#Malicious Gods: Egypt

[creature-wizard]

Found out a bunch of 20th century conspiracy theory stuff (like the stuff claimed by Fritz Springmeier and David Icke) can be traced back to this woman named Edith Starr Miller, who basically tried to claim that literally everything that wasn't her brand of Christianity was part of an evil Jewish plot, all tied in with Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and all that.

Reading both volumes of Occult Theocrasy would definitely take a lot of time, but even just glancing through, she's spewing incredibly obvious bullshit. For example, she claims that there were really a bunch of satanic witches running around in the late middle ages, and quotes Margaret Murray in support of this. She claims that the late medieval witches worshiped Baphomet, and placed a candle between the horns on the heads of Baphomet representations, and that "this candle symbolized the sex-force or Kundalini risen to the pineal gland."

On druids, she cites a book titled Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, which claims, "The secret doctrines of the Druids were much the same as those of the Gymnosophists and Brahmins of India, the Magi of Persia, the priests of Egypt, and of all other priests of antiquity." Said passage she quotes also claims "Their chief deities are reducible to two, — a male and a female, the great father and mother, Hu and Ceridwen, distinguished by the same characteristics as belonged to Osiris and Isis, Bacchus and Ceres, or any other supreme god and goddess representing the two principles of all being."

And of course, she claims that Pharisees perverted the concept of the Messiah within Judaism while secretly plotting to enslave the nations. And of course, she cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a well-known hoax that plagiarized other work, including a piece of satire. She maliciously cites the Talmud out of context (IE, ignoring the fact that parts hostile to Gentiles were written during intense persecution).

She claims that the evil conspiracy is subverting patriotism, pushing communism and socialism, and subverting Christianity. She claims this of tolerance, which I believe is rhetoric that many of us will find familiar:

Today, most of the good people are afraid to be good. They strive to be broadminded and tolerant! It is fashionable to be tolerant — but mostly tolerant of evil — and this new code has reached the proportions of demanding intolerance of good. The wall of resistance to evil has thus been broken down and no longer affords protection to those who, persecuted by evil doers, stand in need of it.

It probably won't surprise anyone to learn that this woman hung out with fascists when she was alive.

#conspiracy theories #conspiracism #conspiracy theorists #antisemitism #edith starr miller #occult theocrasy

[templeofoccultpractices]

Bastet

Other names:Bast

Major cult center:Bubastis

Symbol:cat, lioness, ointment jar, sistrum, solar disk

Parents:Ra and Isis

Siblings:Horus and Anhur (half-brothers)

Consort:Ptah

Offspring:Maahes

Connection to other gods:Sekhmet, Hathor, Rāt, Tem, Artemis

Celebrations

Bubastis celebrations of Bastet 'Feast of drunkenness'

Bubasteia was celebrated by intoxication,music, debauchery, children would be born without fathers on this day.

Bastet was a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BCE). Her name also is rendered as B'sst, Baast, Ubaste, and Baset. In ancient Greek religion, she was known as Ailuros (Koinē Greek: αἴλουρος "cat").

Bastet was worshipped in Bubastis in Lower Egypt, originally as a lioness goddess, a role shared by other deities such as Sekhmet. Eventually Bastet and Sekhmet were characterized as two aspects of the same goddess, with Sekhmet representing the powerful warrior and protector aspect and Bastet, who increasingly was depicted as a cat, representing a gentler aspect

Role In Ancient Egypt

Bastet was originally a fierce lioness warrior goddess of the sun worshipped throughout most of ancient Egyptian history, but later she became the cat goddess that is familiar today. She then was depicted as the daughter of Ra and Isis, and the consort of Ptah, with whom she had a son Maahes.

As protector of Lower Egypt, she was seen as defender of the king, and consequently of the sun god, Ra. Along with other deities such as Hathor, Sekhmet, and Isis, Bastet was associated with the Eye of Ra.She has been depicted as fighting the serpent named Apep, an enemy of Ra. In addition to her solar connections, sometimes she was called "eye of the moon".

Bastet was also a goddess of pregnancy and childbirth, possibly because of the fertility of the domestic cat.

Images of Bastet were often created from alabaster. The goddess was sometimes depicted holding a ceremonial sistrum in one hand and an aegis in the other—the aegis usually resembling a collar or gorget, embellished with a lioness head.

Bastet was also depicted as the goddess of protection against contagious diseases and malicious spirits.

History

Bastet first appears in the third millennium BCE, where she is depicted as either a fierce lioness or a woman with the head of a lioness.Two thousand years later, during the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 1070–712 BC), Bastet began to be depicted as a domestic cat or a cat-headed woman.

Scribes of the New Kingdom and later eras began referring to her with an additional feminine suffix, as Bastet. The name change is thought to have been added to emphasize pronunciation of the ending t sound, often left silent.

Cats in ancient Egypt were highly revered, partly due to their ability to combat vermin such as mice, rats (which threatened key food supplies), and snakes—especially cobras. Cats of royalty were, in some instances, known to be dressed in golden jewelry and were allowed to eat from the plates of their owners. Dennis C. Turner and Patrick Bateson estimate that during the Twenty-second Dynasty (c. 945–715 BC), Bastet worship changed from being a lioness deity into being predominantly a major cat deity.Because domestic cats tend to be tender and protective of their offspring, Bastet was also regarded as a good mother and sometimes was depicted with numerous kittens.

The native Egyptian rulers were replaced by Greeks during an occupation of Ancient Egypt in the Ptolemaic Dynasty that lasted almost 300 years. The Greeks sometimes equated Bastet with one of their goddesses, Artemis

Festival

Herodotus also relates that of the many solemn festivals held in Egypt, the most important and most popular one was that celebrated in Bubastis in honor of this goddess.Each year on the day of her festival, the town was said to have attracted some 700,000 visitors, both men and women (but not children), who arrived in numerous crowded ships. The women engaged in music, song, and dance on their way to the place. Great sacrifices were made and prodigious amounts of wine were drunk—more than was the case throughout the year.This accords well with Egyptian sources that prescribe that lioness goddesses are to be appeased with the "feasts of drunkenness".A festival of Bastet was known to be celebrated during the New Kingdom at Bubastis. The block statue from the eighteenth dynasty (c. 1380 BC) of Nefer-ka, the wab-priest of Sekhmet,provides written evidence for this. The inscription suggests that the king, Amenhotep III, was present at the event and had great offerings made to the deity.

──────⊰In Workings⊱──────

*Please know basic protections and energy work before attempting any deity work.*

*It is important to note that everyone's experiences are different and will work with spirits for different reasons. Some people may like a spirit while others will not and that's okay. Ask these spirits what they will work with you on as well as ask them if they can help you with whatever it is you need.*

Ideas for honoring or working with/worshipping Bastet

Altar

Create an altar/sacred space for your rituals and giving offerings for Bastet. Items may include

⬩An altar cloth

⬩Black or yellow candles (you can use any color))

⬩Cup or chalice

⬩Incense and an incense burner

⬩Offering bowl

⬩Statue of Bastet, cat or lion

For more information on basic deity work and altar setups check out the deity work post.

Offering items:Bread, Catnip, Fish, Frankincense, Meats, Myrrh, Perfume bottle, Sistrum, Water

Rituals

⬩Fertility rites and rituals

⬩Protection

⬩Motherhood

⬩You can ask her what she can help you with⬩

𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠𓃠

For more content relating to other practices/religions or pantheons follow my main blog for updates or ask me anything

If you have any more questions or wish to join a community feel free to join my 18+ discord server

Ask me anything on my blog

#occult #witchcraft #witchblr #deity #neter #neteru #netjer #kemetic #kemetism #Kemetic gods #kemetic pagan #kemetic witch #kemetic paganism #kemetic polytheism #netjeru #spirit #spirits #kemetblr #occultblr #paganism #pagan #witch #Bastet #Bast #neterism

[lepertamar]

the most repeated metaphor for israel's exile in the nevi'im (prophets) in the tanakh is that of an adulterous woman punished by her husband. basic logic: g-d promised us in exodus that we would live well in the land of israel and be protected by It (g-d), but we were not. our enemies said this showed g-d the god of israel was unable to protect us, but we could not abide this, and counter-claimed that g-d was punishing us for our unfaithfulness and that It had sent the nations to destroy us, and It had the power reestablish us when we had repented. the adultery metaphor is obviously tuned to the psychology of its times and audience, but more foundational and less criticized is the assumption g-d can make such promises, that it's preferable that It determines the actions of third parties in the world, that if It can't, It's worse than worthless, a used tissue, because the only people here who should have free will and the power to exercise it are the jews and g-d.

this question continued through the repeated exiles and genocides of the jews in the next 2,500+ years, but began to become increasingly complicated and ambivalent over time, including with the interpretation in kabbalah that g-d was shattered and exiled alongside us.

look closer.

much post-holocaust theology rests on the existential question of g-d's impotence, for the hebrew bible does not present evidence that g-d is omnipotent.(1)(2)

so look closer at this metaphor, back in its times. play with reversing it:

g-d is not your husband (patriarchal definition) but g-d is also not your spouse, husband, or wife (modern egalitarian definition). g-d is your wife (patriarchal definition).

g-d cannot take you in or cast you out g-d cannot save or feed or clothe you g-d cannot give you land or defend you in battle g-d cannot divorce you even though It/She/They rages It will in Its besotted-mortified-crazed grief and abjection after you are unfaithful.

perhaps g-d can make your life hell from jealous sabotage g-d can drive you mad with lust and longing for It's beauty, as you have done to It. g-d can make your people survive forever through being the catalyst for all your children(writings/cultural handing-down/mitochondria). g-d can commit adultery against you and betray you. but if you die by your enemy's hand, g-d has permission to die in your house, for you will need it and It no longer.

(and many jews think this option is the worst one tho lmao.

