Gods of Sand and Water

Prayers to the Goddesses and Gods of Egypt

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Hi, I love this blog! I was wondering if you write all of these yourself, whether they're translations of ancient texts, or collected from elsewhere. Where do you find all of these hymns? Thanks!

Thank you for the kind words! Everything here is written by me; I find writing for the gods to be a meaningful devotional act.

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Hymn to Wadjet

To Wadjet, great one of Lower Egypt, I offer my praise. Wadjet who wears the Red Crown, mighty in ancient Memphis, companion of Nekhbet with whom you ward the two lands, yours is the delta, the many fingers of the Nile, the dark and fertile soil; O Wadjet who is green, who is of the flourishing lands, I call to you. O Wadjet, mighty one who is the uraeus, O cobra risen on your tail, guardian of kings, O Eye of Ra, fierce in justice, fierce in vengeance, easer of birth pains, protector of children, O Wadjet, I praise your glory and your strength. Defender of the right and the good, I pray to you; punisher of the wicked and the foul, I pray to you; avenger of the grieving and the wronged, I pray to you. Wadjet, goddess fair and good, I honor you.

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Hymn to Nekhbet

To Nekhbet, great one of Upper Egypt, I offer my praise. Nekhbet who wears the White Crown, mighty in ancient Nekhen, companion of Wadjet with whom you ward the Two Lands, yours is the sedgeland and the reed, yours the lotus bloom; yours is the vulture crown, O Nekhbet who is kind. O mother of mothers, bearer of the shen, O wide-winged goddess, shelter and shield of children, helper of women in their travail, I honor you. O good and gracious goddess, Nekhbet who soars, who is mistress of the heavens, who sees all that lies below, you are the unifier, the bringer of harmony, the granter of strength. O Nekhbet, fierce as any mother, yours is the gift of devotion, yours is the work of the protector, yours is the sustenance of Ma’at: I pray to you.

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Hymn to Khepera

To Khepera who is self-created, I offer my praise. Each day you rise anew, O god, again and yet again; each day you rise is as the first; each day once more you come into being, of yourself and through yourself. As Atum is the setting sun and Ra the noonday star, so you, O god, are each day’s dawn, each morn’s first light, each day’s beginning, as it has ever been, as it will ever be. I call to you, O ancient one, O broad-winged Khepera, bearer of the shen that encircles us in safety, rider in the sun-boat, I thank you for your many gifts, O golden one. Khepera who is the scarab, sacred and profound, the ever-renewing world itself, O Khepera, I pray to you for preservation; I pray to you for a new beginning, a chance to rise anew.

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Hymn to Mafdet

To Mafdet, slayer of snakes, I offer my praise. O ancient goddess, fierce and swift, you are the foe of baneful and venomous beasts, of serpent and of scorpion, O healer of their deadly bite. Your teeth are sharp, O Mafdet; with them you rend the serpent's flesh, with them you dispell the works of the wicked, you destroy the enemies of Ma'at. Daughter of Ra who is great, defender of Ra who is wise, yours is the staff of the executioner, the blade well wielded with certainty and skill; yours is the guarding of holy places, sacred realms; yours is justice, steadfast and relentless; yours is the punishment of evil, O goddess, yours is the vengeance of the wronged. O Mafdet who is the sword of the righteous, I honor you.

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Hymn to Bes

To Bes, granter of all that is good, I offer my praise. Guardian of the threshold, ever welcome in the home, Bes who is the protector of women, the champion of children, the easer of birthing pains, in every household you reside, to every heart you bring comfort. O Bes who wards away the wicked, you are the friend of the family, the shelter of the helpless, the shield of the defenseless. In times of fear and dread you grant us courage; in times of sorrow and despair you are our solace. Dispeller of evil and all that is ill, you are as well a bringer of joy and merriment: yours are the pleasures of music and dance, O god, yours too are the delights of the bedchamber. O Bes, I thank you for your many gifts, I pray for your favor.

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Hymn to Taweret

To Taweret who is great, I offer my praise. Taweret, holder of the sa, bearer of the torch, mistress of the birthing-house, friend of the mother and of the newborn babe, best of goddesses, defender of humanity, in times long gone your name was known in every household, your might was known by all who dwelt within. Women in their travail may call on you and you will hear their cries, O Taweret who listens to the prayers of all, who guards the gate of every home, who keeps evil at bay. Taweret who is the protector of children, to you may we turn when all else seems lost, in you may we seek solace, O goddess; in you may we find comfort. I pray to you, great lady.

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Hymn to Sokar

To Sokar who is arisen, I offer my praise. O Sokar who is great of might, companion of Ptah and of wise Osiris, well known in ancient Memphis, well honored by the artisan, the maker and the smith, O Sokar, you grant a steady hand, an artist's eye. In times long gone, O Sokar, each year you were carried throughout the city, garlanded with onions, your festival observed by all in joy and jubilation. Enshrouded you are in the finest of linen, O lord of the mysterious lands, Sokar who dwells in the darkness, who roams the world beyond our own, you ride upon your great sand-boat, traversing the place of the dead, travelling freely and as you will; yours is the necropolis, the realm of the spirit where all is good, where all is as it should be.

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Hymn to Seshet

To Seshet, first and best of scribes, I offer my praise. Companion of Thoth, mistress of the library, deviser of the writer's art, the words upon the page, Seshet who holds in hand the brush and the palette, whose craft it is to mark down well all things of import and of worth, goddess of the manuscript who knows much of history, you hold its lessons in your heart. Yours is the world of the wordsmith, of all who take pen in hand and make real what may be imagined, who preserve what would else be forgotten. Yours too, O Seshet, is the work of the reckoner, the counter of stores; yours is the stargazer's map, the builder's plan, the beauty of mathematics. Seshet who grants us the might of the word, the immortality of print, I pray to you.

