  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!
Pesdjentiu (New Moon Festival) (29th) Meditate in the Festival Shrine for Heru and Hethert's Reunion!
Kemetic Word of the Day 22 Pronounced: SEN, seh-NET
Meanings for Sen:
Meanings for Senet: Sen and Senet are merely the masculine and feminine forms of the same word, a word derived from a root meaning "to be equal" or "to be just like." They are used for persons in relationship in Kemet, and not just for the modern meanings of brother or sister, that is to say someone from the same parents as another. As in their usage in Black English, the terms "brother and sister" here can also mean a person who is considered a friend, a comrade, an equal, even a lover. (The last was part of why the Classical period believed ancient Egyptian kings practiced incest; they didn't realize the word for "sister" was often also used to mean "lover" or even "wife"!) It is telling that both words differ only in their grammatical designations; both mean equal. Men and women, brothers and sisters, are equal in Kemetic thought. Brothers and sisters of blood and brothers and sisters of love and brothers and sisters of shared experience are all considered equals; no one is better than another. What a wonderful message to bring to the world on these holy days of the wedding feast of Hethert and Heru-wer, beginning with the festivals of another married couple, Amun-Ra and Mut. May Their love touch you and all of your brothers and sisters, wherever they are, whomever they are. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Dua Amun-Ra! Dua Mut! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Heb-Sed (Sed Festival), Day 2
Kemetic Word of the Day 20 and 21 Another set of symmetrical words comes up today! Pronounced: PEHT, TAH These are the two divisions of the Seen World, as we personally experience them. Both also can be personified as gods; more on that below. (These terms are the secular terms.) Pet is "the heaven," or "the sky." It is the visible "top" of the sphere of the Earth that we can observe from any place standing on land -- the slightly-curving horizon upward into blueness (or blackness if it is night), that contains atmosphere and weather. Pet for the Kemetic people also comprised what moderns refer to as "outer space," or at least that part of space that can be viewed from Earth. They did not distinguish between the two. The hierolgyph pet is a flat rectangle with downward-pointing ends. These are the "four pillars of heaven" said to be the "legs" of the "Heavenly Cow," Mehet-weret, a form of the goddess Nut or Hethert or both. (Observed from the side, a cow appears to have two legs when it actually has two more you can't see). Without the downward-points, and somewhat more rounded off, is the hieroglyph ta, meaning quite literally "land" or "earth" in the sense of ground, the solid substance one stands upon on this planet. Ta is associated with Nut's husband Geb, and also with the great god Wesir, Nut and Geb's firstborn son. Ta and Pet are often symmetrically placed in writings and even in art; the eternal embrace of the family (Nut and Geb's son, Shu, stands between Them as the visible and invisible atmosphere, or "wind.") Doubled, Ta becomes Tawy, the "Two Lands." This is the most common name of Kemet in antiquity, and the name referred to as the place where the Remetj, People, live. A Nisut is both servant and chief of Tawy, and it is fitting that we honor Heaven and Earth on the day we honor the establishment of the connection between the two -- Shu, Who goes through a metamorphosis of creation to become Heru, Who in turn engenders the Kingly Ka before He Himself dies and becomes Wesir. The cycle of the lands is always the same under heaven, according to Ma'at. On this day when we call Aset's star back to begin preparations for a New Year, may its blessings always be yours. Dua Sopdet! Dua Akhu! Dua Itw em Nisutiu! Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Heb-Sed (Sed Festival), Day 1
Kemetic Word of the Day 18 and 19 Pronounced: keh-MET, deh-SHRET (or deh-SHAIRT) Two words that have been the subject of quite a bit of controversy over the years, these are the two main significators of the land in and around the place we now refer to as Ancient Egypt. Kemet simply means "black." Its hieroglyphs, a piece of crocodile skin and the feminine t loaf, provide its phonetic value of kem (not KHem, as is sometimes mistakenly spelled or pronounced; it's a simple kem with no hard kh), plus t. Its determinative is that of a walled town, indicator of "civilized" land, the land where people live and work. This determinative occurs in the names of cities, towns and villages in ancient Egypt, and other countries recognized as civilized places. Deshret simply means "red," and its hieroglyphs are also phonetic only: the flamingo bird equals desher, and a feminine t loaf. Its determinative is sandy desert dunes, a symbol of "uncivilized land" or "wild" land throughout Kemetic history. Ancient Egyptians (dwellers in Kemet) always distinguished themselves from "desert dwellers" or the "vile sand people" of the khasut, the untamed desert, as that determinative means when used in a word by itself. Now for the controversy. Does Kemet mean "black land" in the sense of "land of black people?" Yes and no. First, since ancient Egyptians did not think of desert people as "red skins," (they referred to them in art as yellow-skinned), the symmetry of these two terms, often used in counterpoint in verse and prose, suggests it is not necessarily a marker of skin color. Additionally, the only people actually colored black, or even very deep brown like modern American descendants of West Africans, in Egyptian art and sculpture are those from lands further south of what was considered Kemet by the ancients; their own skin colors in art are far more reminiscent of the modern skins of southern Egyptians, those least interbred with outsiders: deep shades of very reddish-brown. Ancient Egyptians, as modern Egyptians their counterparts, are many skin shades darker than the darkest of Europeans, although there is such a wide range of skin color in modern Egypt it's hard to apply the American sense of "white and black" if it's even possible. Egypt is in Africa, after all, and Africans on the whole are darker of skin than Europeans. See our FAQ for my feelings on the politicization of this race issue -- an issue I think is completely irrelevant to the ancient perspective for many reasons. Today I begin my own prayers and purifications to rededicate myself to your service. It is a very holy time for me, and I want to thank you again for your patience, your love and your help in these past years. Hard to believe it's been more than a decade... May all the gods of Kemet and Deshret, the lands of Wesir and Set, bless you. Dua Akhu! Dua Itw em Nisutiu! Dua Nisut! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Kemetic Word of the Day 17 This week, we're looking at important terms and phrases in the language rather than just simply religious ones. If you have any words you'd like for me to review, please let me know! I have a list but am always looking toward expanding knowledge, and the term you'd like to know about might not be on my list already. Also, feel welcome to share on the boards any thoughts or questions about the Kemetic Word of the Day. I hope that you are enjoying it as much as I am enjoying putting it together! Pronounced: WEHP (rhymes with "step")
Definitions: By this time, you have to be thinking that Kemetic is a very complicated, and subtle language (and you're right!) It seems that many of the key terms of the language can have multiple meanings, and sometimes mean the same things as each other. For now, concentrate on each word as a meditation, and let the concepts flow...and eventually the idea behind the language will start to make more and more sense. Wep is usually used to mean opening or beginning, as it is in the title of the god Yinepu, Wepwawet, or "the Opener of the Way." Interestingly enough, Wepwawet is also a title of the goddess Nit, considered one of our Creator deities. Wep also finds its extended meaning in the idea of motion, as in the word weputy, "messenger," and the two words referenced in the definitions above also have a concept of collective motion inside them. The hieroglyph for wep is a pair of bull's horns, associated with several of our goddesses and also a symbol of the bounty of the land and the world. Opening, or beginning, is always the first motion -- even down to creation. Wepwawet is always the first of our gods to be invoked in a ceremony because He is the master of the crossroads Who opens the roads, removing obstacles, like the analogous gods and spirits of other traditions: Ganesh, Legba, Exu, Janus, Sarutahiko-no-Okami, Trivia, Hekate, Baron Samedi, Eleggua, Shui-guan, Hermes, and so on. May all your beginnings be blessed and open. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Navigation of Hethert
Kemetic Word of the Day 16
Definitions:
Akh sedjem en sa sedjemu. aq sedjem em sedjemu, kheper sedjemu em sedjmi. Even in English the distinction between hearing and listening is sometimes very subtle and not always noticed. The above quote from the Maxims of Ptahhotep reminds us that the two are related: the passive act of hearing, allowing sounds to come into the ear, is followed by the more active act of listening: of taking the sounds acquired by hearing and doing something with them in the mind. For Ptahhotep, hearing is just the beginning of a process that makes a person who hears into a listener, and then a listener into someone who is heard, and listened to, by others. For the hieroglyph sedjem we have an ear, followed with the owl signifying the phonetical value of m. Interestingly enough it is not a man's ear that is used, but the ear of a cow. Today being a festival of Hethert and the evening when we will meet with Her in Saq ritual, we can wonder about the coincidence of why I picked this word for this day without having looked at the holidays first...or we can consider it something to listen to. May everything you hear, and everything you listen to, be pleasant on Her holy day. Dua Hethert! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Kemetic Word of the Day 15
