Serving Ma'at and Other Random Thoughts

"The ethical conceptions of 'truth,' 'order,' and 'cosmic balance' are encompassed in the Egyptian term ma'at, and the personification of those principles is the goddess Ma'at. The goddess represented the divine harmony and balance of the universe, including the unending cycles of the rising and setting sun, the inundation of the Nile River, the resulting fertility of the land, and the enduring office of kingship; she considered to be the force that kept chaos(isfet), the antithesis of order, from overwhelming the world. Hence ma'at was a complex, intertwined, and interdependent sense of ethics that tied personal behavior-such as speaking truthfully, dealing fairly in the market place, and especially sustaining obedience to parents, the king, and his agents-to maintenance of universal order. To transgress one aspect of ma'at threatened to encourage chaos and overwhelm order. To live according to ma'at was also fundamental to personal existence."

Source: The Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion edited by Donald B. Redford

I was thinking over that as I was sitting on campus after I had gotten out of Accounting while I was trying to ignore the mass of emails flying into my inbox about what's going on with Z. Budapest. And it crossed my mind that serving ma'at should be something that people should do whether or not they actually follow the Kemetic gods. Now before you jump me for saying that let me explain. To others serving ma'at would just be living their day to day lives doing good. Like volunteering or even that random act of kindness toward a stranger. For example, today I was helping a friend take the food her club collected in a food drive down to the Second Harvest food bank truck. I don't think any of the people that were helping out serve ma'at. Or most, if not all, of the people that even donated food do either. But does that stop them from doing something that could be considered serving ma'at? No because I think the concept of ma'at is something that is seen in other religions and irreligious morals and ethics but under different names. Or even another one. My mother's Christian. After she picked me up from college and went to go get her phone card we pulled a double drive thru. We went to Burger King to get sandwiches and then over to Wendy's for fries and frosties. While we were standing at the register at Wendy's waiting for someone to take our order we ended up overhearing the two behind us. I'm guessing it was a mother and son. But the son said that he wanted something, I was guessing that he wanted a frosty instead of his drink or something like that but my mom said she didn't hear exactly what it was but we both did catch that she said no because she didn't have the money. As we were standing there I was thinking about turning to them and giving them the coupon I was going to use to get my frosty since that's what I thought I heard them talking about. But after we had gotten our food and before they ordered theirs my mom went up to the women and gave her the couple dollars that was left over from our order. We didn't stick around long enough to find out if the guy did actually get what he wanted. We actually left the women with a confused look on her face. >.<; But its things like this that I see as doing ma'at. I know my mom knows nothing about the concept of ma'at or any of the mythology that goes with it. Does that stop her from doing for others? Nope.

And I lost my train of thought. >.<; Damn emails about Z. Budapest. Can you spell drama? Seriously. If you've written a chant that you didn't want getting changed from Goddess to God then why didn't you do something when it first happened? 30-some-odd years ago(or something like that)? Why all of a sudden start hexing people now over it? And seriously. What's so wrong about a dick? We kinda need that to reproduce. Women can't asexually reproduce last time I checked.

Though it does bring up something I've been pondering the last couple days. In creation how many myths say it was a male deity and how many say its a female one? While creation is something I don't completely dive into and believe one myth over the other its still an interesting thought. All the creation myths I can remember say it was a male deity that created everything. Well ok. I should say there there has to be at least one creation myth out there that it was a female. Because I don't think Dianics acknowledge a god. Though I could be wrong. All I know is that they're goddess worship. Beyond that I know nothing. I might look into years from now as a passing interest. I have no interest in worshiping solely female deities. I love the gods that I've been able to interact with and I want to meet more. Does that make me such a terrible person for wanting to get a long with every human and deity regardless of gender? If anything I've been more like one of the guys. I always got along more guys than girls. It never bothered me. I never really saw a person one way just because of their gender or skin color or even as their orientation. People were people. To me it didn't matter what they looked like. It was all about how they acted. If someone acted like a racist piece of shit then why should I bother with them? But if someone was kind and someone I could relate to easily then great.

I think I went off on a random tangent again. That might get me in trouble one of these days. >.<; Ah well. I think I may end that here for tonight then.

