  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!
Reunion, Day 13: "Ra sails west to see Unnefer"
Purification 32 Hail Lord-of-Two-Horns, coming forth from Sauty, I do not talk too much. Purification 32 is overseen by the "Lord of Two Horns," local protector of the ancient city of Sauty (Lycopolis), modern-day Assiut in Middle Egypt, a city that mentioned earlier in our purifications with its major divinity, Wepwawet. What I translate here as "talking too much" is in the papyrus asha kheru-i her medet, literally "made my voice numerous in words." Many of the writings of ancient sages talk about "the silent man," one who holds his tongue and practices the art of listening over the art of oratory. It is a Kemetic virtue to keep one's words to a minimum, to say what one means with little or no embellishment, and to let others vent rather than venting at them. Being a person of few words has its advantages in many situations. The less words one speaks, the more weight those words will carry. In the act of heka, the directed deliberate speech sometimes called "magic," less words makes each word that much more powerful. It is the difference between a flash of light and a concentrated beam, or between a bucket of water and a fire hose. Concentrating your words into small circles, keeping your voice from becoming "many with words," has many benefits. Practice silence today in the name of Nebt-het Who keeps silence as part of Her blessing. Choose your words carefully, consciously, and frugally. I pray to Djehuty, the Lord of Wisdom Who invented words that you find enlightenment and peace as you purify a thirty-second time, and come into the end of the Kemetic Year with us. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Dua Ra! Dua Wesir! Dua Aset! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Reunion, Day 12: "Reception of Ra"
Purification 31 Hail Maker-of-Plans, coming forth from Utent, I am not an eavesdropper. The thirty-first purification is dedicated to "The Maker of Plans," a local god from northeast Nubia (the area of modern-day Somalia called Punt by the ancients). His purification stands against smytmet, literally "the placing of seed in my ear," translated "to eavesdrop." Eavesdropping is an art form that seems perfected in the Western world, from gossip-mongering printed in national tabloids to corporate espionage that can land people in prison or have them tried for treason against their governments. We seem to differentiate between levels of eavesdropping and even have different words for the process: "spying," "snooping," and the like. All, however, reveal a situation where one person has lost trust in another, feeling a need to go "check up" on him or her. What is important about this purification is that eavesdropping occurs when respect or trust has been lost: when people either feel they are more important than they are and force their way into conversations not theirs to hear, or when people do not trust others and check up on their conversations. Eavesdropping can be accomplished either directly or indirectly. Coercing others to share information you should not be privy to is a form of eavesdropping. Each form of eavesdropping revolves around respect and trust as an action that maintains Ma'at; when trust is lost, isfet is more likely to occur, in this form or others. I pray today to Heka, the divine in the form of verbal magic, that everything that comes from your mouth is pure, and that you respect your friends and loved ones without their having to "prove" themselves, directly or indirectly. May your lives be free from eavesdropping and all other forms of interpersonal mistrust, either made by you or toward you. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Dua Mut! Dua Amun-Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Beautiful Reunion (Day 9)
Purification 30 Hail Lord of Faces, coming forth from Nedjfet, I am not impatient. "To hurry my heart," that is, to be impatient, is the subject of our thirtieth Purification. The guardian god of this purification is Heru, "Lord of Faces," honored in the 14th Nome alongside Hethert of the Sycamores. As a god of passionate means, Heru is a good guardian to invoke, as it is very easy to get ahead of yourself in anxiety, to want something before its time. On this day of Their continuing marriage feast, may the Akhu and all the gods and goddesses bring you all you desire, in its good time and with the sacrifice of your impatience regarding it. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Beautiful Reunion (Day 8)
Purification 29 Hail Foreteller of Speech, coming forth from Wensy, I do not cause tumult. While yesterday's purification was about "talking trash," today's is about "doing trash" -- often translated "I have not stirred up strife." The verb in the purification, hennenu, can mean "to cause an uproar" or "to make strife." All its meanings are related to the idea of creating a situation of isfet where one did not previously exist, or acting in a way that brings isfet upon oneself and/or others. The purification itself is dedicated to the local god of the city of Wensy (Per-Medjed, classical Oxyrhynchus). The mormyrus fish symbolizing the god of this town is often associated with Set, a god of confusion and masculine aggressiveness, the one called "Creator of Terror." Who better to overlook the stirring of strife than the original Stirrer? It is important to remember, however, that here Set is not protecting in a hypocritical way against His own work, but that Set's "strife" always has a beneficial end in mind. Once through Set's storms, necessary changes will happen. What Set protects and purifies against in this line is the causing of violence for its own sake, or making attacks on others that end only in hard feelings and heartbreak, causing more isfet than they relieve. I pray in Set's name that discretion wins the day over the desire to "stir up strife." May you find yourself purifying as we continue reading this wise text together and learn from its intricacies. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
