Thursday, March 6, 2025

Making a Homemade Sistrum

 

Above: A historic sistrum, art from the tomb of Nefertari

My wife and I have been hard at work over the past few weeks making a homemade sistrum, an ancient Egyptian rattle-like percussion instrument used often in rituals. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. You can get historically-accurate ones with Hathor’s face on the front online but they typically cost quite a lot. We followed a guide to making a homemade sistrum in the book “Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches” by Ellen Cannon Reed. 


We started by finding a sturdy forked branch on the ground. We sawed it down to size and used sandpaper on the outside to make it nice and smooth. Then I used a soldering iron to burn in the hieroglyphs, accidentally burning myself in the process (not fun). After this, we painted it gold and applied a coat of mod podge to seal the paint job and help so that the paint won’t start to flake off through use. Next, we drilled six holes to fit some wire through which we got from a coat hanger. We adorned the wires with a few small discs with heart-shaped holes, and some soda can tops. 



Adorned on the sistrum itself is a small image of Hathor, the words “Dua Hathor” and “Dua Ihy” on each side, nd my son’s name in hieroglyphs on front. I also noticed one part of the wood had an eye-shape on it so we turned it into an Eye of Horus. There is also the name of the Urartian Goddess of Art and Creativity Arubani written on it in Armenian, an Armenian eternity symbol, and an Incan cross from my wife’s heritage. 



It has a lot character to it, I’m hoping it pleases the Gods. The next step is to use it in a rutual. I would like to perform the Rite of Blessing a Child next, working out of the same book. This is an open-ended ritual unlike a baptism, and the participant can decide to follow whichever Gods he wants when he’s older.



𓋹֍֎𓋹


~ Siamanto the Foreigner

 𓋷𓅁𓈖𓏏𓍯𓀭𓈖𓐎𓏺𓈉𓏏𓅂𓌙𓀀

Սիամանթօ Օտարը


Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Ash Wednesday - A Holiday Re-Dedicated to the God Ash

 

Prayers and Spells to Ash 𓄿𓈙𓁣, Աշ


Holidays:


Ash Wednesday: A pagan hijacking of a Christian holiday, because why not. On this day we venerate Ash, and give offerings of wine. Different date every year.


Epithets:

Lord of the Oasis

Refreshment in the Desert

Nubty (He of Nubt, a center of His worship)

Meri Sutekh (Beloved of Set)

Ash of the Many Faces

Lord of the Land of the Olive Tree

Lord of Tenehu (Libyan tribe)

The Desert Sha (one of mine for Him)


Offerings:


Wine

Purified Water

Pistachios

Cinnamon 

Lettuce

Chocolate 

Beer

Red candles 

Incense, especially cinnamon 



Consorts:

Set


Prayers:


End offerings of wine with: “I am refreshed by this Ash.”


Hymn to Ash

Dua Ash of the Many Faces,

Neb Wakhat, Lord of the Oasis.

You who quenches the thirst of the 

lost souls in the desheret. 

Meri Sutekh, The Desert Sha, 

beloved in Nubt and Dakhla.

He of Libya, the original foreigner

among the Netjeru.

He who refreshes Ra on his Solar Barque.

He who offers his support to Sutekh

in his constant struggle against A𓌜p𓌜e𓌜p𓌜.

May Ash cool the temperament of my opponents,

Grant me strength and refresh my soul

as I wander the desert of life, and 

after death, may I come home to your Oasis

beyond the Seven Stars of Sutekh’s Khepesh,

wherein I will say, “I am refreshed by this Ash”.

Dua Ash, ânŭn mä'ą

Truly it is so....


~ Siamanto the Foreigner

____


(JEA 14 (1928) pp. 211-225). CT spell 107, “Recitation for going out into the day,” states on behalf of the deceased that “Sha guards me in company with the Lords of Upper Egypt.” In BD spell 95, for “being beside Thoth,” the operator states that “Ash cools off opponents for me,” in which it seems that Ash is to share in the characteristic function of Thoth of calming wrathful deities, perhaps because of Ash’s association with wine.


Book of the Dead

Spell in order to open beside Thoth, to speak by the Osiris NN, justified:

I am the lord of the terror in the storm, protected by Wereret (the great crown of Upper Egypt) in the battle. I strike the violent Ash and refresh Ash. I have prepared a place for Weret (the Uraeus) in the battle.I have hardened the knife with the knife which is in Khepri’s hand in the storm.

pTurin Museo Egizio 1791, Tb 095


https://henadology.wordpress.com/theology/netjeru/ash/


Saturday, March 1, 2025

Armeno-Kemetic Holidays for March (Մեհեկի-Արեգի, 𓂋𓎡𓄑𓊮𓅫 - 𓂋𓈖𓈖𓆗)

 

I wrote about the upcoming holiday Vahagni Tsnunet/ Birth of Vagan in 2020


We have made it to March, congratulations, it’s been a difficult year so far for a lot of people. With the Spring equinox approaching, this is the time in many Indo-European traditions in which the fighter against the Chaoskampf emerges victorious against the agents of destructive chaos, or isfet as the Egyptians knew it. This is a good time of the year to try to harness that energy to help yourself conquer your inner darkness, or the isfet around you, and reach Ma’at, as the lengths of the days and nights become equal and balanced. The birth of Horus is this month, but Sutekh also has a holiday on the Ides of March, a day historically known to bring change with those in power, called The Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut, to Disturb the Great Ones.


