Kemet Online: Followers of The Religion of Ancient Egypt: A new time, a new place

Em hotep! <bow>

It is almost two months since New Year, and we have cast out what we need to eliminate from our lives and the Temple as we cast the broken red clay pots into the river. Rev Renee and I, and Per Ankh, are in a new place, both literally and spiritually.

In mid-May, Rev Renee accepted a full-time tenure-track teaching position at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY; and at the beginning of July we moved from Racine, WI to Albany. That was not a lot of time to find a place to live, pack, and move; and, in fact, there are some loose ends still to tie up. Not to mention some boxes still to unpack and some things in those boxes still to find. But for the most part, we are settled in our new place, which is within walking distance of the campus. That is very handy, given the limited amount of parking available.

We moved during the inundation. As we drove from Wisconsin to New York with the cats in the back seat, the computers in the trunk, and a few changes of clothes tucked in wherever we could find a little room, we passed a number of towns under water. Heavy rains had resulted in extensive flooding—nothing like Hurricane Katrina, but still roads and communities under water. The drive took almost twice as long as anticipated, but both we and the moving van made it safely.

Of course, we have moved Per Ankh’s main shrine, Per Sekhmet, and re-established it here. Although this is an apartment and we had been living in a house, we have more room for the Temple and worship than we did before, and as Ra rises, His light shines into the Temple and the naos through east-facing windows. Very beautiful.

Many of you know what a long road it has been for Rev Renee and me to finish our degrees (whew!) and then for her to go on the (very limited) academic job market. So, although we are very busy getting settled and teaching (Rev Renee fulltime at St Rose, and I part-time there and online at a number of schools), we are entering into a stability for which we have been working for a long time. It is a new time for Per Ankh, marked by the turning-over-of-new-leaves of all the priests. Rev Renee and I have moved across country. As you probably know, Wab Andy has moved into a new home, and Wab Jen and her family will also be moving.

Everything is new. We are standing on the ben ben, rooting our Temple and our faith in the new earth rising from the waters. The fertile soil has been deposited, and new life is coming forth. The pace of Per Ankh’s growth has leveled out; and now we are in a much better position to keep up with that growth. Pretty soon Rev Renee and I may actually even have some money. LOL

All of this was symbolized vividly for me a couple of weekends ago, although at the time I wasn’t aware of it. Wab Andy was visiting, and we all participated in a half-day’s volunteer work organized by the College’s campus ministry. Along with a number of others, we picked vegetables for the regional food bank. We were in the turnip-thinning crew; and as we stepped into the field, we sank up to our ankles in mud. It sucked the shoes right off us, so we worked barefoot, gathering fat bunches of turnip greens for the food bank and making room for the turnip roots to grow big. The mud squished between our toes, and the sun warmed our bent-over bottoms. The waters had receded, and the harvest was abundant.

May we all move forward together into the place Netjer has been creating for us as Kemetics and for our faith. As we glance at where we came, we can see that all the detours and switchbacks and seeming wrong turns and delays have led us in a straight line to where Netjer has brought us. The path opens before us, and we can step forward onto it with confidence.

Kheperu! (May it become!)

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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