Thought for the Day:
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Beautiful Reunion (Day 7)
Purification 28 Hail Bringer-of-His-Offerings, coming forth from Sau, I am not spiteful. Our twenty-eighth purification dedicates itself to Heka, son of Nit the goddess of the city of Sau (Sais in the Delta). It is directed against peri-'a, literally "to go out with an arm," often translated as "malicious," "spiteful" or "deceitful." It indicates a condition where one goes on the offensive against another, and being directed to Heka, also concerns itself with spiteful or malicious speech. It seems in our purifications we deal with variations on a theme. We have talked about hurtful speech before this purification and before we're done, we're likely to revisit it again. Why is this important? In a world where people are encouraged to "say what they mean" and "get it all out," what's wrong with a little venom spat at your least favorite so-and-so, or a few dirty words muttered at an enemy? In this purification, spitefulness is compared to a directly physical act -- to go out "with an arm," raised to do battle, perhaps? Could it be possible that "names will never hurt me," the second half of the childhood rhyme, might not be true? Much to ponder as we purify again. I pray to Heka and Ma'at that your mouths remain pure and your arms remain softly at your sides in all of your interactions with others. On this special half-way point day of the Feast of the Beautiful Reunion, where the Holy Couple visit the ancestors to announce Their marriage, may you be doubly blessed with peace. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Dua Akhu! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Beautiful Reunion (Day 6)
Purification 27 Hail Shrouded One, coming forth from the clouds, I do not cause suffering/sadness. Again, a purification that probably requires little elaboration, Number 27 invokes Amun as the "Hidden One of the Clouds" against persons who cause suffering or sadness. May Amun come forth from the clouds in glory today, to illuminate injustice and to create a barrier of His rich light around those who have not caused suffering, that it might return only to those who inflict it, that they might bear their isfet alone. I pray to the holy god and goddess celebrating Their marriage feast this week, mighty Heru and gentle Hethert, that each one of you who reads this purification might be free from isfet in all the forms we have read in the purifications thus far. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Hethert, Eye of Ra
Purification 26 Hail Young One, coming forth from Wabui, I am not neglectful of Ma'at. The 26th purification, sometimes translated "I do not make myself deaf to the words of truth," is similar to previous purifications about not deliberately misleading oneself or engaging in isfet through lying or misrepresentation. It is to be remembered that this purification and the others are about deliberate misleading, not acting by mistake, or out of ignorance. If you didn't know the truth before you did something, you aren't in isfet. However, it is expected in the Kemetic ethical worldview, that once you do know better, you will, as the Gospel injunction states, "go forth and sin no more." Once you know something is false, misleading or a lie, if you engage in it again or spread it further, you are in violation of this purification and therefore subject to the punishment of Wesir, the "Young One" of the nineteenth Upper Kemetic Nome (Wabui). May your coming be ma'at, your sojourn be ma'at, and your going forth be in ma'at. If you encounter isfet in your life, may you learn from it and not spread its poison further, whether it comes from you or another source. On this day of the Return of Hethert, as the Great Eye of Ra, marking the longest day of our year, falling in the midst of Her special holy marriage festival to the great god of Justice, may you release all isfet in your life and let its place be filled with love, peace and ma'at. I pray to the Holy Couple and to the great creator Khnum-Ra in festival, in all of your names that the love of Netjer fill you like the Eye of Ra's brilliant light fills our skies. Dua Hethert! Dua Heru-wer! Dua Khnum-Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of the Beautiful Reunion (Day 2)
