In the latest issue of Isian News by the Fellowship of Isis features my poem “Just Like Persephone”. For your FREE copy follow this link:
Hymn to the Nile
Today is the last day of the Kemetic year as tomorrow we start the Epagomenal Days.
As I open and close my shrines on this last day and leave offerings of natron, incense, bread and water I am reminded of the Hymn to the Nile which I sing in praise and honour of the names:
Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE
Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards created by Re, to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that descends from the sky, loving the bread of Seb and the first-fruits of Nepera, You cause the workshops of Ptah to prosper!
Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples. If you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then the faces of men waste away.
Then He torments the flocks of Egypt, and great and small are in agony. But all is changed for mankind when He comes; He is endowed with the qualities of Nun. If He shines, the earth is joyous, every stomach is full of rejoicing, every spine is happy, every jaw-bone crushes (its food).
He brings the offerings, as chief of provisioning; He is the creator of all good things, as master of energy, full of sweetness in his choice. If offerings are made it is thanks to Him. He brings forth the herbage for the flocks, and sees that each god receives his sacrifices. All that depends on Him is a precious incense. He spreads himself over Egypt, filling the granaries, renewing the marts, watching over the goods of the unhappy.
He is prosperous to the height of all desires, without fatiguing Himself therefor. He brings again his lordly bark; He is not sculptured in stone, in the statutes crowned with the uraeus serpent, He cannot be contemplated. No servitors has He, no bearers of offerings! He is not enticed by incantations! None knows the place where He dwells, none discovers his retreat by the power of a written spell.
No dwelling (is there) which may contain you! None penetrates within your heart! Your young men, your children applaud you and render unto you royal homage. Stable are your decrees for Egypt before your servants of the North! He stanches the water from all eyes and watches over the increase of his good things.
Where misery existed, joy manifests itself; all beasts rejoice. The children of Sobek, the sons of Neith, the cycle of the gods which dwells in him, are prosperous. No more reservoirs for watering the fields! He makes mankind valiant, enriching some, bestowing his love on others. None commands at the same time as himself. He creates the offerings without the aid of Neith, making mankind for himself with multiform care.
He shines when He issues forth from the darkness, to cause his flocks to prosper. It is his force that gives existence to all things; nothing remains hidden for him. Let men clothe themselves to fill his gardens. He watches over his works, producing the inundation during the night. The associate of Ptah . . . He causes all his servants to exist, all writings and divine words, and that which He needs in the North.
It is with the words that He penetrates into his dwelling; He issues forth at his pleasure through the magic spells. Your unkindness brings destruction to the fish; it is then that prayer is made for the (annual) water of the season; Southern Egypt is seen in the same state as the North. Each one is with his instruments of labor. None remains behind his companions. None clothes himself with garments, The children of the noble put aside their ornaments.
He night remains silent, but al1 is changed by the inundation; it is a healing-balm for all mankind. Establisher of justice! Mankind desires you, supplicating you to answer their prayers; You answer them by the inundation! Men offer the first-fruits of corn; all the gods adore you! The birds descend not on the soil. It is believed that with your hand of gold you make bricks of silver! But we are not nourished on lapis-lazuli; wheat alone gives vigor.
A festal song is raised for you on the harp, with the accompaniment of the hand. Your young men and your children acclaim you and prepare their (long) exercises. You are the august ornament of the earth, letting your bark advance before men, lifting up the heart of women in labor, and loving the multitude of the flocks.
When you shine in the royal city, the rich man is sated with good things, the poor man even disdains the lotus; all that is produced is of the choicest; all the plants exist for your children. If you have refused (to grant) nourishment, the dwelling is silent, devoid of all that is good, the country falls exhausted.
O inundation of the Nile, offerings are made unto you, men are immolated to you, great festivals are instituted for you. Birds are sacrificed to you, gazelles are taken for you in the mountain, pure flames are prepared for you. Sacrifice is metle to every god as it is made to the Nile. The Nile has made its retreats in Southern Egypt, its name is not known beyond the Tuau. The god manifests not his forms, He baffles all conception.
Men exalt him like the cycle of the gods, they dread him who creates the heat, even him who has made his son the universal master in order to give prosperity to Egypt. Come (and) prosper! Come (and) prosper! O Nile, come (and) prosper! O you who make men to live through his flocks and his flocks through his orchards! Come (and) prosper, come, O Nile, come (and) prosper!
