Category: quote

This godliness in thought and practice is often fiamed in the context of acting as a dutifd son does for his father. As noted above, it is in keeping with the obligation of being like God that pharaonic literature constantly asserts that the pharaoh has acted for the Divinity as a dutiful son or daughter does for his or her father out of love, command or inspiration. Thus, we have Hatshepsut’s assertion above that she has acted as a pious and effective daughter acts for her father. And Sesostris I says of the Divinity: “He begot me to do what should be done for him to accomplish what he commands to do”. Likewise, Ramesses says to the Divinity: “I have traveled on your road and I have returned on your order. All your plans have been carried out”.

Ma’at, the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt by Karenga (via smarmychristopagan)

Finally, this relationship of love and obligation is a reciprocal one. Thus Sesostris I says, “I excel by acting for my maker, pleasing God with what he gave”. This implies, and indeed reflects, a reciprocal response to a good given and an obligation incurred. Moreover, as Posener notes, the service which the king owes the Divinity is an obligation of kingship and is both “the purpose and the condition of the power he holds.” And if the obligation is not met, negative consequences are to be expected. In Kheti’s instruction for Merikara one reads that one should “serve God and he will act for you likewise. For “God is aware of one who acts for him”. And in serving God, that is to say by doing Maat, one ensures one’s place in the otherworld. Here reciprocity is framed both in terms of God’s return for service and the reward of afterlife by doing Maat. Although serving God is in fact doing Maat, there is a perceptible intention to place emphasis on service as a reciprocal good in addition to uprightness and doing Maat as the ground of a secure place in the afterlife.

Furthermore, the reciprocity of the Divinity is evidence again in Ramesses’s appeal to Amen Re on the battlefield of Kadesh. Feeling abandoned, he addresses Amen saying: “What is this, Father Amen? Is it right for a father to ignore his son? Are my deeds a matter for you to ignore? Do I not walk and stand at your word? I have not neglected an order you gave”. Continuing, he draws a line between himself, the dutiful son and his opponents, the Asiatics, whom he calls “wretches ignorant of God”. After giving a lengthy account of what he considers dutiful acts, he appeals to Amen to reciprocate saying, “Shall it be said ‘The gain is small for him who entrusts himself to your will?’ Do good to him who counts on you, then one will serve you with a loving heart.” Amun, as the narrative develops, hears the appeal, assures Ramesses he is indeed his father and is with him and ultimately gives him strength for victory.

Ma’at, the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt by Karenga

wow look at that, ancient egyptians saying the same kind of things those goddamn disrespectful kemetics were saying the other day and everyone lost their shit lmao

(via smarmychristopagan)

Moreover, as Frankfort states, “The Egyptian views his misdeeds not as sins but as aberrations. They would bring him unhappiness because they disturbed his harmonious integration with the existing world … .” Thus, “He who errs is not a sinner but a fool and his conversion to a better way of life does not require repentance but a better understanding.” Frankfort states that “lack of insight or lack of self-restraint was at the root of man’s misfortunes, but not a basic corruption.” Humans, then, are neither evil by nature nor sinfully corrupted. And thus, one is capable of self-transcendence by self-understanding in community and self-transformation rather than by grace. For it is not by the grace of God but by following his way, Maat, that is posed as the key to moral grounding and human flourishing.

Ma’at, the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt by Karenga
(via smarmychristopagan)

Forget stardust—you are iron. Your blood is nothing but ferrous liquid. When you bleed, you reek of rust. It is iron that fills your heart and sits in your veins. And what is iron, really, unless it’s forged?

You are iron. And you are strong.

n.t. (via gnothyself)

’“I will perform your will, O Ra (bis), I will act properly! (bis) I will act peacefully, O Ra!”’

(Set speaks again):
’“Bring your ropes, O Ra! that Apep may fall to your snaring or be trapped by the gods of north, south, east and west in their traps …
All is now well, O Ra! Proceed in peace!
And you, Apep! Down! Away, Apep, O Enemy of Ra!”’

(During the fight with Horus, Set loses his testicles … Apep now taunts Set with this):
’“But what you felt is worse than the sting of the scorpion. What she (Ma’at) did to you was so dire that you will suffer from its effect forever! You will never go a-courting, you will never make love!”’

