#mehen

[milky-rozen]

Every night, the sun god Ra travels through the underworld, facing dangers that threaten the cosmic balance. But the greatest threat of the journey is Apep, the giant chaos serpent, who emerges in the seventh hour to devour the sun and plunge the world into eternal darkness.

Standing against him is Mehen, the Duat serpent, coiling around the solar barque to protect Ra and the rest of the entourage that accompanies him, to ensure his journey to the new dawn.

[deadhawke]

Egyptologists please help?

I have recently embarked on a personal project involving the ancient board game of Mehen. As you probably know, we have no rules whatsoever for it, and only a handful of depictions of it being played. I am endeavoring to create a game with a rule-set that, while it may not be accurate or how it was actually played, at the very least doesn't contradict any evidence we have in the ways that it was definitely NOT played. From what I can tell already, most of the current "rules" out there for Mehen are modified versions of other games such as Hyena, which are not at all how it was likely played, and in fact can actively be disproved. I have been doing my best to do my own research, but I would super greatly appreciate any additional resources or information I have been missing. I'll put a list of my current thoughts and sources below. I know this is a long shot but if you have any info or could point me to who I could reach out to, that would be fantastic!

Either way when I finish working up a rule set I'll be sure to post it so other people can try it!

My thoughts/hypothesizes/conclusions so far are as follows:

The board is in a spiral in the form of a segmented snake with it's head at the center. Game play is intended to travel from the tail on the outside to the head at the inside, to mimic a soul moving through Mehen to be reborn through the serpent's breath and to possibly mimic the "Roads of Mehen".

The direction of the coil as well as the number of spaces can vary and are relatively inconsequential.

Since the size of the lion figures are regularly significantly larger than the markings on the board, and based on depictions of game play involving people placing marbles, it is likely that marbles were moved along the track in the trenches along the serpent, while the lion and lioness figures served a different function.

From the depictions as well as from the Book of the Dead, chapter 172 as cited in Mehen, Mysteries, and Resurrection from the Coiled Serpent, I strongly believe the lion figures were placed in the center of the board and served some game play purpose, possibly by pointing at marbles on the board.

The game likely accommodated 2-6 players divided into two teams.

Each player likely had 6 marbles and a lion or lioness statue.

There were likely 3 colors of marbles? (see the pg 32 source) Though this point I am more uncertain of. There was also one example I came across where the marbles had hieroglyphs etched into them.

I do agree with the "primary" source I have (the one that started me down the rabbit hole) that it seems like marble guessing was a likely method for determining movement due to the poses that people playing are in as well as the lack of dice depicted or found with the game. The game play solution he proposes where 1 marble is moved along the track and the other 5 are used for marble guessing, where a wrong guess from your opponent means you travel that many spaces, and an incorrect guess results in a consequence for you or a reward for the opponent, is the one I am currently planning on using.

Not super relevant to game play but it seems possible the lion figures could have something to do with the whole Horus v. Set thing, as they are mentioned along with the Mehet mythos and some brief searching led me to a lion depiction of Horus named Horus of Behdetite (or Horus of Buto), but I could find no equivalent lion depiction of Set so that's entirely speculation.

Sources:

Primary - https://more.bham.ac.uk/birminghamegyptology/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2024/09/masters_mehen_final.pdf

https://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/mehen-snake-game-ancient-egyptian-serpent.htm

https://www.ancientgames.org/mehen-the-coiled-serpent-game-of-ancient-egypt/

https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/mehen-rules.htm

https://ia601607.us.archive.org/4/items/cu31924028671299/cu31924028671299.pdf - pg 32

Shore, A. F. “A ’Serpent’-Board from Egypt.” The British Museum Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 3/4, 1963, pp. 88–91. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4422781. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.

Piccione, Peter A. “Mehen, Mysteries, and Resurrection from the Coiled Serpent.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 27, 1990, pp. 43–52. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40000072. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

Gardiner, Alan H. “Horus the Beḥdetite.” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 30, 1944, pp. 23–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3855181. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

[sehetep-shenwer]

We must all ride our own solar barque [LONG POST]

Em hotep everyone

I'm going to attempt astral projecting soon, and will invoke Anubis for guidance, but I have just meditated for about an hour and things couldn't be more clear, especially with the amazing readings given by the awesome people of the Per-Maat server (you know who you are‼️).

I apologize if this is old news and seems like a tangent but during my meditating I have come to realize that ultimately we must all ride our own solar barques both through day and night. Not just the literal ones, but the dark nights of the soul too.

But much like the solar barque we are protected by the Netjeru! I could see Mehen coiling around me against the damnable serpent. Hethert-Nut blew a kiss that opened up hundreds of blue lotus flowers that illuminated the darkness. Horus was cast in a blue glow while Set was in red. The old Gods protect us and even we can slay our own serpents!

The gusts of Shu propel our boat through the night.

The stars of Nut's beautiful body illuminate the path.

Wepwawet assures that we can walk by faith for when we cannot walk by site.

Bastet, the lady of jubilation, is THE Cat that will always protect Her kittens.

You do not sail alone, dear kemetic pagans. You sail a boat that is guarded by the Gods and Goddesses!

To paraphrase some readings I asked for, as I believe they could apply to this, you are the master of your own making. As Ra rises each morning, so will you!

We must sail through dark nights, but we are also blessed to coast through bright days. Not even the damnable serpent can blind you forever, for the sun will rise each day.

My heart is heavy, especially when the sun sets on my life, but I must remember that it will rise too. To paraphrase a dear friend of mine (you know who you are 2 >:).), the sun will always shine once more, even if clouds or night lie in its path.

We sail our boats together to uphold Ma'at!

We ride in the night to confront isfet!

We are all going to be okay!

Dua Netjeru!