© Paul Halsall May 1998
(C) T. Georgitsis 2021
Mystic Tribe Magazine: July 2021, Issue #44
In the latest issue of Mystic Tribe Magazine, I have written an article called “Wep Ronpet (Ancient Egyptian/Kemetic New Year)“ which describes what and when the Epagomenal Days and Wep Ronpet is and what you can do to honour the Gods . I have also shared a Wep Ronpet Rite I composed and use successfully which you can easily do yourself to celebrate the Kemetic New Year which is coming up. Get your FREE copy below:
A Poem: Just Like Persephone
Wep Ronpet Dates 2021 (Kemetic/Ancient Egyptian New Year)
What are the Epagomenal Days?
The Epagomenal Days are the five days at the end of the year due to the Ancient Egyptian calendar being divided into 30 days of 12 months. Due to this falling short of the astronomical year the five extra days were created and assigned to the Gods.
What is Wep Ropet?
Wep Ronpet also known as the Kemetic New Year is marked by the rising of Sirius aka as Sopdet. This year it falls on the 5th August 2021.
Here are the dates for the end of the year including the Epogamenal Days and Wep Ronpet:
July 30th Last Day of the Year
Epagomenal Day 1 – July 31st: Birthday of Wesir
Epagomenal Day 2 – August 1st: Birthday of Heru-wer
Epagomenal Day 3 – August 2nd: Birthday of Set
Epagomenal Day 4 – August 3rd: Birthday of Aset
Epagomenal Day 5 – August 4th: Birthday of Nebt-het
1 August 5th – Wep Ronpet
The Kemetic New Year also known as Wep Ronpet happens this year on the 5th of August 2021.
Below is a list of things you can do, to honour this celebration:
Open the temple or create sacred space in usual manner.
At dawn, bring out all icons – the statues of your Gods, to be kissed by the rays of Ra (the sun) and cleanse with natron and anoint with oil.
This is done to ensure icon is charged and purified.
Cut off an image of Apep’s head and throw it away or trample on it outside then dispose of the remains away from the home.
This is done because destroying the image parallel’s the “turning the dangers of the year” at which Sekhmet presides.
Mark on a red clay pot, something to symbolize all the things you want to be rid of, such as anxiety, hate, impatience etc – as long as it’s personal to you and not something that belongs to another, or another person themselves then smash the pot and/or burn it.
This is done to announce to Netjer that you rid yourself of negativity, bad habits etc before the turning of the New Year.
Take an amulet which you have made or which you have put aside for the specific purposes of the upcoming year and charge it and purify it with natron on the shrine.
This is done as a protection mechanism and to symbolize the promise of good things to come in the New Year.
End the ritual with making special offerings to your Akhu (Ancestors).
The offerings to your Akhu is done to show respect and adoration to those whom came before you and in a sign of acknowledging and venerating your ancestors.
Close the temple and sacred space in usual manner.
(C) T. Georgitsis 2021
Hekate: My perception of HER
Hekate is a Chthonic Greek Goddess who preceded the Olympian gods and was also a Titaness. Daughter of Perses and the Star Goddess Ateria and Granddaughter of Phoebe, Titanus of the Moon. Hekate aided Zeus in the battle of the Titans and therefore was not expelled like the other Titans were when Zeus formed the Olympian pantheon. Hekate also played a part in Persephone’s story in which she helped Demeter, Persephone’s mother in finding her after Persephone went into Hades (wether by force or by her own volition) and thereafter became Persephone’s guide when the later, travelled to the underworld for her yearly journey.
Hekate’s name means “she operates from afar”, “she removes or drives off” “the far reaching one” or “the far-darter”. She is shown as an ageless goddess who in later times was sometimes depicted with three human faces or three animal faces. These faces consisted either of a dog, snake, horse, cow or boar, all which faced different directions and refers to Hekate’s triple nature and the realms she has dominion over – the sky, sea and earth. Hekate is also sometimes depicted with dogs at her side whilst at other times shown alongside other gods (like Hermes and Kybele) or children.
Hekate having dominion over the sky, sea and earth is also known as the Goddess of the crossroads, liminal places, witchcraft, magick, herbology, necromancy, cosmic world soul, mistress of animals, aider to women in childbirth, mistress of the dead and guide of ghosts. She is patron of sorcerers and witches and in ancient times was prayed to by athletes, solders, fishermen, farmers and merchants alike for favour in their various endeavours as well as being a common goddess venerated in household shrines. Shrines to Hekate were placed at doorways and crossroads where offerings were made on her sacred day Deipnon (Dark Moon) which was the last day of the month in the Athenian calendar and again on the Noumenia (New Moon) on the first day of the next month. Hekate’s main site of worship was in Lagina (modern Turkey) but she had shrines scattered throughout ancient Anatolia and Greece.