Purification 25 Hail Binder-of-Speech, coming forth from the Inundation, I do not enflame myself. Purification number 25 concerns itself with ta'a-i, literally "making myself on fire." It is a purification against allowing oneself to be consumed with anger, just as a fire utterly consumes its fuel. Many Kemetic wisdom texts concern themselves with "the silent man" or "the calmed one," who is said to be like the trees of a temple courtyard: reaching upward toward Netjer, unmoving, unbending, and taking the days one at a time. These texts advise that if a man is angry with you, you should let him vent if it will make him feel better, but not raise your hand to chastise nor your voice to rebuke him; his anger will be dissipated in its sharing, or, if his anger is feeding on itself like an angry fire feeds on oxygen, it will burn out on its own. The ancient sage, Ptahhotep, writes of how to respond to the angry retort of three different kinds of people. 1. To a person higher than yourself, you are to "lower the back and bend the knee" and let time reveal if his anger with you was justified or not. 2. To a person equal to yourself you are to act as a sounding-board, remain quiet, and resist the urge to respond in kind; as in the situation with a superior, both time and society will judge his actions. 3. To a person than yourself, you are to "remain silent as his foolishness comes to equal his mouthiness." In all three cases restraint, not enflaming, is seen as an ideal, a way to Ma'at. On this day of Reunion, of the love of our god Heru for His wife Hethert and Her love for Him, that the fires of anger be quenched with the Inundation of Ma'at. Dua Heru-wer! Dua Hethert! Dua Khnum! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Pesdjentiu (New Moon Festival)
Purification 24 Hail Overthrower, coming forth from Qis, I do not lead myself astray. Occasionally we have a purification that requires very little explanation or elaboration. Number 24 is one of these. For those interested in the linguistics, the word (tehi) here translated "lead astray" can also mean to trespass, to attack oneself, to lie to oneself or to mislead oneself. I find this to be a fairly straightforward purification, asking Heru-wer as the "Overthrower of Qis" (Cusae, in modern day Middle Egypt) to protect and perhaps remind us not to lie, either to others or to ourselves. May Heru-wer's example encourage you to stay on your personal path. I pray to Him and to His wife, Hethert, on Their day of celebration as we begin the Feast of the Beautiful Reunion with the private procession of Truth and Her Father, Ra the Creator. Dua Heru-wer! Dua Hethert! Dua Ma'at! Dua Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Day of the Eye's Escape
Purification 23 Hail Heru-wer, coming forth from Yam, I do not terrorize people. Today's purifcation invokes Heru-wer of Yam (a part of ancient Lower Nubia, today considered part of the country of Sudan). It would be appropriate for a god known as the Lord of Terror to verify whether a man or woman had engaged in "making terror." Terror is defined as "a state of intense fear," "a person that inspires fear" or "violence used to inspire fear." Not making terror would include acts of physical or mental violence, using influence to intimidate others, or simply acting in ways that inspire fear in others. In a world where people often tear others down to make themselves feel better or more important, this purification is a critical one. It is also timely; we note this purification on the day of the Eye-goddess' return from Nubia. May She find you innocent of "making terror." Dua Iryt-Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Victory for Amun
Purification 22 Hail Looking-upon-His-Offerings, coming forth from the House of Min, I do not engage in careless sex. In number 22, we confront another purification about sexuality. My translation is more wordy than some other translators' versions, because I wanted to use moderate language and because I wanted an opportunity to explain the vulgar term used here for sexuality -- a term that is not the same vulgar term used in previous purifications. This purification, and the vulgar verb used in its second half, speaks specifically toward indiscriminate or wanton sex: true promiscuity in the sense of not caring who, where, how or when one engages in sexual intercourse with another person. It is not (as it is often translated) some sort of Puritanical prohibition on sex before marriage. In antiquity, remember, "marriage" was a social contract, not a religious/moral one. Nor is it a description of inappropriate sex-related acts, such as pedophilia (Purification 11) or adultery (Purifications 20-21). Here in Purification 22, the verb is a simple word meaning "to spend [out] one's lust." This purification is dedicated to Min, a very obvious choice, as with His image carrying His erect penis, it's obvious He has something to do with sexuality! Min governs the fertility of sex, the growth that resides in the seed of males. In a less literal sense Min also oversees growth that comes from positive actions, in this case positive relationships engendered in sexual contact between consenting adults. I choose not to read this purification as a pronouncement on the evils of masturbation or "fornication," as others have sometimes translated it -- the ancients did not share their Victorian morals -- but as a simple reminder that sexual intimacy is a powerful, important gift from Netjer and as such it deserves to be approached with safety, honesty and our full attention, not thrown around for a moment's amusement or given lightly. Perhaps we can re-word this purification like Number 19, and call it I do not have sex without a reason. May Min bless your lives as pertains to sexuality, and may you in turn bless your partners with that gift. Dua Amun! Dua Ma'at! Dua Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of the Half Month
Purifications 20 and 21
