Mother Aset, You weep
and the river rises.
Through the Two Lands You fly
to restore Your beloved.
Nothing stands in Your way.
You fulfill Your desire.
May You open our hearts
to the conquering power of love.
Mother Aset, You shine
like a flame on the water.
You give birth to Your son.
You give life with Your heka.
You establish His throne.
You fulfill Your desire.
May You open our hearts
to the conquering power of love.
May You open our hearts
to the conquering power of love.
Notes: Written in July 2010, originally as a companion work to a necklace I created named “Stars and Blood.” The tyet or “Isis knot” is a form of amulet associated with Aset.
Mighty Red Lord,
red of passion,
son of Nut,
You rule the Red Land.
In Your desert,
the sky is endless.
When You thunder,
bring us courage, bring us courage, bring us courage,
bring us courage, bring us courage, bring us courage.
[repeat]
Mighty Red Lord!
Notes: Written in July 2010, originally as a companion work to a necklace that I made which bore the same name. This is an excellent song to sing while shoveling snow.
Lord of the Northern Sky,
wearing the crown of winter,
far to the south Ra’s Eye
is walking the road in Her season,
bringing the summer,
bringing the sun’s light.
When will You cease Your raging,
soldier of many battles?
Where is the end of fighting
when everything has been forgotten
except for the struggle,
the thunder and iron.
Look, here She comes, the Mistress of Joy,
bringing You sweetness, bringing You love.
Look, here She comes, Her hands full of pleasure.
Taste Her milk, close Your eyes.
Lord of the Northern Sky
for whom the whole world trembles,
let go the snow and ice,
lay down Your mighty scepter.
Lord of the Northern Sky,
dream of a desert wind.
Lie down and sleep for a while
until the new day.
And when You waken,
a thousand flowers bloom.
Notes: Written in March 2013 for the Feast of Set, Lord of the Oasis. This is based on an entirely personal, modern myth in which Set as the Lord of Winter must step aside when the once-wrathful Eye of Ra returns to the land with the waxing sunlight of spring — but it takes a little convincing. (“Lord of the Northern Sky” is, however, a traditional epithet.)
Nefer neb, sa Bast,
shining like the plume of Ma’at. Sa Bast, neb awt-ib,
Khonsu-Heru, You make us live!
Lift our hearts so that we might live!
Notes: Written in January 2013, after an experience with Khonsu-Heru during the Senut rite. Nefer neb = “beautiful/good lord”; sa Bast = “son of Bast”; neb awt-ib = “lord of joy.”
Eye of Ra, now the hunt is over.
Eye of Ra, all the foes of Ra are slain.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
Cleanse Your hands with water from the river.
Cleanse Your hands of every crimson stain.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
Eye of Ra, coming forth from Isheru.
Eye of Ra, rising from the holy lake.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
Bast, You are pacified; Your heart is cooled.
Bast, return gladly to Your sacred place.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
You are pure, You are peaceful, You are pure.
Notes: Begun in January 2012 and completed in January 2013. For some reason, the idea of a “purification of Bast” has tugged at my imagination for quite a while. Here, after tearing out the hearts of the enemies of ma’at, the Eye of Ra bathes in the sacred temple lake before returning to Her home in the shrine.
This is where it all begins.
This is where life becomes,
where Hapi holds out His hands to us
among the flowers of Nefertem.
The bennu stands upon the stones,
bright sails are raised to catch the wind,
and in this moment all the world,
is new again,
is new again….
Satet, Anuket, be kind to me.
Send Your cooling waters rolling toward the far-off sea.
Nekhbet, Wadjet, watch over me,
everywhere the river flows on his journey
to the Field of Reeds,
to the Field of Reeds.
As swiftly as the hawk in flight,
as steady as the beating drum,
between the Red Land and the Black,
shimmering those waters run.
O great Lord of the Riverbank,
smiling under Hethert’s sky,
O Heryshef, O Soul of Ra,
how bright You shine,
how bright You shine….
Aset, Serqet, inspire me.
Send your breath of life to stir my soul and set me free.
Nunet, Nebthet, You sing to me.
Beyond those gates of birth and death, the mystery
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds.
And when I reach the water’s edge,
my Mother waits there for me.
Among the whispers of the reeds,
silent, She is watching me.
And every treasure is there,
a thousand jewels of the sun,
the lotus pool, the flashing wings,
the sweetest fragrance of Her love.
And in the cool of the evening,
as the golden light descends,
She brings a quiet to my heart,
the peace of Tem,
the peace of Tem….
Satet, Anuket, be kind to me.
Send Your cooling waters rolling toward the far-off sea.
Nekhbet, Wadjet, watch over me,
Everywhere the river flows on his journey.
Aset, Serqet, inspire me.
Send your breath of life to stir my soul and set me free.
Nunet, Nebthet, You sing to me.
Beyond those gates of birth and death, the mystery
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds,
of the Field of Reeds.
Notes: Recorded in March 2013, but written years back. This song is a journey, not just following the great river from the cataracts in the south of Kemet to the northern sea, but also following the movement of the sun from dawn to twilight and of a person’s life from awakening to completion, from birth to death. The tune was inspired by the song “Al-Sayyadin” (The Fishermen) from The Music of Islam vol 3: Music of the Nubians.
O lovely one, you wash my face.
O lovely one, you bathe my hands.
O lovely one, O lovely one,
Lady of Purity, enter in.
Lady of springs, You flower in beauty.
Bring forth the green from where the springs rise.
Bring forth new life, bring forth new life.
Lady of Purity, enter in.
Wenut of Khmun, You hear the Ogdoad.
Djehuty calls them up from the Nun.
The moon will rise; the child will be healthy.
Lady of Purity, enter in.
O gracious one, You fill your basin,
cool water from the flood of the Nile,
cool water for the Queen of Heaven.
Lady of Purity, enter in.
Pure, pure, pure —
Pure, pure, pure —
Pure, it is pure.
Notes: Written in January 2013, based on an experience with Wenut during the Senut rite. In ancient Kemet, Wenut was invoked in a spell to help a woman struggling to give birth (Borghouts, Ancient Egyptian Magical Texts [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978], p. 39), and this song pays homage to that. It can be used, in whole or in part, for self-purification, to evoke the conception and birth of Heru-sa-Aset, and/or to bring health and healing to mothers and children.