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Raging Prayer

Oh Set,

shaker

mover

Oh powerful one of Ra

lend me your ears and strength.

I feel rage, boiling powerful rage.

Rage that seeks to destroy

to kill.

It wants to destroy all that is breakable

and kill everything that lives

including itself.

And under it is sorrow

and pain.

Bind it, oh Lord of Chaos,

tame it as you tame the dark each night.

Beat its head

crush it beneath your heel.

Take this snake of isfet,

demolish it as you would Apep.

Destroy it with your hands

rend it with the power in your arms.

This rage is not lovely,

it strangles its own righteousness,

bring it to Ma’at,

give it to Sekhmet.

Let it be brought to a rage of justice.

Oh Lord of the Unexpected,

take this unexpected thing and let it be used for holiness.

Let it be a shield against harm, let it be a shield against myself.

For this rage is not wholly good,

it has flaws that it hates

and makes it all grow larger.

Let this fire be one of higher purpose

and not merely destruction and pain.

Set, my god, guide me in the use of this rage

let it be a thing of ma’at

do not let it be consumed by isfet.

Even though I’m pretty good at sight visualizing, this is valuable advice for me and others!

Writing Stories about Gods is Hard

So, yesterday I was inspired for writing by a picture I saw on DeviantArt. I was on there looking for pictures of Anpu and found some unique ones including the one that inspired my writer’s brain. However, there are a lot of things I am struggling with about writing a story about my gods. Even if it’s not meant to be an offering (it probably won’t be) I’m still concerned about offending the Jackal. I think it would be easy to ask Him to approve of the plot, but as it stands I don’t really have the full plot fleshed out in my mind and I don’t know what to tell Him.

And this is ignoring the logistical problems of writing a story with heavy deity involvement. I mean, deities are powerful beings. You have to remember that every step or you risk making the plot bad. You have to consider how does their power affect the plot? How does it affect their decisions and the decisions of other characters? What if you want the deity to be the main character? Now their power really affects the plot. Do you take it away? How will that affect the plot? Do you let them keep it? Well that has its own problems as well, because then how do you challenge them? What sort of storyline must you create to be realistic and challenging to them as characters?

Then there are things like personality to consider. What do they normally behave like? What do their decision making skills look like? How do they react to various situations? How would their personality affect their reaction if their powers were stolen? For instance, say a deity is known for being somewhat rash and hot-tempered, how would that affect what would happen if they were angered but had no powers? Then another thought, when would it be proper or realistic for them to act contrary to their natures? Instead of exploding and starting a fight, is this a good time to step back and let something go? Is that reaction realistic? Necessary?

I suppose these concerns are normal for any character, especially since deities are just as multidimensional as us mortals, but it’s still something a little different because of their vast strength and influence. Especially if one wants to let them have their abilities or restrict it. And then there’s the thought about involving other pantheons and how would they interact and good heavens what if those deities get offended even if yours aren’t? Yeah, the last thing I want or need are some angry gods knocking on my head like wtf are you doing there?

I dunno, I presented the super general idea to Anpu and what pieces and scenes I had in my head and He doesn’t seem to be opposed to it. I didn’t get any negative impressions or anything. Perhaps He’s neutral on it (I doubt it, but who knows). Argh figuring out what they approve of is hard. I need to turn the volume on my godphone up and put like, special buttons on it or something. Alright, I’m done whining now lol

Set in My Dreams

Last night I had a very interesting dream. It started out with crocodiles and experiments that I and my two friends (I don’t know who they were, I feel like they were common characters from my writing) were running. I remember it being in a warehouse, and we had two of them, a huge male and a smaller female. I remember the large male being tied up and suspended from the ceiling above the massive pool we were observing the female in. I have no idea what we were doing but it wasn’t hurting them, they were just scared.

Eventually the female gets loose and we have to go chasing after her into the large field/heath/place around the warehouse. And we come across this massive snow and rock monster instead. It was a danger to us and our crocodile, so we started fighting it. At some point we were trying to figure out a way to defeat it because our weapons weren’t really working. Somehow the word “navel” came up and I was like what?! All I could think of was belly buttons and of course that makes no sense. Then a smaller tree monster came by and watched us and then wrote/chiseled the word on a rock.