Hail Evil One, coming forth from Ity, I do not have sex with a man's wife. This purification was important enough to Kemetic society that it was written twice, invoking two separate forms of Apep, the Uncreated Itself. It stands to reason that if the Uncreated is associated with making sure this act didn't happen, this act was a pretty dangerous one, indeed: the act of adultery, literally "intercourse with the wife of a man" in both lines, 20 and 21. A proscription against adultery was very important in the Kemetic mind, not because of some Puritanical concept that sex was bad or wrong, but because the idea of a contract, in this case a legal (not religious or moral) contract of marriage between two spouses, was considered very important, and in Ma'at to uphold. The "wrongness" of adultery, like rape, is really not about sex: it represents the violation of a vow. In a land where inheritance and other legal benefits were very closely tied to a person's children, being certain who those children's parents were was paramount. Children contracted during affairs could upset the entire economic system of a household, as all children and parents had to be acknowledged in inheritance, and an illegitimate child could take the rightful property of legitimate brothers and sisters. As a result, through different periods of Kemetic history, adultery was one of its most highly-punishable crimes, up to and including the execution of the adulterers. How are we to read these purifications today, when marriage is not the only legal way two partners, of either sex, share housing and/or economic status, and when we have birth control methods effective enough to cut down on the problem of illegitimate children? Adultery is still, within the framework of the breaking of a vow between two adults, a serious offense against Ma'at. If a marriage vow explicitly states partners will have no sexual activity outside the union, to break that vow would invite serious emotional, psychological and other problems (such as divorce, etc.). As such, adultery, as any other break of vow or promise, is to be avoided: through honoring the vows one makes and through making sure one does not make vows one does not intend to keep. As we've already learned from other purifications such as speaking the truth, making sure one's actions are in keeping with one's speech, and simple honesty, these two purifications should be easy to keep even in a modern, less childbearing-driven world. I pray to great Heru, Amun-Ra and Hapi in Their Festivals, that all your vows, marriage or otherwise, are fruitful, honest, and open.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Celebration of Aset's Marriage Contract
Purification 19 Hail Goose, coming forth from Iunu, I do not argue without reason. Shu, the Goose of Iunu (Heliopolis) is invoked in Purification 19, to confirm that one has not argued is-her-khayut, or "except as concerns things" -- that is to say, one has not argued for the sake of argument alone. What an amazing statement for a Western mind to grasp. Are not philosophy and mathematics and theology based upon debate, "arguments" turned toward elucidating more facts? What of knowledge? What of the pursuit of truth? How will we ever find out where people stand if we can't question them? And come on, isn't it fun to pick intellectual fights with people who obviously have no idea what they are talking about? When one is not comfortable with one's life, isn't it a basic human tendency to shout "why" at the universe with all the passion of a toddler, and to demand answers?
The purification quietly asserts itself: Before Netjer today, in this day of Aset's becoming Wesir's wife and the birth of joyfulness in the form of Hethert's beautiful son Ihy, as well as the festival of our great god Ra, examine your reasons. Examine them carefully. Allow the winds of Shu to blow the ones that aren't fully founded away, and feel your ka soar. Dua Aset! Dua Wesir! Dua Ihy! Dua Ra! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown! Anger of the Eye of Heru
Purification 18 Hail Backwards-Walker, coming forth from Per-Bast, I do not babble. We invoke "the one who walks backwards" in the eighteenth purification. Another name for this spirit is Confusing One. Both names make sense in light of the verb used in the end of the sentence: shemi-ra-i, meaning "to babble," or literally, "to send my mouth out." The phrase "sending the mouth out" in Kemetic also means to confuse, to go against another in speech, or to talk in a deliberately confusing or meaningless manner. Be clear in speech. Do not use it to harm another, and do not permit it to be twisted into harm by being vague or confusing. As in yesterday's purification, do not speak secret things, or allow secrets to fall out of your lips carelessly. "Speech is the rudder of Ma'at's ship," said the Eloquent Peasant (and they didn't call him eloquent for nothing)! It's also a day to review appropriate behavior of all kinds, being the Day of the Anger of the Eye of Heru. Be on the lookout for justice in unexpected places! Dua Heru! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Purification 17 Hail Lord of Ma'at, coming forth from [the hall of] Ma'ati, I do not discuss [my] secrets. Purification number 17 invokes Djehuty, the Lord of Wisdom, Who sits at the scales of Ma'at in the Hall of Two Truths (Ma'ati) at judgment. As Lord of Ma'at, He is over all affairs of wisdom and truth in speaking and thinking, so He would be most appropriate to judge one's performance regarding the knowing and keeping of secrets. Secrets have a fairly dim reputation in the Western world. They tend to be traded like commodities: who knows what about this person, who can tell you about this private matter, who can get you copies of secret documents or books or pass along secret knowledge... We even have an entire industry dedicated to exposing the private lives of celebrities or public figures! The "mysteries of Egypt" are certainly up for grabs in our not-so-secret world, with thousands of books purporting to be keeping them, revealing them or obscuring them. For secret matters, we sure know a great deal about things! Think about what a secret is. Why would you be entrusted with one, and why would it be important for you to keep one? I look forward to discussion (although not discussion of actual secret matters!) on our boards! Dua Netjer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Purification 16 Hail Swallower of Intestines, coming forth from the Thirteen, I do not plunder cultivated lands. Another agricultural purification, coupled with yesterday's: not taking from cultivated lands. If a land is cultivated it can be assumed it must belong to someone else...so this purification is against appropriating the fruits of someone else's labor. In this Kemetic season of harvest, may each person's labors bear his own fruit and may no one plunder them from another. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Purification 15 Hail Swallower of Blood, coming forth from the chopping-block, I do not commit usury with grain. It is tempting, although far from secure, to translate the protector of this invocation as a form of Sekhmet. The "Swallower of Blood" is being asked to verify that the speaker has not committed usury with grain (hennuwit). Usury (lending something, in this case grain, at outrageous, unethical or illegal interest rates) is a "sin" in the Kemetic societal conscience. Usury is still forbidden in Egypt today, under Islam where to lend at any interest at all, let alone more than a legal rate, is often considered to be unethical. For us, grain might not be our personal stock in trade, and as we might not be bankers or otherwise rich in funds, this purification might seem obscure. However...go deeper into the spirit of this purification. Have you ever loaned something and expected more than you gave in return, consciously or subconsciously? Or to put this into intangible terms: - Do you feel the world "owes you" something for what you put into it? - Do you expect more from the world than you give to it? - Have you ever offered assistance or done a favor for another, then used that assistance or favor as a bargaining chip for bigger and better returns, to put guilt on the recipient, or continued to use a favor already repaid toward future gain? Perhaps this purification isn't so obscure after all. I pray to Ma'at, keeper of our balance, that your balance remains stable when giving and receiving "grain" from others and from the world you live in. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Purification 14 Hail Hot-feet, coming forth from the dawn, I do not damage myself with lies. Purification 14 is often translated "I do not transgress" or "I do not tell lies." However, it is important to note there is an extra hieroglyph after the word ikhekh ("to damage with lies"): this hieroglyph represents the pronoun i, meaning "me" or "myself." Since we've already had a purification about lying in general (Number 8), it makes perfect sense that Number 14 would not be a repetition of the same purification, but a new thought: not damaging one's own character with falsehood. Geregu, lies, are the language of Isfet. Once you tell one lie, often you find you must tell more to keep yourself from trouble. Lies grow and grow. An African proverb states "there is no such thing as a small lie." Misrepresentation may hurt others. It may cause serious societal problems and it may even cause physical harm, but the most damage done by lying is the damage done to the liar himself. "Hotfeet coming from the dawn" is clearly Set, the dawn fighter against the Uncreated, source of lying. May He find you to be pure and may your words always carry Ma'at. Dua Netjer! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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Bless all the children of Netjer, known and unknown!
Feast of Khnum-Ra
Purification 13 Hail Bast, coming forth from the shrine, I do not eat my heart. Here's a definite keeper. 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 leading away from ma'at to be caught up in negative feelings like anger, jealousy, lust or revenge. When we fill our hearts with these emotions, instead of being able to feed our kas with the bread of ma'at, we find that we are already filled, as if we had swallowed stones. Our hearts, unable to nourish themselves, begin to turn inward, and consume themselves in hunger -- first slowly, than ever faster as isfet builds and chokes out the nourishment of ma'at. To eat one's heart is to starve oneself of ma'at, to turn in upon the self until there is nothing left but an empty, worthless husk. We must not eat our selves in pride, in jealousy, in self-loathing, in hatred or in any other soul-destroying ways. We must not leave any room in our hearts for this evil to build up -- we must fill them instead with love so no hunger can happen there. What is empty within us must be filled with nourishment, not more emptiness. I pray to the creator Khnum Who is Ra, and to the Holy Family of Wesir, for growth in your lives, for nourishment and food rather than hunger and pain. Dua Khnum-Ra! Dua Heka! Dua Wesir! Dua Aset! Dua Heru-sa-Aset! Nekhtet! I invite your discussion of and participation in this teaching in the Devotions boards.
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