01.28.11
Nebet-Ankhtawy
Nebet-Ankhtawy
© 2011 Natalie Baan
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.