The female friend started saying that must be the clue, because the tree monster had seen us and came over to help and to soothe us. I have to point out that soothe was the specific word used here and it was important. “He came by to be helpful and soothing, so he gave us the answer on the rock.” The male friend and I pondered this clue. Navel in reference to belly button couldn’t be correct, that left the fruit. And we asked.

“Do you mean the fruit? Like the orange?”

“What about apples?” (Don’t ask me why, that was the question the friend asked)

Apples are fine, but navels are best. (I have no idea, it wasn’t a voice per se, it may have been the friend, but I don’t think so).

“DO YOU MEAN THE FRUIT?”

Apples are fine, but navels are best.

“I’m gonna assume the orange then.”

Whatever, we got an answer, but how was fruit gonna help us defeat an ice monster? Then all of the sudden we were in my grandmother’s dining room like something straight out of Rugrats. Either way the ice monster was still there, sitting in a chair on the other side of the table. I know the female friend was gone at this point. But, the next thing I had in my mind was to find a blog post. A post about Set, that wasn’t written by me but referenced a post of mine, was the important thing that would lead to the defeat of the monster. This blog post was “mentioned” while we were fighting the creature in the field as well, but the fruit thing kinda took over.

However, we still trying to figure out how to get away from the monster to get to my Kindle so I could find the blog post. Whatever it said I knew it was about Set and His personality and interacting with Him. I feel like He was there, in the dining room, watching me. Something about make a distraction, but I was like how? I have no fruit and just rocks and a gun that I know doesn’t work. Try. So I threw a stone and when that didn’t work my friend and I shot at it, causing it to flinch and I made a break for it.

I found the blog post and there was a comment on my piece of post quoted in the one I was reading. It was basically “OH GODS…THE JACKALS…AND SET! OH GODS SET! SUCH TROLLS” There was other stuff there in the comment, but it wasn’t in caps and I couldn’t read it. Whatever right? But then my mom’s alarm went off, waking me up partially.

I roll over and go back to sleep and now I see a statue of Set that I had seen in a store earlier in the day. It was so clear and obvious and I stared at it for a while. Then I was in the room where my plants are at my grandmother’s house and I was breaking up the soil my oregano was in. Now, I’ve meant to do this for a while because it’s compacted and not absorbing water very well, but I’m also profoundly worried that I’ll damage the roots and hurt it, even if I’m careful. But in the dream I’m doing just that, breaking it apart extremely carefully because I don’t want to kill it.

Next was some weird fuzziness and I asked “you make it seem like that plant and honey are so important.” Now, the plant actually had a name (and a picture!) but I started thinking about the honey and libating it and what kind, but as a result I lost the name of the plant which made me upset. I was wracking my brain over it until a voice told me to quit it because it wasn’t that deep. So, I went with mint because of the image in my head of the plant, but I’m still him-hawing over it. Either way I offered tea with honey and He said no, the honey is more important and should be separate, but tea was fine too.

I also had the thought that I was being trolled, LITERALLY from the monsters. But, I seem to have gotten some ideas here about things to offer to Set. All I know from this dream is navel oranges are best, apples are ok, there’s a plant that means something but isn’t life changingly important and honey is an important offering. Can anyone tell me if honey or mint or similar plants are historical offerings or should I just be UPG LET”S GO?

Prayer and Jackals

The Jackals have been on my mind a lot lately*. By that I mean I’ve thought about Anpu and Wepwawet. I know, I backed away from Wepwawet for a while. I felt like He was backing away too, but lo and behold He seems to be back in my head! It’s cool though, I like Wepwawet just as much as Anpu (though for different reasons I’ll admit). I wonder about what they’re all doing up there above my head though ya know? Four Netjer just talking about their myriad humans under their care. Although, with the Mysteries of Ausir going on now, I wonder if they’re talking about Him? I have never had the pleasure of interacting with Ausir, but I am privy to the attention of His wife, brother, and friend. I wonder if they’d have me do something, or tell me Interesting Things. Probably not, but one can ponder can’t they?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my path and my gods though. I don’t feel as close as I’d like to be and I really don’t know what to do about it. Yesterday I attended church with my Pop-Pop and realized a lot of things about Christianity and some jealousy I had. I mean, they have a lot of stuff set out for them that I lost when I turned away from the church. They also have a lot of stuff I’m glad I left. And there’s a lot of stuff that I realize they have problems with that I still struggle with now.

For instance, Christians have a living tradition with a plethora of songs, music, and various ways of praising and ritual. Want a LOT of ritual? Be a Catholic! Need singing? Baptist! Liturgy? I actually have no idea! Yeah, I only know a couple of the stereotypes for a couple of denominations. The point here is, you can easily get community and music and song (did I mention I love singing for deity and that it kills me that I have nothing to sing for them?) and as a bonus there are instructions for life and such that are reasonably easy to understand much of the time. Not supreme ambiguity for how to live rightly. Then again I suppose that’s up for grabs in a lot of ways.

At least on the outside of it, being Christian is easy. A lot of the outer things are laid out for you. Of course, this means nothing for depth of spirituality or relationship with the Divine, but there’s already a framework for laypeople. Prayer for instance, since that’s the main thing on my mind. I learned how to pray at a young age, but it’s only now that I realize the limited type of prayer I was taught.

The main type of prayer I learned is petitionary prayer. I figured this stuff out yesterday because it was on my mind and I had just finished reading various people’s opinions on religion. This is the prayer where you’re asking for something. Money, healing, a job, blessings, help, etc; they all fall under petitions to the gods. This type of prayer is easy, it’s a request form basically. Maybe it has a loan clause where you offer something in return for the petition or the deity gives you a command or request in return for granting your petition. But the point is that anyone can do petitionary prayer, but, as someone said yesterday in my reading and conversations, that sort of prayer doesn’t really open the way for two way communication or lend itself to deepening the relationship.

Then there’s what I call praise prayer. This is the type where you’re offering praise and thanking the deity for anything and everything S/He has done for you. Just like any conversation and any praise, this can be anywhere between shallow and flattery to deep and sincere. I’m sure that they do like it, but again it doesn’t seem much of a way to get a dialogue going or necessarily deepen the relationship. I came to the realization last night that I really only know how to do these types of prayer. I mean, sure I’ve talked to my gods outside of praise and petitionary prayer before, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy at all, and often it’s been out of frustration that I feel lost and alone and uncared for. Frustrated tears and rescue operations don’t exactly encourage either.

This is part of my frustration. I don’t know how to just talk to Them and something I had as an epiphany earlier in the month is that I don’t know how to listen either. As much as Christianity lauds and encourages talking and getting close to God, they don’t teach it very well. Sure, you’re told to pray and read the Bible, but that doesn’t help a lot of people get close. It doesn’t tell them as much as they hope, it doesn’t make them feel connected and it doesn’t teach them how to connect or to listen. I think we can see this by the amount of people (me included) who lament over not literally hearing the gods they are trying to talk with. There are all sorts of reasons you may not literally hear your god, including the god not being very talkative to that just not being the best way to communicate. I have a quiet god, sometimes it is a little frustrating that He doesn’t just come out and yap at me for being a dork, or tell me to be patient cuz He heard me, or just saying “Stop worrying, I’m still here” or brb. But, I also know that may not be the best way to talk to me, along with the fact that He’s just the strong silent type.

Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t and don’t want to learn how to have a dialogue with Him or Set or Aset or Wepwawet. Dialogue and relationship isn’t always about literal talking, but that doesn’t mean I know how to expand that sort of thing. I honestly don’t know how. Keeping up ritual and offerings is one way, but as my experience in Christianity demonstrates, that may not help or fill the need I have and meet what I’m looking for. Honestly I don’t know what I’m looking for to a full extent, but I know that I didn’t leave Christianity to still be as distant from my gods as I was as a Christian. I want to be close, I want to have dialogue and a relationship with my deities. And I want to know they’re around somewhere.

When I was a kid I always wondered what God’s voice sounded like. Whenever the preachers would talk about how they talked to God and got an answer, or asked for His help and was told what to do and what to say, I always wondered about that. I knew to some degree that it was intuition while reading their Bible, but I wondered how much of His voice they heard? And I wondered what it sounded like. I wonder what my gods’ voices sound like. I wonder what it feels like to have that clear intuition and a close relationship. I wonder what it’s like to be able to talk and get a response back so clearly? I’m sure my doubts and anxiety has something to do with the blockage, and probably laziness and such. But still, I genuinely want to connect here, and I don’t know where to even begin.

