{"id":2521,"date":"2014-06-22T16:53:20","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T22:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2014-06-22T16:53:20","modified_gmt":"2014-06-22T22:53:20","slug":"egyptian-summer-solstice-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2014\/06\/egyptian-summer-solstice-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian Summer Solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Over the years I\u2019ve been blogging I\u2019ve written about Denton CUUPS<\/a>\u2019 Egyptian Summer Solstice on numerous occasions:\u00a0 our public presentation at White Rock Lake in Dallas in 2009<\/a>, our prayer for Egypt after the overthrow of Mubarak in 2011<\/a>, our presentation of the Prophecy of Hermes Trismegistus last year<\/a>, and last week\u2019s post<\/a> on how this became our Summer Solstice tradition.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s probably clear \u2013 from the pictures if not from the descriptions \u2013 that this isn\u2019t a generic Pagan liturgy<\/a>, I\u2019ve never talked much about just what it is and why it\u2019s different.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to do that today, in large part because the differences are relevant to devotional polytheists, regardless of which traditions and which Gods we follow.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a Celtic-inspired Druid, not a Kemetic priest and certainly not an Egyptian scholar.\u00a0 I have eleven years of working with these deities through this rite, but I am still no expert on the subject.\u00a0 If you find this helpful, use it as inspiration for your own deeper exploration of the Gods you follow, not as holy writ.<\/p>\n

What we consider ancient Egypt existed for an incredibly long time.\u00a0 The last Pharaoh (30 BCE) is far closer in time to us than to the first Pharaoh (3200 BCE) \u2013 give that a minute to sink in.\u00a0 While the pace of change was very slow by our standards, things did change.\u00a0 Different Gods were worshipped in different ways at different places; some were conflated together while others diverged into multiple identities.\u00a0 There was no single ancient Egyptian religion and it should come as no surprise there is no single modern Egyptian religion either.<\/p>\n

Our liturgy is drawn primarily from the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of Going Forth By Day<\/em>. \u00a0It begins with the idea that the Gods are real and they are present in their statues.\u00a0 Therefore we treat the statues with the dignity and respect due a God.\u00a0 They are not left out in the open but are kept in Their own houses \u2013 in our case, a special cabinet.<\/p>\n

They are cared for by the priests who have learned the reverent and proper (i.e. \u2013 polite and effective) ways to approach these mighty beings.<\/p>\n

I come before thee, O great Neteru, my purification upon my arms. Assuredly, I am a priest of this temple. I shall not linger, I shall not turn back. I have come to perform the ritual, and I have not come to do that which is not to be done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Gods are awakened, anointed, and dressed \u2013 wrapped in a sacred cloth.<\/p>\n

We come to honor You. Awake, we ask, that You may hear the song of Ma\u2019at. Grace us with Your countenance, let us praise it, so as to proclaim Your power, so as to let posterity know Your might. I place my hands upon You in the name of the Gods. May Your Ba swoop from the Duat this day and every day and fill this place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Gods are not human \u2013 though some legends say some deities were human at one point \u2013 but we care for Them as though they were human because that\u2019s what we are.\u00a0 We honor them in the ways we know how, showing them proper hospitality and encouraging reciprocity.<\/p>\n

This bread is for You, O Great Gods.\u00a0 May You be nourished by this gift, that You may nourish Your people in return.<\/p>\n

This beer is for You, O Great Gods.\u00a0 May You be refreshed by this gift.\u00a0 We present that which flows forth from You, that Your hearts shall continue to beat.\u00a0 For it is with You that all comes forth at the sound of Your voice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Since this is not just any day but a holy day, this ritual included a special observance.\u00a0 This year we told the story of how Isis learned to heal the sting of a scorpion and so kept the infant Horus alive.\u00a0 And we told the story of how She learned that the laws of Ma\u2019at apply even to the Gods.<\/p>\n

At this point the food and drink has been in front of the Gods for an appropriate period of time.\u00a0 They have not physically consumed it, so we practice the Egyptian tradition of Reversion of Offerings and share it with all those in attendance.<\/p>\n

O Most Revered Gods of Egypt, You have taken sustenance from our offerings, and You have imbued them with Your divine power.\u00a0 For this, O Gods, we thank You.<\/p>\n

Worshipers of the Gods of Egypt, let us now partake of Their blessings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>As the ritual comes to a close, the statues are carefully and reverently returned to their home.<\/p>\n

As Horus has defeated Set, neither shall any enemy, male or female, enter into this sanctuary. We close the door, we set the seal.<\/p>\n

We have left, with Your great faces behind us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The outcome of these rituals has been strong and tangible.\u00a0 I sometimes wonder what would happen if we devoted ourselves fully to these Gods and performed the daily temple ritual on a daily basis.\u00a0 There are polytheists who are doing just that, some with the Neteru and some with the deities of other traditions.\u00a0 Though there are daily elements to my spiritual practice, it does not reach this level of devotion.<\/p>\n

Should it?\u00a0 That\u2019s a very hard question that deserves more prayerful contemplation.<\/p>\n

And what does all this mean to the average modern Pagan?\u00a0 What relevance does a 4000 year old ritual have to us here and now?\u00a0 Here are the closing words from our ritual.<\/p>\n

For the ancient Egyptians, life was never certain. Food, water, and the next harvest were not guaranteed. \u00a0The daily temple rituals insured that the sacred order of Ma\u2019at would be maintained and that civilization would continue.<\/p>\n

Our modern lives are far less fragile: technology keeps the elements at bay, and our most common problem is too much food, not too little. Yet we are not so different from our Egyptian ancestors, and we still struggle to maintain balance in our work, with our families, in our country, and on our planet. By the performance of our rituals and our daily spiritual practices, we maintain the sacred order of Ma\u2019at in our lives and in our land.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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While the liturgy of our Egyptian Summer Solstice ritual is our own modern creation, it is inspired by the daily temple rituals of ancient Egypt and it is quite different from our usual Pagan rites. 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