Dua Ma'at!
Senebty

Oh Lookie Here

Oh hey! Look! I'm posting another blog post. And it hasn't been over a month! *throws confetti*

What inspired this blog post was I randomly went onto the TIP tumblr and found a post about the recent news that was posted on The Wild Hunt. Article for those who haven't seen it. While most of the comment that was posted when TIP shared the article was about what Z. Budapest had said about her song I was more excited about the news about the library. Its an interesting idea. And it kinda makes me excited. It makes me want to travel to DC just to see it. Though it does disappoint me that the only copy of the Book of the Dead is the one translated by Budge. But hey, its a new library that ran on volunteer work to get it to where it is now. And should I be surprised that just searching Wicca I get 5 pages? While searching Egyptian and Norse gets me one each and Greek gets me two pages? I wish we had something like that closer to where I live. I'd totally go there when I could. Well depending. I'd actually probably be a bit concerned depending on who ran it. I'm still not completely sure on the Pagan community in my area. Mostly because I haven't really met any. But I'm hoping that I've run into the only bad apples in the area. But I severely doubt that. One can hope right?

Looks like if I was to take the trip out to that library it would take about 7.5-8 hours according to Google Maps to get there from my house depending on traffic. Overnight trip? Do some sight seeing? Probably. But that'd require me to have a job first. ^.^; I'll be getting my sister's car once she leaves for basic training so that'll be one obstacle out of the way that's holding me back right now. Job? Yes please. I miss having a bi-weekly income. Right now its like once a semester. Oh yay.

Speaking of libraries I wanna try to become reacquainted to the one by my house. I miss my weekly trips to the library. Hmm... I wonder if they're hiring. Or if there's a library in the area that is. That's what I wanna do until I can open my own shop. I wanna work at a library or bookstore. Been that way since I was 16. I love books. I love the smell of them. Though I wouldn't try smelling library books. I don't know where they've been. But that's a quirk of mine. When I get a new book I just open it and sniff the pages. I don't care if any of you think I'm weird for doing that. I'm proud that I'm different. The world wouldn't be fun if everyone was the same.

Totally off topic. But Marines. The hell. Why is it every time I take my sister to PT because I wanna borrow her car to get food they ask me multiple times if I want to join? Do I look interested? Ok it is a possibility since I did actually go there with her. But to try to seriously find some reason for me to actually join? What is seriously going through their heads? Like today I ended up dropping my sister off and then leaving so I could go get air in her tire and pick her up a case of water since she was down to her last bottle. I get back and yeah I can see why they would think I was interested. I showed up out of no where on my own and only a few of them had seen me once before. I told them I was there waiting on my sister since I drove her. They got back to what they were doing. I think they had stopped to take a small break since they weren't doing anything when I got there. They did a set of exercises and then they were trying to get me to join them. Then after a couple more sets they tried again. I told them I'm the kinda of person that just wants to bury her nose in books. Which I was actually going to do but there was no room in the office for me to sit and read since they had to move everything so they could do their ab work. The one guy that I'm guessing had already gone through training (that wasn't the Staff Sargent) piped up saying that there were positions that all I could do was read. And that I could read in different languages. I just kinda shrugged it off. Then we had to drive over to the park where they go run. They went on their run and I sat in the car and read. They stood around chatting for a while once they had gotten back. I ended up catching part of their conversation. My sister was complaining a bit on how she was the last female left since the other female had left for basic on Monday. Their response was basically "Well why don't you recruit someone?" They all turned and looked at me. Its like what part of "I will not join the armed forces" doesn't get through their heads?

Now before anyone says anything, its not that I'm against the armed forces. Its that I have a bit of an Imagine mentality and I'm not fit for the armed forces. Physically or mentally. So yeah. That and I'm not going to up and leave my friends. Not again. And long distance relationships? Hell no. I'm not going through that again. Though my ex keeps thinking that I will. >.> That's a rant for a different time.

Other than what ramblings I typed out not sure there's much else. I'll try to get to the PBP posts that I owe. I'm still trying to get the motivation to work on them. Though posting stuff here's a step in the right direction right?

Blog Post of Blogginess

Sorry guys. I know its been like a month and a half, or something like that, since I've posted. I do still keep the Pagan Blog Project in mind but I've still been having next to none motivation. Way back for D I've been wanting to do Djehuty and Duat. For E I want to do Eye and Egyptian Paganism. F was going to be Flooding and Fertility. G was going to be Geb and Geraldine Pinch. But for H I'm still trying to pick out of three different ones. I want try to either Heru, Heka, and/or Het Hert.

