Lord of the Storm!
Soldier in the prow of Ra’s boat!
Lift up Your spear!
Slay the uncreated serpent!
Fierce of thunder,
lightning’s flash and fearsome iron,
reach from the sky,
split its head and cast it down!
Set! Set! Set! Set!
Limitless, the desert’s ruler!
Potent of force,
perfect strength and perfect power!
Red as the flame,
You Whose voice subdues the sea!
Come with Heru —
smite isfet, set us free!
O strange and sacred Beast of Netjer —
Set! Set! Set! Set!
O Soaring Falcon on high,
Ra-Heruakhety,
from You all power descends —
Great Sun, fire in the sky!
Unfurl Your wings above us
O Heru Behdety!
For all the victories You bring,
we say — Nekhtet!
Give us strength to prevail,
O Flame of Glory!
For all the victories we’ve won,
we say — NEKHTET!
Notes: Written in the fall of 2007 for the Feast of the Soaring Falcon, honoring Ra-Heruakhety, and the Feast of the Winged Disk, honoring the triumph of Heru Behdety, which take place at approximately the same time in the fourth month of the Inundation. Nekhtet: “victory.”
Hush, my dear,
Taweret watches you.
Go to sleep;
She will protect you.
Be still, be still,
and rest in Her arms,
rocked by the waters,
safe from all harm.
Your mother
holds life in her hands.
Your mother
holds life in her heart.
Your mother
holds life in her womb.
Your mother
gave life to you.
Long life for you,
child of Taweret.
Strong life for you,
child of Taweret.
Great joy for you,
child of Taweret.
Taweret guards you
by day and by night.
Brightly shining Queen of Heaven,
Nebet Aset!
Show us kindness, show us mercy,
as we love you!
Heru’s mother, Great of Magic,
Nebet Aset!
Save our loved ones from all pain
and sorrow!
Notes: Written in July 2008; originally meant to be part of a play, Aset and the Seven Scorpions. The play was eventually performed at Retreat, but with a different song.
Lord of the changing moon,
Exquisite God Khonsu,
Falcon feathered in white,
Rising across the night.
You are the child of promise,
You are the hope of life.
Master of joy and healing,
Bring us the waxing light,
make us whole.
Facing the sun
In the twilight —
Two eyes as one
In the horizon….
Notes: Written in December 2009. Khonsu-Heru, the syncretism of Khonsu and Heru, is referenced on a Ptolemaic gate at Karnak, as well as in Bubastis, where He’s identified as “master of joy” and one of the Seven Arrows of Bast. The last verse references the “opposition” of the sun and the moon, the moment on the day after the full moon when the rising moon and the setting sun balance on opposite horizons. It was seen as the transition of divine rulership from father to son: from Osiris to Heru, from Amun-Ra to Khonsu. (O. E. Kaper, “The Astronomical Ceiling of Deir el-Haggar in the Dakhleh Oasis,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 81 (1995), 192.)
Mother, I see You
everywhere shining.
O Mother, may You
see me!
Mother, I hear You
whispering, singing.
O Mother, may You
hear me!
Mother, I touch You,
sun heat and velvet.
O Mother, may You
touch me!
Mother, I love You,
now and forever.
O Mother, may You
love me!
As my fragrance and my flame
rise toward the sky,
send Your perfume on the wind,
sweet with Your gifts of life!
[repeat first four verses]
Mother, I love You,
now and for always.
O Mother, may You
love me!
Notes: Written for Bast in January 2010. Very loosely inspired by the traditional incense prayer (“Your perfume goes to me, O Netjer; may my perfume go to You,” etc.)
O Eye of Ra
O Eye of Ra
Bright sun Nesret
Cobra Wadjet
You come in peace for us,
Beloved child of Ra!
You come in peace for us,
O blazing Eye of Ra!
Protect us from harm
as You protect Heru!
Defend us from harm
as You defend Heru!
O Eye of Ra
O Eye of Ra
Mistress of green
Royal nurse, great queen
May You nourish our souls
as You nourish the King!
You feed our souls with love
and all good and pure things.
At Ra’s command you bring
the wealth of field and tree,
the flood of the lake,
the wave of the sea.
O Eye of Ra
O Eye of Ra
Red crown Deshret
Holy Iaret
You go forth in the King,
The King goes forth in You.
You rear upon her brow.
and she is strong through You.