'i can excuse being malicious and cruel and unjust or nonexistent, but i draw the line at being not-omnipotent!')

let me rewrite some of the prophets:

I G-d, take a millstone and grind meal now, in exile, Remove My veil, strip off (My) skirt; Show My thigh, cross streams, let My labia(3) be publicly shown, My private parts be seen So shall Israel shall have vengeance on Me for My lies of kingship [masculine], For My overthrow by your enemies, And shall encounter no opposition...(4)

For when showers I could not bring, And the late rains did not come, I had the brazenness of a street woman, I refused to be ashamed.(5)

/

Over You, G-d, we bent(6), saying 'For the number of Her sins, dishevel Her hair,' (7) Let Your thighs be uncovered, Your 'heels' violated....(8) Your shame will be exposed to Your face, Showing nations Your nakedness, kingdoms Your labia....(9)

/ or,

My beauty won Me fame among the nations, for it was perfected through the splendor which I set upon you— But haughty with My beauty and fame, I played the harlot: I lavished My favors on your enemies O Israel.... I sullied My beauty and spread My legs to every passerby(10)—I multiplied My harlotries to anger you. For I was jealous of your envy of other nations(11), which you loved more than Me When you bid Me make kings of your children, and cronies of Egypt(12), rather than wrestle Me til dawn And I despised you, when you wished to be a tyrant, As they were once tyrants over you.(13)

....the nations put you to the sword, and took away your finery, and Mine, In exile, because of misery and harsh oppression; When we settled among the nations you found no rest; All your pursuers overtake Me now In the narrow places.(14)

/ or,

Israel, you uncovered your lover's beauty in Egypt; There Her breasts were squeezed, and there Her nipples were handled. Her name was G-d, She became yours, The fierce-wonders and land and laws you desired for-to-live, She placed wide-with-boasting(15) on Her lips and brought you as dowry. But She did not give up the whoring She had begun with the corners of the Earth; For we had lain with Her in Her youth, and we had handled Her virgin nipples and had poured out our lust upon Her.(16) [....] the Babylonians came, and all the Chaldeans, and all the Assyrians with them, all of them handsome young fellows, governors and prefects, officers and warriors, all of them riding on horseback.

They exposed your god and saw how she could be defiled We were roused against you, and came upon you, from all around— /

Further rambling discussion notes and citations:

Marilyn Monroe said, “If they love you that much without knowing you, they can also hate you the same way.” All idealisation is punishing and sadistic.” - jacqueline rose

thoughts on this reversal as something that Reveals -- for the audience i'm writing to it's one that shocks the connotations to something more viscerally s 0 meth1ng/relatable (the way the og was supposed to be for its audience), but more importantly, i'm trying to come up with something more infinitely chewable as a negotiation of fault and interiority-vs-effects, instead of terminating.

but also while my point in rewriting these is about the non-existence of omnipotence, non-existence of omniscience is probably more interesting. because it....reveals.....i guess a parallel to the way ppl talk about Widely Despised Female CharactersTM (both in madonna and whore perfect idealized and evil all-blameful interpretations). as simultaneously incoherently both culpable and agencyless, both agenda-driven and lacking in interiority, threefold responsible: evil for creating the evil of the world, and evil for trying to fix or destroy that evil when she regrets(17) that world, and timelessly still-blamed as evil when she regrets destroying it and admits that she doesn't have the capacity to fix it but promises to never destroy it again(18). (the souring when its clear she's not secretly timelessly omnisciently correct for allowing this evil).

all this entity's choices and preferences are made into a morally-charged one that is a referendum on the moral valence and bestows moral judgment to anyone or anything she likes/doesn’t like or does/doesn’t do. and also those interior feelings, if shown, are open to making her limitlessly blamed for the spurned person’s resulting action. or mysteriously impersonally Morally Right (after those preferences, like liking meat more than grain, are forcibly interpreted as being solely a moral pronouncement that invites and justifies limitless violence and blame)(19). both timelessly nonlinearly unchangingly culpable at each point in a linear sequence of events regardless of what order one shuffles it in, and incapable of having curiosity or ignorances or confusions that make up linear accumulations of knowledge or opinions or back-and-forths that change her mind over time, or that are incomplete without the preexisting elements of the narrative or which have to take place in the context of a dynamic dialogue/tug of war to make sense.

so i think in a similar way to that, but in a way that doesn't...pattern-match....without the pronounflip/husband-wife adultery and shaming flip......people will not think of the full picture of what else entails if one accepts a premise......no allowing for g-d being dumb or irrational or impulsive, or ignorant at earlier periods of time of what consequences will occur later. no allowing It to have the capacity to change Its mind, and therefore no allowing It to make it up to us once the error in thinking or acting has been understood and regretted. no dynamic interiority allowed in It being capricious and poorly-moral or passion-ruled or not having considered what is evil or what isn't, or what is a big deal to humans and what isn't, not omniscient enough to already know this prior to the chance to learn it by observing humans. no considering such a being to be acquiring contradictory ideas over time and It trying to figure out which one should rule in any given moment, struggling with warring impulses and giving into one at one time and another at another time, being stubborn bc It is a person with ideas that contradict too, reaching out in a curiosity or a confusion, putting on an act to try to court and impress and arouse desire in It's mate Israel. eg, people ignoring the implication that a specific method (flood, languages) implies either a limited ability or a specific desire or a specific curiosity, or both (18) (why multiple languages specifically??? why not something way less surmountable if insurmountability was desired? or if timeless omnipotence was available??).

let alone, in some cases the idea of g-d simply being helpless, overcome, raped and despoiled, not omnipotent enough to achieve -- even if It does know what It wishes It could do -- a method that would fix things, stop things.

but apparently a fearsome but vulnerable and morally-heterogenous and linearly evolving/accumulating/learning god with enough raw bursting power do act immorally sometimes, but without omnipotence, is unpalatable. so……idk, the time-collapse of god treatments that mirrors that of misogyny that mirrors that of antisemitism -- no matter what you do or don't, or can or can't, or know or don't know, or think or can't think, it's your fault -- haunts to an un-unseeable extent.

this is all torah/tanakh and jewish thought specific(20), but the bigger issue for me that i have a hard time unseeing after seeing it was like….the classic conception of omnipotence and omniscience is a thought-termination (either as timeless will-always-have-been-morally-right termination, or as infinitely-blamable, uniquely worthy of punishment, betraying anthy-style scapegoat termination, which are just two different sides of the coin).

there is no cognitively nondissonant way to say 'if g-d exists, i am deciding It is shaped in such a way so as to be to blame for everything/should Be Killed/is actively working against our Liberation/must be a concept that is inherently keeping life from snapping back into a happy and suffering-free equilibrium', because if you (like me) are open to the idea of g-d being nonexistent, there is only One excuse for not also being open to the idea of g-d being a non-omnipotent, non-omniscient, dynamic, learning, growing entity, a person who is then subject to whatever limitations a person would have, and also is an-other person whose inner heart, like any other person's you cannot narrow down to the dichotomy of either being the guy you made up in your head, or a deliberate traitor to that guy. It's the same excuse for why a person or group such as the Jews are The Enemy Of All Humanity Who Must Be Killed Or At Least Blamed: laying down one's own interiority as a sentient being, to invent a person who exists to be limitlessly blameable in situations where no one else would be. if you (like me) don't completely believe g-d exists, i suppose we can't hurt It, but i know what it sounds like and who it impacts. i am much more stung about g-d lying to us -- by claiming we could only be destroyed by Them/our own transgressions. ie., lying by claiming other groups of humans totally didn't have the power to exile and genocide us irrespective of our own behavior -- than by the crime of 'not being omnipotent.' lol. but ofc even this too assumes They did actually lie to us at all, and that a more fitting interpretation of the text (let alone reality) isn't just a folie a deux of wishful thinking on one or both of our parts in this lovers affair.(21)

1: Milazzo, G. Tom. “TO AN IMPOTENT GOD: IMAGES OF DIVINE IMPOTENCE IN HEBREW SCRIPTURE.” Shofar 11, no. 2 (1993): 30–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42941804.

2: eg, Elie Wiesel, Night:

"I heard [a man] asking: Where is God now? And I heard a voice within me answer him:  ...Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows."

3: Eslinger, Lyle. “The Infinite in a Finite Organical Perception (Isaiah VI 1-5).” Vetus Testamentum 45, no. 2 (1995): 145–73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1535129. 4: Isaiah 47:2-3, Ibid

5: Jeremiah 3:3

6: Job 31:10

7: Sotah ritual, see Numbers 5:18

8: Jeremiah 13:22

9: Jeremiah 13:26

10: Ezekiel 16:14-15, 16:25-26

11: 1 Samuel 8:5-20

12: 1 Kings 9:16

13: 2 Samuel 22 throughout, 1 Kings 1-10 throughout

14: Lamentations 1:3

15: Everett Fox translation choice for 1 Samuel 2:1

16: Ezekiel 23 throughout

17: Genesis 6:8, 8:21

18: Genesis 11:6-7

19: Genesis 4:4-6

20: Karasick, Adeena. “Shekhinah: The Speculum That Signs, or ‘The Flaming S/Word That Turn[s] Every Way’ (Genesis 3:24).” Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, no. 2 (1999): 114–36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40326491.

21: Milazzo p. 49:

This is the god which cannot raise the dead. This is not a god which transcends the world in which the drama of life and death is lived. This is a god which, having placed its hands around their heart, stands there with this people [.....] This impotent god walked the road to Babylon and stood among the crematoria at Auschwitz.

#long post #judaism #judaism scholarship #j #they the most beautiful #wrote this in. amanic state sorry if it is showing #crack me

[love-is-patient]

Do you believe God answers prayer?

How do you think he chooses who to answer?

So many faithful people suffer and die while praying. Watch children suffer and die.

How does God choose?

Isn't it really just all election? Who God loves for his own whimsical reasons?

If he made us all, why does he ignore the prayers of the faithful so very very often?

What value is there in prayer? Hasn't God already made up his mind? If not, how does he? Why choose some prayers from faithful people over other possibly even more faithful people?

What role does free will play in a game where God decided before he made you if you are worthy of his grace? Based on HOW he made you?

How does he choose among the faithful who's prayers are worthy of his infinite power and what role does free will play in that? Isn't it really about election only?

Why would God pick and choose favorites from among his children, and why does it seem random and unrelated to faith entirely?

Have you read Romans 9:20-24? It's entirely about election. God decided in advance.

Hi Anon, thank you for your questions.

While I am grateful for the opportunity to answer them, I must make a disclaimer. I am not a theologian, I am not an authority on the Bible. I am only human, so I have a limited point of view and I do get stuff wrong. But I believe in the good character of God, and so hopefully my answers will be able to show his character. These are important questions. On the subject of belief, a faith untested is not a faith that can be trusted. The fact that you thought to ask is important, no matter what side of the fence you land on.

I would like to condense some of your questions to the root, and answer them out of order for better clarity, if that's alright. At the end I'll put a TL;DR, though I do hope you read through my longer answers. Lets start with the classics.

1. Free Will, or Election?

A lot of your questions hinge on the presupposition that God has determined how everything will play out, implying that our actions (and prayers) don't matter. This paints God as a liar, a narcissist, and a tyrant. Why would anyone want to worship someone like that?

Thankfully, this is not the truth of God's character.

So many people seem to think that Predestination and Free Will are antithetical to one another, without considering the possibility that they can coexist.

Its true, some are predestined to be saved. In Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:5, there are direct quotes saying some were elected to be saved. What it does not say is that everyone else is predestined to hell. 2 Peter 3:9 states " The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. "

I can think of no better example than the story of Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, a proud and wicked city in Assyria. Nineveh was rotten to the core, worshipping evil gods, doing all kinds of abominable things, and generally scaring the hell out of their neighbors.

