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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Growing in Devotion

If you don’t know much about the God you want to worship, start with research, read and learn about them more. (Always a good place to study about the Netjeru is Henadology website.)  

After learning more about the Deity, you can start worship. It’s not required to do any formal rituals of “introducing yourself”, however there are examples of such rituals if you feel so inclined.
You may start simply with a short prayer and offering. Or just with prayer, as prayers always is more important than material offerings.  
You may start offerings with candles and incense, later offer something edible. It’s never wrong to offer Netjeru water, bread, fruits and sweets.
Kemetic offerings are usually “reverted” after some time of being presented to the Netjeru. So, offer the things you will like to consume yourself, later!
 
And if you already reached the God/s and established the devotional relationship - then work on this devotion more than on the offerings.
Show them your love. Think about them. Repeat their names in your mind. Say them praise. Study about them. Use the opportunities to see more of their pictures and read more about their mythology, cult, ways of worship. Contact other devotees of that God and see their experiences.
But before all, IMHO, is thinking about the God/s, keeping them in your mind, let them make a shrine in your heart.

They welcome our love and devotion more than material offerings. Material offerings are more for us than for Them, because they help us to keep our attention focused and concentrated.
The same thing is with holy images and statues. You may look at the pictures of the God on line, you may make a home shrine, but most important is to welcome them into your life and your heart.

Because what else was your goal in connecting to individual God?
You want to be their friend, perhaps. And yes, this means that they would influence your life. This does not happen in one moment. But you may find eventually that you start changing “in the likeness of the God”. Their values become your values. Their goals and agendas become yours. You start to love what they love, and reject what they reject. You think about them more and more, you wake up with first thought of saying hello to the God.

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"The Way of God": walking with the Netjeru

To walk on the road of God is to be filled with light,
Great are the advantages gained by those who
Discipline themselves to follow it.
It’s a monument raised by them on this Earth,
Those who follow the Paths of God,
Those who cling to the Ways of God,
Spend all their lives in joy,
Gathering riches without equal.
(…)
The West is the dwelling place for he who has not transgressed the Rule.
Happy is who reaches there!
Nobody can reach there unless
Their hearts have conformed exactly to the Rule.
Down there there is no distinction between rich and poor,
Unless it is in the favour of he who is found to be righteous
When weighted in the scales of justice before the master of Eternity.

-- The inscriptions from the tomb of PetOsiris, high priest of Thoth (4th/3rd century B.C); quoted from: Cristian Jacq, “The living wisdom of ancient Egypt”


Living as a kemetic is walking your path of life together with Netjeru.

Come to the Netjeru with open heart, embrace Them with joy, let Them help you to get better when you are in sadness. Bring Them flowers, water, bread, say Their names, dance for Them, dedicate to Them your actions, listen to music you associate with Them and assemble your devotional playlists. Look at the images of the Netjeru - online or in art albums you may have, marveling at Their beauty. Sit before the shrine and just think about Them. Share with Them your thoughts, your worries and doubts. Don’t be afraid of asking questions.
Look at the wonders of nature and see the manifestations of Netjeru in the sky, in the sun and moon, in every flower and every bird.

Your goal in the kemetic religion is to maintain Maat and keep relationship with the Netjeru.
Religion should bring happiness and fulfillment, and while trials and tests happen, the Netjeru are not here to make your life miserable. In turn, they are loving and caring, and They are willing to help you on your path of spiritual growth.
Devotion begins in the heart;
And “going in Ma’at” is the primary “way”. It’s the way of life; it’s not “practicing religion”, but Living the religion.
The first step in walking in Ma’at, walking with the Netjeru, however simple it may sound, is: “Place God in your heart”.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
First steps in Kemetic Religion

"Come, let me cause you to know them,
namely, the four principles of life…
to bind with them -
Set your heart upon god!
Adhere to the law!
Make revenge!
Go in ma'at!"

