Netjer, and Beyond...

Valen | they/he My side blog exploring pagan religion. I’ll be posting pagan religious stuff and tradition-specific witchcraft here. I’m Kemetic, so expect a majority of Kemetic posts. If you ever need anything tagged for triggers, let me know :) Best way to contact me is through ask or message. Also, for app users, here are my pages.

[satrawesir-deactivated20220908]

💥Sutekh defeating the s/n/a/k/e💥

Suggested by @tomassci and the idea for the clip came from @fuckyouamanda

~please do not repost or remove caption thanks~

[ushki]

My entry for this month’s Character Design Challenge. It’s when we get most emotional that we feel our soul (The Ba)… 

[gemahi]

He Who Orders the Riot. — Another devotional picture for my Father. I’ve been thinking about Him a lot recently  (thank you to my boyfriend for the help on this piece)

[rootandrock]

Re: Hard Polytheism and ... well, living as a believer for any length of time.

Last night I privately said: "Re: Teratogenic Grain-fungus-deer-god shenanigans - I think that's why Anubis was the first god who really resonated. A skin-wearing priest who made the fateful cut upon the body, and suffered the taboo to preserve the body against corruption. It's not that he wasn't Anubis - he was - but that tributary that fed into him is what drew me, and one day (when he'd had many years of good use out of me, and taught me a lot) he passed me onward along the stream to find the other pieces."

And while I also did not realize the pun I made (y'know... piecing back together Osiris... who is also not my Hornwearer, but probably could be someone else's Hornwearer), it strikes me as very cool and fascinating how this dataset means a very specific thing to me, and a completely different very specific thing to someone else.

For me The Hornwearer happens where a bunch of overlapping circles form the right concentration and shape. There he is. Right there at that spot. If you were to add anything else... it's just not him anymore. There's so much blending around the edges, yes... but that spot is him, and outside of it is no longer him-him, but may be close enough for gettin' the work done. I'm not sure how hard that polytheism really is, at that point.

And for other people that data set is Odin, or Cernunnos, or Dionysus or Christ or Lucifer or ... well, you get the picture. They add a new circle or slide away one that isn't quite right... and there is their god.

So when directly asked "But who is The Hornwearer" - Fuck if I know, bruh. It depends on the overlapping pile of things, of shapes and people and animals and styles of practice and the reasons for practicing and even seasons of the year. Most gods don't have Proper Noun Names, they have Kennings. Your name is probably ALSO a Kenning. Are you an Anointed One, a Heralds from Kynthos, or maybe a Still Waters? He is The Hornwearer - he wears horns that is his What, but I can't even guess as to his Who.

[coldalbion]

The porous nature of identity is writ large when it comes to gods and spirits. This is why I have problems with "human". Human has become obsessed with inclusion and exclusion because it's centralised. If we de-anthropocentrise the kosmos, if we see all rock, tree, mountain, wheat, mushroom, gut-bacteria as ancestor, then what? Is Odin a singular Old Man? Sure, that's a localised instantiation, like the one eyed guy I met on the way to the pub who vanished.' But he can also be a pack of wolves, can shine out of the Gundestrup Cauldron and be co-present with the skull and spirit of the deer who lives ion my altar. Just as I live in that bloodstained and incense-smoked skull, as well as sitting in the wheelchair-that-is-also-me-which-is-as-Woden's Wain-is-as-the Great-Bear-which-is-as-every-human-sacrifice-and-poet-and-king-and einherjar. And Anubis/Anpu cracks the bones as a hundred jackals in the desert and a thousand temple priests and guides the souls with Hermesian speed, and Siva Destroys and Creates as Kali dances and Freyja gets blood on her lips and amber at her throat while the Mountain Mother of old Anatolia pets her lions and Innana lets fall her clothes and veils. Salome dances and demands the Baptist's head, and Bran and Mimir blend in mirages of smokes and herbs.

Let me emphasise - I do not say same. I abhor the "identical". I-becoming-as-We does not reduce richness. The numinous overflows the circle. The daemonic always exceeds.

The only way to live with that? To be daemonic in ourselves. Fugitive. Transient. Truly Mortal.

"Immortal mortals, mortal immortals, one living the others death and dying the others life." - Heraclitus

[sleepywiitchh]

witches/pagans group chat!!

so, me and @bitchywitchyandtired noticed that there aren’t many communities for teenage witches and pagans who worship non-hellenic deities (i worship hellenic deities too, but there really aren’t a lot of platforms for other pantheons) so we made a group chat on instagram for exactly that!

if you’d like to be added, reblog/reply to this with your instagram username and which deities you worship

If you’re uncomfortable with having your username/information out in public, feel free to pm me so you can be added!

I’ll start:

I’m Ela, and I work with Loki and Anubis (contacting Thor soon though!) and a few hellenic deities (Apollo, Ares, Athena, Hermes, and Demeter)

I’ll also be pm’ing all of the ‘applicants’ to make sure that there are no bots, trolls, etc

[zooophagous]

You have to be careful who you pray to. Some gods have more exciting ways of snapping you out of self pity than others.

