Kemet Online: Followers of The Religion of Ancient Egypt: Wesir (Greek Osiris)

Hymns, Prayers, and Songs: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Lyric Poetry

Em hotep, everyone! <bow>

Wesir was the first Netjer I met on my journey to Kemetic Traditional Religion, and I didn’t know who He was. In my experience of Him, I could call him Wesir the Silent One, because He doesn’t speak—at least not to me. During all the months when He came to me in every dream and every meditation, I felt security in His presence, even while He was causing changes in me at a level deeper than I realized at the time. For some reason, I was willing to follow this Unknown One into the earth, no questions asked. But He didn’t speak.

Later on, when I found out that the One for whom I had been willingly lying down inside the earth was Wesir, a door opened for me into the Kemetic faith. Wesir was that door, and walking through it I was born into my true heritage.

Years later, at the Quest for Immortality exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum, we walked all naively into the first room—which was filled with open statues. The power of Sekhmet dropped us to our knees, right there in the milling crowd. Aset, Djehuty, Ma’at, Ptah, Yinepu—they were all there (in one room!), along with a spectacular statue the exhibit called “Osiris Resurrecting.” But I was drawn to a particular case and then rooted there before Wesir, quietly and beautifully standing with crossed arms holding crook and flail—the Silent One, looking forever into the eternal life to which we are born when we go to Him.

On the first day of the Unyear, Wesir’s birthday, when things in the world become fluid and unpredictable, it may be useful to consider Wesir’s calm strength and stability and to recall what the hymn tells us about our relationship with Him. He makes us a path to peace when we are “straightforward and true.” And it’s a good idea to make sure that we “do no evil thing twice.” That’s one of the attributes of our faith and our ancestors’ understanding of it that I love. We know we’ll do “evil things,” our heart will not always be pure—but if we learn not to do them twice, we are still on the path of peace. And when our hearts are weighed in the balance of Ma’at at the end of our journey on earth, we can make our confession honestly:

The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going forth by Day

In these times—as in all times, truth be told—it is impossible always to do no wrong, or to tell no lies. But like the hymnist, we can learn to do no evil thing twice. In Wesir’s calm silence we can keep our eyes on the straightforward path, lead where it may.

Kheperu! May it become!

--------------------
Rev Sedgwick Heskett, Hemet NebetHet-Nit and Amun
Heri Tep Hem Netjer Per Ankh
Per Ankh: The Traditional Religion of Ancient Egypt
http://www.per-ankh.org