  About 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. See Also |
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Last Day of the Kemetic Month We are blessed with the coinciding of the ends of the secular and religious months today. In antiquity this was a celebration at the three large temples (hwt, or "houses") of Ra, Heru and Wesir, respectively. Give each of these gods a special offering today and ask for Their blessing as we enter a new and very exciting month for the faith! We've got so much going on for this short month...and it's just a sign of things to come! In mid-month, both the International Membership Group and the Northwestern North America Membership Group host gatherings open to all the Kemetic Orthodox and our families and friends: International in Berlin, Germany, and NWNA to coincide with my appearance for a public lecture and a public ritual at PantheaCon in San Jose, California. Both already have many people confirmed to attend and sound like they will be great events -- if only I could figure out how to be in two places at once!! And here at home, we'll be hosting a special Aset Heka Intensive at Tawy House. This on top of our usual schedule of several online gatherings, lectures, and meetings per week and all the happenings on the private and public message boards...it's enough to make you want more than 28 days! (Or at least I want more...) May Ra, Heru and Wesir grant that the victories we carried forth from the Rekeh Wer and Victory Festivals, and the understanding of our abilities to create we learned during Amun and Ptah's celebrations, go with us throughout the next Kemetic month and into the rest of the year. May you be prosperous, happy, healthy and really successful! Nekhtet! Dua Ra! Dua Heru! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:  Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 10 I had an opportunity to have a deep discussion with someone last night about teaching and learning, and something I said I thought would be nice to share here. In any learning that is for self-enrichment, be it sport, religion, philosophy....more than just amassing facts but actually getting at the inside of yourself and bettering your soul, a good teacher is not the one that sits you down, opens up your head like a jar and pours in knowledge as you passively await to be filled. The real teacher is the one that can evaluate you as you are, and discuss where you want to be intelligently with you -- and then he or she helps you to understand, to see, to hear, to feel what it is that you need to understand, see, hear, and feel to get to that place where you want to be. A good teacher doesn't give you anything you didn't already have -- but teaches you to find what you've forgotten (or never knew) you already had within you. The real teacher is also learning from you during this entire process -- as teaching and learning are a two-way process. Be thankful for those who teach you -- and be aware that you are teaching them something, too, and be thankful for that as well. I pray in the names of Amun and Ptah that you are blessed with as many wonderful teachers as I am. Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 9 Creation comes from potential into creation into potential...a neverending cycle and circle of Zep Tepi. The waters of the Nun become sea, become rain, become fog, become clouds, become streams and rivers, become the Nun again and again. There is no moment without change, no change without its moment. Again, and again, and again. Each time is the first in an endless ripple from the very first splash. Pour ritual water for your ancestors today and start the cycle again. Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Dua Wesir! Dua Akhu! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 8 Continuing the celebration of previous days, we find a day to count our blessings and to make offerings of thanks to the gods for allowing them to happen. I'm really looking forward to sharing this celebration with our people at our afternoon Dua and hope to see many of you there! I also hope to get more letters out to the many who have been writing in to share things that are happening to them during our celebrations. It will be a full and very rewarding day! Today I pray in the name of almighty Amun and fearsome Ptah that you are granted the ability to achieve whatever you set your mind to, and that what that achievement causes within you will be powerful and beneficial. Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 7 I wanted to share a nice moment with all of you and hope that the person who was involved in this conversation with me will indulge my having put her in the spotlight a little. Late last evening I had an opportunity to spend some open time online talking to our membership. Someone I haven't gotten to talk to much recently came up on my screen and so we started to have a discussion that felt very much to me like the ones I have all the time. At some point, she stopped me and asked if she could ask me a strange question, then said: "Are you this nice to everyone in the House?" It was a question that made me stop to think. I wasn't aware that I was being any particular 'way' in speaking with our people; I was just being me.... "I try to be nice," I said back, then added: "It's not much fun being a jackass, and besides, then people tend to stop talking to you." Much to ponder today. I've been called a lot of things in my time. "Nice" is one of the better ones, and I think I can live with it. (Dua-Netjer enetj, Udenet, for making my day.) Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 6 This weekend at Tawy House was awesome in many ways. We got together for fellowship and feasting, and built a fire for Heru-wer, and also we got the opportunity to meet the newest member of the faith, Mawyemsekhmet and Meteruaset's newborn son Koby. As Koby has passed the 14 days of purification post-birth, he was ready for a rootname, and was named Setemheb before everyone gathered, with Kai-Imakhu Nakhtdeshretiu serving as his godfather within the faith. We have some great photos to share as soon as we get them off the camera, but in the meantime, join us in celebrating a new member of our family of faith! Nekhtet! Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Amun, Day 5 On this final day of the Victory Festival we are feasting in Heru-wer's honor at Tawy House. Make a celebration of your own and join us in the spirit of our great lord of strength and courage. I pray in mighty Heru's name that each of you finds your own inner strength and stamina, and that you are able to overcome all your inner enemies to find a personal victory. Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
The Gods Descend to the River Amun and Ptah pay each other a visit during Their festivals. Heru-wer as Behdety the Winged Disk is honored among the devotees of Edfu and modern devotees of the Speckled Hawk. All three great gods are honored in festival, today and yesterday, and tomorrow. Celebrate and share your celebration with others. It is a good time to be alive and to know the gods are present in your life. Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Heru-Shu, Day 3 Today, as part of some research, I came across some things I wrote some time ago that were very appropriate for our festival. From the 1997 vaults: It is interesting that all of the "Heru-gods," as it were, seem to embody struggle as part of their nature, as well as the awesome responsibility of right leadership and right use of power. As a devotee of Heru myself I have learned a lot about all of these things: how to juggle inner struggles along with the responsibilities they bring. I would not be arrogant enough to suggest I have been successful all the time. In fact, I have had some splendid failures as well as exciting successes, and in some things, as is true in all human lives I believe, the struggle is experienced on a continuing basis. Think about the nature of struggle in your own life. Struggle does not have to be a negative action, incidentally. Think about both of its sides and how your actions and reactions work with and against the force of Heru upon your life. Make offering of red meat or a strong drink to Heru and ask for victory and strength in all places you walk with Him. Dua Heru-Shu! Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Heru-Shu, Day 2 At the time of victory it is important to reflect upon what moments have brought you to the place of victory, and to give proper thanks. Give thanks to your god(s) for allowing you the opportunity for a victory in the first place. Give thanks to those you love, your friends and family, for supporting you in your struggle, and let them celebrate the victory with you. Give thanks to yourself, for having the courage, stamina and ability to step forward and make those changes to cause the victory to occur. You're allowed to be proud of yourself and your changes. And last but not least, don't forget to give thanks to the challenge itself, for offering you an opportunity to grow and change. Victories are a process, not an event. Realizing that you've made a successful change or overcome an obstacle or challenge is only the beginning -- follow through with readying yourself for life's next obstacle or challenge, and remember that each victory is proof that you are a child of Netjer who deserves everything you desire in your life, and then some. Congratulations, and celebrate! Even if your victory is small, it's somewhere to build from. Don't ever let that go! I pray in the name of Amun the Hidden that even if you have trouble acknowledging your victories that you can sense their hidden presence and influence and thus grow through them. Dua Heru-Shu! Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Heru-Shu, Day 1 Much to celebrate begins today, with the next big celebration of our midyear month. Heru Who is Shu, the one Who brings home the Distant One (Anhur), is feted along with Amun the great god of Uaset and Ptah the great god of Mennefer. And we have victory in the form of the third celebration of Heru's triumph over His enemies in the Victory Festival! Nekhtet! I pray in great Heru's name, Who gives triumph over all evil, that you realize your successes with challenging events in this past year, and give praise to He Who has brought them. May He continue to keep you safe and victorious for the rest of the year! Dua Heru-Shu! Dua Amun! Dua Ptah! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Heaven's Goddess Goes South to the Road As the Bright Lady returns from Her wandering and sunlight lengthens over our part of the world, the Goddess Aset, star of the heavens in the form of Sopdet, starts to move southward Herself in preparation for Her time searching for Wesir's body. These celestial events, as the goddesses pass each other by on the "road," that is to say the Milky Way, mark the halfway point of the Kemetic Year. Rejoice in your accomplishments so far, renew your vows to complete the rest of your goals, and get ready for a spectacular Victory Festival starting in just one more day! Dua Aset! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Peace and love both resemble water. When they are withheld, they don't go away; they pile up behind the unnatural dam, waiting for a place to break through. When the dam breaks, whether of its own volition or its deliberate removal, all that was thought to be lost is found again, rushing forward, filling the space where there had been nothing but dryness before. Peace and love both resemble water. Like water, we need them to live. Break through and be refreshed by the Inundation that ensues. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Tepy-Semdet (Full Moon Festival) Dua Sokar Who was in darkness! Dua Wesir Who lives in light! The Eye of Heru is renewed and restored, and wholeness is given to us once more. Use this time to pray for the things you require until the next Udjat appears, and also for all blessings for the remainder of the Kemetic year as now reach its half point. Give special offerings to Sokar Who is Wesir, Who was once Heru, that all blessings may be secured for another month, another season and the remainder of Hethert's year. Dua Sokar-Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Aset is Awakened by Ra In keeping with our celebrations of sunrise as renewal this week, today we take Aset's icon out to greet Ra at His rising. May She grant you mastery, talent and wisdom on this holy day. I pray in Her name that you find yourself refreshed and renewed, like She will be in the brilliant light of Her Father the Sun. Dua Aset! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Feast of the Half-Month Yesterday, as the sun rose, the first really bright day in a very dark, snowy week broke over my house. It was a sign of Set's victory, our victory, the victory of love in the world over all that seeks only to hate and to destroy. Could there be a more wonderful day? Yes -- today! And tomorrow....and the next day... Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Set Kills Apep At sunrise, the enemy of ma'at, all-consuming Nothing that tries to swallow up creation, Whose name is unspoken but Whose epithet is Apep, "spat out," is destroyed. Rejoice as Set splits His snout with His mighty spear, and the redness pours out across the sky in the form of dawn. Rejoice as Ra's boat sails forth unhindered to shine above the day, returning all for a brief moment to the perfection of the very beginning, the First Time. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, for in each sunrise, the events we celebrate especially today, happen all over again. I pray in thanks to great Set, Who enables all of us to share in His victory by the light of a reddening sky. Dua Set! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Saq-Sekhmet The end of the Great Burning festival sees the coming of Nesret, the Flame Herself: Almighty Sekhmet, Mistress in Blood-Red Garments, burning off isfet by the power of Her glance. Give Her all that you no longer need in your life, and ask that She turn Her gaze upon it. May its smoke rise up to heaven and gladden the heart of Her Father, Ra. I pray in Sekhmet's name that each of you may feel Her blessing and warm love in your lives. Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Rekeh Wer Our fire burned brightly at Tawy this weekend, as we read out the prayers of our people. Heru promised light and Ma'at and strength to all His children, and even gave a special message to one of our W'ab priests: May the light of this fire multiply a million times and spread Ma'at throughout the earth. May it burn then, brighter and brighter, a million times! I pray in Heru's name as we complete His festival, that Ma'at burns brighter than the sun, today and always. Dua Heru! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Rekeh Wer As part of the Great Burning, Nit the Matrix, great red Lady of flames, and Sobek Who is embodied in the mighty crocodile are feasted along with Heru. Three strong ones, three protectors, give Their blessings upon this day. Breathe in Their holy essence and feel the fire within yourself, making a warmth like never before. I pray in the name of Nit Who Made All, and Sobek Who Protects All, for each of you. Dua Heru! Dua Nit! Dua Sobek! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Rekeh Wer The festival continues with the Udjat Procession, a procession of offerings and singing. (I wonder how many of you will stir up renditions of our New Year's songs?) A holiday of song and flame can cheer every heart. Enjoy this festival and all it brings. May Heru come to you joyfully and bring you blessing. As stated yesterday: We will burn a fire on all of your behalves this weekend at Tawy House. If you wish, we will be happy to add your prayers and good wishes to Heru when we speak before Him in our celebrations -- just send them along with the Prayers button below! Dua Heru! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Rekeh Wer Burn a great and mighty fire before Heru today on the day of the Great Burning, rekeh wer! Whether it is a candle or a bonfire, a cigar or a rotisserie barbecue...give Him offerings today that involve the touch of flame. Be careful with flames, as they are as powerful as He is...but enjoy them, and His company, as you celebrate the great festival bringing the promise of future warmth and light back to the land. We will burn a fire on all of your behalves this weekend at Tawy House. If you wish, we will be happy to add your prayers and good wishes to Heru when we speak before Him in our celebrations -- just send them along with the Prayers button below! I pray in the name of Greatly Bright and Burning Heru that His cleansing fire passes through you and brings you freedom, peace and joy. Dua Heru! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Feast and Offerings to Nit The Great Red Lady, matrix of creation, is feasted today. Her mighty arm sweeps out to crush Her enemies; Her other arm draws all of Her children, all the created world, close and keeps them safe. She of the Red Crown, smiter of isfet, keeper of ma'at, beckons us today to celebrate in Her honor. I pray that Nit grant you strength and protection for all of your days. Dua Nit! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Invocation Offerings to the Akhu Along with Wesir's holy festival we honor a festival to the Akhu, not unlike each month's Six-Day Festival, but in particular honor of those who have gone before us. For myself it is also a particularly notable day in the life of my Akhu as my newest one, my paternal grandmother, will be laid to rest this afternoon. May her ka find welcome among all those in the West and may she be reunited with the many Akhu who went before her and paved her way, as one day we shall all be reunited. I wish each of your Akhu peace and all the good things upon which their spirits might live, and look forward to sharing our memorial service together in Dua later this evening. Dua Akhu! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Raising the Djed Pillar of Wesir Five gods witness Wesir's great pillar, symbol of stability and endurance, as it rises from the ground into the sky. As the sheaf of wheat emerges only as a tiny green sprout straight up from its earth where it was laid at the time of Wesir's Mysteries, now growth comes, growth and renewal demonstrated in the return of the upright to its proper position and place. What parts of your life require stability and endurance now? Place them on the arms of Wesir's mighty pillar and feel them rise into the sky. As Ptah lifts Ra's Heaven, Heru-Shu lifts Wesir's Djed. Rise with it...and be free. Dua Wesir! Dua Shu! Dua Sekhmet! Dua Menhyt! Dua Hethert! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Heb Wer (Heb Heru-wer) We complete the Heb Wer today. I hope that everyone had a great time! Much excitement is floating around our temple halls again, as new members enter the Remetjhood and we prepare for future beginners in our next Beginners' class. If you are interested in considering membership with us, please see the information at this website, with its link to application materials at the bottom. More excitement will follow in coming weeks as we celebrate more festivals of Heru in His special month of Victory. I hope to see many of you at our online ceremonies and get-togethers, and am particularly excited about two live members' gatherings being planned for next month on the same weekend: one in California and one in Berlin, Germany! If you are interested in attending either fellowship event, please contact us. We'll offer more information as it comes in. I give special prayers and offerings at this sunrise in each of your names before Heru, Whose star sparkles brightly on the eastern horizon. May He grant you victory upon victory in everything you do! Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Heb Wer (Heb Heru-wer) Today is our "very, very great festival" according to the ancient calendars. It is both the official ending of the Wandering Goddess Festival and recognition of the return of more daylight, and a major festival to the great god Heru-wer Who is Her consort. Make a special day of celebration in your home, for She has returned and He is greeting Her! The very loving gods rejoice, and so should we! I pray in both Hethert and Heru-wer's names that you find much to celebrate today. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Saq-Set and His Shemsu Set and His Followers are about today, protecting Ma'at's boat as She, too, comes forth. Make sure you aren't on His bad side, and you just might get a glimpse! I pray in the name of mighty and fearsome Set that all your challenges are turned aside by His mighty arm, and that Ma'at is able to sail into your life under a good wind without any bad harbors. Dua Set! Dua Ma'at! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! It's easy to worship if you understand that you don't have to do it only in a certain way, with certain words, at a particular time or place. Sure, we all have rituals in our religions and our lives that give some form to the desire to communicate with Divinity, but whatever happened to just opening one's mouth and starting a conversation? I dare you to start one right now, with the deity or deities of your choice. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
First Day of the Kemetic Month On the darkest of nights in the darkest of months, potential stirs. Wesir as Sokar, eternally poised to Become, comes forth as Ra and brings the day, raising Ra to the heavens. Words cannot convey the beauty of those statements and concepts. Even when all seems silent, inert, without light and otherwise dead, the gods are still there and morning will return just as sure as Ra rises. Rise up, rise up with Ra and celebrate. Dua Ptah! Dua Ra! Dua Sokar! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Hethert Upon reaching the end of the great festivals of the return of light, Hethert's beautiful festivals, we reach the end of a secular year and a turning of the new one. Most people make resolutions at New Year's. Since I made mine at the Kemetic New Year in Gregorian August, at this time, I will make some wishes for all of you instead! In this coming year, I wish for all of you:
*more joy than you can contain.
*less conflict to endure.
*all the blessings of the Akhu.
*none of the difficulties of past years. I ask all of these things in the names of the very great gods Ra, Heru, and Wesir, kings all, Whose beneficence and mercy fills the world with goodness and a reminder of what can be. I love you. Happy New Year. Dua Hethert! Dua Ra! Dua Heru! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day: Email our Nisut (AUS) with a private prayer!
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