Hekate’s symbols include keys, torches, the moon, snakes, dagers and is a goddess who bestows her blessings in the form of protection, prosperity, prophesy, proficiency in communing with the dead and the performance of magick. Sacred offerings to her include: milk oak, yew, honey, garlic, cypress, aconite, belladonna, dittany, mandrake, and pomegranates.
This was one of the first descriptions I wrote publicly of Hekate years ago…
(C) T. Georgitsis
Hekate Devotion: Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice also known as Yule is the day with the shortest amount of daylight and the longest amount of night. Symbolically it marks the death and rebirth of the sun and it falls between Samhain and the Spring Equinox and due to this manifests as the darkest period of the year yet is also a turning point where the days become longer. It symbolises the darkest time of year and marks the returning of the light due to its time of seasonal transition. The winter solstice marks the sun as its lowest elevation in the sky and the reason it contains the longest night of the year. This year in the Southern Hemisphere calendar it falls on Monday the 21st of June at 1.32pm. Gods such as Hekate, Persephone, Demeter, Dionysus, Helios, Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Hathor, Sekhmet, Osiris, Horus, Neith, Nephthys, Spider Woman, Ameratasu, Saturn, Odin, Bona Dea, Mithras, Holy King, Hod, Frigga, Frau Holle, Cailleach and Baldurcan all be honoured during this time of year.
I have celebrated Yule with groups of people in a magickal setting such as a working lodge, coven and magickal order. The one thing which I found which linked them all together was the coming together to celebrate the light and the darkness whilst sharing food and gifts.
One of the fondest memories I have during this time of year is celebrating the winter solstice through creating handmade gifts. I spend considerable time planning on what to make and then following through by crafting gifts which are unique and special. The first thing I ever recall making was for my first coven where I sculpted and fired a set of runes and hand sewed an accompanying bag to contain them in. This took a significant amount of energy and effort and was placed in a sack of gifts to be randomly selected by one coven member in the middle of our coven’s winter solstice ritual. Imagine my surprise when one of my coven members whom I was closest to (and who has become a lifelong friend) chose it at random and had been wanting a set of runes which turned out to feature her favourite colour (they were coloured green and purple).
I personally like to hand make gifts during this time of year usually involving items which feature divination, light, purification, seeds, woods and herbs harvested and collected. I also love to cook, bake and prepare food which is consumed, shared or given to loved ones including the following: citrus preserves such as salt preserved lemons and Cointreau marmalade, soup (lentil/beans/barley and root vegetable, Greek chicken soup), stew (barley, beans, lentil, cholent andcoq au vin), bread (Greek sweetbread, olive loaf and garlic and feta loaf), gingerbread (especially witches houses/cottages), shortbread (various Greek ones), lamb or beef roast, dumplings and baked spiced rice stuffed into vegetables.
Since this time tends to fall on my personal anniversary (we got together on the winter solstice) for me it also involves going out for an intimate meal with my partner and exchanging thoughtful gifts.
I feel that Hekate resonates with this time of the year for various reasons. One being that this is a liminal time where she has dominion between the darkness and the light. In this time she encourages and enables us to turn our attention to the presence of the promise of new things to come. As the time of growth and movement is before us Hekate beckons us to straddle the in-between time and to use this time for the power it contains.
I personally like to honour Hekate during this time and make offerings of apples, pomegranates, garlic, onions, mead, beer, wine, bread, barley, nuts, lilies, pine, mistletoe, juniper, holly, frankincense, myrrh, cedar, bay, chamomile and roots from dandelions.
I also like to make items for Hekate which resonate with the season mostly wands collected from wood during the summer, candle anointing oil blends, herb pouches for dreaming, health and wealth, candles which illuminate, soap which cleanses, incense using dried herbs from the summer, book and journal covers with locally sourced materials or upcycled materials, various art pieces with paints, ink, photography and/or several thread types (in recent years its been all about the land, sea and sky) and beaded jewellery such as ethically sourced crystal necklaces which can also be used as meditation or manifestation beads.