For context, during the Bronze Age, Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem, and all their surrounding cities and kingdoms were terrified of what was going on in Assyria. Nobody wanted to fight them.

Jonah certainly didn't want to go, but God was going to destroy Nineveh, and told him to warn the people.

If God was just going to destroy the city, why would he send a warning? Because he's malicious and gets off on scaring people? That doesn't sound right.

I argue that it's the good character of God to give people chances, and that's exactly what he did.

Long story short, Jonah ran away, God brought him back in the belly of a fish that spat him on the shore. Jonah gave a middling warning, he wanted nothing to do with these people. But the people of Nineveh heard the message loud and clear.

Quote Jonah 3:5  "The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth."

Fast forward to Jonah 10: " When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. "

The Ninevites were predetermined to destruction, but through their decision to repent, they were spared.

They had the free will to change! God doesn't want anyone to go to hell. Throughout the entire Bible God is repeatedly, patiently staying his hand when people ask to be spared, and extending it when people ask for help.

This goes into your next set of questions. 2. Why does God answer some prayers, but not others? And: Why does God let bad things happen, especially to his faithful?

These are questions that have been debated since before Christians were even a thing. In fact, there are 3 books that stick out to me in that regard.

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job.

Each of these books debates a different point of view. To offer a condensed synopsis:

Proverbs says that the world is ordered in a way to be fair, and that following the wisdom of God is the key to a good life.

Ecclesiastes argues that you can do everything right and still suffer, but that ultimately doing the right thing is still important even if it doesn't bring you riches.

Job takes bits of the first two, then explains it by way of the story of a man who loves God, does everything right, loses everything, and demands God explain himself.

I have some great little videos I'll link at the end of this post that goes into these books a bit more.

But back to the main point.

God hears every prayer. He knows the most intimate desires of everyone's hearts.

Going back again to 2 Peter 3:9 " The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. "

Sometimes, he doesn't answer our prayers immediately. Sometimes he does, but the answer is no. I argue that every time the answer is no, it's because he has something better in mind.

That can be hard to hear, especially from a place of suffering.

But that's why faith is important.

Faith isn't just "there is a God, I believe in him", but trusting that he has our best interests at heart.

That's a massive concept.

He asks us to assume the best in him. That's why our free will is important. He asks us to read the Bible, to look at history, and decide for ourselves if he is good, and if he has made good on his promises.

He has, every single time.

Faith is trusting that, even though you can do everything right and still suffer, God will see us through to the end. God has something better in store, whether in this life or the next.

This world is flawed, wild. Imperfect. I think about all the people that have been killed and eaten by wild animals, or were murder victims, or people who die from freak accidents. I think of the people who suffer with cancer, or children orphaned by war.

I think of all the pain and suffering I went through and yeah, sometimes it felt like God was just letting me suffer.

But that's not the case.

John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not leave you or forsake you."

God was with me the whole time.

I don't think enough people realize that the God of the Bible is the only god in any religion, mythology, or legend that can rightfully claim to fully understand what its like to be human and god in one.

Imagine an all powerful being willingly being born human.

Imagine him subjecting himself to the same pains we go through.

As Jesus he experienced hunger, fear, grief, pain. He felt the anger of injustice, and the hopelessness of loss. He even experienced feeling abandoned by God.

His own people turned him in to be killed. Think of the betrayal. He went through the whole gamut of the human experience, from the good to the ugly.

He saw the hideous greed and injustice of the Pharisees and the Romans face to face.

And God did that for you. For me. For the worst person you know.

We don't suffer alone. This God is the only god who can suffer with us, who can truly sympathize with what it feels like to be human.

He understands our perspective.

Jesus is more than the fulfillment of prophesy, the sacrifice to end all sacrifice. Jesus is God demonstrating the lengths he would go to to be with us again.

He knows the pain, he experienced it firsthand.

He knows the feeling of starving. He knows what it feels like to be murdered.

And he knows that there is something better coming for anyone who asks.

So, to sum up your questions.

God is good. He does not predestine anyone to hell, rather elects some as people to lead others away from hell.

2. The world is flawed, God is not. God knows firsthand every pain anyone has ever suffered. God does not want people to suffer, but rather take comfort knowing that better things are around the corner, even after death.

3. God answers every prayer. Sometimes the answer is no and we have to trust him.

As for the how questions. I cannot tell you how God thinks or why he decides the things he does. But I have seen his character, and I trust that he is good, wise, and above all kind. I trust him to make the right decisions.

Thank you again Anon for the opportunity to answer these questions. I apologize for the lateness, I am rarely ever on desktop and got no notifications.

God bless you.

#christian #faith #jesus #church #prayer

[kingdoms-and-empires]

Lol bunking off the artillery ask, so we can be a completely deranged sociopath queen and (assuming we keep our capabilities on the ruling part) still rise to sit cozily on our blood soaked throne? Dang that's rad 😈

I hate it when stories punish the MC for being ruthless or crazy. Like it so obviously makes it so you have a "bad" ending. Ruthlessness is a quality that isn't expressly malicious in intent. People like Remiel don't wake up going "Mhm, it smells like a beautiful morning to go sicko mode and ruin the lives of others!" Its more like "Ah shit, lets see...whats the best way to get what i want and return the best investment for my effort?"

Ruthless characters in history have always existed and have been successful. Julius Caesar (you know him), Cao Cao (one of the warlords of the Three Kingdoms era), Augustus (first Roman Emperor), Qin Shi Huang (First Unifier of China), and Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor of France and possibly last historical figure to stand with the men above.)

Is this something only linked with men? Fuuuuuck no. Lemme list some women up in here.

Wu Zetian The only Empress in China's 3,000-long history

Her reign was one of the more successful ones that economically benefited the country, militarily expanded the borders, and had an all-male harem for her own pleasure...home girl died at 81 after ruling for more than half a century.

Catherine the Great, Russian monarch who helped modernize her empire and even introduced vaccination to her people by being the first to try it out.

Hatshepsut, a female Pharoah of Egypt who put all the guys in her generation to shame. She launched a successful invasion, went on a building spree that following pharaohs would try to take credit for, and established new trading routes before dying in 1458 B.C. THATS 3,480 YEARS AGO!!!!! Give or take, i suck at math

Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great. Ima be honest. There wouldn't be an Alex if his momma didn't Game of Thrones the shit outta everyone else. She, "insisted she had a dream just before Alexander’s conception where a thunderbolt ignited her womb with an enormous fire." Supernatural street cred, check. She and her husband Philip II were fighting, baaaadly. So Philip married another girl and oh there popped a new baby boy! This of course meant a rival to our Alex since the baby was a full Macedonian. Now, I'm not saying Olympias killed her husband, buuuuut lets say she was quick with the aftermath. She immediately assassinated Alexander's half siblings, including the newborn baby boy, forced their mother to kill herself, destroyed the rival family, and then said, "Fuck it, it was true, I cheated on my husband WITH ZEUS!" Oh god and that's not even all..when her son Alexander finally did die, guess what she did. She marched on macedon with an army. And when an enemy army lined up against hers, she rode out, said "Im Alexander the great's mom, how bout dat?" and they joined her side instead. THEN with this new double army, she finished up killing another rival of hers; the queen famously sent Adea Eurydice a cup of poison, a noose, and a sword…then told her to choose how she would die. Eurydice chose to hang.

And of course Cleopatra, the one who banged Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony...that also spoke no less than nine languages, and possibly upwards of 12, who was also an author. She wrote a medicinal and pharmacological book called Cosmetics which included, amongst other things, remedies for male pattern baldness and dandruff. (I'm looking at Julius and Anthony...) She killed her brother and sister to consolidate her throne, led a fleet, and revitalized an Egypt that was in the down turn until her death.

Hope ive proven that ruthlessness, something all these ladies had to have in order to survive in a world where men traditional held power, is not the shoe in "bad trait" to have that modern writers portray it as.

#kingdomsandempires #questions #choicescript #choice of games #interactive fiction

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Sacred animals and especially cats in ancient Egypt

“ Kittens for Bastet

Jennifer Cromwell and Luigi Prada

Relief of Bastet, Kom Ombo

On 20th April, either 202 or 178 BCE, an embalmer named Onnophris wrote to Machatas, an official (epistates) in the village of Tanis in the Fayum semi-oasis, concerning kittens he had donated to the cat-goddess Bastet (also known by her Greek name of Boubastis), or at least had intended to donate!

“Since some kittens were born in my house and their mother did not attend to them, I went to the temple of Bastet and asked the dancers [i.e., priests] to come and to carry them back to the temple of Bastet. After they did not arrive, but went elsewhere, it happened that the kittens, while they were being weaned by me with milk at home, were snatched by a tomcat and carried down out of the house into the street. I rushed down and called for help to those who were present and heard. Thus, we stood about and with difficulty removed one kitten, those who had joined to help including Phasis, the village scribe, to whom I gave an official testimony of all that had happened.” (Based on the translation by R. W. Daniel)

The tomcat killed some of the kittens – even though this is not explicitly stated (perhaps intentionally so, out of religious propriety regarding such an unholy happening), the loss of sacred animals is why Onnophris sounds so panicky in this petition.

Onnophris then collected the surviving kitten and took it to the temple of Bastet, handing it over to some of its priests – the same people who had neglected to collect the kittens from his house before the incident took place. To protect himself from future accusations that he acted improperly in this situation, he asked the village scribe Phasis – an eyewitness to the tomcat’s attack – to write down Onnophris’ account of events. Additionally, as an added level of protection, Onnophris also had this plea written:

“So that I am not later denounced in an unseemly way, certain persons having acted maliciously, I beg and request you that, having subscribed regarding each of these statements … [text lost].”

But why did Onnophris have to go to such lengths?

P.Köln XV 594 (c) Cologne Papyrus Collection (inv. 21358)

The reason lies in the importance that animal cults had in ancient Egypt, especially in the later phases of the country’s history, including the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. Overall, animals could play a twofold role in Egyptian religion: some were actual divine animals, physical incarnations on earth of a deity; others, instead, were sacred only in that they were associated with a deity in a ritual fashion. The best example of a proper divine animal is the Apis bull worshipped in the ancient capital of Memphis: honoured even by Alexander the Great on the occasion of his Memphite visit, the Apis was reborn and had to be identified each generation into another bull – almost like a bovine counterpart to the Dalai Lama – and his cult thrived for centuries on end.

