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My Life Since Joining the House of Netjer
How has my life changed since I joined the House? Before I joined, I felt a spiritual void in my life. I had been a practicing Jew (by choice) for over 20 years, but for the previous ten years, it hadn't been fulfilling me spiritually, and I had pretty much stopped praying at all. Because I am basically a very spiritual person, this left a void in my life, a sense that something was missing.
Then, in the summer of 1998, I discovered Ancient Sites, an online role-playing and ancient history study-community. I was so excited to find other people who were also interested in Kemet! I had been passionately interested in everything concerning Ancient Egypt ever since I was a small child, but I never had anyone with whom I could share my interest. Oddly enough, the day before I discovered AS, I had removed all of my Egyptian history and art books from the bookcase in my bedroom. The next day, they were all back in place!
While I was enjoying Ancient Sites, I also happened to visit Imakhu Christina's Virtual Temple and from there found the link to the House. Discovering that site really opened up a new world to me. I'd stay up until 1:30am, reading the posts on the Boards, the Archives, and the Letters from the Nisut (AUS). It was beautiful, it spoke to me in a way nothing else ever had, and it touched my soul deeply. Things that I had always wondered about, suddenly were made clear. Ideas of how the universe worked, how Ma'at keeps things in balance, and what happens to us when we die--it all finally made sense to me. And I had a feeling in my heart that this was where I should be, where I should always have been. It was a sense of joyous homecoming.
At about the same time, I started praying again for the first time in many years, but this time it was to Ra. I found it pretty easy to change from "The Lord our God, King of the Universe" to "Ra, King of Heaven and Earth," and after a week or so I began actually feeling Ra's Presence, as my efforts to come closer to Him allowed Him to come closer to me. From that moment, things started to change rather dramatically for me. It was obvious where this was all leading. I waited 4 days, the Kemetic "number of completion," and applied to the House of Netjer. It has been the best thing I've ever done in my life.
My spiritual life has been enriched enormously, but also, because this is a religion that is "lived," my relationships with other people, with my own family members, and with the community at large have also greatly improved. I've grown as a person in so many ways. I feel a sense of responsibility to the community of our faithful, as well as to the world. We all have the task to multiply Ma'at in the world, to make it a better place for us all.
In addition, since my divination revealed that Het-Hert is my Spiritual Parent, I have also started learning to cultivate a close relationship with Her. This is an aspect of our faith which is truly wonderful. Having the Names as a way to understand Netjer, which in Its Entirety would be completely impossible for us, is a great blessing, but on a more personal level, having a Parent Name with Whom you can identify and Who really speaks to who you are as a person, is the most wonderful thing. It makes possible a relationship with God in a way that I've never had in any other faith. Het-Hert is guiding me, teaching me, training me. She reminds me gently when I must do something, but can be more stern if I really need it (and even gives me the cosmic 2x4 if I'm really off-track!).
It's a challenge to have absolute faith, absolute trust, and to surrender absolutely to the Ultimate. It's what She wants, and I'm working hard to reach that goal. I have promised to follow Her on Her path forever, to do all I can to help the Nisut (AUS), our congregation, my family, and the world. Serving God is the highest calling a person can have, and I pray that I will be worthy of the task and will someday be able to fulfill all Her expectations.
NeferuHethert
("The beauties of Het-Hert")
October 10, 1999
What is Being Kemetic?
It has been asked what it is like to be Kemetic. I can only speak from my own experience, having been a member of the House for over a year now, and I will try to say a few things about the subject. Aside from what I wrote above in "My Life Since Joining the House of Netjer," there are many many other things that go into being Kemetic, and I understand that people who are contemplating joining the House or who are in the midst of the probationary period are eager and curious to know how it all works, what it's like to be in the House, and how you are suddenly transformed from an American into a Kemetic.
Well, it doesn't happen overnight, and it's also something that is probably experienced by each person differently. The process of changing one's entire world view, of thinking about how the universe works in an entirely different way than you've ever thought before, of accepting an idea of what God is that is entirely foreign to what you grew up with, and praying in a new way, with new rituals, and to a deity to whom you have perhaps never prayed before in your life, is an absolutely enormous change. It's a change that goes to the heart of who you are as a person; it's a change deep within your own soul.
It's impossible to make these profound changes quickly and to assimilate it all at once without its being superficial. You have to live it day by day, slowly incorporating all the facets of worship that you are taught, learning the wise sayings of the wisdom literature and applying them to your everyday life, learning to see the world through Kemetic eyes instead of American ones.