Definitions for Neb:
Definitions for Nebet: This is actually one word with two spellings, for the masculine and feminine forms of the language. Neb is the masculine, and nebet the feminine, of one word which is used as a title to greet people of rank or in titles; while it is not generally used directly of gods, such as in the case in Tameran Wiccan usage ("Neb Ra"), it can be used as a descriptor, such as in the phrase neb Ra, "Ra's Lordship," or Hethert nebet pet "Hethert, Mistress of Heaven." It does actually occur in the name of a goddess, Nebet Het or Nephthys, which is also the title of the eldest daughter of a household: "Mistress of the Mansion." The hieroglyph for the word is a basket, which also gives the meanings of "all" or "every" -- this is a carrying basket used to carry a multitude of things and as a container for plenty. With the feminine -t added in the second form it becomes nebet and gathers one more meaning that is not just a feminized form of neb -- that of kingship or royal authority. This is one of our beautiful Kemetic puns, as the protectress of kingship and its symbol is the uraeus cobra on the royal crowns, one who is the Eye of Ra, the Greatest Lady (Nebet) of all. May all (neb) of the gods and goddesses give you all good things (khet nebet nefret) today, and always. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Treading the Fishes (Day 5)
Kemetic Word of the Day 14 Over the weekend we talked about the ancestors and their symbol the stars. Today we'll talk about them a little further. Pronounced: OCK or ACH (hard "ch" as in Arabic, Gaelic or German)
Definitions: Once a person dies, or "goes West" as we put it, (s)he goes through a 70-day period of purification and re-orientation into the new land of being. At the end of this period, our religion teaches that the soul, or ka of the person along with its eternal spirit or ba pass through a final purification we call the Judgment. Once this purification is completed successfully, the person's ka is transformed into a new spirit -- one that has no limitations and is almost as powerful as a god itself. We call this spirit an akh, and all such spirits collectively Akhu, the blessed dead, the "equipped spirits" that populate the Unseen World and are just as close as a call of Their names. Akh has a number of meanings, all of which are related to goodness or perfection. It springs originally from a root meaning "shining power" or "brilliance" or "glory" -- similar to the beliefs of many cultures where the blessed dead are said to be shining or brilliant in their perfection. Akh can mean not only the spirit of a transfigured dead person, but all of the things associated with transfiguration, goodness, and the brilliance of that power. Its hieroglyph is a crested ibis, a bird so white that it must have seemed to glow with its own fire in the brilliant sunlight of Kemet. May all the Akhu bless you today, and always, as we complete our cycle of honoring Their cycle and prepare for a new one: the Heb-sed where we honor the spirit of past rulers, and the Beautiful Reunion where even the dead share in the marriage festivities of a god and goddess. Dua Wesir! Dua Hethert! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Saq Khnum-Ra (Day 2 of 2)
Kemetic Word of the Day 13 Pronounced: seh-BA or DOO-ah
Definitions for Seba:
Definitions for Dua: Today we have one word with two completely different pronounciations. The five-pointed star hieroglyph so common on ancient Egyptian temple and tomb ceilings can be pronounced either "seba" or "dua," and both have important and related meanings. Seba is associated with the idea of teaching or instructing; it can mean both teacher and student, and serves as a reminder that good teachers are always the students of their own students -- learning is a two-way street. It also bears the literal meaning of "star," and the instrument used to lay down foundations of buildings or find ships' way in the dark, the transit that seeks out the sebau or stars. In yet another meaning a seba is a gate or doorway. Since stars are also associated with the Blessed Dead or Akhu, this can be a literal reference to the star as a "gate" to the Unseen world -- contemplate a starry heaven some evening if you don't understand the connection -- or to the idea of the teacher as an opener of ways for the student, a portal to wisdom. In its second pronounciation, dua, the star hieroglyph is related to words having to do with height or highness -- praise, worship, the rising