As for the other kind of animal cults, its premise lay in the fact that many deities of the Egyptian pantheon had animal associations. Their zoomorphic appearance, and their representation in Egyptian art as animals or as animal-headed humans, is what comes first to mind: think of the god Horus, with his falcon head, or of the aforementioned Bastet, often pictured as a cat, or a cat-headed woman. It is thus no surprise that Egyptian deities could also be worshipped by ritually dedicating animals to them. This applies both to living animals, as in the case of the kittens that Onnophris planned to present to the local temple of Bastet, but it was also true with dead (often, ritually euthanised) animals, whose mummified remains were dedicated in their thousands by pious visitors as ex-votos and buried in sometimes huge catacombs, which archaeologists are still exploring to this day.

Catacombs at Tuna el-Gebel (the necropolis of Hermopolis), where thousands of mummified ibises and baboons have been found

Once dedicated, these animals were the sacred property of the relevant deity. It is thus understandable why Onnophris sounds so worried in his petition, fearing not so much the goddess’ punishment – as the kittens were killed through no direct fault of his – but rather legal problems. Indeed, the special status of sacred animals was sanctioned in a number of Egyptian texts: legal texts from this time discuss the abuse of sacred animals and the resulting penalties, and people are warned against hurting them in wisdom texts too, compositions that contained moral instructions as to how a rightful person ought to behave. Thus, the demotic papyrus P. Ashmolean Dem. 1984.77 verso, from approximately the 2nd century CE, says:

“Do not beat any (sacred) animals with a stick, stone, or any (piece of) wood. Be careful with regard to the animals which are sacred.” (Translation by R. Jasnow)

P.Ashmolean Dem. 1984.77 (c) Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

And even Herodotus, the Greek writer who visited Egypt in the mid-5th century BCE, makes the following remark, in Histories 2.65.5:

“Whoever kills one of these creatures intentionally is punished with death; if he kills accidentally, he pays whatever penalty the priests appoint. Whoever kills an ibis or a hawk, intentionally or not, must die for it.” (translation by A. D. Godley)

Indeed, the cult of animals was one of the aspects of ancient Egyptian religion that most struck the imagination of contemporary classical writers, for better or for worse. As an egregious example of the latter, the poet Juvenal, active in the late 1st and early 2nd century CE, thus began his Fifteenth Satire:

“Who knows not (…) what monsters demented Egypt worships? One district adores the crocodile, another venerates the ibis that gorges itself with snakes. In the place where (…) ancient hundred-gated Thebes lies in ruins, men worship the glittering golden image of the long-tailed ape. In one part cats are worshipped, in another a river fish, in another whole townships venerate a dog; none adore [the goddess] Diana, but it is an impious outrage to crunch leeks and onions with the teeth. What a holy race to have such divinities springing up in their gardens! No animal that grows wool may appear upon the dinner-table (…) but it is lawful to feed on the flesh of man!” (translation by G. G. Ramsey)

Perhaps as a poetic licence, Juvenal lets his imagination – and his invective against Egyptian cults – run amuck, ridiculing Egyptian beliefs to the point of even making up accusation of vegetable-worship and cannibalism!

In the context of millennia of history of Egyptian religion, the misadventure of Onnophris and of his kittens in the small village of Tanis is perhaps a minor incident – yet, it powerfully and colourfully conveys the worries, hopes, and beliefs of a whole civilisation.

Technical Details (Greek text) Provenance: Near Tanis in the Fayum; Egypt Date: 20th April 202 or 178 BCE Language: Greek Collection: Cologne, Papyrus Collection (inv. 21358) Designation: P.Köln XV 594 (according to the Checklist of Editions) Bibliography: Robert W. Daniel (2017), “594: Petition concerning Kittens” in P.Köln XV, pp. 1–11.

Technical Details (Demotic text) Provenance: Thebes (probably), Egypt Date: Late 2nd century – early 3rd century CE Language: Demotic Collection: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (P. Ashm. 1984.77) Designation: P. Ashmolean Dem. 1984.77 verso Bibliography: RichardJasnow, “A Demotic Wisdom Papyrus in the Ashmolean Museum (P. Ashm. 1984.77 Verso)”, in Enchoria 18 (1991), pp. 43–54, pls. 9–11.

Cat mummy case, Ptolemaic period (c) British Museum, EA25298″

https://papyrus-stories.com/2020/04/13/kittens-for-bastet/

Jennifer Cromwell is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at Manchester Metropolitan University and member of the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies. She created and runs the blog Papyrus Papers

Luigi Prada is Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University. His current project focuses on schooling and education in Ancient Egypt, with particular focus on the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. His other research interests include ancient divination (specifically, dream interpretation), bilingualism, and demotic language and literature. He participates in fieldwork in both Sudan and Egypt, where he is Assistant Director of the Oxford University Epigraphic Expedition to Elkab.

#egyptology #sacred animals #cats in ancient egypt #herodotus #jennifer cromwell #luigi prada

[the-travelling-witch]

"King Deshret and the Three Magi" Rambles

Okay so, I just finished “King Deshret and the three Magi” and naturally I´m having some thoughts. So what is my first course of action? Dumping all my brain worms here for the Internet to see, obviously.

Is this a theory? No.

Is this particularly well thought through? Also no.

Will I probably wake up in the morning regretting my whole life decisions because this super uneducated and there are possibly already 500 theories covering everything I'm about to say way better than I ever could? Most likely.

With this enthusiasm, let's get into it.

[Disclaimer 1: Spoilers for the Sumeru/ 3.1 Archon Quest]

[Disclaimer 2: I only played the Archon Quest, not Cyno´s Story Quest or the whole underground clearance thingy]

[Disclaimer 3: It´s been a while since I concerned myself with Egyptian mythology, so don't take anything I´m about to say for pure gold and do your own research if you´re interested.]

[Disclaimer 4: If you want to discuss your own thoughts, opinions or theories, you´re welcome to but I implore you to do so politely; if criticism is to be levelled at me or someone else's point of view, it is to be done constructively]

The two main centres for my brain worms are, one, the main story/ archon quest and, two, our favourite former General Mahamatra, Cyno. There are also some miscellaneous tidbits which caught my eye when I stumbled over them but they are nothing major, mostly just name sakes or little anecdotes. Hmm, where best to start?

Main Story/ Archon Quest

The first thing that got my attention was the name “King Deshret”. In Ancient Egyptian History/ Mythology the “Deshret” was the formal name for the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and for the desert Red Land on either side of Kemet (Black Land), the fertile Nile river basin. It´s counterpart was the Hedjet, or the White Crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt. Together, they form the double crown Pschent.

Personally, I think these two crowns represent the people of the desert and the people of Sumeru/ the Akademiya. Just as their name sake implies, the followers of the Scarlet King symbolise the Red Crown of Lower Egypt while the ruling Akademiya represents the Pharaohs of Upper Egypt. Could the end of the new story quest and the common goal between the Eremites and the followers of the Dendro Archon mark the formation of the Pschent, where both the Deshret and the Hedjet are unified?

Then who might the sages be in our story? This is more of a loose guess but they could possibly represent Apophis the Great Serpent and the embodiment of Chaos (Isfet or Asfet) within Egyptian mythology. To understand Isfet we must also look at its counterpart Ma´at, one of the key principles in Ancient Egypt. As a goddess, Ma´at represents peace, balance, truth, justice, and, most importantly, order (Ma´at will also be important when we talk about Cyno).

The sages trying to create their own god could well be seen as an act to shake nature's balance and throw the natural order of things into chaos. Therefore it could be argued that just as Apophis, who tried to eat the sun god Ra on his nightly travel through the Duat (underworld), the sages too are an embodiment of chaos. Just that they´re not trying to eat Kusanali… I hope…

And who defended Ra on his bark? The other gods of the Ennead!! I´m just on a roll with these transitions today

If you thought what I said before was far-fetched, you´re absolutely not ready for what I´m about to do next, which is basically the written form of these videos where people use bow characters to do their dailies or kill Timmie´s pigeons from 10 teleporters away. Jup, that's how blind I´m shooting now. Anyway–

First of all, King Deshret. We already talked about him but is there a god or a figure within Egyptian mythology we could relate to him? Although the knowledge he shared with the people ended up driving them mad (and led to the development of Eleazar?), I don´t think it was necessarily done with malicious intent (even good will can cause disaster after all), so I wouldn´t associate the Scarlet King with Isfet. He did sacrifice himself for the safety of the survivors in the end.

I was thinking he might draw inspiration from Seth (or Set), god of the desert, earthquakes, thunderstorms, foreign lands and the likes. He was powerful and often frightening but also protected the dead on their way to the afterlife. After he killed Osiris and tried to become ruler of Egypt, he was defeated by Horus and adopted by Ra. When Apophis attacked Ra, Seth was one of the main protectors of the sun god. Tl;dr: he did something stupid and later rectified said stupidity…it does sound familiar if you ask me.

[Also the depictions in the Mausoleum of King Deshret…could they be inspired by the seth animal?? I didn´t take any screenshots which I could honestly kick myself for now but I can kind of see a resemblance?? Or was it not a snout and more of a beak?? I NEED ANSWERS AAHHH]

I am a little torn on Kusanali though. On one side, I can see her representing Thoth god of the moon (and many other nice things like magic…or maths), master of knowledge and patron of scribes. She did use the image of the moon to describe herself in her own metaphors and the rest certainly fits too.

With what I said previously, she might also draw inspiration from Ra though, considering her role in the story and potentially having to be defended from the sages. Maybe you could say she was the bright embodiment of the sun when she was still Rukkhadevata but now that she takes the form of Kusanali she is more in the background like the moon/ shining through her past deeds as Rukkhadevata? Deities always seem to be affected by how people perceive them, whether they pray to them or reject them, so it wouldn´t be impossible for her to change so drastically now that her own people have forgotten about her and the Akademiya is trying to replace her; it´s only a working theory though…

The goddess Neith is also associated with wisdom and weaving fates but I don´t really want to bring her into this, too. Other than wisdom I can´t see a lot of parallels between her and Kusanali as of now but who knows?

Before I lose you, let´s move to something that will catch your attention, I'm sure of it…

Cyno

I´ll start with the most on the nose (or snout?) point: our favourite jackal-headed deity, Anubis.

Jackals were apparently always hanging around cemeteries, so by making Anubis their patron deity, people hoped they'd politely not eat the dead (so much for an origin story), so by extension Anubis too came to be associated with death. He was also the protector of graves, so if you see a jackal chilling on top of a tomb, now you know why.

Next to helping corpses being mummified and embalmed, one of his other famous duties was weighing the hearts of the dead against Ma´at´s white feather in the Hall of Two Truths (I told you Ma´at would come back around). By placing the feather and heart upon the scales, the souls of the dead would be judged. If your heart was heavier than the feather, Ammit would come eat your soul and you'd basically cease to exist, nice. If you were one of the lucky ones whose heart balanced with the feather, you were granted passage to the Afterlife.

Does that sound familiar? Because it should if you took like.. one glance at Cyno or listened to one of his dialogues. 

It´s also pretty clear that he highly values the principles of Ma´at, just look at the Character Story about his Vision. His first thing to do when receiving his Vision was to make sure that it was within the allowed rules of his position, then made sure it was not a trap, reflected on how the vision could help with his duties and THEN accepted the damn thing. “After carefully weighing up the pros and cons, Cyno finally accepted this gift from the gods earnestly.” [Story: Vision] Weighing you say, interesting word choice hoyoverse…

As seen above the Character Stories don´t just further tie him to Ma´at but also Anubis. For example, Character Story 2 references the act of weighing a persons soul on the scales when Cyno says "Only the law can judge you, and my role here is to bring you to face the scales."; the law in this case probably represents order and therefore Ma´at´s feather.

One of his burst lines mentions the concept of the soul as well when he says “Your sins weigh upon your soul.” Looks like someone´s soul is heavy enough to be Ammit´s breakfast.

[One of his voice lines, “In death... a new cycle begins…” (Fallen), also references the notion of life´s continuity as it was said the sun dies every night and is reborn in the morning. One representation of this concept? The scarab, modelled after the dung beetle and it´s revolving ball of dung. It was believed that scarabs were the reincarnation of the god Khepri, who represented the sunrise and the renewal of life. If you were a god, would you want to be represented as a glorified dung beetle? Just think about that next time you have to collect those pesky things…]

Back to jackals; Speaking of Cyno´s burst, it just drives the whole jackal thing home even more than before and he even gets what I assume to be an Ankh on his snout (idk I just thought that was a nice touch)

So, do I think Cyno is Anubis? No, not quite. Let me explain.

Different from Norse or Greek gods, the gods of the Ennead were not believed to physically wander the human realm themselves. Instead, they chose human avatars, a concept which is seen in modern media like Marvel´s Moonknight or Rick Riordan´s Kane Chronicles. So, I think it´s much more likely that Cyno (and potentially King Deshret´s priest?) is a human avatar of Anubis, or the god he references within the game. [Well, Childe´s backstory references Ajax the Great, a figure that exists within our reality, so who´s to say it isn´t actually Anubis in Cyno´s case?]

Cyno´s Character Story and Voice-Overs also hint at this possibility. I don´t think I need to comment much on these with everything I´ve said before, so just let these sink in.

“You may say that I have received much divine favor, with the spirit that dwells within me, and the god that took heed of my ambition. But I have no intention of letting this affect my code of justice. I will simply continue to do whatever is required to fulfill my duty.” [About the Vision]

“With my body as a vessel, I can harness the power of the spirit that dwells within me. This is possible in part due to my natural constitution, but also due to a deal I willingly made in the past. There's no reason to shy away from the topic. If I am to weigh the souls of others in this world as a Matra, then I must also place my own soul on the scales to be judged in the same manner.” [More About Cyno: II]

[In my opinion, Character Story 4 also touches on the conflict between Ma´at and Isfet but I´ll leave you to be the judge of that]

Miscellaneous

The Sobek Oasis named after the crocodile-headed god Sobek

The mentioned living labyrinth at the bottom of the desert [Character Story 2] potentially being the Lost Egyptian Labyrinth of Hawara

Candace wearing an Ankh on her neck+ all the imagery on her shield and clothes

[There are a lot more that I forgot to write down and I really don´t want to think hard about now]

So, these are all the thoughts I´m currently having and something tells me this got a little out of hand… it´s either the length of this document or my clock telling me it's 3 am sharp but I can´t put my finger on it.

Feel free to tell me whether any of this sounds plausible to you or whether you think I´ve finally lost it but please do remember to mind your manners if you do; I couldn´t handle being wrong about something AND people making fun of me for it, so pick your poison.

That´s all from me for now, I might come back to this with new and exciting thoughts if I remember anything else or if new story elements surface until then, I´m clocking out.

Meanwhile, the Akademiya is looking into banning me from writing ever again for the reason of no research done on this post

#holly rambles #honestly #mad scholar behaviour #genshin impact #cyno #archon quest #3.1 update #sumeru #king deshret and the three magi

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                       Sekhmet, the Goddess of War & Vengeance,                            whose origins stem from Ancient Egypt.                                 She is now a City Council member                                  and the owner of Visión / Ilusión.

FC NAME/GROUP: Kim Hyoyeon / Girls' Generation GOD NAME: Sekhmet PANTHEON: Egyptian OCCUPATION: Owner of Visión / Ilusión, Council Member DEFINING FEATURES: Sekhmet is immediately recognizable through her sharp, killer gaze. Though her frame is smaller than others, she is agile and moves gracefully, sweeping the air with a subtle ominous aura and scenting her surroundings with musk released from her long, straight locks, usually varying between a bright blonde from her lioness persona, and a jet black that offers a preview of the dark, doomed fate one will fall into after rubbing the goddess in the wrong way.

PERSONALITY: Sekhmet is quick – quick to act, quick to react, and quick to lose her temper. She remains on her feet and leads an active lifestyle to curb the blood thirst that stubbornly remains even after the age of war, battle and bloodshed. Her natural wartime instincts now converted to constant wariness and doubt of everyone and everything, and she always questions one’s intentions.

Yet this part of her is also balanced out by her gentler, more sympathetic side. Once worshipped as a patron deity of physicians and healers, Sekhmet can bring comfort, both physical and emotional, to those who are in need and have secured her absolute trust. Once a goddess associated to widespread disease and horror, who threatening to wipe out the entire humanity just to quench her blood thirst, she lives in an age where such sentiments were no longer acceptable nor necessary, and she began to become fascinated in seeing and experience the mundane, daily little pleasures she shall discover in her eternal life. Besides, constantly letting instincts run wild and letting fits of extreme rage ruin her days didn’t sound like the ideal lifestyle for Sekhmet today. Sometimes, feigning a sweet demeanor to watch a string of events unfold sounds like a fun way to pass time.

Although Sekhmet is definitely not a benevolent goddess by any means, she looks down upon and will always punish sly, plotting individuals. Everything she did, even her bad deeds, were done with dignity and pride, and any cheating or fraud of any kind is unacceptable in Sekhmet’s world. Of course, old habits die hard, and the goddess remains within her core her vengeful nature. Act with respect towards her, and she will return the favor with grace and generosity, but do her wrong and be prepared to meet the worst of fates possible.

HISTORY: An enraged Ra, God of Gods, having had enough of humankind plotting against him and going against the laws of ma'at, tore the cobra from the uraeus on his head and turned it into a lioness-headed goddess. Sekhmet was thrown into life, quite literally, and she believed it was because of that she was destined to be a goddess of great things. Everything substantial originated from her; war, chaos, plague, and even the unforgivingly scorching heat from the sun and her breath. She before whom evil trembles was revered and feared by all upon the land, and great measures were taken by worshippers to keep her appeased in order to avoid atrocities.

On certain days, she found herself unable to control her urge to destroy. On one of her usual missions to wipe out all men who were against Ra, she couldn’t stop killing until Ra fooled her with blood-colored beer that flowed in the rivers. On other days, she graced mankind with her powers to heal, offering antidotes for the deadly diseases she spread in fits of rage.

Both the benevolent and the malicious wanted so much from her, and Sekhmet knew whatever they wanted, she could give. Showered with luxurious offerings she’d never run out of in her eternal lifetime, her bloodlust only grew, and for eternities and more, Sekhmet would provoke wars of all scales, and spread deadly diseases that killed people in the most gruesome means. To stop her in her tracks, worshippers from all walks of life would step up their offering game, but the ones who prayed for victory in battle often outshone the others; and this is how the world came to be, settling their problems through good old-fashioned combat.

Therefore when the world gradually moved towards a time of rational debate over war, eradication of diseases with vaccinations, Sekhmet became restless, and questioned her purpose of life as her sole function began to become less relevant in the modern world. Perhaps it was time to shift her image and seek a new purpose in life, and while she had no dreams of making the world a better place, she wanted to place a certain type of order upon it that rang true to her values. Where would be a good place to start?

Perhaps somewhere small, where people would know who she was.

POWERS:

Solar/Fire/Heat Manipulation - As a descendent of Ra, God of the Sun, Sekhmet possesses the abilities that of a solar deity. Although the spectrum of her powers do not extend as far and wide when compared to a proper solar deity, she can manipulate lunar energy and make the use of fire and heat to a masterful extent.

War Manipulation - As a Goddess of War, Sekhmet has the supreme ability to manipulate all aspects of what leads up to a war, events during a war, and the aftermath of a war. This ranges from manipulating emotions that provoke conflict, manipulating the lands in which battles take place, the luck of any preferred winner, and much more.

Lioness Physiology - Sekhmet is represented by a lioness in ancient folklore, so she embodies the physical qualities of a lioness, first of all including the ability to shapeshift into one. When in lioness form, she will possess all physical and mental properties a strong lioness would otherwise possess.

Enhanced Archery/Swordsmanship - A self-explanatory trait, Sekhmet excels in the arts of weaponry, and can produce, use and manipulate weapons with skill and ease.

Disease Manipulation and Healing - Sekhmet can spread diseases of any kind, big or small, and can also offer antidotes for the diseases she spreads. On the other hand, she can heal illnesses, those to do with pathogens and internal medicine more effectively than those of a more mechanical or surgical nature.

Blood Empowerment - Sekhmet does not need to consume blood to survive, but she enjoys it and gains vitality and “pep” from drinking it, very much like alcohol or drugs.

STRENGTHS: Honest and straight to the point; observant and perceptive, and can usually spot nuances others cannot; generous with a punchy (if not slightly dark) sense of humor

WEAKNESSES: Brutally honest without a filter; obsessed with obtaining respect from others; stubborn, unwilling to compromise and is almost attracted to conflict; uses alcohol and drugs carelessly, and finds herself more violent and vengeful when under the influence

#kpop rp #krp #snsd #kim hyoyeon #snsd hyoyeon #mp; welcome

[thepete77]

Daily Walk, day 5

Absently caressed into a lulled sleep, during the rays full brightness, dispensed from demands, and hostile gestures of aggression, recognizing the municipal factors of my soul, bequeathed by the divine.

The sentient demonic intellect spirits are stilled this morning and a quiet ambience has struck my mind, in reflection of the plutonic lakes and rivers of the earth and chasms of my soul. I have no hostilities of the world ‘round as a simple mortal man, in curious nature to leviathan, Satan, and the legions of hell.

Nothing is new under the sun,, it has been all done before, brothers of demons, darksome delights, women of Babylon, and priests of might. Nothing is new under the sun…

But I have found the way of my heart, and stand as a gospel ronin of occult ways. The scriptures reveal the teachings, the word of god taken so highly, that those who hear beget their faith, and those who know his voice shall know him. These methods applied are methods of gnosis, with inclusion of logos, divine living consciousness and words within making me alive as a sentient being, as a mortal man, a son of man.