*Initially I had wrote that “[they] have my mind a lot lately” instead of they have been on my mind and I noticed it to correct it later, but I think that’s also pretty accurate of a mistake too.

It’s Quiet…TOO Quiet

I’ve been out of work for about a week and a half now. I lost the case on less than credible reasoning and I’m still worried about the chibi. I was angry for a while, but I’m ok now, I’m just hoping and praying that he’ll be ok. Wanna know what part of the reason is that got me past the pissy stage? If you guessed it had something to do with Set, you’d be correct.

Now, I calmed down because Zolfyer is a very rational presence for me as well as through prayer and such. But the other day I was reading another blog, Per Ma: House of the Lion, and she was talking about Set. Now, it made me realize that Set has been rather quiet since I let Him in to my life (knock on wood, knock on wood, KNOCK ON WOOD) and something Shine said on her blog really struck me.

But I know I need to find some way to pull myself into better shape, to be strong, and to not give up even when things look bleak. I need to learn how to do what needs to be done, even if it’s unpopular, even if it’s difficult. This seems to me to be one of Set’s many realms. He didn’t give up until there was no other option, and even then, he won out in the end, in a way. After all, he’s one of the strongest fighters in Ra’s boat! Without him, A/pep would be even tougher to defeat.

Which just goes to show that you may not end up where you intend to be, but you could end up where you’re needed most. But you can’t give up.

The Lord of the Red Desert is rough around the edges, but dammit, he knows his stuff.

That second to last line was really striking though. It’s so regular and yet, it really broke through like striking a match in the dark. “You may not end up where you intend, but you could end up where you’re needed most.” The fact I was taken off the case right as the kid was starting to get confidence and openness and the reasons behind the removal weren’t very good, well there’s something going on here. It may not be what I expected and I may not like it now, but the fact the chibi is making progress may be a sign that he will be ok without me and that now it’s time for me to go help another child.

I don’t know, but I feel there’s something in store for me next. It’s too quiet, like wondering what toddlers are doing in the next room. There’s always something going on in that silence, the silence of a testing room, or hidden in the cold wind before a bad storm (although I have to say I never understood the “silence before the storm” metaphor; it’s hardly silent before a storm). That lightning hit something, even if you don’t hear any thunder.

For your enjoyment, one of my favorite songs, and one that I think both Set and Anpu can greatly appreciate, especially Set. It certainly inspires me, it’s one of the songs I blast on the rare occasion I can do it on my speakers. It’s beautiful and soulful and wraps itself around my mind. I may just blast it tomorrow.

A Little Day

So, I am officially 21! My birthday was the sixth, and it was quite nice. TB (Zolfyer for those who don’t know) came to see me and hung out for a the day. We had a very interesting day, he joined me in shrine and played with my tarot deck that day. I have no idea what he really felt about being in shrine besides being unsure. It was certainly unique trying to get him to keep the names and genders of my deities straight. I think he’s got it though. To be fair, Aset and Set can be confusing because of their similar names. I think Set likes him lol.

Anyway, the cards seemed to be very friendly to him. He asked a question and they answered quite straightforwardly, like, more than they answer me and I know my cards like me this time! He certainly liked them, though he’s still getting used to the idea of their meanings and putting each one together according to a spread. At a certain point he decided to use them to pose questions to Anpu, Set and Aset. Set, well He responded very snarkily. I was rollin when Zolfyer realized that Set was answering him sarcastically. It was funny XD

Anpu gave him a mixed answer, sort of an “I’m here, but I don’t (or won’t) answer that.” Aset was more straightforward, but She was also giving him a “it’s up to you” answer. Of the twelve cards he pulled, six were Major Arcana. He was asking if Christianity was still the right path for him. Set very clearly said “figure it out on your own!” and not very nicely XD Zolfyer thinks He’s a jerk, but it’s like, that’s so typical Set and it was funny lol

Today was nice as well. Went out for a date, had my first drink as a legal adult! It was tasty, a mango daiquiri. I also acquired new books (as if I need more right?), one is Lewellyn’s beginner scrying book (I know, I know, but not everything Lewellyn publishes is garbage), and one called The Secret Life of Plants. I love plants, so I figured, why not? It looks interesting at least, though my family is giving me WTF looks over it, especially since I spent nearly twenty dollars on it XD

Whatever, I will cultivate a relationship with plant spirits! They’re awesome after all. I’m also gonna see if I can get any results scrying. Tarot seems to be a bit tricky and touch and go, but I’m gonna keep practicing. I may start reading my book on clairsentience again. The trouble here is keeping consistent with things like meditation and visualization practice. Tends to be hard with others in the house who may be up or trying to sleep while you’re trying to get privacy. Still, mere excuses, I can do this!

Speaking of which, I had a mini epiphany last night. I was up trying to tarot communicate with Anpu. And I realized that I don’t know how to listen even though I’m trying very hard. It’s frustrating and enlightening to realize this. I’m not used to listening, both because I never knew what to listen for and didn’t practice. Maybe I didn’t practice because I didn’t know I needed to, there’s something action-oriented about Christianity and their approach to “listening” to God. There’s this whole thing about sitting still to listen, but you’re still not really told how to sit still or listen, and there’s this expectation that God will show His answer in actions and not necessarily in any personal communication. In fact, too personal or direct communication is treated with suspicion (it is in paganism too, but not to the same degree and for slightly different reasons).

I don’t know, I just realized that I’ve got quite a road ahead as a newbie. I don’t even know how to listen, much less anything else. *sigh* guess I’ll just keep trying eh?

I have to agree here, especially since I’ve heard people disparaging guys unfairly, based entirely on stereotypes. It isn’t fair or equal and makes men think all women, especially feminists are hateful and hypocritical. Feminism is supposed to be about equality right?

Breaking Away From Modern Feminism

There I was walking through the mall and I happened upon Ambercrombie store. The big poster thing at the door was all romantic and such, featuring a girl wearing a plaid shirt and some jeans being held in the arms of a faceless man, who thankfully is indeed wearing clothing:

I thought: “Hey look! They’ve changed their advertising! Good for them! Yet I walk just a little bit farther and find another Ambercrombie store sporting this picture:

Now is it just me, or does that look a little like she’s about to, I don’t know, ravish him or something? And not in a good way.

Come to find out, they have separate stores for the men’s clothing and the women’s clothing. Why? Space issues? Or maybe they just wanted to continue this stupid campaign of naked men but on a bigger scale. A cursory look inside showed more mostly naked…

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Ma’at and Isfet, Anpu and Set

So, last night while I was washing dishes at 4 am (don’t ask, nothing I say will justify it XD) I got into a train of thought that led to thinking how would I describe my religion, it’s tenets and basic concepts to my family? How would I describe Anpu so that I don’t get asked (again -_-) if I worship death now? And I came up with several things, which also lead to a great way to describe Set as well.

First thing was Anpu. Well, everyone knows He’s a funerary deity, a god of death. The Mummy franchise has made that common knowledge (as well as His Roman role as the enforcer of curses). But, that’s not all He is. It always baffles me how people can pigeonhole deities, even at the same time of espousing how versatile and helpful and multilayered their deity is. I mean, sure, for some people it’s out of innocent ignorance of how large and varied other deities are (can’t really get mad at someone who never learned those other facets) but still, if YHWH isn’t a one faceted deity, then neither is any other.

Anpu is more than just a death deity. In fact, considering His associations and jobs and how the Ancient Egyptians viewed death and life and the reasons they did various things when a person died, I’d say He is a life deity. The Ancient Egyptians did not worship death, they were unapologetic and enthusiastic lovers of life. Death was a transformation and they sought to make the afterlife as good, and preferably better, as life. Everything they did at funerals and tombs and after that was about promoting a great afterlife. Anpu was a part of all that, He heads that operation. He made hurt bodies whole so the person would not be maimed in the afterlife; He guarded and guided spirits through the Duat; He guarded hearts and helped a dead person reconnect with their heart; He is called The Lord of Life.

Anpu balances the Scales of Ma’at, He is called He Who Unites with Ma’at. How much can you say He is merely a deity of death when He is called Lord of Ma’at? Ma’at is just as much about life as death, because it is balance and you can only reach the afterlife when your heart is aligned with Ma’at. Anpu is a guardian deity, a guiding one. He is a patron of orphans and widows and the lost. And every follower I’ve talked to espouses how kind and calm He is, not only that but my experience shows this. Anpu is the big scary-looking bouncer in the corner who will bottle feed a kitten and play duck, duck, goose with four year olds, but is not opposed to knocking some unruly person over the head. As gentle and patient as He is, one has to remember He traipses through the Duat every day and that’s where lots of things, Apep included, live. He’s no pushover.