(Stung by this retort, Set determines to destroy Apep rather than just keep him in bondage … )
’“Apep, O Enemy of Ra! Turn your face away! Ra hates the very sight of you.” The head is then cut off, hacked in pieces and thrown away on either side of the roads.’
(Set continues):
’“Your head is crushed, O Groundling! Your bones are broken up and your flesh cut in pieces. He (Ra) has consigned you to the Earth Dragon, O Apep! Enemy of Ra!”’

– Clark, R.T.R. 1960, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, pp. 210-211

Original article: http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/apep.html#.WBAiv_krJdh#ixzz4O9skrjM6
© Caroline Seawright

http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/apep.html#.WBAiv_krJdh
(via the-typhonian)

Despite his bad reputation, he was still a divine being – an equal of Horus, no less – who could be invoked by his followers or warded off by those who were afraid of him. Yet without chaos and confusion there would be no order; without the heavy, thunderous storms there would be no good weather; without the desert and foreign lands there would be no Egypt. Set was a counterbalance to the ‘good’ side of the Egyptian universe, helping to keep everything in balance.

Original article: http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/set.html#.WBAjefkrJdg#ixzz4OA0R0NNb
© Caroline Seawright

(via the-typhonian)

Title: Procession of Set (E)
Date: Wednesday March 19, 2014
Time: 12:00 am – 12:00 am (GMT-06.00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Notes: This ancient Egyptian festival occurs on 17 Pharmouthi.

The image of Set is carried in procession, and he is hailed as the vanquisher of Apophis and the destroyer of stagnation. All the decorations should be red, and Plutarch records that cakes were made at this festival with images of an ass on them in Set’s honor.

from Neos Alexandria. (via helmsinepu)

There was a cry of great acclamation in Henen-nesu, [a cry] of joy in Naref, when Osiris appeared [as King] in the place of Re; He had inherited His throne and was ruling the Two Lands and all the people —

The company of Gods was well content thereat but Set was in great despair:

‘I would that You give Me the panoply of the Universal Lord,’ said Osiris to Re, ‘for then Set would respect Me when He saw My appearance as Yours and there would come to me all the people, commoners, citizens, noblemen — all — who would see how You have established My respect and created My authority.’

Now it seemed good to Re to do all that He had said, whereupon Set came and He cast His face upon the ground when He saw what Re had done for Osiris, and the blood flowed from [Set’s] nose — and that is how agriculture began (variant adds ‘in Henen-nesu’).

But, on the very day He wore it, Osiris had much suffering in His head from the heat of the Atef crown which [He wore] that men and Gods should respect Him. And when Re returned in the evening to see Osiris in Henen-nesu, He found [Osiris] in His house with His head angry and swollen from the heat of the Atef crown.

Then Re proceeded to let out the pus and the blood and Re said to Osiris:

‘Behold, You are freed from the blood and the pus which were hurting Your head.’

https://warboar.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/herishef_blood_osiris/
(via the-typhonian)

In the Contendings of Horus and Seth, the sun god (Ra) becomes angry when he is insulted by the baboon god Babi and lies down on his back. This implies that the creator sun god was sinking back into the inert state that would mean the end of the world.

if you ever feel like you overreact too much just remember, Ra got so upset about being insulted that he tried to end the world
(source is Egyptian Mythology, A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch)

But how could you leave out the bit about Hethert’s skirts?

(via rosenagldky)

Anup takes his coffee black, almost to the point of boiling.
he exhales steam and straightens his tie, as black as the crypts he once tended to. judgement begs formalities.
so gold dust settles on his eyelids, shimmering under the delicate touch of a make-up brush, contrasting charcoal irises.

(how does your heart weigh?)

in a modern age, even the gods must adapt,
and the local cemetery remains a sanctuary for the blessed dead.
he ghosts through existence, cleaning off headstones, just a shadow at the edge of the peripheral. he likes it that way.
balanced between life and death, he smiles divine, teeth skeleton-white,
holding your fate cupped in his hands.

(your heart is heavy, isn’t it?)

(we’ll find out)

a.r. – “Undertaker” (via blackcatwalking)