Though it might be a sad thing to say that after this I probably won't be posting for a bit either. ^.^; Its that time of year again where me and a group of my friends get little to no sleep as we host Shinboku Con! *cue random anime music* And now I'm getting random flashes of Fallen as I'm trying to get my thoughts back in line.

Right blog stuff. Oh hey I can at least give you guys content rather than me just babble on about how I'm so far behind (which is obvious) and advertise an anime and roleplaying convention. Yay storytime! So I bought this necklace. Beautiful necklace. Its got an obsidian pendant. Then came the "Well who will I offer it to?" When it came down to it I ended up leaving it as an open offering. If I remember right what came out was basically whoever wants it can have it with the thought of one of the deities I've talked to could claim it. Yeah I left myself open on that one. Let's see. I offered it... I think it was last Wednesday. I didn't wear it until Saturday (Thursday I had classes so that was my ibis necklace and Friday I didn't go anywhere. Yay having no car!). Saturday started off normal. And it might have just been normal. I haven't completely looked into if my suspicion is right yet or not. But I noticed that I was a bit more clumsy than I naturally am. I didn't think anything of it until later when I went to grab the necklace hanging from my neck and realized that it was my new one. I started thinking "Does it have something to do with this?" It may have been a bit premature to jump to that but hey. That's how my mind works. Then yesterday I was at my boyfriend's. I forget what was on TV. I wasn't paying attention to it. I was letting my mind wander as I was messing around with the seeds I had gathered from the yard (for no particular reason). Then my mind went back to what had happened the previous day. The major event that my friends thought I ran into the wall and it knocked me down (I turned and walked into a cubicle wall and because I was laughing so hard I sat down). As my mind finished replaying that, one word came to mind. Bes. Now I'm gonna be looking farther into it because all I have is that obsidian is a protective stone and Bes is a protective god and He has a sense of humor. The two I've talked to think it could possibly be Him. But there's only one way to figure it out. Ask. I'm gonna be doing that tonight after I do a bit of reading. After my homework. I'd actually laugh if I'm right. Why? Because I would. Brain's still a bit scattered.

Well I've got a meeting with my group for our class project. I tried to keep it coherent. If it isn't... I blame my lack of sleep! Let's hope that this time I actually start posting again instead of posting once every couple of months.

So Behind...

I'm sorry guys. I fell behind posting in the blog project. I was on an emotional rollercoaster and when I was at my high points and would try to type something the words didn't want to come out. I think also part of it was the weekly email that gets sent out for it. It's supposed to give the Pagan ideas for topics. But how is someone supposed to blog on a topic that doesn't relate to their path? Besides the gods and goddesses the topics are more for basic Wicca-flavored ENP. Last I looked I'm not a Wicca-flavored ENP. It's nothing against Wicca. It just doesn't fit. I mean yeah it'd be hard to send out an email with something from every single path. But why act like everyone's the same? I know a number of Pagans that get annoyed at being clumped together with Christians. But it seems like some of those Pagans are grouping all Pagans into Wicca-flavored ENP. Plus I think I'd get yelled at if I tired to place Djehuty and Nebet Het in a Wiccan ritual. I think Set would be a little mad too. And I'm trying to get on His good side. Not piss Him off. Plus there are other reasons why it wouldn't work even when I form a better relationship with Set and try to place Set and Nebet Het in the rituals. I might get into that in a different blog. "Kemetic Couples and Why They Won't Work in Wiccan Rituals" I think that would actually be interesting. What about you guys?

C is for Cosmogony

This blog will be a bit easier this week. I decided to do a post on some of the Kemetic creation myths. There are different versions of the creation myth depending on the city and who the pharaoh was. Some of the more well known Kemetic creation myths are from Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis, and Thebes.

[i]The System of Heliopolis[/i]
Atum(some say it was Ra) appeared from nun and with his hand took his seed into his mouth and then spit out Shu and Tefnut. Then from Shu and Tefnut came Geb and Nut.

