May Akhu Rubric

Approaching the Shrine:

Hail to you, O Beautiful King of the West!
See that I have come to you so that I might see your beauty,
So that I might serve you and restore your body.
I have come to you so that I might greet you daily as your son,
For I am your son, the Protector of his Father.

O He who causes all Good things to happen,
Allow me near to you, do not repulse me upon your path.
Betake yourself to me, draw near to me, and I shall draw near to you,
Turn to me, for I am your son, the one who attends to you.
As I turn to you, the one who attends to us all.
Turn to me for I am your son, I am Horus,
And I have come that I may perform these glorifications for you.

May you hear the sound of my voice with both of your ears,
and may it awaken your heart.
May it alight the ma’at that is in your heart upon this day.

*Step forward or open the shrine*

Awake in peace, Bull of the West, awake in peace.
Rise up and be full of life, for you are not dead.
Raise yourself up with both of your arms
and receive these bounties of yours that have been provided for you.
Betake yourself to me, be near to me, for I am your son Horus,
and I enclose you within the arms of your mother Nut,
So that you may be enduring.

Awake in peace, O Spirits of the West, awake in peace.
Rise up and be full of life, for you are not dead.
Raise yourself up with both of your arms
and receive these bounties of yours that have been provided for you.
Betake yourself to me, be near to me, for I am your son Horus,
and I enclose you within the arms of your mother Nut,
So that you may be enduring.

Purification of offering space:

*Take up water bowl/pitcher*

I bring you the water to purify your form.
With it, your head and your bones are reunited.
The evil against you disappears,
Your purification is the purification of the gods who purify Re.

*wet your finger and touch the icon*

O Osiris, the water protects your flesh.
I make your body healthy, I purify your limbs from evil

Presentation of Light:

The Eye of Horus comes to you
Intact and shining like Ra on the horizon.
The four torches go to your ka, O Osiris.
This torch is attracted to your ka, O Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners.
Like a moth to a flame, it cannot resist your presence.

*Light first wick*

This torch is your protection, O Lord of Ma’at
You are truly Enduring because of its protection.
It spreads its protection over you; it defeats all of your adversaries.
Truly, your adversaries are fallen.
Come to this Eye of Horus, Great Osiris.
Let its light renew your youth in peace.

It is Osiris who causes the torch to be bright for the potent Bas in the Duat.
May you make the living Ba of each-and-every Akh within your Domain
to be strong with their ka so that they will not be
repelled or turned back from the portals of the West.

*Light second wick*

This torch is your protection, O Spirits.
You are truly Enduring because of its protection.
It spreads its protection over you; it defeats all of your adversaries.
Truly, your adversaries are fallen.
Come to this Eye of Horus, O Numerous Akhu who reside in the Duat.
Come to this light and let it renew your youth in peace.

Through the powers of the Eye of Horus
Each and every akh in the Duat flourishes.
They are restored to their true shape and form
As sure as the sun crosses the sky every day.

Presentation of Libations:

This is your cold water, O my father!
This is your cold water, O Osiris!
Come to your son, come to this Horus;
See that I’ve brought it to you
So that your heart may be made glad by means of it;
I bring to you the Eye of Horus,
that your heart may be made glad by means of it.

*Pour the water into first cup or bowl*

O Osiris, take this Eye of Horus
Which has been given to you by your son
So that you may live in Eternity
Glorious and complete.

*Pour the water into second cup or bowl*

O Glorious Spirits, take this Eye of Horus
It parts your mouth so that you may you taste its taste
Accept this Eye so that you may live in Eternity
Glorious and complete.

Presentation of Offerings:

I am he who provides provisions, who makes fresh the sustenance of Osiris,
O Osiris, come to this your sustenance.
Come to these divinities which have been provided for you.

*place first offering*

As you are provided with a god’s-offering, these akhu are provided with bread.
You have come to your ba, Osiris, ba among the akhs,
in control of all that he sees, to whom the Ennead tend.
I have given you Horus’s eye, I have allotted it to you: may you endure because of it.

*place second offering*

O Glorious Akhu, stand up and receive this your bread from me.
O Great Spirits, I will be an attendant for you.
O Enduring Akhu, accept Horus’s eye, your bread-loaf, and eat.

Grow aroused, you Great Akhu
Take this Eye of Horus and become uplifted.
In your place of Completeness you do not hunger. You have no thirst.
Your contentment is all you know in the land of the Duat.
Your heart becomes awash with joy
And your hearts fill with ma’at.

Offering Ma’at:

Hail to you great spirits! Hail to you Foremost of the Westerners!
I have come to you on this day to restore your faculties and make you Whole.
I have given you your autonomy, your authority.
I bring to you your heart, as Horus brought the heart of his mother,
as Aset brought the heart of Horus.
Take this heart, this eye of Horus, allow it to part your lips.
It quenches your thirst, and rests firmly upon its seat.
Ma’at surrounds you, she envelopes you as a shroud, so that you are protected by ma’at always.

Ma’at is before you every day, like the daily rising of the sun.
Your heart is glad when she appears before you.
Ma’at has come so that she may be with you.
Ma’at is in every place that is yours,
So that you may rest upon her.
Ma’at has taken her position within your shrine.
Thoth, the One who is Great of Magic, makes protection for you
And overthrows your enemies.
Ma’at is established throughout the Duat, truly twice established.
May your contentment with her wash over you.
She resides in your heart for eternity.

