Chief Festival of Ra

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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Chief Festival of Ra
The Passing of the Scale

This Festival celebrates the Great God, Amen Ra, and is a male oriented, fire festival. We celebrate the beginning of everything with the birth of the Sun God Ra. This Festival ideally should start before dawn of the Winter Solstice (when the sun shines the least) or before dawn on the Summer Solstice (when the sun shines the most).

This Festival can be spread out over three days, or condensed into one, all day long celebration. I shall show you the short version and give suggestions for extending it.

Part One
Sunrise Ceremony

Tools and Supplies Needed:
Sword
Balefire
One red pillar candle for each person present
Engraving tools (crystal points, athame, etc) each should bring their own.
One large pillar candle, engraved with Ra and sun signs for altar candle

The Festival begins before Sunrise, with the High Priest, Priest(s), and Temple Guardian carrying the statue of the Great God Ra. Place the statue on the altar, making sure it is facing the point of sunrise. Have a bowl of warm water and some towels handy. Wash the statue carefully and repair any nicks, scratches or rubbed off paint.

The males, and any females that wish to join them, should kneel around the statue and watch the sun rise. As the first sun rays touch the face of the Statue of Ra, the High Priest raises his arms and says:

Honor to thee, Great and Powerful, Ra
Who rests upon Ma’at.
As you pass over the Heavens,
Every face can see thee,
And thy rays fall upon every face
Thou art One,
Even as He that brings the food of life.
Men praise thy name and swear by thee,
For thou art Lord of them.
You have seen with your eyes
And heard with your ears
The millions of years that have passed.
You pass through and over untold spaces
And have passed through them in peace
While steering your way across the watery abyss
To the place which you love.
This you do in one moment of time
And then you sink down
And make an end to the hours.
Please join us now
As We celebrate your birth and rebirth.
May your name live forever in the hearts of men.

And, everyone says:

May it be so.

The High Priest takes the sword in his non-power or receiving hand and points it directly at the sun. recite:

We thank you, Great God Ra, for granting us the gift of fire.

High Priest moves the sword to his power or manifesting hand, and points the sword at the Balefire, which the Temple Guardian immediately lights by the quickest way handy. Symbolically, this represents the God Ra giving our Coven fire, light and heat. Unless your High Priests is very well versed on fire starting magic, or able to rub two sticks together to make fire, use a bic!!!

While the balefire is being lit, each member not involved, should take the time to engrave their personal candles. Use sun signs, the names of Ra, an ankh or anything that feels right to you. When the balefire is fully caught, the High Priest lights the altar candle from the balefire. The easiest way to do this is to light a stick of incense in the balefire and use the flame on the end to light the altar candle. Once the altar candle is lit, the High priest issues an invitation such as:

Come my Brothers and join in our gift.

Each member lights his candle from the altar candle and returns to his place. These candles are intended to be an altar tool for each member, anytime they light it the powers of this Festival shall be summoned to aid and assist their work. Additional candles for future Coven use can be lit at this time also.

Once all of the candles have been lit, each man raises his candle towards the statue, as if giving a toast. Everyone says:

To the Great God Ra
May he live forever in my heart.

Then they snuff out their candles.

This ends the first part of this ritual. Everyone should clean up and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Then divide up the days chores or entertainment and enjoy the day until sunset.

Chief Festival of Ra
Part Two

About an hour before sunrise, everyone should clean up and dress for the evening ritual. Start the ritual at sunset, just before the sun disappears completely. Cast you Sacred Space in the usual manner. If you have Ra as a Cardinal Point God, replace him with one of the following:
North – Geb
East – Amun, Horus, Khepera, Min, Ptah
South – Sobek
West – Anubis, Hapi, Khnum

Within Sacred Space, begin the ritual.

The High Priest recites:

Thank you and farewell, Great God Ra.
May you be guided safely and carefully
Through the hours of Tuat.
May the combined powers of all the Great Gods and Goddesses
Assist in defeating the Evil Apophis
So that you may appear again in the morn.
Take with you and defend those whom we love that have passed.

Speak the name of each person who has passed in the last 12 months. Each member should speak the name of their own loved one. When the names have been said, begin the Passing By the Scale Ritual.

Passing By the Scale

The High Priestess says:

The questions and answers given in this ritual are guideposts
For the soul They are not commandments from on high, or
Demands from a jealous God. They are signs that show the way.
If you feel that you can not respond to the questions honestly,
Answer anyway, for this shows your intent to continue on the path to the great Gods and Goddesses.

The High Priest says:
The sun has weakened and has hidden it’s face from us.
The cold earth does not give comfort to the green plants
and they wither. Some familiar faces that have been with us
for the year have gone. Others have come, those
who not deal with the light, but with the souls of the dead.
They await by the Scales. Ma’at stands ready to use them,
Thoth stands by ready to record the result.
All of the Gods of the nomes are ready
to challenge those who come.
It begins.

The Challenge Phase are the 42 negative Confessions that each soul is asked and must answer that they have not done this, to each of the 42 questions. These questions will be read in groups of seven, make sure you choose which people will read which questions before hand. You will need 6 people to divide up the Negative Confessions easily. Alternatively, you could simply alternate asking a question with all coven members. After each question is asked, the Coven replies:

This I have not done.

The 42 negative Confessions are as follows:
1. Have you done wrong?
2. Have you robbed with violence?
3. Have you stolen?
4. Have you slain another?
5. Have you defrauded the offering?
6. Have you reduced measures?
7. Have you plundered the Gods?

8. Have you spoken lies?
9. Have you spoken evil?
10. Have you caused pain to another?
11. Have you committed fornication?
12. Have you caused the shedding of tears?
13. Have you dealt with deceit?
14. Have you transgressed?

15. Have you dissembled?
16. Have you laid waste to the land?
17, Have you discussed secrets?
18. Have you brought false lawsuits?
19. Have you been angry but for just cause?
20. Have you defiled the wife of any man?
21. Have you caused terror?

22. Have you polluted yourself?
23. Have you been hot tempered?
24. Have you been neglectful of truthful words?
25. Have you cursed another?
26. Have you acted with insolence?
27. Have you stirred up strife?
28. Have you judged hastily?

29. Have you gossiped?
30. Have you sought for unearned honors?
31. Have you been garrulous in speech?
32. Have you done evil?
33. Have you disputed the King?
34. Have you fouled the waters?
35. Have you spoken scornfully?

36. Have you cursed a God?
37. Have you stolen?
38. Have you damaged the offerings to the Gods.
39. Have you plundered the offerings to the Blessed dead.
40. Have you stolen food from a babe?
41. Have you harmed the God of your place of birth?
42. Have you slain the cattle of the Gods?

When all 42 Negative Confessions have been asked and answered, the High Priestess recites:

The heart is put upon the scale, and though the cares of the world
Lay within it, the feather is yet heavier. All the Gods rejoice,
For what was a star in the Company of the Gods,
Is a star with them again.

It is nice to have a scale present, on the altar. Into one side, place a small stuffed heart, in the other side, place an ostrich feather. Tie the feather to a rock before putting it on the scale, so it will be heavier. The High priest says:

Thus it will be for us all.
For we have come from the stars,
And to the stars we shall return.
Our time on this land is short,
But we have a purpose here.
To learn, to live, to love and to grow.
All of these things we do unto the Gods,
For the Gods and with the Gods.

And everyone says:

Thus it shall be to the end of time.
Close your circle in your normal manner, and put out all torches, balefires and candles.

If you wish to have this ritual last for three days instead of one, schedule the passing by the Scale ritual for the evening of the last night. Here is a sample schedule for a three day festival

Day One - Perform Part One of Ritual. Spend the day working on Temple/Coven related projects or entertain yourselves with games, tournaments, discussion groups, etc..
For the evening meal, plan a cookout if possible. If the weather is too cold, open the garage and set the grill up in there. Cook everything on the grill, and eat indoors. After dinner, read aloud some ancient Egyptian legends, such as the stories of magic told to amuse Pharaoh Khufu.

Day Two – Begin the day at sunrise by welcoming the sun as you did the day before, with the exception of lighting the members candles. Once the Balefire is lit, everyone should raise their arms to the sun and say:

To the Great God Ra
May he live forever in my heart.

Spend this day as yesterday, enjoying warm hearty meals and friendship. The idea is to use your time this day to benefit the Great God Ra. Make sure your Covens Temple is ready for the cold of winter. Now might be a good time to stock up on firewood for the spring Balefires.

Hold an elders meeting after the evening meal to set the festival schedule for the next calendar year. All Coven members should be able to attend this meeting and vote on decisions. Use this meeting to discover what needs of individuals are not being met and discuss ways to meet those needs.

After the meeting, plan activities that allow for participation by all members. One of the best things I have discovered is to have the materials on hand so that each member can begin making their own staff or wand. You will need paints, a wood burning tool, stains and varnish, as well as the correct lengths of wood.

The wood can be easily obtained if you own, or know someone who owns some wooded land. Then just take a walk into the woods with a pair of hedge clippers and a camp saw. The perfect staff can be made from small saplings whose trunk is just big enough around to be comfortable gripped in the members hand. It should be as tall as the member, plus the length of the members forearm from the inner elbow to the tip of the longest finger.
A wand should be a piece of wood about as big around as the members smallest finger, and the length of their forearm from the inner elbow to the tip of the longest finger. HINT – It is best to choose your pieces of wood and cut them to length during the Spring or summer. This gives the wood a chance to dry, which will make removing the bark much easier.

Once you have found the perfect piece of wood, begin to remove the bark from it using whatever tools might work best for you. Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough parts, and you are ready to begin planning your designs. It works best to cut a piece of paper to draw your designs on first. Use a long piece of butcher block paper, or if you have old Christmas wrapping paper handy, use the white side of that.

Cut the paper to the exact length of the wand or staff, and wrap it around the wood. Cut the paper so that it wraps around the wood completely, but does not overlap. Then lay the paper out flat, with the blank side up. Now you have a flat surface the same diameter and length as your wood that you can plan your designs on, and easily erase if you change your mind. Many a good staff has been ruined by an over anxious pagan armed with a wood burning tool.

Put a lot of thought into this project before you even start. Have a good idea of what you want and research your choices. Plan any amulets, charms, cord or ribbons you plan to attach and have those materials on hand. It takes a long time to make a good tool, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t finish during the time you have during this Festival. Take it home and finish it during the dark winter months.

Day Three – Perform the sunrise ceremony as you did the day before. After breakfast, plan to spend the day finishing up all projects and ritual craft work. Then perform Part Two, the Passing by the Scale 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.