Words

Kemetic Humanist. Devotee of Ptah, Wepwawet, Bast, and Sekhmet-Hethert, and Set. they/he.

[khensaptah]

em hotep!

I'm Khen* (they/he), long time Kemetic, first time posting on this New Blog! My original blog, @khenneferitw, has been flagged as explicit, and since I haven't been able to get that flag fixed, I am opening a new blog!

I'm looking to reconnect with the broader polytheist/pagan/witchcraft community. Right now at the encouragement of my gods, I am exploring druidry, so I would also love to meet some druid folks!

My primary gods are Ptah and Wepwawet, but I have a special love for Bast, Sekhmet, Hetheru, Set, Amunet, and Aset.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

*in the past I have spelled my nickname as Khenne, to make clear that I was not another member of the House of Netjer who went by Khen. As I am no longer a member of the House, I am using Khen, but either spelling is fine! I will also answer to both Khenneferitw or Khensaptah.

[khenneferitw]

I can't get Tumblr to take the explicit flag down, so I am moving to a new blog!

[normal-horoscopes]

I feel like people bring up the whole "Nothing is fundamentally real" argument in regards to magic as if it's this big epic dunk that proves the existence of magic, when it's actually just the first step.

[normal-horoscopes]

"Nothing is fundamentally real" is important because of all the questions it raises in regards to magical ontology.

"Okay, so what?"

"Why do some things feel more real than others?"

"Are some things more real than others? Why?"

"How can the reality of something be influenced if at all?"

[space-bunny0o-deactivated202301]

That this was neat.

[memecucker]

What I think is really interesting about the papyrus account of the workers building the tomb of Rameses III going on strike to demand better wages is really fascinating to me because if you look at the description given by the royal scribe you see that there was an attempt to satisfy the workers by bringing a large amount of food at once but that was rebuffed by the workers who declared that it wasn’t just that they were hungry at the moment but had serious charges to bring that “something bad had been done in this place of Pharoah” (is poor wages and mistreatment). They understood themselves as having long term economic interests as a -class- and organized together knowing that by doing so they could put forward their demands collectively. It so strongly flies in the face of narratives that are like “in this Time and Place people were happy to be serve because they believed in the God-King and maybe you get some intellectual outliers but certainly no common person questioned that”. If historical sources might paint that sorta picture of cultural homogeneity it is because those sources sought not to describe something true but invent a myth for the stability of a regime.

[memecucker]

Since this is getting notes here’s a link to a translation of the papyrus scroll and here’s an article that gets further into the economic situation surrounding the strike and giving an explanation of the events. The workers didnt just refuse to construct Rameses III’s future tomb, they actually occupied the Valley of the Kings and were preventing anyone from entering to perform rituals or funerals. Basically they set up the first ever recorded picket line

Again the workers went on strike, this time taking over and blocking all access to the Valley of the Kings. The significance of this act was that no priests or family members of the deceased were able to enter with food and drink offerings for the dead and this was considered a serious offense to the memory of those who had passed on to the afterlife. When officials appeared with armed guards and threatened to remove the men by force, a striker responded that he would damage the royal tombs before they could move against him and so the two sides were stalemated.

Eventually the tomb workers were able to win the day and acquire their demands and actually set a precedent for organized labor and strikes in Egyptian society that continued for a long time

The jubilee in 1156 BCE was a great success and, as at all festivals, the participants forgot about their daily troubles with dancing and drink. The problem did not go away, however, and the workers continued their strikes and their struggle for fair payment in the following months. At last some sort of resolution seems to have been reached whereby officials were able to make payments to the workers on time but the dynamic of the relationship between temple officials and workers had changed – as had the practical application of the concept of ma’at – and these would never really revert to their former understandings again. Ma’at was the responsibility of the pharaoh to oversee and maintain, not the workers; and yet the men of Deir el-Medina had taken it upon themselves to correct what they saw as a breach in the policies which helped to maintain essential harmony and balance. The common people had been forced to assume the responsibilities of the king.

[…]

The success of the tomb-worker/artisan strikes inspired others to do the same. Just as the official records of the battle with the Sea Peoples never recorded the Egyptian losses in the land battle, neither do they record any mention of the strikes. The record of the strike comes from a papyrus scroll discovered at Deir el-Medina and most probably written by the scribe Amennakht. The precedent of workers walking away from their jobs was set by these events and, although there are no extant official reports of other similar events, workers now understood they had more power than previously thought. Strikes are mentioned in the latter part of the New Kingdom and Late Period and there is no doubt the practice began with the workers at Deir el-Medina in the time of Ramesses III.

[jenniferrpovey]

There was also a strike at one point where construction workers refused to continue until they were given sufficient “cosmetics.”

This was thought a highly strange thing until somebody deciphered the recipe for the “cosmetics” the workers were demanding and recreated it.

It was sunscreen. Sunscreen. 

Making that the first recorded strike over occupational safety.

[khenneferitw]

Sitting at the Hearth flame for the first time.

From the moment I washed my hands, I felt power. I did not feel deeply in this ritual, but broadly. Perhaps because it is so different from Kemetic rites. For the time being, this Hearth is linked to that of ADF. That was the most powerful moment for me: seeing everything illuminate as I connected to so many other lights. Feeling the Otherworld lingering around me, like smoke.

Watch. Listen. Wait. Observe. This was the wisdom those present shared with me.

[ID: An oracle card lies on a blue and green altar cloth. The card is labeled "Owl" and is depicted in a geometric abstract pattern, brightly colored. Most clearly depicted is the heart shaped face.]

The omen I drew was Owl. It speaks contradictory to my desires. Trusting inner wisdom, remaining solitary. Did I not choose to explore ADF because I yearn for community and mentorship? Then again, I did decide to spend time as a Hearthkeeper before deciding if I wish to join a Grove.

[ID: A blue and green altar cloth is laid out on a table against a yellow wall. On it are the following objects: a green wine glass full of water; a lit stick of incense; a piece of tree branch; two candles, one of which is in a holder shaped like a tree; a sea shell; a shot of whiskey; an oracle deck; a lighter; and a plate with carrots, spinach, and rosemary.]

My altar so far is simple. Symbols of tree, well, and flame. Small offerings. A new Oracle deck. And of course, what pagan would I be without a little incense too? I think my box of sandalwood will stay full until the day I die if I keep chipping at it so slowly.

The wand felt well received. I was walking through the Boston Public Garden en route to a concert when it came to me. It was under a favorite willow of mine. I was a little high at the time, so I decided to charge it with the energy of the concert I was attending. It's very loud now. I offered it to the Earth Mother, as my symbol of Tree.

Earth Mother. Now that's some language to get used to using. Perhaps in time, I will use something different (my intuition screams Earth Guardian), but I made a deal with the Netjeru to at least try going into this open minded. They assured me that if I am meant to be doing Syncretic Crimes, it will become clear.

The shell filled with water is from a beach I loved during my childhood. My grandparents would take me there. It seems fitting that the hallow tied to the underworld would have an ancestral connection. I hadn't even considered using the shell until I had a burst of inspiration tonight.

The candle holder is an offering to the Hearth Deity, repurposed from an old Hetheru shrine. I am trying not to read too much into that. Keeping Kemet off this shrine is going to be so damn hard, especially when I saw the definitions of the Hearth Deity, Gatekeeper, and Earth Mother and knew who They are for me.

Speaking of things that will be hard... Not reverting my offerings? Feels criminal. Other than the nice whiskey for the sacrifice, the other offerings are going to my rats. It was the only way I could make myself come to terms with not consuming what I gave.

[asunchaser]

how do i make tumblr stop thinking my kemetic blog is explicit. please send help i quit this hellsite in 2014. i thought no one responding to my posts was because pagan tumblr was dead but APPARENTLY it's because @khenneferitw is labeled explicit. omg i can't even tag it. i've never posted porn there. i deleted the posts that were flagged months ago. they were literally just shrine photos. crabs HELP me.

[khenneferitw]

this would be funny if it weren't so sad.

[khenneferitw]

It seems like Pagan Tumblr is quieter now. And honestly, that's not a bad thing, considering what it was like when I left. It feels like a smaller and more intimate audience now, so I may rehash some of my post-KO feels here, if people want to hear them. If nothing else, at least it's a record for myself.

...also why the hell can't I change my icon on mobile. Some things haven't changed.

[khenneferitw]

Anyway, now that I am exploring druidry, I guess I should follow some fruit blogs. Any suggestions?

[ryan-sometimes]

The amount of time that the Ancient Egyptian civilisation lasted is just so mind boggling. It lasted over 3000 years. That's such an insane amount of time. It ended around 30BC meaning that it will only be extinct for as long as it existed in around 950 years. Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of bitcoin than the building of the pyramids of Giza. They were already ancient to her. What the fuck

[crazy-pages]

We have a records from the time of Ramses II of ancient Egyptians doing archeology on monuments that were already a thousand years old to them.

[weaselle]

ancient egyptian archeologists. ancient egyptian archeologists. excuse me i have to go lay down and think about things

[thatlittleegyptologist]

If we take Egypt from the Pre-Dynastic period, before the Unification occurred, then their history dates back to c.6000 BCE, which puts the start of Egyptian civilisation about 5970 years before the death of Cleopatra. Even as an Egyptologist it can be sometimes hard to fathom.

The records mentioned are even cooler than simply being from the time of Ramesses II. It was his fourth son Khaemwaset who became what we know as the 'first Egyptologist'.

Since he originally wasn't supposed to be the Crown Prince, and that's a whole other story, Khaemwaset became the Overseer of Architects (sometimes referred to as Chief of Directing Artisans, if I remember rightly) and undertook expeditions across Egypt to restore various monuments and tombs.