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Hymn to Ra

To Ra, great god of the blessed sun, I offer my praise. O Ra who was born of the starry night sky, O Ra who was born as the world first emerged, I call to you, O sun-god; I call to you, O Ra.   Rider in the sun-boat, the boat of millions of years, in the day-boat and the night-boat you travel each day through the heavens above and the world below, with the souls of the dead and the words of the living; each day you do battle with chaos and evil, each day you defeat the foul eater of souls, each day you give strength to the power of Ma'at. O Ra who wears many faces, I pray to you, O god. O Ra who bears many names, I pray to you, O god. O Ra who is joined with many others, I pray to you, O god. For light and for life, I give you thanks, O Ra.

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Hymn to Min

To Min of the phallus and the flail, I offer my praise. Protector of the moon, enricher of the earth, O Min who raises his arm, who wears the two plumes, eater of lettuce, sower of seed, O Min of many festivals, O Min of great processions, firm of footing, fertile of spirit, forceful of will, O vigorous and virile god, I call out to you. Grasper of your manhood, inciter of passion, granter of a flourishing field and a fruitful womb, yours is the gift of arousal, the blessing of lust. Friend of the farmer, protector of the household, preserver of the family, we pray to you, O god, for the life of the soil, for an abundant harvest. O Min, bringer of bounty, lord of the inundation, I pray to you, be generous, O good and gracious god.

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Hymn to Montu

To Montu who is bold in battle, I offer my praise. Montu, great of name in Thebes, warrior and wanderer, lord of the city of the sun, friend of the soldier, protector of the people, I honor you. Yours is the scorching of the sands, the cracking of dirt in the desert heat; yours is the blood on the field of war that soaks into the soil; yours is the strength behind necessity, that helps us in our struggles; yours is the skill to live in harsh climes and barren lands; yours is the will to survive. Wielder of weapons, bull who bears the sun, the rage of the righteous is in your realm, the courage of the valiant, the spirit of those who fight against any odds, all are sustained by you, O god; all are your gifts. O Montu, renewer of courage and might, I pray to you.

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Hymn to Nefertem

To Nefertem who is beautiful, I offer my praise. O god who bears the lotus, who was born of the blossom, who arose from ancient waters in the time before time, who rises again with each new day, I honor you. Nefertem of the flowers, lily of the sun,   child of Ptah who put all things in their places, child of Sekhmet who is great of healing, I thank you for your many gifts, the blessings you provide. Yours is the beauty within all things: I pray to you, O god. Yours is the garden, sweet with scent: I pray to you, O god. Yours is the fragrance of perfume: I pray to you, O god. Yours is the essence of herb and spice: I pray to you, O god. O god who we know with each day's dawning, whose might we see in the brightening light, O Nefertem who is beautiful, I pray to you this day.

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Hymn to Amunet

To Amunet, O hidden one, I offer my praise. Amunet who wears the red crown, companion of Amun, well honored in Hermopolis and in Thebes, your image carved in stone in old Karnak, O Amunet who stands with the eight great gods, I pray to you. Amunet of the acacia tree, kind-hearted goddess, gracious one, friend of the dead who refreshes the traveler on their final journey, I pray to you. O Amunet, ancient one who was here in the time before time, who lay in repose in the beginning, in the place before place, and emerged in full form, of yourself, by yourself, into the world, lady of stillness, lady of the sky, I pray to you. Amunet of whom we know little, of whom we understand much, I honor you.

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Hymn to Osiris

To Osiris who is lord of the dead, I offer my praise. Osiris, first son of earth and starry sky, beloved of Isis who is mighty in magic, father of Horus who wears the double crown, Osiris who rules in the great Duat, I pray to you. O best of gods, O best of kings, so long ago you sat enthroned in the land of light; so long ago you fell into the blessed Nile, were immersed and torn into many parts; so long ago did Isis and Nephthys gather you together again and return to you your breath. And yet, once dead, so must you remain in the underworld. Osiris, bearer of the crook and the flail, well honored in Abydos and in Busiris, lord of the black land, I pray to you, I honor you in all ways.

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Hymn to Maahes

To Maahes who is just and true, I offer my praise. Maahes, wielder of the knife, son of wise Bastet and firm-footed Ptah, rider each day on the great sun-boat, defender each day of bright Ra, preserver of the holy, protector of the innocent, guardian of the horizon, relentless foe of chaos, maintainer of right and order, O lord of lions, lord of summer, lord of slaughter, yours is the vengeance of the wronged, the punishment of the wicked. Yours is the safekeeping of temples, the warding of the gate, O Maahes who is the refuge of the good, the comfort of the oppressed and the abused, maintainer of Ma'at. Yours is the strength of spirit, the endurance of resolve; yours is the might of the many, the will to prevail against evil. O Maahes, friend of the righteous, I honor you.

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Hymn to Hapi

To Hapi of the shining waters, I offer my praise. O Hapi who is the inundation, the bounty of the Nile, O god of the rich and fertile land, O Hapi who grants the good black soil, the continuance of life, the endurance of civilization, O Hapi who brings the blessed flood, who makes the river to rise, I thank you, O god, for your gift of prosperity. O Hapi who binds the two fair lands, who guards against famine and drought, against a calamitous surge, receiver of all offerings given into the Nile, I thank you, O god, for your gift of moderation. O Hapi who flows through the great Duat, I honor you. O Hapi who flows through the broad blue sky, I honor you. O Hapi who flows through the mortal world, I honor you. O god who carries each year's abundance, I pray to you.