Effective in Your flame,
O Lady of the Sky,
We live because of You,
O light that will not die.
O Eye of Ra
O Eye of Ra
O You Who rise
Lovely and wise
Papyrus in Your hands,
You bless the coming year
Wadjet is pacified
and I will have no fear.
I do not eat my heart;
I dwell within ma’at.
I follow my heart;
I live by ma’at.
O Eye of Ra
O Eye of Ra
O come, Wadjet!
O come, Wadjet!
Notes: Written in December 2009. Nesret: “female flame.” Iaret: “She Who rises up,” from which derives our word “uraeus.” The flood of the lake, the wave of the sea:from prayer 79, “Prayer to Ra for Prosperity,” adapted from the Pyramid Texts by T. Siuda in The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook.
Roses for Your ka, Lord of the Red Land,
roses for Your ka, for Your ka!
Roses for Your ka, Lord of the Red Land,
roses for Your ka, for Your ka!
Roses for Your ka, Set, Lord of Thunder,
roses for Your ka, for Your ka!
Roses for Your ka, Set, Lord of Thunder,
roses for Your ka, for Your ka!
May Your heart be sweet, sweet as the waters
rising from the land, from the land!
May Your heart be sweet, sweet as the waters —
come in peace, O Set, to the land!
May Your heart be glad, glad as the sunlight
falling on the land, on the land!
May Your heart be glad, glad as the sunlight —
come in peace, O Set, to the land!
May Your heart be filled, filled with contentment,
resting in the shade, by the stream!
May Your heart be filled, filled with contentment —
lead us to the shade, to the stream!
Like water in the desert, You show us mercy.
All the desert blooms now — for Your ka!
Notes: Written in March 2010. The Feast of Set, Lord of the Oasis takes place on IV Peret 25-26 (late March-ish, according to the Kemetic Orthodox calendar). The “roses for Your ka” line came from a dream that I had a few years back, which involved offering roses to Heru and Set with the words “for Your ka.”
Beautiful Nebet-Ankhtawy,
come with Your fire to guard me!
O fearsome Nebet-Ankhtawy,
unsheathe Your claws to protect me!
Neither a male nor a female thief
shall assail me while You watch over me!
Neither a male nor a female snake
shall assail me while You watch over me!
Beautiful Nebet-Ankhtawy,
rising like Ra in Zep Tepi!
Radiant Nebet-Ankhtawy,
until the dawn You bring light for me!
Neither a male nor a female thief
shall assail me while You watch over me!
Neither a male nor a female snake
shall assail me while You watch over me!
O Mistress of life and prosperity!
O Great Bast! Nebet-Ankhtawy….
Notes: Written in October 2010. Nebet-Ankhtawy is a title of Bast, specifically in Her role as guardian of the great necropolis at Mennefer. Neither a male nor a female…: this echoes a number of traditional Kemetic spells, which protect against “a male dead, a female dead, a male enemy, a female enemy,” etc. Zep Tepi: the First Time, the moment of creation.
Night sun for the Akhu,
shining in the Duat,
splendid in Iaru —
hear our prayers, great Wesir!
You Who dwell in Abdju,
sovereign of the Two Lands
smile on those who love You —
hear our prayers, great Wesir!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us,
beautiful of face, master of love!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us —
Wesir! Wesir!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us,
bull of the Two Sisters, beloved!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us —
Wesir! Wesir! Wesir!
Gracious, gentle ruler,
Prince of the Pesedjet,
send the flooding river —
grant us life, great Wesir!
Greater than Your mother,
from the house of Serqet
You rise like a pillar —
grant us life, great Wesir!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us,
with alabaster skin, hair of turquoise!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us —
Wesir! Wesir!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us,
come into Your house, beautiful boy!
Aset and Nebt-het sing, Come to us —
Wesir! Wesir! Wesir!
Notes: Written in November 2010. Iaru: the Field of Reeds in the Duat, the location of the afterlife. Abdju: Abydos, the sacred city that’s home to the Great Temple of Wesir. Pesedjet: the Ennead, the nine great gods of Heliopolis. Greater than Your mother/from the house of Serqet: derived from traditional epithets of Wesir (“Mightier than his mother,” “He who dwells in the house of Serqet”; the latter is possibly an astrological reference). Aset and Nebt-het sing…: the choruses derive heavily from the Lamentations of Aset and Nebt-het, translated in T. Siuda, The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook.