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Temple Ankh |
Worshiping the ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
through Rituals, Prayers and Spells dedicated and directed to the Old ones
who still hold the power of the universe. |
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Member Pictures, Journals & Blogs
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Egyptian Harvest Festival This festival celebrates the end of the Harvest and the
beginning of the inundation. For our ancient ancestors, this was celebrated
in July, August, September or October, depending on which research source you
prefer. Harvest Ritual Preparations Tools Needed in addition to the tools for Casting Sacred
Space: Before the Ritual: Decorations can be of an autumn nature or in a Halloween
theme, both are certainly appropriate. Some ideas are: Harvest gifts for the members could be – a black candle to light from the altar candle and take home for their own altars. A candle shaped like a witch, skeleton or black cat. Each worshipper should cleanse themselves before the ritual
begins. A bath or shower at best, a smudging with cedar at least. Never enter
sacred space unclean, as it insults the Gods and Goddesses. Temple And Altar Set Up – On the Altar should be placed the
large statues of Bast, Thoth and Ma’at, as well as the large Pyramid Box, the
Athame, the brass Ankh, a chalice filled with wine and the Clear Crystal
wand. You may also wish to scatter crystals and gemstones upon it. The Ritual of the Harvest Begin this ritual day just before dawn. Give yourself enough time to wake up and go to the entrance to the woods in order to watch the sunrise. Once the sun has fully risen, the HP and HPS will pass out your Ritual Packets, which will contain the items you will need throughout the day to complete all the parts of this ritual. The Temple should gather for breakfast and clean up, then each returns to their individual campsite and opens their packets. The rest of the Harvest celebration shall be in two phases. One of which you must complete by yourself prior to the beginning of the evening ritual. Inside your ritual packet, you will find a bag with 42 small stones and a copy of the 42 negative confessions, which were asked at your initiation. You must consider each of the negative confessions and judge whether you have committed it or not. For every confession you have done, take one stone from the bag and place it in the baggie, which hopefully is also in your packet. Make sure you do this honestly. You will never be asked which ones you have done, so be honest with yourself here. When it is time to go to the Temple, bring both bags of stones with you, as well as everything that was in your packet. Hand the bag of stones you did not use and the paper with the 42 negative confessions on it to the HPS, and keep the bag of the stones you did use with you as you go to your place within the Temple and prepare for Casting Sacred Space. Casting Sacred Space As each person is in place, they raise their power hand to the sky. Use this small amount of time to focus your thoughts and mentally prepare yourself for the Ritual. Let all outside thoughts go and concentrate upon the work you are about to do. When all have their hands raised, the High Priest says: “May the Gods know this work we are about to perform.” And everyone replies: Everyone now lowers their arms but remains standing. The High Priestess lights the white altar candle. This altar candle should be used to light all the others, including the incense and balefire. As the elements are invoked, everyone should turn to face the element as it is being invoked. The Cardinal Point Holders should make sure that when they walk the boundaries of the Circle, they do so to the OUTSIDE of the Cardinal Point benches. The HPS takes the altar candle to the NCPH, who uses it to place a drop of wax onto the salt in his bowl. The North Cardinal Point Holder (NCPH) holds up the bowl of salt and recites: I spread this salt of our earth NCPH sprinkles the salt around the perimeter of the Temple, beginning and ending at the North. As he passes the ECPH. He hands off the Altar candle. Place the salt next to the north candle and stand to the inside of the North Bench. East Cardinal Point Holder (ECPH) holds up the incense burner and lights the incense with the white altar candle, then recites: I light this incense Walk with the burning incense around the perimeter of your Sacred Space, beginning and ending at the East. Hand the Altar Candle to the SCPH on your way around, and stand to the inside of the East bench when finished. The South Cardinal Point Holder (SCPH) picks up the red Fire Candle, lights with the altar candle and recites: This fire honors all Gods and Goddesses SCPH walks the candle around the perimeter of the Sacred Space, beginning and ending at the South. Hand the Altar candle to the WCPH on the way around and stand to the inside of the South bench when finished. The West Cardinal Point Holder (WCPH) holds up the seashell
filled with water and recites: WCPH sprinkles the water around the perimeter of the Sacred Space beginning and ending at the West. Hand the Altar candle off to the NCPH on you way around, then stand to the inside of the West bench when finished. The NCPH uses the candle to light the East blue Candle, then
recites: I call to the great God Osiris NCPH hands the candle to the ECPH, who uses it to light the
yellow candle and then recites: I call to the Great God Ra ECPH hands the candle to the SCPH, who uses it to light the
red candle, then recites: I call to the Great God Anubis SCPH hands the candle to the WCPH, who uses it to light the
blue candle and recites: I call to the Great God Thoth WCPH hands the white altar candle back to the NCPH who
places it back on the altar before returning back to the center of the
Circle. We bid welcome to the Great Goddess Nut, The HPS raises her hands to the skies and recites: We bid welcome to the Gods and Goddesses HP hands the sword to the Temple Guardian (TG) who raises it