I apply this to the demonic divine, the shades and whispers of the caverns within, the black flame illuminating the dancing figures on the walls, my records of life, my footsteps on the earth.

The gospels declare the disciples and apostles of Christ continuing his ministry ‘head. But cloaked from prior legends and actions of spirit in great detail. The scriptures reveal in part of the miracles, deeds, and words, and allude directly to the fact that Jesus was trained and lived in Egypt, the great metropolis and fatherland of modern religion:

In these declarations of discipleship the modern Christians have failed, and have brought injury and sickness and death, instead of power over it, acting as the sons of Abraham, denied by his very self for falsely preaching his name.

Hyperbole and metaphor are evident within scriptural intent. Having the knowledge of them and applying them. Having stanza and haiku knowledge as well, living in festered pestilence of weakness and sickness of spirit. Distortion of the demonic divine leads to the constipated efforts of levitation and metallurgy and mumbling and groaning of foamed mouth ignorance.

The lethal mistake of leisure on the path to immortality is imparted upon the Christian worship to open themselves to failure of spirit. Their hope is futile and they become even further blind of malicious gossip and hateful injury in distraction by those who take advantage and proclaim hypocritically the way of grace and forgiveness and non-judgement. Don’t put it past them to not misrepresent even their own words and the words of scripture that they have departed from.

This is a warning I personally take to show cruelty and no mercy to the bickering and whining fraudulation of mortal spirit.

This is how I know the practitioners of the synagogue of Satan, and the false declarations of the reproved sons of Abraham, who are lukewarm and spewed from his mouth. The left hand of god, the goats aside from the sheep, are in triumph in adherence.

God the Creator can not be suppressed, mutilated, or corrupted, for he is incorruptible, immutable, and in full glory as the nameless one of spirit. The most high god of invisible spirit, the all that the aether binds together, I worship, and the demonic divine I work with and call my brothers and friends. God alone is my father, and his will I seek to accomplish.

Who is this immutable king of glory? His names attributed by those without are many, for they have adapted polytheistic paganism to his name and have sought to suppress his worship through their declarations of the lord is one. El is a prominent name applied to him from Canaanite regions of ancient days, as well as attributes of Mendes and Khmun, and Khmuns consort Satis, as well as rips from Adonis. The origination and likeness of the baphomet being the goat of mendes and the likeness of the name Satis relative to the name of Satan, and the fact that Heka was a deity aside Khmun, and has very much relevance to the Greek Hekate, I feel is no coincidence, and is something to learn from. The idea that in Sanskrit the definition of Tan and Sat as Satan’s name divided and reversed can be translated to Trust and Confidence in the true unchangeable essence, and the Japanese word for enlightenment being Satori, I find no coincidence either. These are the names I reflect on in matters of the character of the word I use, God, in relation to the invisible and immortal incorruptible spirit that no man has seen at any given time, and in Egypt is typically viewed as Ahmun-Ra in major application, I attribute all of this to Satan. Apollo was ripped into Apollyon, and Lucifer was adapted entirely from the separate Roman Latin deity. The John Milton and romantic styled imagery of Satan is ripped directly from the Greek Pan, and combinations from the goat of mendes. This collaboration of multiple sources of imagery and function of separate deities causes some confusion for secular interests in the communication of the practices of devil worship and why we apply the worship that we do.

In order to know god, you must know who god is, and you must recognize god’s stature in the first place, god is god, and we’re not in most respects. Figuring out god’s will is not the constipated and putrid contemplation of what god knows or asking simple questions if god knows everything, or why bad things Happen to good people. These are not ways to draw close to god.

The idea of hearing god’s voice is mostly metaphorical of recognizing scripture and spiritual teachings as an occult method of study, and taking confidence in life application and continual recognition and reflection about god, aka Satan.

The ways of devil worship in prayer and reflection have different application that have become more relevant within esoteric witchcraft teachings, as chanting and invoking, and energy related practices because they are functionable practical uses and systems of spiritual application related to heritage practices of earth, including elements all the way to sacrificial offerings and votive offerings, in the truest and accurate methods and meanings thereof for the undeniable impact in a person's life as a whole system, I personally do not believe, and eschew practices of, common standard words of casual use, like god is right beside you in the same room. I believe this leads to disastrous effects in even Christian living.

The way of ascension is the mystery traditions focus from ancient Egypt, the way I adhere to the brotherhood of the serpent as the ones who dispersed the teachings of Egypt that had effect on all the ancient cultures throughout civilization, and they did provide structure and practice to foreknowledge and after knowledge, related to the gift of prophecy. They were white people, not just in white robes, that was a description of later translations as an excuse to try and diffuse the idea of racism. They were white. There are several educational aspects of study in African culture of Indo-European ethnicity amongst cultures of Africa like India, that I stress on the relevance of Caucasian genetics. I often even wonder sometimes about the weakling attitude that people feel inclined to show favoritism for African or Asian spirituality in their genetically context on matters of distorted relation to equality, and confusion related to how mortal men are punished differently and some do not receive rewards of their effort, and bad things happening to good people. A quote from slipknot, “I am not a number that is equal to any of you.”

Even in accurate Christian application sin is punished individually and separately and not conglomerated on the whole entire human species, making most of the uses of the original sin model invalid.

[wolint]

FRESH MANNA

NAYSAYERS: NEIGH

Proverbs 29:25

Naysayers! Does anything good ever come out of the naysayers of the world? Anyone who acts out of fear of people, the naysayers, shows that they don’t trust God to protect them.

If I had taken notice of how many times naysayers have interrupted me, tried to stop me, criticised, and condemned me, I never would have come this far. So too would so many of you.

The fear of what man will say, do or think is a snare and a deterrent to so many of us walking fully in the will and purpose of God.

Rick Warren said: “The bigger God’s opinion in your mind, the smaller the opinions of others.” This is absolute truth, since God, the omnipresent God is the only One able to see, read and understand your thoughts, intent, and actions.

Naysayers don’t know what God said to you, so they don’t understand your dream or vision. It’s not their call. They are not God, yet they try their best to discredit, discourage and mislead you or even stop you completely.

A lot of people can’t go, do, say or achieve anything without seeking other peoples’ opinions, we can’t seek the approval of men over the approval of God, it’s impossible according to Matthew 6:24. It doesn’t matter if people don’t agree with you, but if you’re sure of your standing with God, don’t worry about what other people think, instead, worry about what God thinks.

Every opportunity in life comes with opposition, and all they are meant to do is to distract us from our goals, don’t allow the negativity of the naysayers to distract you.

Nehemiah 6:3-4 tells us how we should react to naysayers bent on disrupting our goals.

Naysayers have been at work in our lives since the Garden of Eden, the serpent being the first naysayer, others have quickly found creative ways to stop us in our tracks.

When the Wright brothers tried to fly their first plane, people told them it would never work because humans can't fly. Hey, guess what? Humans fly every day in aeroplanes.

When Moses led the Israelites across the desert, the people complained that he was not a good leader and therefore wanted to go back to Egypt.

We must love the Lord so much that searching for Him and following Him trumps the voices of the naysayers, no matter how reasonable and right they may sound according to Proverbs 8:17.

They are called naysayers because their favourite answer is “Nay, No, no way.” We will all encounter naysayers at some point in life and their responses will tell us how well and how much we believe and trust the word of God.

Acts 13:41 tells us there is no way we can convince a scoffer, hater, or naysayer to believe, accept and encourage us in our goals, no matter what that goal is, their response is always going to be negative.

Jude 1:18 says to expect more of such people in the end time, as this is their job, they’ll do more and more “neighing” to discredit the children of God, reduce or contaminate our faith from being effective and generally try to prevent our lives as difficult, unpleasant, and confusing as they can.

But if you’re on the journey of life heading to a godly destination, you’ll learn to ignore and block out the unwanted voices around you.

Naysayers neigh to kindle strife as they contemptuously disregard God's law and maliciously set people against each other. Their neighing is an empty threat if we pay them no attention. Neigh is nothing with God. Ignore the naysayers!

PRAYER: Father, help me never to fear man and to be anxious about what other people think and what they can do, but to instead trust in you always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT. PRAYER MIN.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry #conference #family #prayer meeting

[horuseye78]

Eye of Horus Meaning and Symbol

Eye of Horus Importance

The Eye of Ra is an old Egyptian image. Despite the fact that it was available in various structures, from pictographs to carvings, the most notable portrayal would be a natural eye with a tear emerging from it.

At times, the eye acts in various female-related connections to the God Ra, like mother, kin, associate, and even girl. So her job is diverse.

The Eye of Ra/Re/Rah has been known as the "eye of truth," since it was accepted to have the option to see anything, and nothing could get away from its careful look.

The tear coming from the eye could likewise imply a couple of things-one being water or downpour tumbling from paradise, alluding to one of the Eye of Ra's parts in fruitfulness and resurrection.

Eye of Ra Different Substance

The Eye of Ra is free of Ra himself and should be visible as a different substance. It is likewise viewed as a female image, while Ra is viewed as male.

It's critical to be cautious while recognizing the importance and reason for an image, as they can frequently have different purposes consistently.

Ordinarily, the Egyptian Eye of Ra addressed the damaging force of the sun, which by and by was one of the main pieces of Egyptian life. This is on the grounds that it addressed all life, since without the sun they wouldn't have the option to develop crops and live as a general public.

It likewise addresses truth and equity, and its control over nature (life) is seen in many spots all through Egyptian history. It was in many cases utilized as an image of imperial power, alongside the convict and thrash.

The Eye of Ra was likewise accepted to have the option to see anything, which is the reason it was in many cases put above entryways or passages in sanctuaries so nobody could get away from its vigilant look.

Horrendous Power

Its horrendous power can likewise be viewed as an advance notice against fiendish deeds; in the event that you accomplished something off-base, the Eye of Ra would see you and rebuff you.

In one of those fantasies, Ra's kids, known as Tefnut and Shu, vanished. Consumed by sadness, Ra conveyed his eye to search for his kids, which had the option to find them and rejoin them with Ra.

While this occurred, Ra grew another eye instead of his initial one. At the point when his previously returned, it felt deceived and upset, so to mollify the eye, Ra transformed it into a uraeus and wore it on his brow.

In one more Egyptian legend, when Ra became angered at the manner in which people had become, he conveyed his eye to rebuff them. It would go out of control and kill the vast majority of humanity, so Ra made his eye drink red brew until it dropped from inebriation.

Egyptian Goddess

In this situation, the eye had become Sekmet, the fearsome Egyptian goddess. It wasn't long subsequent to dropping from the liquor that the eye had the option to quiet down and return to Ra.