of the Dawn-star (also called Dua). With a second hieroglyph of a person raising up his arms before the star hieroglyph, an action referred to as the Dua gesture, the word dua can mean "to give thanks" or "to honor." Give Dua to the ancestors in the Seba stars, and to your Sebau teachers who honor you (dua) with their teachings (sebayet), and you will raise up (dua) alongside them in the dua dawn. I pray in the name of the Wandering Goddess Who returns to the Northern Hemisphere this weekend from its sojourn with our people in the Southern Hemisphere over the last six months, and in the name of Mighty Ra Who is Khnum the molder of mankind, and Wesir the Nisut of all the glittering stars in the Akhu sky, for each of you today. Dua Khnum-Ra! Dua Wesir! Dua Hethert! Dua Sepa! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Grasping the Crook
Kemetic Word of the Day 12 Yesterday and the day before, this word was mentioned in the Kemetic Word of the Day, and it's a word we use rather often. Time to have a lesson on it! Pronounced: KA
Definitions: We have another common Kemetic word with many meanings playing on each other. (Seems to be a universal trait in this language, doesn't it?) Ka is almost always used to describe an intangible part, or soul, of a being, in particular one of the subtle bodies of a human being. The ka corresponds not to the eternal essence of a person (that is the ba, another word for another day), but to the personality -- that part of a person that individualizes and distinguishes him from the rest. The hieroglyph ka is the depiction of two upstretched arms, a gesture we often call henu and associate both with praise and with the recognition of the Divine in whatever is being saluted in this manner. Adding a fire-wick, the phonetic h creates the word heka, covered in a previous Kemetic Word of the Day and related to the divinely-given power of personal "magic." So, the ka is associated with recognizing Netjer within. With puns for different meanings, we can connect this with kingship, with the male bovine animal, and with food (and with the addition of a feminine -t to make kat, the word comes to mean "physical labor" or "work done with the hands.") What do all these things have in common? Each contains an intangible power somehow connected to divinity. From spirit to bull, from craftsmanship to character, from personality to kingship, ka reminds us of the unseen counterpart of everything in the universe -- the Divine spark. It is even more telling that another pun on the word ka makes it mean "two" -- Two Lands, Two Truths, the two parts of the body that undergo final judgment. Seen and Unseen come together in the ka. Today, the kingly Ka, embodied in the person who holds it, renews its promise to each of you to serve you, kau and all. The crook, the curved scepter indicating service and help to all, is taken up and presented to the Creator god Khnum-Ra from Whom it originally sprang, as we begin His holy solstice holiday, and all kau are satisfied therein. I thank you from the bottom of my ka for the opportunity to serve, and hope that you are as blessed as I am by the sustenance (ka) coming down from the gods to our world on these very holy days. Dua Khnum-Ra! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Saqu of Heru and Khnum
Kemetic Word of the Day 11 Pronounced: IHB (like the ib in "bib" or "quibble")
Definitions: Remove the windpipe portion of the nefer hieroglyph and you are left with the heart, ib in Kemetic. For the ancients, the heart was more than a muscle pumping blood throughout the body. It was equated with everything we moderns equate with the brain and the workings of the inner mind. Mostly this was for pragmatic reasons -- when we have feelings or emotions, we tend to "feel" them in our chests rather than our heads, and we still to this day use the word "heart" in the same fashion. People can be cold-hearted, light-hearted, or have a heavy heart, or they can "know in their hearts" that something is true. Ib stands for everything having to do with the inner person, the ka. It is feelings, emotions, and memory. It is the place we are hurt, feel and give out love, and the originator of our lives and not just in a physical sense. Mythologically, the heart is the home of Heru-wer, and the place where Creation by the great god Ptah begins -- with the heart and then to the tongue (embodied in the great god Djehuty). In a pun, this hieroglyph can also be pronounced "haty," meaning "heart," but also meaning "the foremost one" or "the most important one." What are you doing with your heart? Is it out in front? I pray in the name of the great creator Khnum, the great god Heru-wer and the great Nisut Wesir, all of Whom enjoy festivals today and over the next several days, that all obstacles between you and your ib are removed so that you might extend it into the nefer of beauty and pure love. Dua Heru! Dua Khnum! Dua Wesir! Nekhtet!