Be small of wrath!
Be thoughtful!
Be a good man!.."

"Conversations in the House of Life" ("The Demotic Book of Thoth" - 388-390)

 

If you feel called to Kemetic religion and wonder what should be your first step, my answer always is “Just make that step”. Come before the Netjeru to walk on the path of Ma’at and prepare a place in your heart where your honored Gods will reside, making your body and soul into their temples; guiding your boat on the waters of life.

If you have attraction to certain Netjer, by whatever reason, try talking to that one.
Even if you just consider the deity to be handsome. This also is a valid reason :)
If you are attracted to the pantheon as a whole, address them all, as one divine family… and ask if someone wants to take a larger role in your life, to “step in”.

Once you let them in (as living gods- they may reside in your heart), even if you don’t think about them often, they think of you :)

It’s not required to think about the Gods every single minute of your life, but it makes one happy when you know that deities are loving, caring, helpful and ready to hear your prayers, your praises, and the sharing of your concerns and worries with them. They are like your family and friends; think about your prayer/shrine time as about divine phone call or skype chat with a close friend who is not physically present, but always ready to answer your call and listen.

If you are drawn to several Netjeru already, then start doing more for them and learn more about them.
 
You do not have to have one central Netjer to work with. There is more likely to be several. In Ancient Egypt it was not common to choose only one Netjer to serve/“work with”. People had personal devotions, and may be had their favorites between Netjeru; but more common case was that there was a group, or “family” of the Netjeru who were closer to that particular person.

Frequently it was defined by the place they lived in and other circumstances. We know accounts of ancient Egyptians who had Netjeru appearing to them in dreams, and this causing their focus of devotion to significantly change. There are recorded stories of people who were called for intense devotion by Mut, Aset/Isis and Djehuty after the Netjeru making clear appearance in a dream. But most of the people simply followed their hearts, natural attraction, tradition of family and home town.

Choosing one “primary” Netjer doesn’t mean that you can’t have “many”. Historical example again: even the high priest of one temple could also have priestly ranks and offices in other temples, dedicated to other Netjeru. So, Egyptian priests could bear titles “high priest of NN, and priest of NN, and NN, and having a shift in the temple of NN”, and it totally worked.

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Recent comment in this post - Show all comments
  • helmsman of inepu
    helmsman of inepu says #
    Well done! I'm glad to see someone else suggesting using an image on a cell phone or laptop if you can't afford or find a statue.

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Devotion 101

In response to this post here: http://thehouseofvines.com/2013/08/08/polytheism-without-borders/, and as a result of several recent conversations that I've been having with various folks, I've decided that once a week (provided I get enough questions), I"ll be posting a 'Devotion 101' series. What does this mean? 

Well, I will answer questions, no matter how simple they may be, on devotion: how to do it, why we do it, how to get started. Readers can ask me "am i doing X right?" or "how can I honor Deity X better' and I'll do my best to answer. So long as I get questions from people, I'll keep this series running, maybe not every week (my academic term is starting soon after all) but as close to it as possible. 

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Galina Krasskova
    Galina Krasskova says #
    Why would i dillydally? A question --particularly one on devotion--deserves a clear, concise answer. I've always equated dillydall
  • gary c. e.
    gary c. e. says #
    thanks for acknowledging my comment/question - i appreciate the simplicity and straightforward reply. there is no dillydallying wi
  • Galina Krasskova
    Galina Krasskova says #
    I will answer this and all questions in forthcoming blogs here. I'll admit though, I find your question rather confusing. I tru
  • gary c. e.
    gary c. e. says #
    Greetings Galina Thank you for your post on devotion here. I am from the Taoist Way both philosophically and with it's religious
Online Course: Getting Started in Ancestor Work

I thought some of you might be interested in this: 

Online Course - Ancestor Work 101: Getting Started

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  • Christine L Berger
    Christine L Berger says #
    sounds great. Hopefully you will offer it again when I can afford it.

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