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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in ancient egypt

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Rebecca Buchanan
    Rebecca Buchanan says #
    @Chas. S. Clifton: after reading "Death of an Eye," I have added the Shugak series to my (very long) To Read list.
  • Chas  S. Clifton
    Chas S. Clifton says #
    That's going to be a switch from all her Alaska mysteries, the Kate Shugak series! Who knew?

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
My Journey to Revolutionary Egypt


Much as my friends were trying to dissuade me from visiting a country in revolutionary turmoil, I decided to travel to Egypt, hoping to find an answer to the riddles in my mind. It was a burning hot desire, an obsessive thought born after the explosion of the Revolution.

It was November of 2011. The country was ruled by SCAF, the military council that had taken over after the dictator Hosni Mubarak had been ousted. The spirit of the Revolution was alive and well, so once again the people of Egypt organized massive mobilizations.

I was aware of the dangers in demonstrating in Egypt. For months I had been in touch with activists and had read lots of horror stories. Questions were pounding on my mind. What if the demonstration was attacked by security forces, armed thugs, and snipers, as had happened during the Revolution? What if I got arrested and ended up in one of the country’s notorious jails where political prisoners were routinely raped and tortured?

Yet, time and again I could hear a voice calling out: “Will you risk your life for me?” It could have been the voice of Isis, Egypt, or the Revolution. In my mind all three had merged into one. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for anything in the world!

So, there I was, in Tahrir, whose name means “Liberation,” the iconic square of the Revolution. I had been there just a few days earlier to visit the world-famous Museum of Cairo. That first visit was a pilgrimage to the treasures of the past that have kept me under their spell for so long. Isis and Osiris were there, staring at me with their inlaid eyes, holding the key to secret longings.

The second visit to Tahrir was a pilgrimage too, but of a different nature. Demonstrating side by side with Egyptian revolutionaries felt like a dream come true. The place was overflowing with protesters, many of them women wearing the hijab, the Muslim scarf, on their heads. They were key figures, just like they had played a leading role during the Revolution.

The march was a huge success, as well as the rallies organized in other parts of the country. It was reported that three million people demonstrated that day all over the country. The atmosphere was almost festive. Protesters seemed proud and strong. The energy of the Revolution was palpable—and there’s nothing like a revolution if you want to raise energy!

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

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Title: Undiscovered (Treasure Hunter Security Book One)

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Pagan News Beagle: Earthy Thursday, May 19

A whole boatload of new planets are discovered. Paleontologists dig for fossils in the Antarctic. And senators push for bonds to fight climate change. It's Earthy Thursday, our weekly segment on science and Earth-related news! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

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Pagan News Beagle: Airy Monday, June 29

It's that time of week again: time for Airy Monday! This week for our regular exploration of magic in pop culture we take a look at an American Indian tabletop game, the BBC adaptation of Susanna Clarke's alternate historical fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and the relationship between the blues and Southern Hoodoo. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Why kemeticism?

My personal spiritual journey started, when I was 12 years old.

There are people who were raised in religion, and the idea that God exists is therefore very natural for them.

But I was raised in soviet-style secular atheism. I had read a lot of things about religions, but the default mindset ingrained from childhood, was that “religion is a human invention, and an instrument of oppression and control. Gods are just mythology.”

When I was 15, I joined Russian Orthodox Church (mostly because I was baptized there when I was a kid and it seemed like a natural decision), but left it in 2005 to become Roman Catholic. However, the existence of the Gods of Egypt (Netjeru) was shown to me in obvious experience - and now I’m trying to live with it.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Hermopolis Begins in the Heart

“If anyone wishes to be sure
in the road they tread,
they must close their eyes
and walk in the Dark”
--- st. Juan de la Cruz

The old man, wearing a long gray galabiyah and white turban on his head, one with a skin color of a dark coffee, the man with incredibly kind eyes, bright and full of knowledge and wisdom, looked at me and touched my hand again. “My daughter,” – he repeated with kind, but quite demanding voice, “follow me, let me show you how to pray. Many people come here for prayer. I see that you came for prayer. Let me show you what they do.”

He was a guardian in the temple of Medinet-Habu, working there for more than 30 years, and probably living there under the hot skies of Egypt, day by day seeing tourist groups and individual visitors in the temple, he gained the wisdom to tell, who is coming “as a tourist” just to glare at the magnificent ruins and take pictures, and who is coming for prayer and devotion.

I wondered if the words “I came here for prayer” were written right on my forehead. But I had been wearing my ceremonial garment, long white ancient Egyptian style dress and wide necklace. And while other people in the temple did not really care, probably thinking that I was just cosplaying Nefertari or Cleopatra or another Egyptian Queen, it was not a cosplay.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    Before it went out of business I saw book entitled "Jesus: last of the Pharaohs" at Borders Books and Tapes. I didn't get a copy
  • Tatiana Matveeva
    Tatiana Matveeva says #
    I have heard about Hathor sanctuary on Sinai, but never thought about Hathor as possible name of Asherah. But I don't think this a

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