold that you are showered with blessings and love.

Dua Het-hert! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
Never postpone joy.
Anonymous

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 5, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Imagine my surprise to discover that the moon was indeed not full yesterday? My apologies for the error that permitted the daily devotion to be incorrect about the Full Moon Festival. While it was indeed a day for Heka, the full moon does not occur until the 8th of April. This is a lesson to me about writing devotions quickly!

Speaking of devotions, I wanted to share with you a piece of something that really is a form of devotion. I was asked today to teach a small group of non-Kemetic people about the goddess Nebt-het (Nephthys), and following is what I gave them.

Nebt-het is the Lady of the House. The House is the sky, the place where ancestors shine down as twinkling stars, to watch everything we do and guide us through our lives. The House is also the womb, the carrying place of safety, the still silent waters where souls come from the Unseen world to the Seen. It can be the cemetery, the house of the dead, where She weeps salt and water (holy offerings) for their safe passage; or the Beautiful West, just beyond death's door from which, as an ancient papyrus tells us, "no man has come to tell us how he fares." She is the mourner, the comforter. Ancient texts call her a crow or a falcon crying out in the sky, or a woman whose hair is mummy wrappings, the one who is "true before the red" -- living in the barren lands yet able to be trusted; one with death, yet not dead or a murderer.

My Mother does not speak. She whispers in the base of your skull in a voice so vast you think your ears will bleed from containing it. She talks of time, Her other face as the Goddess Nit, the One who is the primeval water-mother of creation, the Huntress Who fights for the innocent and "whose veil no man has lifted." She talks of history and tradition, Her third face as the Goddess Seshat, who writes the deeds of mankind on the leaves of the tree of life.

My Mother is the one who walks the edges, holds the borders, defines the lines between this and that, here and there, then and now. I pray to Her not at sunrise, not in the darkness, but at the point of twilight between the two, just as Set's harpoon fells the Uncreated and the red of the blood of the nameless evil stains the sky before Ra-Tem's boat, the bright sun, appears in the east. She is the Lady of Twilight, and I feel Her great black wings around me and am not afraid to pray:

"I have come to You, Nebt-het,
I have come to You, Night-boat,
I have come to You, True before the Red,
I have come to You, Birth-brick of souls.
Remember me.
It is well with me and with you,
It is peaceful for me and for you,
Within the arms of Our Father,
Within the arms of Tem."

Dua Nebt-het! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"The reverse side also has a reverse side."
Japanese proverb

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 4, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Full Moon Festival today along with the Appearance of Heka.

Heka is the "magic" that fills stories of ancient Egypt: the Egyptian Mysteries so many wish to possess. A knowledge of heka is available to all who are sincere, and willing to approach Netjer, and Its creations, with an open and willing heart; and I will share with you today one of its simplest forms.

Make your wishes upon this moon that they might come true by the turn of the next. Ask for prayers of your family in order that your concerns and thanksgivings might be shared with the community and thus enhanced. One can never pray enough, and to be able to be in touch with God, when and where you need Him or Her, is truly magic.

Dua Heka! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
A familiar form of heka is the use of amulets. What symbols do you find yourself wearing for their heka?

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 3, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

The first part of our new month and season are dedicated to holidays for gods and goddesses associated with birth, pregnancy, conception, and family life. Het-hert, Min, Heru and Khnum figure heavily in this set of celebrations that honor the gift of life that Netjer provides us: the furtherance of the cycle of life on earth as the young are born, raised up in their families, and go out in turn and raise young of their own.

Yesterday I drew attention to our newest members. We also have one expectant mother, Meritaset, who could use all the good prayers, thoughts and heka we can throw her way as her young son or daughter prepares to enter our world. We have members who are trying to start families and pray for their safe conceptions and pregnancies. We have members who are small children or the parents of those children, and we ask for the attention and blessing of the gods and goddesses for them.

What a wonder it is to encounter the creations of Netjer, from the tiniest insect to the largest whale, to the human babies who grow up to become men and women who create Ma'at by living their lives in a happy and balanced way. It is evidence of an abundant gift, a gift that is impossible to measure: this gift of life that permits each creation to live as part of the "family" of the planet. It is something that is not often thought about as we go about our day to day, looking at our feet as we stumble towards jobs or school, or going about our "daily routine."

Make a few minutes in your routine to thank Netjer, your personal god and/or goddess, for your life. If you do not feel thankful for your life, start your few minutes' routine by contemplating how that came to be. I pray to Khnum, the Creator Whose Hands still spin the wheel of creation, that you find honor and joy in being a part of His handicraft, if not today, then at some time in the future.

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"He who angers you, conquers you."
Elizabeth Kenny

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 2, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

New month and new season begin today! Nekhtet!

I feel like a proud mama myself, though I didn't have anything to do with it directly. Below you'll find a picture of the family of one of our Shemsu, Amanda, who recently gave birth to the third child to be born into our faith. He's the younger brother of Dante, the other little guy in this picture, who two years ago became the first child to be born to the faith and was the subject of one of my monthly letters.

Draven was born on March 5, under the protection of Ra, to Whom he'll be dedicated until he's old enough to decide if he wishes to be divined and become a Shemsu himself. May Ra watch over him and his mom and dad. Welcome, little one! Nekhtet!

Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!

Picture of the Day:
More photos appear on Amanda's website. Nekhtet for the new addition to our family!

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!

Daily Devotions from Her Holiness
Nisut Hekatawy I (ankh udja seneb)
April 1, 2001

Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
May your coming be peaceful.

Last day of the Kemetic Month today. Time to cross out old to-do lists, get your new ones in order, and get ready for a new month of service to Netjer, the Akhu and all fellow creations on the planet.

It's also the last day of a season. "Growing" is over and "Harvest" is upon us. While one could look at this symbolically as an end to one phase of life and a move into a new one, know that "growing" is more than just a four-month part of the Kemetic Year...it's something you should be doing constantly, every day. For a still mind is dead -- and that is no April Fool!

Dua Heru! Dua Ra! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!

Thought for the Day:
"When unhappy, one doubts everything; when happy, one doubts nothing."
Joseph Roux

Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!