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Secret Procession of Ma'at and Ra
Kemetic Word of the Day 10 Pronounced: nef-FUR
Definitions: It is hard to comprehend in some ways why the hieroglyph for a word with this meaning is depicted with the image of the heart and windpipe of a bovine animal. One considers the immediate connection with the goddess Hethert, and gets some of the idea, but otherwise it doesn't seem to make much sense. Not much beautiful about viscera, anyway.... However, the symbolic concept of nefer does relate to this image. The ancients believed that the heart was the seat of all emotions, thoughts and the personality. The windpipe connected the heart to the mouth, thus enabling what was inside a person to come outside a person in the form of words, the "breath of life" we talked about in the entry on the word ankh early in the series. So the image is of the full cycle of the heart being brought to the mouth. Not in the modern sense, where that means fear -- but in the sense that one speaks what one feels, and one shares one's heart with the world, thus perpetuating the goodness, kindness and beauty which is within, which is nefer. Today we honor Ma'at and Ra, the law and its Father. May They bless you with all Their powers today and always, and may you find beauty, goodness, and fortune (nefer-nefer-nefer, or "very good!") in Their presence. Dua Ma'at! Dua Ra! Nekhtet!
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Bast Shrine Opening and Dedication at Tawy House It doesn't get any more beautiful than this...nekhtet a million times for everyone who participated and everyone who made this possible. More photos available at: Bast Shrine Opening Gallery
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Feast of Nit Our Kemetic Word of the Day will return when we return from the Bast Shrine Opening at Tawy House, some time on Sunday evening! Be sure and check the archives for the first nine terms! Join us this weekend in celebrating the holy festivals of Nit and Bast and the weekend of the full moon, the return of the Eye in the summer solstice quickly approaching, and a festival for Sekhmet as protectress of pregnant women and small children. May each of these goddesses manifest in strong blessing in your life. Dua Nit! Dua Bast! Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Celebration of Aset's Marriage Contract Our Kemetic Word of the Day will return tomorrow. Be sure and check the archives for the first nine terms! More than 30 Shemsu, Remetj and their families joined us last evening in Dua for our latest Shemsu Naming Ceremony! We warmly welcome the newest Shemsu to our family of faith:
Sehedjet-senuwi, daughter of Sekhmet-Hethert and Ra-Heruakhety, from Florida This Naming Ceremony brings the number of Named Shemsu and Rootnamed Children of Kemetic Orthodoxy to 165. Nekhtet! It's a wonderful day of celebration, with these new Shemsu named and having taken their vows of service to their gods and their people, and also with the three festivals we honor today. May Aset Who is newly married, Her son the joyous one Who unites the Two Lands, and Ra be in your life today and make it that much more wonderful! Dua Aset! Dua Ihy-Heru! Dua Ra! Nekhtet!
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Anger of the Eye of Heru
Kemetic Word of the Day 9 Pronounced: seh-NEB, ze-NEB
Definitions: After udja comes seneb. Seneb means all sorts of things relating to health or security; to the lack of evil or illness or trouble. As a blessing in ankh, udja, seneb it stands for good health or the absence of sickness. As the Kemetic closing senebty! in letters, it means "may you be well!" or "may you go safely," much as its English equivalent "farewell!" Seneb is related to words and roots concerning jars, particularly the jars that herbal medicines were placed in. It is health and the process of staying and becoming healthy. Its hieroglyph comes from the phonetic s that begins its name, the folded bolt of cloth above. Written fully with the phonetic n and b it also means "seneb," but the word is so often used, particularly with the ankh and the udja, that it is not always necessary to write it all out. The Eye of Heru, the Udjat of yesterday's entry, is pacified today as it is brought back from defeating the enemies of Netjer. Pray with me today as we ask for the great power of the god Heru in all His forms to look upon us with the kindly Eye and grant us seneb. Dua Heru! Nekhtet!
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Kemetic Word of the Day 8 This word is often used in Kemetic greetings and blessings as part of the phrase Ankh udja seneb, and is found in later forms of Kemetic language, including Coptic, where Oudjai! ("may you be healthy!/may you live and prosper!") is still used as a warm greeting between friends. Pronounced: oo-DJAH, weh-DJAH
Definitions: Udja has many meanings, all of which are associated in various ways with the color green; it is a close cognate of that word, wadj, and both come from the same root. Green in antiquity was associated with growth and healthiness, which makes sense in a desert atmosphere where agricultural success meant life or death. With the feminine ending t, Udja becomes Udjat, the name of the Eye of Heru (and/or the Eye of Ra), title of a number of goddesses and a symbol of both the restorative and the destructive power of Divinity. Udja and udjat both are used to describe healthiness, a state of being in one piece or abundantly fertile or prosperous or protected. The hieroglyph represents the phonetic sound udj as well as a mortar and pestle, that could be used either to create sparks for fire (as a primitive "fire-driller") or to pound out grain for bread or herbs for medicines. Words related to this sense of greenness or all-ness, well-being or healthiness are also based on udja, such as in its definitions as a storehouse (a place to put the extra (udja) or the wealth (udja), and as sunset, which in ancient and modern Egypt has an interesting "green flash" just before sunset over the western desert -- a meteorological phenomenon that would not have been lost on the ancients. Udja can be used as an amulet (udja) or a pectoral, a necklace made with amuletic power (udja). It represents prosperity and the reminder of future prosperity -- that something will be left over, and something will remain healthy. That Wesir, the Greatly Green, waits just beyond the horizon to make sure the sun rises again healthy the next day. May the healthy gods of the Eye and the Great Green ones bring you prosperity and wholeness. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet!