straight up to the skies and recites: TG drives the sword gently into the ground in the center of the circle, being very careful not to stab his foot. HP S says: Everyone responds: HP says: High Priestess – We come together to celebrate the end of the Harvest and the beginning of the inundation. The Nile flooded annually as a gift from the gods to our ancestors. This flood water deposited rich silt when it departed that created a nourishing soil in which to grow crops. High Priest – We give thanks to the Gods and Goddesses for this gift of life which grows within our crops, and offer to them the last of our harvest. High Priest takes the offering from the harvest and lays it upon the unlit bonfire. High Priest – May the Gods have Health, Wealth and Prosperity for eternity. All – May it be so. High Priestess – May the Gods grant us Health, Wealth and Prosperity in the year to come. All – May it be so. High Priestess - When the Nile is high, no work in the fields could be done, and the days and nights turn cold. Along with the bounty of our harvest, the Gods and Goddesses gave our ancestors fire to warm their Hearth and light their homes. High Priest – We thank the Gods and Goddesses for their gift of fire, and pray that it shall sustain us through the long winter. All – May it be so. The Temple Guardian lights the bonfire. High Priestess – I invite you each to come one by one, and write your wishes and desires for the coming year, and offer them along with a gift to the Gods and Goddesses. Each person steps forward in turn, writes their wishes on a piece of paper, lights it from the altar candle, then tosses it into the fire, along with their token gift, saying – May the smoke from these flames carry my prayers to the Great God and/or Goddess (insert name(s) of patron deity). When each person is finished, with the High Priestess and High Priest going last, continue the Ritual. High Priestess – The great God Ra is ready to descend to the underworld in his royal barque, taking with him all those who have passed on during the last year. Does anyone have any loved ones who will be joining him on that journey? If there are none, skip down to the *. If so, that person or persons step forward, one at a time, with an offering to Ra that will ensure a safe journey for they loved one. They toss the offering into the fire, saying – May (loved ones name) find peace in the kingdom of Osiris. All – May it be so. *High Priest – May all those who travel with Ra be gently judged and find peace within the Kingdom of Osiris, until their time to return. All – May it be so. High Priest – This morning, you were each given the 42 negative confessions and 42 stones. Please come forward now, empty your bags of the stones which represent your sins and speak the number of your sins. Each person comes forward and drops their stones into the cauldron and speaks the number of stones they have placed there. When all have finished, the HP adds enough water to the cauldron to completely cover the stones and hangs the cauldron over the balefire. As he is doing so, he says: With this water and fire, may our sins be purged. The HPS adds a handful of powdered incense and a handful of salt to the water, while saying: With this scent and salt of our earth, may our sins be purged. Everyone turns to face the altar and raises their hands to the skies. The HP says: Great Goddess Ma’at, hear our prayers All members now should be invited to come forward and request spells to be performed to aid them in stopping negative behaviors. Once those spells have been performed, then members may request spells for any other aspect of their lives. Once this is finished, High Priestess – May we all enjoy the Feast of the Harvest. This feast should be a time of celebration. Good choices for food are Dragons Blood Broth for a warm beverage, Bat Wing Stew and spider web muffins for dessert. The Priest and Priestess should serve at the feast table, assisting any who should require help. The Priestess pours the beverages from the bowl into individual glasses for everyone, while the Priest carves any meat that is served. The order of serving is: A plate is made for the Gods and set aside for them. Then, Regular coven first, then the council members, any guest elders present, High Priest and Priestess. Each person present is required to eat something from the feast, whether it is a full plate or a single bite of meat, ALL must participate. Once everyone is served, the Priest and Priestess take the plate for the Gods, and place it where offerings of food are always placed. If this is somewhere outside of the circle, then the Temple Guardian shall cut a door for them to allow them to exit and enter. The Priest and Priestess then serve the Temple Guardian, and themselves. Once everyone has finished eating, sit comfortably around the fire and share stories of those who have passed on the prior year, or stories of things that have happened in the last year. This should be a time of fellowship and fun. Indulge in as much wine or other spirits as you wish. If anyone becomes to drunk to remain, the Temple Guardian, Priest and Priestess should escort them out of the Temple, and to a safe place where they can ‘sleep it off’. The decision of who is drunk sits solely in the hands of the Temple Guardian, with advice from the High Priest, High Priestess, Priest and Priestess. When the High Priest and High Priestess think it is time, each person resumes their appointed place within the temple, and the Gods, Goddesses and Sacred Space are released. You may also elect to close the Circle before the feast begins to make sure everyone will be capable of doing so. To Close the Circle And everyone responds: Everyone forms a circle, hand in hand, around the balefire
or in the center of the sacred space. HPS stands at the East, HP stands at
the West, PS stands at the North, and P stands at the South. All gathered
raises their hands to the sky and HPS recites: The Ritual is ended. Clean up any messes, put out the balefire and any torches you have lit. Always leave the Temple clean. Take the offering foods out to an offering table for the wildlife to feast upon. Immediately after the Ritual: |
News & Upcoming Events March 16-20 - Spring Equinox celebration. Main ritual will be on the 18th starting at 10:00 a.m. and lasting until we get sleepy. April 29th - Beltaine celebration beginning at 7:00 p.m. June 20 - 25 - Second annual Trial of Set game! June 24 - Midsummer celebration beginning at Noon and lasting until 11:00 p.m. Main ritual begins at 6:00 p.m. September 22 - 24 - Autumn Equinox Celebration. Main Ritual will be on the 23rd beginning at 7:00 p.m. October 26 - 29 - Harvest celebration. Main Ritual will be on the 28th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. For more information on any of these events, please email Nydia. Please put 'Rituals' as the subject line of your email. |
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