[digitalessence]

Ancient Egyptian gods by Yliade.

[marandart-deactivated20201102]

So @zooophagous said they hoped Anubis brought us nice gifts this year, so I thought I’d share my stocking with the world. I bought it at Gargoyle Statuary in Seattle.

[zooophagous]

HELL YEAH

[meltingcore-deactivated20200826]

Guys, I’m crying with laughter. My mom just called Kemetism “Keyism”.

She was just like

“Oh yeah, Em’s Keyism may not be a big religion but it means something to her and her Keyism buddies and that’s what matters.”

I am grateful for my mom’s support (of course), but calling Kemetism “Keyism” is the funniest thing I’ve heard this month.

My brother chimed and was like: “Emily worships keys?”

[kura-lee]

Why did invest time into a joke not very many will get?

I mean… I guess I can amuse myself anyway.

(I needed to doodle something silly as the current scene I’m working on for the comic is kinda a downer)

[littlehellenicthings]

Honestly its weird how many people don’t realize that the gods are frightening, and if you expect some sort of direct contact, spiritual or otherwise, you should expect there to be some level of terror.

[soufre-de-paris]

This is something I’ve been struggling to understand about people who have a sort of casual relationship with the Deities they choose to worship.

Gods are fucking terrifying. They’re HUGE in ways we cannot even comprehend. We are literal worms before Them. 

But then there’s this strange culture (especially online, especially on Tumblr) of acting like They’re just these quirky roommates and not these Primordial Beings That Defy Understanding; perhaps it’s best to describe it as ‘sublime horror meets devotion.’ 

If you’re not scared of your Gods, what are you doing?

[therootwitch]

Idk, having a healthy relationship?

[constellations-and-energy]

Aphrodite and I are homies and no one gets to tell me otherwise

Get ya bitter asses outta here

“literal worms” my ass

[willowofthehearth]

I think the idea that people are ants compared to gods is a hella westo-christian way of thinking about things.

My experience with pagans and their deities over the years has definitely not been that.

The real defining point here is that everyone’s practice looks different. If your understanding and worship of the gods places them on a high pedestal and that works for you. You do you. But, not everyone’s going to be like that.

And my personal experience thusfar with the Tuatha is that they are not “Primordial Beings That Defy Understanding” and while I respect them and their abilities. I’m not terrified of them? Like, they aren’t some old white dude in the sky punishing me when I do shit he doesn’t approve of. They’re teachers, mentors, friends, and guides. 

I’m not declawing them. Nor am I ignorant of their power. But I do not come to them as a worm on my belly, begging for their love and approval. I come as a witch, as a bard, as one ready to learn. And they receive me as such.

[therootwitch]

Ikr? I came from a religion that told me I was supposed to be scared and ashamed before a god, and I’m not going back bc that kind of thinking is really destructive

[rhosyn-o-magdalene]

Déa is my Mama. I’m gonna 100% respect Her but have zero reason to fear Her.

[gefdreamsofthesea]

It is entirely possible for deities to be both awesome and primordial beings, capable of inspiring intense emotions in their followers, as well as friends, family, or that quirky neighbour who pops by to see how you’re doing. There is no contradiction between these things,

[mroftales]

All of this, but also y'all are out here talking about how “they’re too big and too powerful to care about you” as if you don’t fucking dote on your cat/dog/ant farm/sea monkeys. And those things can’t even talk back.

[netjerplus]

^^^^

Also there are plenty of people that find comfort in the sense of smallness, so the idea that everyone when faced with the awesome might of their gods would immediately feel themselves worthy of little more than to be stepped upon is patently ridiculous. Plus, several religions have schools of thought that approach their gods as family or lovers, so the idea that you can't be casual is also inaccurate.

[cybergata]

[idiot-heathen-egg]

My favorite Loki worshiping mood is when I go “damn Loki is this u” and I get a wave of “ex-fucking-scuse me” immediately followed by “I know why you feel that way but #rude”

[xbunnyclawsx]

Credit: IG-@lifeanddeathcustoms

[pearlescentbirdmom]

[to any deity in particular]: Hi. I’ve brought shitty alcohol, two electric candles, a chocolate bar, my many issues, and an undying love for you. Can you help me un-fuck myself?

[deity]: sighs deeply

[zooophagous]

My favorite thing about Kemetic client work is how many requests I get for artwork as a set. The gods are like potato chips, you can’t have just one.

This special pair is themed as well, a solar Sekhmet and a lunar Toth.

[westminstergodshow]

some shitty racist just reblogged my post and i’m pissed so i just want to say that the atrocities happening to children and families at the American/Mexican border is not and never will be Ma'at. there is nothing just or lawful or good about tearing families apart and abusing and traumatizing children. the Netjer do not approve of or support this evil racist regime that is destroying entire families no matter how “lawful” the government is claiming it is and if you think They would then you honestly can never truly know the Netjer