We pour water, we pour water for You.
We give praises under the crescent moon.
Dua Netjer at this Pesdjentiu!
We pour water, we pour water for You.
We light candles, we light candles for You.
We give praises under the crescent moon.
Dua Netjer at this Pesdjentiu!
We light candles, we light candles for You.
We burn incense, we burn incense for You
We give praises under the crescent moon.
Dua Netjer at this Pesdjentiu!
We burn incense, we burn incense for You.
Praise the Eye, praise the Eye of Heru!
We give praises under the crescent moon.
Dua Heru at this Pesdjentiu!
Praise the Eye, praise the Eye of Heru!
Praise the Eye, praise the Eye of Heru!
Notes: Written in October 2010. Pesdjentiu: the festival of the New Moon, which celebrates the appearance of the restored Eye of Heru.
Golden amber,
red carnelian,
treasures adorn You in their beauty.
Burning as the sun,
hidden in the dark,
waiting for Ma’at to reveal You.
Slay the nameless one,
catch him in Your thread,
freeing the sun to rise in each new day.
You are the open road,
You are the breath of dawn,
guarding Wepwawet’s door in Your glory.
Lovely Serqet,
deadly Serqet,
Lady Who causes the throat to breathe.
Great magician,
O fiery scorpion!
Come, Lady Who causes us to breathe!
Notes: Written in November 2010. Slay the nameless one: in the book of the Amduat, which shows Ra’s passage through the Duat in the various hours of the night, Serqet is depicted with a noose around the neck of the Uncreated One, while his body is pierced with knives. Lady Who causes the throat to breathe: a traditional epithet for Serqet.
O Heru-wer on high,
great master of the sky,
with vigilance Your gaze protects our nation.
An end to all our pain
and justice in Your name —
You lift our hearts and lead us toward salvation.
Speckled Falcon, You are pure.
Everywhere You are is pure.
Heru-wer, Your ka is pure.
Heru-wer, may we be pure,
pure in thought and word and deed,
open hands for all in need.
As long as the sky endures,
Heru-wer, may we be pure!
Notes: Written in October 2010. The first four lines of the second verse are adapted from the Rite of the House of Morning from Edfu.
Sekhmet, bringing Your holy flame of strength,
make us well today.
Sekhmet, bringing Your holy flame of strength,
make us well today.
Sekhmet, beautiful lioness, heal us!
Restore us to life.
Sekhmet, beautiful lioness, heal us!
Restore us to life.
Sekhmet, untamed and powerful Goddess,
hold back Your arrows.
Sekhmet, untamed and powerful Goddess,
hold back Your arrows.
Sekhmet, blazing like Ra in the sun barque,
bless us that we may live!
Sekhmet, blazing like Ra in the sun barque,
You bless us that we may live!
Notes: Written in November 2010. Sekhmet’s “arrows” are Her emmisaries or demons, the spirits that we seek to placate and bind during the amulet-making workshop at the Wep Ronpet retreat each year.
Mighty Mother,
You keep me safe from
every danger
no matter where I wander.
Gentle Mother,
I feel You hold me,
warm embrace and
Your purr like quiet thunder.
Great in Per-Bast,
greatly beloved;
Raised on high on
Your hill in Henen-nesut;
sweet of perfume,
Mennefer’s Lady;
where the heart lives,
Mistress of Joy, we find You.
Mighty Mother, come and lift me into the light of day.
Gentle Mother, come and comfort me when my heart’s afraid.
Mighty Mother, come and lift me into the light of day.
Gentle Mother, come and comfort me when my heart’s afraid.
[repeat first 2 verses]
Notes: Written in October 2010 — for Bast, in case there was any doubt. The second verse names Her in three aspects: Bast of Per-Bast (Bubastis); Bast of Henen-nesut (Herakleopolis, where there was in fact a Hill of Bast); and Bast of Mennefer (Memphis, where She was paired with Ptah).
Splendid in Their coming,
Splendid in Their going,
beautiful the day —
Behold the Gods in festival!
Flowers in our hands,
flowers on the altars,
garlands for the Gods —
Breathe in their living perfume!
Music in our hearts,
music in our voices,
rising to the sky —
Now dance for all the Netjeru!
Splendid in Their coming,
Splendid in Their going,
beautiful the day —
Behold the Gods in festival!
Beautiful the day —
the Gods are all in festival!
May our offering, may our offering be pure.
May our offering, may our offering be pure.
May our offering, may our offering please God.
May our offering, may our offering please God.
[repeat at least 1x]
Hapy, great river,
come to me from Your source.
Hapy, from Khnum’s cave,
rising tonight.
Hapy, the floods come,
lifting the boats.
Gently You rock me
in Your arms tonight.
Comfort my lonely heart,
trembling in the darkness.
Reflect a million stars to light my dream.
Love knows no reason why.
Enough that it shares its brightness.
All that is good in life, You bring to me.
Hapy, sweet river,
flowers strewn on Your waves,
tenderly Your whisper
wakens me at dawn.
Ah, Hapy, the seasons,
how they come and go.
Hapy, send Your tide.
Wash me clean to greet the dawn.
Notes: Written in November 2010, in the season of Inundation. I’ve always had a thing for rivers….
Nefer Ma’at
Living in beauty
Nefer Ma’at
Living in truth
Nefer Ma’at
Shining like Ra
Nefer Ma’at
Loved by Djehuty
Nefer Ma’at
Breath of life for all the world
Nefer Ma’at
With Your feather weigh my deeds
Nefer Ma’at
When I stand before Your scale
Nefer Ma’at
May my heart speak well of me
Nefer Ma’at
Mighty as Sekhmet
Nefer Ma’at
Joyful as Bast
Nefer Ma’at
Living in truth
Nefer Ma’at
Living in beauty
Notes: Written in the summer of 2009; effective a million times as an accompaniment for yard work and/or house work. Nefer Ma’at = “beautiful (or perfect) Ma’at.”