One such monument was a statue of Prince Kawab, who was the son of King Khufu; the man who had the Great Pyramid built. We're talking about roughly 1216 years between the two of them, which is the same amount of time as between me, sitting typing this in England in 2022, and King Ælfwald defeating Eardwulf in 806 CE. Next to this monument, Khaemwaset had inscribed:

"It is the Chief Directing Artisans and Sem-Priest, the King's Son, Khaemweset, who was glad over this statue of the King's Son Kawab, and who took it from what was cast (away) for debris (?), in [...] .. of his father, the King of South and North Egypt Khufu. Then the S[em-Priest and King's Son, Kha]em[waset] decreed that [it be given] a place of favor of the Gods in company with the excellent Blessed Spirits at the Head of the Spirit (Ka) chapel of Ro-Setjau, – so greatly did he love antiquity and the noble folk who were aforetime, along with the excellence (of) all that they had made, so well, and repeatedly ("a million times").

These (things) shall be for (for) all life, stability and prosperity, enduring upon earth, [for the Chief Directing Artisans and Sem-Priest, the King's Son, Khaemwaset, after he has (re)established all their cult procedures of this temple, which had fallen into oblivion [in the remembrance] of men.

He has dug a pool before the noble sanctuary (?), in work (agreeing) with his wishes, while pure channels existed, for purity, and to bring libations from (?) the reservoir (?) of Khafre, that he may attain (the status of) "given life"

He also restored the Pyramid of Djoser, better known today as the Step Pyramid, and erected a similar stela to the inscription he used for Prince Kawab's statue to inform people of his actions. The Pyramid of Djoser was built 1300 years before Prince Khaemwaset was born. Putting it in a modern framework again, that's me typing this in England in 2022, and someone writing an accounts of history in England in 449 CE during the Plague of Justinian... No, wait that's...that's pretty similar actually. Shout out to my bro Procopius of Caesarea who was also just absolutely going through it.

Anyway, all jokes of living in plague times aside, the Egyptians having the care and forethought to monitor and repair monuments from their own civilisation that were as ancient to them as the Romans are to us now demonstrates a fundamental human trait; the need to preserve, repair, and record what's left of those who came before us.

In the end, what else better demonstrates human connection to the past than repairing and caring for fragments of our past to say 'hey friend, you were here, and you left this as a marker to say you were here and you mattered. I acknowledge you and I'll take care of what you left to make sure everyone else knows you were here and that you mattered too.' We are strongest when we can recognise ourselves in the past, and Ancient Egyptian Archaeologists are something that call to us from across the millennia like a beacon.

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[cryptotheism]

so i high off my tits and wondering if there would be such precedent for a 2-person word salad divination team. let me explain. i get high and say whatever stream of consciousess babble comes to mind (which because of my specific brainworms is pretty much actual aphasia when im high) and my buddy listens to me say words in any order and divine off of it. just be for fun because like, no one would trust i wasnt feeding my buddy lines on purpose but. is that a viable divination tool

That's kinda how the oracle at Delphi worked (classicists don't hurt me please)

[thesacredabstract]

☥ • Ko-fi • Instagram • Etsy • ☥

[khenneferitw]

Has anyone around these parts worked with ADF or OBOD? I've recently been interested in exploring druidry. I'm particularly interested in hearing perspectives of Kemetics and transgender / nonbinary folks.

One of my primary goals is to have Local Community again, and both groups are active in New England (OBOD has a Grove in my city!). But given the typical state of Pagan groups, I have concerns. I want to make sure I am working with people who are *actively* anti-racist, trans-inclusive, and anti-ableist. Not lip service: true efforts. I also am interested in seeing more effective leadership and organization, given my post-KO status.

All thoughts appreciated. Thank you!

[assassin1513]

✨💙Moon Clock Stars 💙✨

[khenneferitw]

Asked an AI to draw me a jackal made of stars.

[the-cobalt-athenaeum-deactivate]

CHEESE MAGICAL CORRESPONDENCES

I needed to know what magical properties cheese has. I ended up researching cheese making for hours to figure out what the magical properties of different cheeses were. This is from my own research on the cheese making process, where they are from, their origin, and such things that make these cheeses unique, and what their magical correspondences could be based on how they are made and their history/origin. Enjoy.

🧀Mozarella water element

🧀Burrata water element, safety/security

🧀Comte freedom

🧀Limburger Fortification, protection, strength

🧀Havarti beginnings, newness,

🧀Muenster purity, chastity, devotion

🧀Pecorino purity, determination, action, initiative, and leadership

🧀Roquefort power, lust, hidden things

🧀Cheddar wealth

🧀Blue Cheese banishing, death and rebirth

🧀Gorgonzola harmony, marriage, agreements/settlements

🧀Monterey Jack Greed, wealth, bargaining, change, discovery

🧀American prosperity, abundance

🧀Emmental prosperity

🧀Goat Cheese prosperity, fertility, freedom, justice, wisdom

Holey Cheese 🧀Emmental, Gruyere, Tilsit, Raclette, Gouda, Swiss, and Edam

"The 'eyes' or 'holes' are created by gas producing bacteria"

Air element - freedom, wit, communication, intelligence, perception, knowledge, learning, thinking, imagination, creativity, harmony

🧀Cheese's basic correspondences

transformation, nourishment, change, nurturing, family, mother love, birth, spirituality, fertility

[rudjedet]

Babes please, before you participate in No Nut November, ask yourself if you're doing it for the right reasons, or if you're actually Ra in disguise trying to keep Nut from giving birth to five more gods