The Eye of Ra addresses the right, while the Eye of Horus addresses the left eye and the moon.

The two eyes together address equilibrium and congruity, yet additionally insurance from malicious elements or terrible things that could happen to an individual.

Horus was a sky god related with life and ripeness he had a wide range of structures, for example, bird of prey or human, which met up in syncretism (the mix of strict convictions) to make a novel, new thing.

Ra was a sun god and thusly connected with nurturing power and obliteration, just like his eye.

One hypothesis is that it was motivated by naturalistic perceptions in antiquated Egypt - like watching felines or crocodiles.

The primary utilization of Ra's eye was in old Egypt's Predynastic period, which was between around 6000 - 3150 BCE.

The Eye of Horus created during the Main Administration (around 3000-2890 BCE) and became related with a few unique divine beings over the long haul. When of the Pyramid Texts from the Old Realm, both existed as isolated elements.

The Eye of Ra was by and large seen as a sun powered image or a Ra image. It addressed the right eye of the sun god. Eyes overall were viewed as images of sight and discernment, yet the possibility that this eye had the ability to see anything made it all the more impressive. As referenced before, this is one motivation behind why the eyes were put over the passageways to sanctuaries.

Which Kinds of Egyptian Folklore

The Eye of Ra should be visible to have had two kinds of defensive jobs in Egyptian folklore. The eye was viewed as both a defender, averting the powers of tumult, and a forceful power, searching out foes.

We see this in the legend of Sekhmet when she, in the job of the eye, ruined to humankind. Hence we see the disastrous idea of the Eye of Ra.

There are numerous sanctuaries given explicitly to loving or remembering the eye, and there is a sanctuary for Sekhmet situated at Karnak which has been dynamic since around the fifteenth century BCE.

On account of these spots that hold such importance, they have become famous traveler objections. The Sanctuary of Hathor at Dendera, where she assumes a significant part as both Woman of Amentet and Paramour of Enchantment, draws in thousands each year who wish to see all perspectives related with her power.

[templeofoccultpractices]

Apep

Other names: Apepi, Aapep, ꜥꜣpp(y) *ʻAʼpāp(ī); Ⲁⲫⲱⲫ Aphōph or Apophis, Ἄποφις Ápophis, Rereki

Parents:Neith (in some myths), Waters of Nun

Siblings:Ra, Serket

Symbols:Red, Black, Sometimes green, Serpent, Dragon, Lizard, Fire, Water

Domain:Underworld

Powers:Chaos, Destruction

Apep was the ancient Egyptian deity who embodied chaos (ı͗zft in Egyptian) and was thus the opponent of light and Ma'at (order/truth). He appears in art as a giant serpent. Apep was first mentioned in the Eighth Dynasty, and he was honored in the names of the Fourteenth Dynasty king 'Apepi and of the Greater Hyksos king Apophis.

Tales of Apep's battles against Ra were elaborated during the New Kingdom. Storytellers said that every day Apep must lie below the horizon and not persist in the mortal kingdom. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld. In some stories, Apep waited for Ra in a western mountain called Bakhu, where the sun set, and in others, Apep lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night. The wide range of Apep's possible locations gained him the title World-Encircler. It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Apep was trapped there, because he had been the previous chief god overthrown by Ra, and had been imprisoned.

The Coffin Texts imply that Apep used a magical gaze to overwhelm Ra and his entourage. Ra was assisted by a number of defenders who travelled with him, including Set and possibly the Eye of Ra.Apep's movements were thought to cause earthquakes, and his battles with Set may have been meant to explain the origin of thunderstorms. In one account, Ra himself defeats Apep in the form of a cat.

What few accounts there are of Apep's origin usually describe as being born from Ra's umbilical cord.

Rituals Ancient Egyptian priest of Ra performed

In an annual rite called the Banishing of Chaos, priests would build an effigy of Apep that was thought to contain all of the wickedness and darkness in Egypt, and burn it to protect everyone from Apep for another year.

The Egyptian priests had a detailed guide to fighting Apep, referred to as The Books of Overthrowing Apep (or the Book of Apophis, in Greek). The chapters described a gradual process of dismemberment and disposal, and include:

⬩Spitting Upon Apep

⬩Defiling Apep with the Left Foot

⬩Taking a Lance to Smite Apep

⬩Fettering Apep

⬩Taking a Knife to Smite Apep

⬩Putting Fire Upon Apep

──────⊰Types of practitioners⊱──────

Anticosmic

Anti-Cosmic Satanism, also known as Chaos-Gnostic Satanism and Anti-Cosmic Gnosticism, is a belief system that believes that the Demiurge (i.e. Yahweh, God, Jehova, Allah, etc.) imprisoned humans with Cosmic Chains, holding us back from our true freedom in Chaos and Limitlessness. It believes that through the liberation of our mortal chains, we will once more return to Tohu/Ain - nothingness

-Depends on the practitioners definition.

Some practioners may simply not identify with satanism and may just be anticosmic.

A practitioner may choose to work with Apep as a representation of chaos or work with their "anticosmic" aspects. Seeing Ra as a version of the Demiurge

Draconic

Draconic magic is the practice of working with dragons. One may choose to work with Apep as him representing a dragon of chaos. In some books these dragons are said to be the color black and represent chaos. Depending on the practitioner they may not see chaos dragons as bad or malicious beings but a being that existing balance to the universe.

Draconian

Draconian magic is, by definition, magic fuelled by the symbolism and energies of dragons. Although today dragons tend to be relegated to fantasy novels (usually trilogies, of course) or fantasy cinema, their mythological roots are deep and dark.

Some may work with Apep symbolically or not as a representation of chaos and transformation.

General Kemetics

When it comes to Kemeticism like any other religion or practice can be very individual to each practitioner. While a lot of Kemetics don't like Apep for the reason that most see him as a destructive force of Isfet that destroys Ma'at. Some practitioners revere and respect Apep for what ever reason it may be. People have different views on chaos. Chaos being a part of nature and some may be practitioners of chaos. Like any other deity people will have different views on them and wether they like or dislike them. In general I think it's important to not discriminate or harass/attack people who have different views than you. You may be able to get along with them you may not.

*For the general Kemetic practitioner who don't work with Apep you can check out the other posts on the Kemetic pantheon*

──────⊰In Workings⊱──────

Enn:Ayer serpente Apep

Offerings: Dragons Blood, Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, Red or black candles, Cobra or dragon statue

*Please know basic protections and energy work before attempting any deity work.*

*It is important to note that everyone's experiences are different and will work with spirits for different reasons. Some people may like a spirit while others will not and that's okay. Ask these spirits what they will work with you on as well as ask them if they can help you with whatever it is you need.*

Ways of honoring or working with/worshiping Apep.

Altar

Create an altar/sacred space for rituals/workings or offerings to Apep.

⬩Altar cloth

⬩Black, red, or gold candles (you can use any color)

⬩Incense and an incense burner

⬩Statues of a serpent or dragon

For more information on basic deity work and altar setups check out the deity work post.

Anticosmic rituals

⬩For the Anticosmic practitioner. Ways of honoring Apep may include. Understanding the place of chaos within the practitioners Anticosmic faith. A practitioner may take the *Banishing of Apep/Smiting of Apep* mentioned above and replace Apep with Ra while adding their own portion of the ritual.

Some may view Ra as the Demiurge

Draconian rituals

Dragons Rouge-Beasts of Watery Abyss

*A word of caution please be careful performing any ceremony from any piece of literature or one made by another person. Invocations mean invoking a spirit within you*

The Ceremony of Apep

Envision the sun disappearing behind the horizon, in the jaws of the Serpent- Dragon of the Underworld. While focusing on this vision, start vibrating the mantra: "Lepaca Apep'. When you feel the atmosphere around you is changing and becomes tense, face the direction of west and begin the

ceremony

Melez!

I, (magical name), invoke Apep, demonic Serpent of the Underworld!

Every day you devour the sun on its journey through the sea of night and fight the gods of light.

Ruler of the seventh hour of the soul's descent into Amenti!

You transform the sunlight into the void of the Black Sun,

Your blood paints the sky red.

I invoke you! Come forth at my calling!

I seek to unite with your force.

To rest in your coils

To pass the land of the dead that is your kingdom.

Come to me. demon of waters and fire!

Lord of life behind the veil of death!

Rise out of the infernal abyss and embrace me with your coils!

Apep! Apepi! Aapep! Apofis! Set! Tyfon!

I summon you in the name of Darkness and Light, Fire and Water, which are

your essence! Hear my calling and rise from the abyss of the Underworld, from the underground land of Amentil

Lepaca Apep!

Lepaca Apofis!

Lepaca Drakon!

May this calling shakes the deepest pits of hell!

Ho Drakon Ho Megas!

Invision that you are on a voyage on a solar barque through an underground river. It gets darker and darker around you. Suddenly Apep appears in front of you. He drinks all water up and swallows the barque. You are now inside of him. Feel how you become one with the Serpent. Inflame yourself in the power of magic that rises in you. You are the unity of shadow and light, life and death. You shine with the light that illuminates the void and the darkness of the abyss. Gradually you are filled up with divinity. Meditate upon this feeling.

When you feel that it is time to end the meditation, close the ceremony with a careful banishment.

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is an occult group formed in England in the late 19th century. It was a magical order influenced by the Freemasons and occult Hermetic mysticism. The Freemasons are a famous secret society, and all three of the Golden Dawn's founders were Freemasons. Hermeticism is based on the supposed writings of the Greek god Hermes and Toth, the Egyptian equivalent of Hermes.

The formula IAO

This formula is the principal and most characteristic formula of Osiris, of the Redemption of Mankind. "I" is Isis, Nature, ruined by "A", Apophis the Destroyer, and restored to life by the Redeemer Osiris.

But before entering into the details of "I.A.O." as a magick formula it should be remarked that it is essentially the formula of Yoga or meditation; in fact, of elementary mysticism in all its branches.

In beginning a meditation practice, there is always

If not, one is not working properly.

a quiet pleasure, a gentle natural growth; one takes a lively interest in the work; it seems easy; one is quite pleased to have started. This stage represents Isis. Sooner or later it is succeeded by depression --- the Dark Night of the Soul, an infinite weariness and detestation of the work. The simplest and easiest acts become almost impossible to perform. Such impotence fills the mind with apprehension and despair. The intensity of this loathing can hardly be understood by any person who has not experienced it. This is the period of Apophis.

It is followed by the arising not of Isis, but of Osiris. The ancient condition is not restored, but a new and superior condition is created, a condition only rendered possible by the process of death.

The Alchemists themselves taught this same truth. The first matter of the work was base and primitive, though "natural". After passing through various stages the "black dragon" appeared; but from this arose the pure and perfect gold.