So, I worship Anpu, but I do not worship death. Quite frankly I find that to be rather silly, worshipping death. There’s nothing particularly worship-worthy about it. I can’t imagine asking that question even sounds right or makes sense. I suppose there are people out there who worship death, but I don’t. I worship a living god who is a shepherd of life. A god of the liminal, the between, a god of change and transformation. I worship a Lord of Life, and one who is with Ma’at.

Now, Ma’at. Truth, justice, balance, rightness, creation, “good” chaos. All of these things describe Ma’at, but it remains a concept just a little out of reach, just a little beyond our understanding as we are so removed from Ancient Egypt and understanding what they saw. I recently had a conversation with Aubs and Devo and others about Ma’at not being a peace and rainbow farts concept. Ie, Ma’at may be balance, truth and justice, but that doesn’t mean violence is not involved in getting it. Deities like Sekhmet and Set really personify this point as They both are known to use any means necessary, violence included, to bring things back into Ma’at.

Now, I rather like the summarised Shopping Cart metaphor, originally written by Darkhawk. It’s a great way to think of how Ma’at works realistically. If you’re not inclined to read those links, it goes a little like this: Everyone makes choices every day, including choosing not to choose. These choices affect yourself and other people, even if it doesn’t seem like it and those choices can either make things easier on yourself and others or harder. When you do things that contribute to Ma’at, everyone benefits and life is made easier.

The Shopping Cart metaphor illustrates this. Everyone knows how the system is supposed to work with shopping carts, they are conveniently placed at the front of the store, neat and ready for use. If everyone returns them properly, it is a self-sustaining wonder. Everyone knows that doesn’t happen of course, for a variety of reasons, but doing so helps the system to come closer to the ideal. Returning carts, straightening up carts in disarray, it all helps things go better.

Ma’at is very similar. Contributing to order helps everyone, makes life easier and is beautiful. It’s not always easy, or convenient, but it works. As an extension of considering it isn’t always easy, I want to comment on Ma’at and violence and “good” chaos. Yes, I believe in good chaos, though I put quotes around it because, well things may not always seem that way and a person’s perspective may affect what is “good” and what is “bad”. To start, the Ancient Egyptians thoroughly believed in using violence to promote Ma’at. They have several deities who are violent and willing to be violent to turn back isfet and chase away Apep.

Thing is, it doesn’t make sense for Ma’at to be all butterflies and unicorn farts (a favorite comparison on The Cauldron btw lol). Why? Because isfet is not nice, it is not calm and you can’t kill a Big Ass Demon Snake with cookies and cake. There are plenty of ancient scenes and artwork displaying slaying, the slaying of said giant evil snake Apep, enemies, other demons. Swords, spears, blood, body segments, violence all over the place. The promotion of Ma’at can’t be completely non-violent, because isfet is out for blood, it is destruction for destruction’s sake. It is the “bad chaos” that people fear, where things are destroyed and broken down and fall apart for literally no reason. There is no silver lining, no light at the end, it isn’t clearing the way for better things, it isn’t breaking things down to give new nourishment. Isfet is destruction and disaster for pain and suffering, it gets its kicks from being horrid and completely useless.

I thought of some examples for how violence, chaos and destruction can be used to restore ma’at. I’ll get to the one about chaos and destruction after speaking on isfet and Set. The example about violence actually comes from the Bible. The gospels of Matthew and John tell of Jesus driving out the marketers in the temple. I’ve heard people puzzling over this story, especially the version in John, where it says Jesus sat down and made a whip by hand. It took so long that he left the temple for the evening (that’s when he curses the unfruitful fig tree) and went back the next day, presumably with his whip, and drove everyone out of the temple. I’ve been part of conversations where people think Jesus lost his temper, and therefore sinned, but ya know, it seems to me like this is him using any means necessary to restore the temple to its proper order. He goes on to tell his disciples why he did that, because the temple is supposed to be holy and for worship, and it has been defiled and turned into a marketplace. So, he beats the shit out of people and restores the temple to a holy place, and stops the marketers from taking advantage of those who need offerings for the temple. He was restoring ma’at.