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Kemetic Word of the Day 7 Pronounciation: seh-KHEM
Definitions: This word finds its most common usages in the descriptions of two things in our faith: a form of the goddess Hethert that we know by the title of the Powerful One, Sekhmet, and a part of the human being called the sekhem, or sometimes called the "personal power" or "vital force" of a person, like the qi or chi known from Eastern religions and martial arts. Sekhem is power and the trappings of power, such as the sekhem, or scepter of rulership, depicted in its hieroglyph. Sekhem is force, such as the force that causes a ship to go aground, or the force of the Eye of Ra that overwhelmed Ra's enemies in a mythological bloodbath only stopped by forced drunkenness. Sekhem is might, an intangible force that hits as strong as a physical blow. It isn't pretty -- hence the ability for this word to mean grimness or a frightening or fierce face -- but it is definitely strong. May She Who is sekhem bless you with Her Power today and every day. Dua Netjer! Dua Sekhmet! Nekhtet!
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Kemetic Word of the Day 7 Here's an interesting word in Kemetic, and one that is often quite misunderstood. Like ma'at, it represents both an intangible concept and a deity, a god in this case. Pronounciation: heh-KA
Definitions: While the word "magic" is used in Faulkner's dictionary to define this term, heka is not garden variety rabbit-out-of-a-hat tricks, nor is it any form of fakery or sleight-of-hand, nor is it even Steven Spielberg special effects-type tears in the fabric of reality. Heka is more accurately translated from its root, hek, meaning to rule or to be in authority, and from its determinative related to speech. Thus, some Egyptologists refer to heka as "authoritative utterance" or "speaking with meaning or intent." Its hieroglyph is a compound of two hieroglyphs: the lamp-wick meaning the phonetic soft h sound, and the outstretched arms meaning the ka sound. In an esoteric way, one could read this combination of hieroglyphs using the meaning of the word ka, the personality or unseen "double" of a human being, and say that heka is "the fire that comes from inside the ka," or, in reference to the use of hand gestures along with special words in the system of heka, "fire/light that comes from the hands." It is very true that words have great potency, particularly those that have been specially chosen for a deliberate communication. For us, this simple reality of words and their connection to the inner being or inner power of a person is extended into a deliberate system of "magic" where a "magician," a hekau, takes words and objects and actions together and tries to create, alter or manipulate his or her life for positive or negative effect. Heka can be used to influence anything in life, from love to success, from money to safe travel. It can be elaborate or deceivingly simple. It is one of many ways to communicate with, and achieve divine presence in, your life. Honor the god Heka Who is in festival this month with good use of His power. As this word is an important part of one of my coronation names, it's something I remember strongly at this time, too. Dua Netjer! Dua Heka! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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Feast of Khnum-Ra
Kemetic Word of the Day 6 One of the greatest words in any language... Pronounciation: MAIR (MARE)
Definitions: The root of the word, mr, means "to bind," and also occurs in words indicating narrowness (such as strips of cloth, canals or narrow streets) or physical proximity (such as lovers or fighters). As a hieroglyph it is written with a hoe, the open mouth sign indicating the phonetic r, and a determinative of a man holding his hand to his mouth, usually used for words indicating something having to do with speech. Think about love as "close speaking," or "words that bind." What does this say about the term in Kemetic? What does this say about our understanding of mer? Mer-i-ten (I love all of you.) Enjoy the festivals, and consider the birth of words that have importance, the heka of this holy day. Dua Khnum-Ra! Dua Heka! Dua Heru-sa-Aset! Nekhtet!
Thought for the Day:
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