Even in the legend of Prometheus we find an identical formula concealed; and a similar remark applies to those of Jesus Christ, and of many other mythical god-men worshipped in different countries.

𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙

For more content relating to other practices/religions or pantheons follow my main blog for updates

If you have any more questions or wish to join a community feel free to join my 18+ discord server

Ask me anything on my blog

#kemetic #Egyptian Gods #Apep #Apophis #Rereki #Apepi #kemetic paganism #kemetism #paganism #occult #spirituality #deity #witchblr #witchcraft #spirit #spirits #anticosmic #hermetic order of the golden dawn #draconic #draconic magic #draconian #draconian magic #paganblr #pagan witch #occultblr #kemetblr #draconic witch #kemeticism #Anticosmic Kemeticism #anticosmic satanism

[spiritualprotectionpendant]

10 Universal Protection Symbols To Bring About Positivity And Protection

Suffering from low energy, depression, negativity, and the like? You need to be guarded from all sorts of negative energies, and kept away from bad luck, danger, and strife. You need to fill your life with more of positivity and power. One way you can do so is by wearing protection jewellery, the one type of jewellery that can shield you from bad luck, negative energy, and low vibrations. Moreover, the right kind of protection jewellery can also serve to protect you from your own negative thoughts and feelings. Let’s help you know 10 such common protection symbols that are used universally by people of all genders, age groups, religions, and castes.

Evil Eye

One of the most common protection symbols is the Evil Eye, which is meant to keep the wearer safe and secured, protected against danger, strife, and malicious intent. It is an eye-shaped amulet, which is known by different names in different countries. Mostly seen in a combination of blue, black, and white combinations, it is also available in many other colours like orange, pink, purple, and more.

Hamsa

The next most popular protection symbol is the Hamsa, which is in the form of a hand – worn upward or downward. An ancient amulet of the Middle East, the Hamsa is believed to be the hand of God, which is trusted to protect the wearer from another person’s ill-will, malice, or bad intentions. It also repels toxic energy, and brings in positive energy to usher in good fortune. When worn upwards, it protects against bad intentions, malice, and your own negative thoughts. When worn downwards, it brings positivity, abundance, and good luck.

The Eye Of Horus

The protection symbol of ancient Egypt, The Eye of Horus represent sacrifice, healing, and royal power. The ancient Egyptians believed that this symbol had special powers to protect and shield from physical danger and harm; and even today, it is believed to protect from evil and black magic. People also wear this symbol, believing it to bring good health. Read Full Article: 10 Universal Protection Symbols To Bring About Positivity And Protection

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Seth Martyr from Seth is asexual!

#seth martyr #seth #malicious gods: egypt #canon aspec #asexual

[theparanormalperiodical]

The Do’s And Don’ts Of Demonolatry: A Brief History Of Demons And An Even Briefer Guide To Worshipping Them

I mean, I think we were all traumatised.

Watching someone’s mother gently hover above the ground whilst she saws through her own neck with piano wire definitely qualifies as traumatic.

But what the film Hereditary (2018) tapped into was not just super-leaded nightmare fuel, but a little known religious movement. So little known that mere mention of it is only found in scrapes n’ scratches across the cob.

It’s called demonolatry.

In Ari Aster’s cinematic hit, we follow a family as they contend with a demon conjured by a family member’s demonic cult.

This is the first time I ever heard of the worship of demons.

I don’t mean Stan. And I don’t mean Lucifer. A demon known as King Paimon. Satan gets his fair share of attention in this blogpost. 

But today we look a little further afield. And that field is hell.

There are lots of entities to choose from, and to some not all fulfil the definition of ‘evil’ necessary. Demonolatry and demonology, though confused, expose a hidden side to the alleged world of demonic spirits.

This article will take you through what demonolatry is, what demons are and an emo kid’s guide to your favourite demonolatrist rituals.

What Are Demons?

They’re bad. They’re evil. They’re the entities sent out to do the Devil’s bidding!

Or are they?

Sure, that’s the definition set out by Christianity, but not all belief systems - especially the ones preceding Christendom - agreed.

A demon is a supernatural being that can cause harm, be conjured or be controlled. We know Abrahamic religions take the former line of thought, but Occultist religions follow the latter. However, demons started out long before Jesus was born.

We start our journey all the way back in Ancient Greece.

The original word, daimon, just meant a spirit or a divine power. They weren’t negative, evil creatures of the night. But biblical morality quickly replaced that. When Christianity seeped into the early Roman Empire, the old Pagan statues were quite literally demonised.

1000 years prior to the establishment of the Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt took a more spirit-based approach. They believed deities and demons delivered messages to humans, just like in Greece. In fact, the lines between the two types of entities often overlapped.

However, some of their demons could take on harmful or malicious traits. Their names were even written in red ink to highlight this fact. They also fell into two classes: guardians and wanderers.

The wanderers were the problems. They were associated with possession, death and mental illness. They were destined to bring misfortune and inspired by evil. Just like our modern interpretation of demons, they could be summoned and kept away with specific religious knowledge.

Ancient Mesopotamians followed suit. Just like Egyptian guardians, they guarded the underworld but also dragged back mortals there.

Zoroastrianism also had a sharp divide between the divine and evil demons. The first archdemons created were supposedly in response to the immortals created that were founded on the principle of good.

Their aim is to destroy, kill and torment mortals.

The most infamous demons take hold in Christian texts. That being said, the Old Testament doesn’t actually mention evil demons. Yes, there are evil spirits that serve Satan, but they weren't demonic per se. It’s only in the New Testament that evil spirits take on the name.

A majority of their mentions refer to demonic possession or exorcisms.

Mirroring this Christian approach in another Abrahamic religion - Islam. Again, their demons lead humans away from the teachings of God. They lead to sin and sorcery. They can be conjured and are the children of Satan.

What Is Demonolatry?

Demonolatry is the worship of demons.

This is a rare practice - if you wanted to worship a demonic force, you might as well go for Satan. But some do pick particular demons which have specific attributes.

In the film Hereditary we see the cult choose King Paimon.

This demon has "knowledge of past and future events, clearing up doubts, making spirits appear, creating visions, acquiring and dismissing servant spirits, reanimating the dead for several years, flight, remaining underwater indefinitely, and general abilities to 'make all kinds of things' (and) 'all sorts of people and armor appear.'"

Of the few forums that discuss demonolatry, some choose King Paimon as he can shed light on the past and future or cast doubts away.

Another term you might have come across is demonology.

This is the (scientific) study of our beliefs in demons. This doesn’t include praise or practice of rituals to conjure or worship demons.

Demonolatry often includes specific rites, magic and practices that honour both Satan and his demons.

Let’s talk about some of them.

5 Demonolatry Rituals You Can Try Today (FOR FREE! GET YOUR MONEY BACK 90 DAY FREE TRIAL LOSE 20 POUNDS IN 4 DAYS DOCTORS HATE HER)

(I found these from this document online.) 

The Self Dedication Ritual

This is a rite that solidifies a link between you and a demon. You can choose to work with many different demons, but many find they are drawn to and work with a specific one the most.

The ritual involves knowing the demon you want to dedicate yourself to and a specific chant. 

You need to call the elements in your ritual circle and then write a mini contract that dedicates yourself to a demon. When you feel their presence, burn the dedication and close the ritual.

The Baptism

(Not sure I’d recommend this one.)

This ritual fits the bill of demonic worship a little more than the others. Unlike a Christian baptism which involves being dipped in water, the adult baptism results in blood being extracted and marks being burnt into the skin..

During this ritual, the blood of the adult is mixed with ‘unholy water’ (blessed by Lord Leviathan) on the altar.

The priest or priestess then says something along the lines of “Hail our infernal lord, satan. Hail [sect demon or matron/patron name].”

A brief blessing is then said, calling upon Lucifer, Leviathan, Flereous, Satan and Baphomet.

More unholy water is then used to extinguish the candles and the person to be baptised is led to the altar.

At this point, they are anointed with the blood-water and branded with an iron on their thigh of the mark of their sect demon or matron/patron.

The Elemental Balancing Ritual

Sometimes we all need a good cleanse. Even demon worshippers.

To carry out this ritual, you need to invoke your elemental demonic circle - butt naked, of course - and ‘remove the elements’ from you.

To do so, imagine you are holding a box. Put all of your elements into the box, and then throw it from you.

Picture the earth as soil and leaves. Air as smoke. Water as, well, water. And fire as fire.

Many report feeling exhausted at the end of this ritual. From here you can replenish yourself and refill the imaginary box with new elements.

Have you ever practiced demonolatry?

Then impart some wisdom! If I’ve left out something important please let me know in a comment or a message and I can edit the blogpost to include it.

If you liked this article please like, reblog and follow.

#demonology #demon #demonic possession #demonic entity #demonolatry #satan #satanism #paimon #king paimon #hereditary #hereditary film #horror movies #horror films #horror #scary movies #based on a true story #catholic demonology #christian demonology #Christianity #islam #judaism #Ancient Egypt #best horror movies #ghost stories #real ghost stories #true ghost stories #paranormal #supernatural

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Do you think Greeks should just close their pantheon? Many Greeks are displeased with how people treat/talk/appropriate the God's so wouldn't it just be better for them to just close the religion?

Hmmm.. well such a sentiment must organically rise from the Greek people otherwise we are all going to argue forever between us for if it's acceptable or not. I don't think most Greeks know what a closed religion is, since they rarely are in contact with one. Maybe it hasn't crossed their mind.

Truth be told, it's a very tempting idea to me, not because I woke up with malicious intent to gatekeep people from anything, but because of the horrible disrespectful statements I've/we've heard over the years. It definitely makes you think that people who shouldn't know and don't want to learn, shouldn't be free to treat the gods/religion/culture like a product and a fandom. This could ever go for Greeks who are like that and try to school other in the religion who know more.

If I am not mistaken, outsiders can still enter a closed religion if they are knowledgeable enough and have done enough research to contact a religious group and ask to enter after examination.

On the other side, I am only one person and I can't claim that this thought expresses the majority of the Greeks and/or Greek polytheists. So this is just my thought, and not a unanimous decision, and one person can't just dictate if something is forbidden or not.

I am also not 100% on board with the closeted religion thing since information about the religion is pretty accessible and people can start a decent worship with that. And I don't feel comfortable controlling (in a sense) what people can do at home. But then again I wish there was some kind of regulation so the devoted believers and/or Greeks don't have to deal with all the stupid and even offensive nonsense of people who don't want to learn or listen.

*I should note that not only Greeks had these ancient deities in their religion, so people from other countries - like Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia etc may also feel uncomfortable with how the gods are viewed in modern popular media.

#answered #closed religion