In the garden now is the time to plant:
Vegetables such as artichoke, asparagus, beans, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chillies, corn, cucumber, endive, kale, leek, lettuce, melons, okra, onion, parsnip, peas, pumpkins, radish, rhubarb, shallots, silver beet, snow peas, spinach, tomatoes, turnip and zucchinis
Herbs such as garlic, basil, chives, cress, curry, dill, mint, parsley, sage and thyme.
Flowers such as aquilegia, calendula, cineraria, cyclamen, delphinium, foxglove, nemesia, pansy, primula, polyanthus poppy and viola.
Some things you can do to honour and mark the winter solstice in your personal practice (or with a group of likeminded individuals) can be:
- Hold a ritual signifying the balance of darkness and light and/or liminality.
- Work spells and magick which involve igniting a flame, balance or brining the light into a situation, .
- Create and light a bonfire or light a special candle carved with symbols which signify the time of year.
- Inscribe and light a Yule log in a firepit or fireplace.
- Take a walk at dusk holding a lantern.
- Bake a seasonal pie, cook a roast and make mulled wine or any other food or drink which to you symbolises the winter solstice .
- In the evening go out star gazing and seek out your local constellations.
- Honour the Gods which signify this time of year by creating a shrine or altar in their name or tending to an existing one and make offerings to them.
- Create an ice wreath in the freezer filled with flowers and herbs of the season (use a bunt cake tin) and once set place a candle in the middle of the wreath and light it to signify the winter moving out and the spring coming in.
- Use this time to cleanse your magickal tools and spaces such as shrines and altars.
- Rituals and spells involving transitions and movement.
- Reflect on your inner world and take some time to just be with yourself and listen to your inner self such as meditation, yoga, going for a walk in nature or just sitting in a space which is sacred to you and just being present.
- Use this time to recharge yourself through honouring yourself and do what you need to, to enable that reset.
- Host a feast with family or friends which can include music and dancing.
- Light black and white candles to signify the diminishing darkness and the increasing light.
- Decorate a tree (such as a xmas tree) with decorations which signify the winter solstice.
- Exchange gifts with loved ones.
- Donate to charities involving the displaced such as the homeless and refugees.
- Do something kind for someone who is alone, in pain or suffering.
- Volunteer for a charity which assists the natural world or the less fortunate.
- Divination such as rune, tarot, dice, candle wax, crystal, magick mirror or ink scrying.
So work your magick this midwinter, honour the light and the darkness within you and all around you and contemplate and manifest balance in your life.
(c) T. Georgitsis 2021
Mystic Tribe Magazine: June 2021, Issue #43
In the latest issue of Mystic Tribe Magazine, I have written an article called “Ancient Egyptian Incense“ which describes the history and usage of incense in Ancient Egypt along with a recipe of how to make your own. Get your your FREE copy below:
Magic of the Solar Eclipse
Happening on Thursday 9th June 2021 – in the Northern Hemisphere the Solar Eclipse will be partially visible:
The solar eclipse is is happening on Tuesday 2nd July 2019 which happens to be a total solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse is when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, obscuring the sun from the viewpoint of the earth during the new moon.
The Magick of the Solar Eclipse
Solar eclipse magick is when the energy is amplified due to the moon energies intermingling with the sun energies. The sun and the moon are in the same star sign and the energies co-mingling this way, emphasises the energies of that particular sign. This solar eclipse is in Cancer* therefore the energies heightened during this time is the cancer star sign.
The kind of magick you can perform during the solar eclipse:
- Liminal – magick worked between the darkness and the light.
- Transition – use the sun and moon moving through this time to highlight or work with…
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Hekate’s Noumenia by Setjataset
Reminder that the new moon is on Thursday 10th of June at 8.32pm EST which is also a solar eclipse and these are some things you can do for Noumenia & Hekate:
Noumenia also known as the New Moon is the first day of the lunar month in the Athenian Calender* and a time when the first sliver of the moon appears in the night sky, right after the Deipnon(Dark of the Moon).
Noumenia is the second day in a three day household celebration, which is held each month in the Hellenic tradition. Historically it was considered a time when religious observance occured at home, the temples and in public. This sacred day was celebrated with much frivolity and feasting and acknowledged the household gods. Even though technically Hekate’s day fell on the Deipnon she was also viewed as a deity whose domain covered the home.
Hekate’s Noumenia is a time to:
- Clean your home and decorate your shrine/altars with fresh flowers and herbs.
- Leave fresh food and drinks offerings on shrines/altars.
- Feasting in Her name.
When it comes to the devotional…
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