Now I have read in a couple places that Nut and Geb made Ra and that Nut was supposedly "married" to Ra after She had Him but still loved Geb. That caused Ra to become angry and forbid Nut from having children during any day of the year. After hearing that Djehuty(some said it was Nut Herself) played draughts with the moon to win 70 seconds from each day to create 5 new days so Nut could give birth to Asar, Aset, Set, Nebet Het, and Heru Ur.

Then the story of Set murdering Asar takes place and Aset gives birth to Heru.

There are two different versions of the Ennead of Heliopolis:
Atum/Ra-Atum
Shu - Tefnut
Geb - Nut
Asar, Aset, Set, Nebet Het, Heru Ur

Other versions replace Heru Ur with Heru, sa Aset.

[i]The Gods of Memphis[/i]
Ptah - Creator and supreme lord
Nefertem - the Primeval Lotus
Sekhmet - the Terrible Lioness
Sokar - the God of the Dead

[i]The Gods of Hermopolis[/i]
There are actually several variations of the creation myth in Hermopolis. One version says that the four divine couples-Nun and Naunet, Amun and Amaunet, Huh and Hauhet, Kuk and Kauket(the Ogdoad of Hermopolis) that represented the basic negative characteristics of the primeval waters, came together to create the world but eventually died off. But from the duat they still make the world run.

Another version is that the "Great Cackler", the celestial goose, laid the Cosmic Egg that the world was hatched from.
A different version of this said the Cosmic Egg was laid by an ibis which lead people to believe Djehuty created the world since one of His forms is the ibis-headed God and He also had been connected to the Ogdoad(some myths said the Ogdoad were the offspring of either Amun, Shu, or Djehuty).

[i]The Gods of Thebes[/i]
Amun - "the Invisible One" - created by the spirits of Hermopolis and the sun God Ra at the same time
Mut - Amun's consort
Khonsu - the moon child of Amun and Mut

Source: Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt by R.T. Rundle Clark
Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction by Geraldine Pinch

C is for Communication

Hey look! I'm all caught up! Well sort of. Computer issues have made it so I couldn't post on Friday.

Today's blog is about communication. Communication is important to everyone. Regardless of path. And also regardless of who you're communitcating with. The everyday person communicates in some way to everyone they interact with. Whether it be through actual speech or through their actions.

Communication through the Internet is a little harder though. You don't know what the persons' tone of voice is or see what their body language is. Wording can help try to get across what a person is saying. Also how you type can be taken into account of how you come across to others. But the underlying problem with all forms of communication is interpretation. A person can say one thing while the other person thinks they mean something completely different by it. I mostly deal with it online. Go figure. A lot of it will be that someone will say something and the other person will take it as an attack. I started a guild on Gaiaonline. I figured it might be a great place for people to get together and learn about Egyptian mythology and the modern religions that come from it. While I was setting it up I was completely forgetting about Tameran "Wicca" until I had a user submit a request saying that she was one. Knowing it would cause an arguement if I just let it go, I tried to lay down was is and isn't Wiccan in one thread and start a discussion on Tameran Witchcraft in another. The user took this as an attack on her religion, like I was saying it was completely bogus. In reality, I was trying to only point out that while its still a valid path, the name is inaccurate. I'll save the discussion on what is and isn't Wiccan for another time. This is about communication. Not Wicca.

Then you have communication in your path. Its still very, very, VERY important. And one has to remember that its a two way street. You have to listen and be open. But not too open to where you'll believe anything and everything. The phrase "If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." comes to mind when I think about that (leading to me thinking about Sucker Punch and then House every time I say it like that). I actually have a bit of a somewhat perfect example. I had some stuff going on in my personal life. I would ask Djehuty and Nebet Het to help and guide me. One night, when I was talking to Djehuty and He told me to talk to Set. I didn't exactly listen. Then for a while after that I wouldn't hear from Nebet Het at all. I'm still working on patching things up with Her. So we'll see how that goes.

Senebty

B is for Benu

Day 4 of playing catch up. I've decided to do this blog on the benu.

People have equated the benu to the Greek phoenix. They were both linked to the sun and rebirth, but those were the only things they had in common. In the Old Kingdom the benu symbolized the sun god Atum, but then in the Middle Kingdom it was called the Ba of Ra. Then in the New Kingdom, it became associated with the heron and ressurection leading to its association with Asar.

Sorry for it being so short guys. I might post a better one later on.

Source: Philae.nu