Kemetic Ritual

The Neo-Pagan Alliance decided to have our last ritual of the semester be last Sunday!
I was not sure what to expect because I did not have any part in planning this ritual. I have been uber busy with school work and personal life drama this semester that after Samhain I dropped off the planet. Well that has mostly come to an end and even if it hadn't I was going to go to this last ritual. This was the last ritual I would perform with Caitlin. She has been amazing. Since I first met her she has taken a leadership role that I look up to and she has been my pagan companion. I honestly am not sure what I would have done without her a certain times. She just knew how to help me connect with my inner pagan and brought the crafty pagan out in me! Thank you to Caitlin and many blessings on your journey!

Becca was going to be planning this ritual and I was super excited to have another member put on a ritual. She chose a kemetic theme for the ritual. Kemetism is the neopagan movement of the Ancient Egyptian religion. I had never heard of kemetism so when we got the layout for the ritual and I saw the word for the first time I looked it up. I wanted to know more about it and after reading all of what wiki had to say I was pumped. I thought what a coincidence that we will be working with Egyptian mythology and energies for ritual after I had just had my first experience with Bast. Check out my last post if you didn't see it!

It was an intimate ritual, there were only about 6 of us. To begin Becca had us go outside where we all started to cleanse ourselves by drinking some Natron. Natraon is the liquid the would have used to mummify people in ancient Egypt, but it is seen as a purifier in modern days. It is a mixture of salt, baking soda, and water. It did not taste very good. We passed around the chalice and if you wanted took a sip of natron or as I did pour some into my hands and purify your body that way! Becca said that it is important to rinse out your mouth because in kemetic ritual the mouth is an important tool and for it to be dirty it not good.
After that we moved upstairs into Mark's living room and we called the directions. I had East and I enjoyed doing this because I normally work with North. I think I did a good job on calling in the direction and energies and so did everyone else. Next Mark made a call to our ancestors. It was to our specific blood ancestors and then to our ancestors of a spiritual path and any other ancestors we may have.

Oh I guess before that came the circle casting. Becca had the four elements represented in the elements, not just as candles and to cast the circle she walked around the room with all of them while we concentrated on providing energy for the circle. Once this was done Becca had a lesson to provide us and told us more about her path. Then we were led in some meditation.
This meditation was not a normal meditation, we had Egyptian music playing on youtube and we had a kemetic box on the altar in front of us. None of us really knew what it was but once we got to the meditation Becca explained. The box on the table was something that holds the deity the kemetic is working with. Becca took out her representation of the deity out and prepared it for us to use.
During the meditation we were guided to put all of our worries, doubts, frustrations, and problems from the last semester into the box so that we could release ourselves of that. As Becca put it, hand them off to the deity who knows what to do with them. I have to tell you all that meditation is one of the hardest things for me to do, but for some reason the purpose and the music all seemed to help make this meditation a success. I had the weirdest feeling during meditation. I felt as if the energy was swirling around me. It was moving my body, well at least it felt like that, and I was in bliss! As I focused on my problems I placed them into the box now looking eerily ancient with the candle in front of the mirror.

Once the song stopped we came back to the room. We closed the box up and thanked the deity. I keep saying the deity because Becca did not choose one, we got to pick one that worked for us.
Finally we celebrated the ritual by eating, releasing the corners, and letting the circle down. Overall it was a wonderful night and a great first experience to working with Egyptian energy in ritual! I am excited to try it again!

Have any of you worked with kemetism? Or any deities from the Egyptian pantheon?

Blessed Be!

Chant to Bast

This is a chant I found in a book (can't remember the name) and it is to the Egyptian goddess Bast aka Bastet. As I found out yesterday she helps to remind people to play when they get to serious. Being a cat goddess she must be associated with play! As cats are so energetic (only when they do play) I can see the connection.
In Ancient Egypt she used to be represented as a lioness goddess. But when the upper kingdom was conquered she became a cat goddess. It is said by Herodotus that her temple was situated in a lake of sorts. One three sides of her temple was water. There were two rivers flowing and a lake forming. This was called an isheru. It was common to find around Lioness Goddess temples.
Bastet is sun goddess and although she is now a cat goddess she has no problem being fierce and putting on her lioness mask!

The chant I found is called Bast Chant for Liberation

Feline Goddess, Cat-like Bast,
Give me what I need at last.
Scratch through mental knots that bind,
Bring independence to my mind.
Claw through ropes that hold me tight,
Bring liberation to my life.
Help me let go of what is old
And venture forth, reborn and bold.
Help me live my life in truth.
Bast, I ask these things of YOU!



I think it is beautiful and hope others will use it!

Blessed be!