And senebty to all of you!

I'm gonna cry myself to sleep now but it's a good cry I promise!!!

[wanderingskemetic]

🐍Subtle Mehen Worship🛡️

Greatly inspired by @khaire-traveler's wonderful subtle worship series, which can be found here.

Carry a protective charm with you

Destroy depictions of A/p/e/p this can be as simple as drawing it on a piece of paper and tearing it up

Learn about and uphold Ma'at

Make a playlist or listen to songs that remind you of him or you think he'd like

Make a collage/moodboard/pinterest board/similar collection of photos and images you associate with him, especially if some of the images are your own

Wear a piece of jewelry or other clothing item that reminds you of him

Light a candle or incense that reminds you of him (safely)

Carry a picture of him in your wallet, pocket, phone case, etc. or as a phone or computer wallpaper

Have snake or boat imagery

Learn self-defence, weapons included or not

Making a list of your personal strengths and things you're proud of

Practice standing up for yourself; speak your mind and assert your personal boundaries

Exercise a little, even if it's just stretching

Do something hard or challenging, especially if you've been putting it off, or it needs to get done

Supporting local activists or online activism for causes you believe in; support human rights or humanitarian organizations

Stand up for yourself and people you care about

Work on becoming more comfortable with the idea of conflict; it is only natural that we sometimes disagree with people

Learn about healthy conflict resolution skills; try to implement these in your next conflict

Speak your mind; be honest and direct with others

Hold others and yourself responsible for their/your actions; apologize or make amends when possible/appropriate

Practice truthfulness and keep your promises

Let go of people or things that do not contribute to your life in a positive way

Don't feel obligated to forgive people; you do not have to forgive them even if they've apologized to you

thank him at the start of each day

Donate to food banks, medical debt forgiving organizations, wildlife organizations and other causes you think help life

Writing letters (that you will never send) to people who've hurt you and burning them

Play a combat-based video game; choose a supportive/defensive character

Set boundaries for yourself; I'll only give this much support to that person, I won't stay on my phone for hours before bed, I won't engage with this media that always upsets me, etc.

I may add more to this list in the future. Suggestions are always appreciated.

Link to the Kemetic Subtle Worship Masterpost

[state-of-franklin]

All Brimstone Angels enjoyers should make me a mutual and talk to me about this series because I will combust. 10 years from now I will still combust.

[spewagepipe]

The Evolution of RPGs: Mehen

The oldest identifiable tabletop game in human history is Mehen, "The Coiled One", which was found in ancient Egypt and dates back to roughly 3000 BCE.

The exact rules of Mehen are lost to the ages, but we know that it was a game of chance in which players move pawns along a track according to the results of a throw of stick-dice. We now refer to this sort of thing as a "race" game, and while Mehen is a very simple race game, it's not the simplest race game imaginable. Players must manage multiple pawns, a special "lion" piece that moves last but can reset opponent's pawns, and quirky rules regarding certain dice results. It seems to imply that Mehen is, perhaps, an evolution of an even older game in which the board is nothing more than a way of tracking the score from the dice throws.

Click here for the index of my Evolution of RPGs posts.

[hesy-bes]

Em Hotep!

Could I get a poem about Mehen please?

Senebty!

O' He of Many Coils,

Circle my khat,

protect my heart from the demons of Duat,

and breathe your breath into my nostrils,

filling my ka with the lifeforce it needs,

to follow the Solar Barque through Duat,

and to be born from Nut,

into a new day.

Dua Mehen!

[visdom444]

Egyptian Oracle Vibes: Renewal Through Creation

Hey guys heeeeyyy

So I used a different oracle deck today cause I was feeling feisty. The Egyptian oracle deck is honestly one of my favorites seeing as though... well we will save that for a different time. I pulled four cards and they are TAWERET-GENESIS, MEHEN-PROTECTION, HAPY-RENEWAL, ANUKET-HOPE.

Not gonna lie whenever I see Taweret I automatically think of child birth. When I was pregnant with my first she showed up in my room and was holding my hand lol. I was Astral projecting so I caught her and it was so funny because as soon as I almost seen her face she turned and put a wig on lmao. It was honestly the coolest thing I'd had ever experienced and at the time I had no idea who she was!

So for some you could be welcoming in a new member of the family! Congratulations if you are! I see someone being a huge support system for their sister or cousin! Someone could be wondering if its a boy and it is! And the dad that thinks its a boy its actually a girl lmao. You and your baby are safe! The pregnancy is being protected at this time. If you've been feeling a bit to yourself and wanting to rest more then I for sure advise that because it truly is underrated how much goes into creating a little baby! I feel this is going to bring your family together if you guys have been distant. I see you guys bringing out older traditions or just revamping ones you use to have. Idk why but I'm getting a family that makes tamales for holidays or like birthdays? Lol could be any special day honestly. This will bring a sense of hope back into everyones lives. Sometimes we grow apart to grow together again. The things people learn with others they may not be able to learn with you and thats ok. I feel that everyone has to be open to understanding that things in life will honestly never be the same and they are never supposed to honestly.If we aren't going then we would have to be dying at least my mind would like to think that. Its the idea of any flower that never got to blossom because it was picked to soon.

Dino footsies are significant. If you are thinking if you should buy clothes the exact size or a size a bit bigger I definitely suggest a bit bigger because babies just grow like crazy lmao. Definitely get that protective style so you don't have to worry about doing your hair. If you have been overheated please make sure you are drinking water. Maybe switching to natural juices will help make you feel a lot better. I don't think you have to do anything you don't want to do. You may feel obligated to do certain things and in 2024 we just are not doing anything that does not make us happy. Make sure you make reservations for that place you want to eat at I see the line being really long if you don't then you having to go to another place.

if you guys want a personal reading please email [email protected]