It means living in Ma'at in everything that you do, so that Ma'at will extend beyond you and touch others, much like a pebble creates far-reaching ripples when thrown into a pond. It's having respect for your ancestors, honoring them, and knowing that they can help you in this life, and that even though they are in the spiritual world, they take an active interest in your life and can help you in important ways with your family.
Also, it's a sense of community with other members of the faith today, plus a sense of continuity with all those who came before us in Kemet. It's going into a museum with an Egyptian exhibit and thinking, "these are my people," "these are my Gods." It's knowing that we are a people, even though we are far-flung, keeping Kemet in our hearts and souls. And it's knowing that we have the best guide in the world on our journey of spiritual growth, Netjer Itself in the form of our Nisut (AUS), who, along with Her priests, knows how to get us there.
NeferuHethert
("The beauties of Het-Hert")
November 24, 1999
My Daily "Date" with God
Before I became Kemetic Orthodox, I had never practiced a daily shrine rite or set aside a formal time for worship and prayer. I was used to praying, but only formally with a congregation or informally at home. The daily rite of Senut is different than either of these. It requires preparation, purification, and special clothes of pure white. It needs an altar, a sacred place that serves as a meeting place between the Seen and Unseen worlds. There are prayers and gestures to be performed in a certain order. In a sense, it is a combination of the formality of a temple or church service and the intimacy of private prayer. In my opinion, Senut is the best of both.
Netjer, or God, is everywhere and is always accessible to us, wherever we are. We can pray at any time and at any place. The difference between informal prayer and the daily shrine rite we do in Kemetic Orthodoxy is like the difference between calling up a friend on the phone and meeting that friend for a luncheon in a fine restaurant. Senut is my daily "date" with God.
The beautiful thing about the shrine rite is that it involves all of my senses and the whole of my being in performing it. I taste the water and natron when purifiying my mouth. I smell the fragrant incense as it wafts upwards in smokey clouds. I feel the heat of the flame as I light the candle. I see the beauty of my Spiritual Parent in the shrine, the light shining upon the sacred image. I hear the sound of the sistrum, as I shake it to welcome the Divine Presence. Gestures of praise, the hand-stance of prayer, and the bowing with my head touching the ground, all involve my whole body in the act of worship.
After the formal invocations are done and the offerings presented, it is my time alone with my Creator. Time to ask for the health and well-being of those I love, to pray for those in pain or trouble, to seek peace for the world, and to ask for help on my own spiritual journey. When I have a question and ask my Mother in Senut, I will often hear a voice in the back of my head, speaking with words I would never choose myself. I have heard Her melodious laughter and have caught the fragrance of Her Being fill the room with sweetness. There have been times, completely focused on my prayers, when I have felt that time stood still. The walls and floor seemed to dissolve into infinity and extend forever. I felt transported into another dimension, a place close to the heart of God.
Netjer always finds a way to tell me when I am doing something wrong, too. One day I rushed through Senut, trying to finish before my husband returned home from work. That afternoon, I promptly lost all of my homework from the previous semester at the university. The next day, when I tried to do the prayers for Senut, I had an unexpected loss of memory. I had said the prayers hundreds of times, but I just couldn't remember them! With each one, I forgot something and had to start over. I ended up doing the ENTIRE shrine rite twice! It was a not-so-gentle reminder that I have never forgotten.
Once a week, a part of my shrine rite includes honoring my relatives who have passed away. This is a very special time of remembrance, as I say their names, pray for their well being, and make offerings of special things that they enjoyed in life. I don't often hear messages from them, but they've helped me in countless ways with my family. I know that they are well cared for in the City of the Dead, and this is a great comfort to me.
Due to my rather erratic schedule raising four kids, I do not always perform Senut at the same time every day. However, each particular time of day has its special quality. When I do senut in the morning, it gives me focus for the rest of the day--a blessed start, so to speak. At dusk, it's a beautiful transition to the evening and a welcome respite from a hectic day. In the cool of the night, with the flickering candle casting wide shadows on the wall, it is a time for contemplating the long day and asking for help with its problems.
When I am unable to do senut for more than 4 or 5 days, I start to feel very uneasy. My days feel unbalanced and I feel agitated. This happened a few months ago while traveling. I came home and found myself feeling very anxious, without knowing why. After speaking with one of the priests, I realized that I had done Senut only twice during the whole previous week. Once I resumed my daily routine, my sense of well being and balance returned.
The daily shrine rite is precious to me. It is my time to be alone with my Mother, to hear Her advice and be guided by Her wisdom. Through the practice of Senut, I have forged a relationship with my Spiritual Parent that continues to grow and deepen. I know that it will be an enriching experience for the rest of my life.
NeferuHethert
("The beauties of Het-Hert")
March 31, 2002
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