Jesus is often seen restoring ma’at, though this is the only example I can think of involving violence on his part. Though I will say, one could see his sending Legion into the herd of swine was one of those chaotic ways of restoring things. Set and Sekhmet are also deities of justice and will restore ma’at by all means necessary, whether that’s crafting a whip and overturning tables, or slaughtering the humans who plotted against the gods, or spearing Apep and tearing down corrupt dynasties.

Isfet is uncreation, which can be a little hard to understand. We think of regular destruction and breakdown as uncreation, but that’s not true uncreation. The laws of thermodynamics state that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed. Matter and energy are forms of each other. Isfet seeks to destroy everything, down to matter and energy. It wants to completely unmake the universe, down to obliterating particles and annihilating energy. Such complete and utter destruction is hard to truly grasp. I know I have a hard time really truly imagining it. The epitome of absolute nothingness, where nothing exists in any way, shape or form. No heat, no light, no space or time. Absolute zero, no potential for anything ever. That’s isfet, and that’s what isfet wants. That’s what is the complete opposite of ma’at, and that’s what all the gods and Kemetic followers seek to avoid. The Demon Snake is an agent of isfet, and it plans to start that destruction by consuming Ra and His solar barque when He travels through the Duat at night.

That’s where Set comes in. For a long time He was at the head of the barque. Set is the strongest of the gods, it is He, in many myths and artwork, that is keeping The Demon Snake from boarding the barque and killing Ra and the other deities and spirits on it. Set’s popularity in Egypt changed and waned in the later dynasties when Egypt was experiencing a lot of upheaval and invasion. Set became popular with foreigners and Egypt was xenophobic (unless you came to live there and became part of society, then you were considered Egyptian, perfect assimilation not necessary). Not liking the foreigners conquering their land, they started to disassociate with Set and consider Him, well, evil. Certainly the foreigners coming in with opinions on Set’s chaotic nature had something to do with it as well.

Most people today see any chaos as bad. Set is, by definition, a chaotic god. But He isn’t evil. Just, challenging. Chaos and destruction can be hard to accept and understand, especially when, at least at the time, they don’t see any rhyme or reason for it. This is where the example I mentioned earlier comes in. Everyone can agree that wildfires are chaos in motion right? Right. Fire is one of those things that is so helpful and useful and yet so destructive and violent. Most people see wildfires as very bad, especially in places that have homes. It’s understandable, fire is causing destruction, wreaking havoc. It seems to be killing plants and animals, threatening  human lives as well. Wildfires don’t seem to have anything good about them.

Alas, there are many creatures (mainly plants) that benefit massively from wildfires. Many species of plants in areas prone to wildfires actually need the fire. There are species that even make it easier and more likely for fires to start and spread. The fires are a part of their life cycle, not to mention that ash is very fertile, hence volcanic regions being highly fertile and colonized despite the danger. Even though wildfires are destructive and can be harmful, especially if they’re out of control, they are necessary and useful displays of chaos improving the world. By clearing away the old and dead and leaving fertility and potential behind, wildfires are an essential part of many ecosystems’ health and beauty.

Set is just like that. Of course, no one said chaos is easy to accept or work with. Just because you may actually see how the destruction is helpful and clearing away the old and dead to make room for and fertilize the new doesn’t make it any easier to be in it. I can’t imagine that those plants are ever totally happy about the fires. They know they need those fires, they may even be the ones who make it easier for fires to start and spread, but I bet they flinch and cringe as it starts and comes near. I bet it still hurts to be burned and broken away, or in the case of seeds that need fire to germinate, I bet it sucks to be sleeping and suddenly ablaze and cracked open, forced to grow or die.

But Set is like that. And ya know what? Anpu steps in I imagine. The fire is a painful change foisted by Set, encouraged and supported by Him, and you are transformed. And Anpu is a god of transformation and healing, you wonder if He comes in after the fires have passed and touches the black and ravaged soil. Does He touch those hurting seeds, those hurting plants to encourage them? To push them towards the healing that will lead to them growing stronger and healthier? He is a god of fertility as much as death. And let’s not forget Set. He’s rough, but He does care, deeply at that. I imagine He’s not in the business of tearing things apart and leaving you high and dry to your own devices, at least not all the time. And I’d bet money that bossy hurricane would rip the heavens asunder if you really needed Him to.

This is what comes to me while washing dishes at four am lol