Edward Butler has done us a service on his blog Henadology in providing short, well referenced essays on a number of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. The essays provide a great way to start jumping into the deep and rich waters of Egyptian Theology. Here is a link to just one topic to give an idea of what the pieces are like, this one on the Ogdoad of Hermopolis (among other places):
Just a quick note: Today Richard Reidy’s book Everlasting Egypt was published! The written content of the book was complete at the time of his passing in November 2015. Assembly, editing, and proofs have since been completed and the book is now here and ready to order (But note, it will take up to a few weeks for all the supporting content and versions to appear on all the seller sites. There are hardcover, softcover, and eBook versions):
This book continues the work Richard began with his first book, Eternal Egypt, but very much expanded with rituals for 29 Gods and Goddesses and 8 Yearly and Lunar Festival rituals. It also contains an extensive Introduction with general information on Kemetic ritual and practical pointers on shrine setup, preparing ritual tools and images for use, organizing a Kemetic Temple on the lines of the Temples Richard founded, and more.
There are rituals for these Gods and Goddesses:
Amun, Amun-Ra, Anpu, Aset, Ausir,
Bastet, Djehuty, Hat-Hór, Heka, Heru Behdety,
Khnum, Khonsu, Ma’at, Min, Montu,
Mut, Nebet-Hut, Nefertum, Neith, Nekhbet,
Ptah, Sebek, Sekhmet, Seshat, Setekh,
Sokar, Tutu, Wadjet, and Wepwawet.
Since my main goal in editing and producing the book was to keep it as true as possible to Rich’s manuscripts, there are only a few clarifications on points where people may have questions. I will be posting about some of those over the coming weeks here along with explanations on some aspects of the rituals that are unique to the practices of the Temples Richard founded. Please feel free to bring up any questions or feedback in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
I extend my thanks to all those members of the Temples in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and Denver who contributed to these rituals and the editing of the book and to Richard Reidy’s family who allowed the publication to proceed. It was a lot of work but we have reached the goal.
Rich considered Everlasting Egypt to be the fulfillment of his life’s work in bringing Kemetic rituals to life for everyone in the most authentic way he could. He has passed that sacred duty now to us, and I salute his memory.
For the Ka of the Servant Priest of Amun-Ra, the Servant Priest of Setekh, the Servant Priest of Ra, the Worthy One Richard Reidy, justified.
Earlier this fall, John Beckett was looking for a Hymn to Nut for the Under the Ancient Oaks Video series. It appears no ancient ones survived as such, though Nut is the focus of some of the Cosmology Texts such as the Fundamentals of the Course of the Stars (usually called the Book of Nut until quite recently) and the Books of the Day and Night. We do have, however, many epithets for the Goddess, distributed across those works, the funerary literature, and Temple texts. So I offered to assemble a hymn using the Wake in Peace framework for the video.
Cynthia Talbot, who recites the Hymn in English, does a beautiful job, and there are other devotional pieces and talks as well. I heartily recommend watching the whole video!
If you want to hear how the Hymn might have sounded in Egyptian, I have recorded it here:
Hymn in Translation:
Awake in Peace! May you awake beautifully in peace! May Nut awake in life!
Awake Nut, the Sky and Undersky, Who raises the sun disk at dawn, Ruler of Earth and the Duat, Mother of Water, Who lifts her entourage of stars in her encircling, in peace!
Awake in Peace! May you awake beautifully in peace! May Nut awake in life!
Awake Nut, Who gives birth to the Gods and begets the Goddesses, Powerful One in the body of her mother Tefnut before she was born, the One within Atum, Who gives birth to Ra, in peace!
Awake in Peace! May you awake beautifully in peace! May Nut awake in life!
Awake Nut, Beautiful Noble One, Perfect Ruler, Powerful One, Mistress of the Gods and Goddesses, Great Unifier, Female Sovereign of the Gods, in peace!
Awake in Peace! May you awake beautifully in peace! May Nut awake in life!
Awake Nut, Lady of Joy, Who loves to give life, Who repulses Fury, Who gives protection to the house, Who gives water to every heart, Who makes her children whole, in peace!
Vocalization:
rassáti! ḥatpáti! rassáṯ náfrat ma ḥátap! rassá Nú:wat ma Ꜥánaḫ!
Imperishable Stars 