Also on March 15 I give thanks to the Greek Goddess Nemesis. I don’t often venerate Greek deities, but it is because it was on this day that Operation Nemesis was successful. Nemesis, Goddess of Divine Retribution, lent Her name to a group of Armenians who had the goal of avenging the Armenian Genocide and assassinating its orchestrators that had escaped justice. Armenian hero Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, one of the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide, on this day in 1921. With the Armenians being a majority Christian people, I don’t think Nemesis has ever been properly thanked for Her help. The Goddess Nemesis has done far more to help Armenia than Yahweh ever has. 


Important past dates:

Մեհեկի Արեգ/February 7 ~ Armenian Month of Meheki begins; sacred to the God Mihr.


Մեհեկի Կորդուիք/February 28 ~ Kemetic month of Little Fire begins (𓂋𓎡𓄑𓊮𓅫 , Rkḥ-nḏs), Rekh-Neds. 

——


Մեհեկի Լուսնակ / March 2 ~ Feast of Chewing Onions for Bast 𓎯𓏏𓏏𓁐


Արեգի Արեգ/March 9 ~ Month of Aregi begins; sacred to Ra-Aramazd (Ar-Ra), the Armeno-Kemetic Sun God. 

Today is also the Feast of the Moon. Make offerings to Djehuti and Selardi of Urartu.


Արեգի Մարգար/March 12 ~ Feast of the Providing Moon; the Neteru hosting this holiday are Wepwawet and Anpu.


Արեգի Աստղիկ/March 15 ~ The Going Forth of Set, Son of Nut, to Disturb the Great Ones

Feast of Nemesis, in gratitude for Her aid in avenging the Armenians


Արեգի Միհր/March 16 ~ Feast of the Moonlight Rays; the Netjer hosting this holiday is Nebet-Het. 


Արեգի Ձոպաբեր/March 17 ~ Feast of the Moon; Sacred to Ihy


Արեգի Երեզկան - Վանատ/March 19-22 ~ The Days of Ostara, Wiccan Spring Equinox Festival (I observe it through the following two holidys:)


Արեգի Պարխար/March 21 ~ Վահագնի Ծնունդ, the Birth of Vahagn, when he emerged from a reed with a fiery beard and eyes like suns; and the day of his triumph over the Vishap (dragon) of Winter every year. Spring Equinox. 


Արեգի Վանատ/March 22 ~ Birth of Horus, the Kemetic Spring Equinox holiday. (Vahagn and Horus have many parallels. For one thing, Horus was born in the reeds, Vaghagn emerged from a reed. )


Արեգի Արագած/March 28 ~ Kemetic month of Ermouthi (𓂋𓈖𓈖𓆗 , Rnnwtt) Begins. 


Արեգի Կորդուիք/March 30 ~ Festival of Renenutet 



Favorable/Adverse Days

𓄤𓄤𓄤/𓊢𓊢𓊢


March

1.𓊢𓊢𓊢

2.𓄤𓄤𓄤

3.𓊢𓊢𓊢

4.𓊢𓊢𓊢

5.𓄤𓄤𓄤

6.𓄤𓄤𓄤

7.𓊢𓊢𓊢

8.𓊢𓊢𓊢

9.𓊢𓊢𓊢

10. 𓊢𓊢𓊢

11.𓊢𓊢𓊢

12.𓊢𓊢𓊢

13.𓄤𓄤𓄤

14.𓄤𓄤𓄤

15.𓊢𓊢𓊢

16.𓊢𓊢𓊢 

17.𓄤𓄤𓄤

18.𓊢𓊢𓊢

19.𓊢𓊢𓊢

20.𓊢𓊢𓊢

21.𓊢𓊢𓄤

22. 𓊢𓊢𓊢

23.𓊢𓊢𓊢

24.𓄤𓄤𓄤

25.𓊢𓊢𓊢

26.𓄤𓄤𓄤

27.𓄤𓄤𓄤

28.𓄤𓄤𓄤

29.𓄤𓄤𓄤

30.𓊢𓊢𓊢

31.𓄤𓄤𓄤