pajamapartyonrasbarque:

secondgenerationimmigrant:

pajamapartyonrasbarque:

-A Devotional Month For Set-

Make a Joyful Noise and Shake the Skies
Or
Set the Shed-Kheru

Set’s a different sort of god and any of us who’ve worked with him or loved him know it. He’s not the ideal (the Ger Ma’a- who is characterized by his modest comportment and dress, his intelligent silence) by his manner, but is by his deeds. His manner (like that of Sobek) is described as Shed-Kheru which is loosely a very careful “Obnoxious” or “Overbearing” but could be extended to “Gregarious”. This isn’t a term used lightly, few Netjeru are ever described with it and never humans. The Shed-Kheru works divine khenenu. Khenenu is sometimes thought of as the non-isfet opposite of ma’at,– more an affront to social niceties and perfectly acceptable within cosmic Ma’at. Khenenu is the action of the fool, the clown, the soldier or the young child and determined with the Sha when written. What it means is “uproar”, “tumult” or “confusion” and using it as a weapon is almost the special domain of Set and Sobek. (Though to be fair to Sobek, he’s not described as Shed-Kheru as often as Set, just more often than Bes or anyone else. Shed-Kheru is actually one of Set’s epithets.)

This divine uproar is a good thing. It allows one to deal with things like the Worm which would not respond to negotiation or trade or law and is commemorated in a short festival cycle occurring in the month Rekh-Ur. Very little is documented about “The Festival of Thunder and Lightning”. It lasts for seven days, beginning with the “Going Forth of Set” and culminating in the “Killing of the Rebel by Set at the Prow of the Great Barque”. The object of those following Set’s procession was to be as garish and make as much noise as possible (khenenu!). Seven days from this point is the celebration of the defeat of Set by Heru-sa-Aset. What this tells us is not only that everything has its place—but that the charm of that much khenenu in pursuit of the Worm has an expiration date. Set goes forth into the world to complete his duty accompanied by his processional storm of wacky worshippers, destroys the Worm and all falls silent –his bride weeps, he rises again–, and then is returned to his peaceful state by the court triumph of Heru-Sa.

What this all really reminds me of is watching Fasching as a child. For those who’ve never lived in Europe, Fasching is a bit like Mardi Gras with wild costumes, loud music, parades but less overt sexuality and more pranks (like waking up the next day to discover your car is splattered with mustard- this happened to my family and my dad was super pissed). It happens before Lent (and the Catholics borrowed many things from existing Egyptian religious practice when codifying their services because of bitter competition with Isis worshipers and the need for ease of transition for converts, which is pretty obvious if you ever attend a traditional mass with the altar facing the god –not the people-, the bowing, the incense, the lighting of candles and the water aspergillum before the bread and wine offering is made then reverted to the people in the form of Communion. Also the Hellenized version of the Egyptian religion was widespread and had impact as far north as England.) and generally if you’re below a certain age you get to watch the party from your windows because being out in it would be a safety hazard. ( http://german.about.com/od/culture/tp/Fasching-In-Germany.htm – Notice the women dominating the men, a theme with Set, and the treatment of the “Nubbel” particularly. Now the “nubbel” itself may sound like compound of Nubti and Baal, but it is not. It actually means something closer to “lump” or “swelling” –as with a boil filled with pus- . And what does one do with a boil? One lances it like Set lances the Worm, in this case with flaming sticks to set it on fire!)

Now I know what you’re thinking, that’s so German and Egyptian religious processions were –by and large- solemn affairs with priests in their “Sunday best” being trailed by the temple chanteuses singing hymns. I must bring up the wildness of some of Min, Aser and Het-Heru’s processions and also the fact that the bulk of Set’s priests were soldiers. It’s a human truth– if soldiers know how to do anything better than make war, it is release stress between fights to maintain their sanity. What better to celebrate the seven days up to the destruction of the Worm than a non-stop party to mock the ultimate evil? Then you have seven days to be morose (especially as Aser’s death memorial falls directly behind) and nurse your hangover and contemplate what you did before Heru-Sa’s court triumph sends Set back to his own temple.

I personally do celebrate the Festival of Thunder and Lightning as a sort of Fasching. I wear horrible loud clothing, shake my sistrum, don chains of bells and bang my pots and pans all across our property at various times the mood strikes while warning the Worm that Set is coming for it. Do I look like a fool? YES. Is it kinda the point? ALSO YES. I also try to get anyone else who wants to be involved, involved. The more joyful noise our human “thunderstorm” has, the better to properly honor the Shed-Kheru himself and strike terror into his enemy. That it ends on day seven in potentially fireworks when night falls (depending on if I have any saved back from the 4th or New Years) or a bonfire to stick the Worm in is also nice.

I need to find out when this holiday is. It sounds so very awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Religious-Calendar-CDXV-CDXVI-Great/dp/150528290X

This should help– although you may want to alter the dates through your own calculations for Wep Ronpet.