O Great Akhu, become clean through Horus’s Eye and
Make your bones firm.
O Great Akhu, become Whole through Horus’s Eye and
All of your obstructions will be removed through Osiris’s two kites.

O you akhu, you shall be able to go forth into the day because of what I have done for you.
You shall have power in your legs in the morning.
You shall have power in your legs in the evening.
You shall have power in your legs at the lamp lighting.
You shall have power in your legs at all seasons,
at any hour in which you desire to go forth.
You shall have power in your legs in every tribunal, in every court.
You shall have power in your legs in every place which your heart desires to go forth at any time.

You shall have power in your body so that you may ascend to Ra,
to bask in the presence of the Great God as the Lord of Abydos does.
You shall not perish. You shall live and have permanence in your presence.

You will not perish, your ka will not perish
As Osiris lives, you shall live.
As you live, Osiris lives.

All of the residents of the Duat fills their body with magic and quenches their thirst with it.
They wash away their dust and find their place amidst the web of life.
Each Gleaming Spirit and each NTR of the Duat feel contentment with their place within the Whole.
The Whole of the Duat lives in harmony, a million times effective.

Reversionn of offerings:

O Great Bull of the West, your enemies withdraw from you.
Heru has turned himself to his Eye in its name of Reversion-of-Offerings.
These your divine offerings revert;
They revert to your servant for life, stability, health and joy.
So that you may flourish for eternity.

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Year of Rites: Week Two

So I didn’t have much go on with either of this weeks rites, and so I decided to just throw both of them into one post.

Monthly Ma’at

Honestly, the biggest piece of work that I put into this month’s Monthly Ma’at was the creation of the ma’at card that I will be using in probably every Monthly Ma’at rite moving forward. I based it off of the NTRW picture that I made for this year’s shrine, and I think it turned out alright.

I definitely slacked off with all of the other offerings, though. If there was a consistent theme going through this week’s rites its that I need to make sure I’m planning out offerings when I planning out my rubrics. For both rites I found myself thinking that I could totally throw something together from what was in the kitchen, and both times I was disappointed with what I found.

So moving forward, I need to plan my offerings a bit more thoroughly.

This rite went fairly smoothly for me. I found that I felt like I was doing something over on the astral when performing it here, but nothing too earth shattering or exciting to report overall.

Akhu Veneration

I have found that some people find my rites long, and then I went and made the akhu ritual, which is by far the longest rite I’ve concocted so far (yeah, it’s technically longer than the new years rubric.)  I felt a little bad, but I found a copy of the Pyramid Texts laying around in my documents, and found it to be a treasure trove of lines to use for this specific set of rites, and I kinda got carried away. Though if it makes anyone feel better, I have to write each of these rites down before performing them, so I’m really only punishing myself when I make things long.

I chose to use a different O statue this time. I’ve had this one tucked away in my house for a couple of years now. He sits on a shelf, watching over things tied to dead folks. So I felt like he might be a good choice to use for the Akhu rites, since my regular O statue is kinda skeeving me out right now (hahahahahahaaaaa……..)

Like with the Monthly Ma’at, I failed to properly source out offerings for this, and I ended up having to go to the store specifically to get something of comparable size/value to use for this ritual.

I found out when I went to eat them that they weren’t that good, but an effort was made.

And thus concludes week 2. Next week is the propitiation, so let’s hope I do a better job nailing down offerings for that.

See what other people did this week:

• 365Ritual, days 7 & 8
• Jan Ma’at Rite
• Monthly Ma’at Altar
• Akhu Altar

 

Akhu Ritual Rubric

For January’s akhu ritual, I will be focusing on Osiris, since he has many direct ties to the state of the Duat and the inhabitants therein. You could potentially swap O’s parts out for another deity, but it might be weird. If you don’t happen to have an Osiris icon, you could use a 2D image of him, you could write his name on a sheet of paper, or use a monitor or tablet to hold his image for you while you do your rites.

I will also be aiming this towards the akhu as a whole that reside within the Duat. This could be modified to reflect on a singular Akh, if you’d prefer. I will be created akh-specific rites later in the year.

Because of this dual focus, there will be doubles of nearly everything in this rite:

• A double-wicked candle. If you don’t have access to one, you could use two separate candles (or lights) or you could light a singular candle twice.
• Two libation cups, one for O, one for the Akhu.
• Two offerings of similar or equal weight and quantity (aka don’t give either group more than the other. Ideally, give two of the same or similar things). These offerings can be on separate plates, or on one plate.

Approaching the Shrine:

Awake in peace, Bull of the West, awake in peace.
I come to you, your servant, your son, I come to you.
Your beautiful scent, it calls me forward.
And upon you filling my nostrils
I, your servant, your son, I come to you.
I have made my way and I enter into your presence.
I am one of you.
Do not repulse me on the god’s path.
My feet are not impeded, I am not turned back from the god’s place.
I have looked upon you. I know you.
Your two uraei have enclosed me.
I have entered this place with ma’at in my heart
In order to honor each and every Akh in the Duat upon this day.

*Step forward, or open the shrine, depending on your setup*

I open your temple. I come to you.
Your warmth and beauty surrounds me as I enter. I am not repulsed.
Behold, I have come to you to offer Ma’at,
to make sound the Eye for its lord.

Presentation of Light:

The torch comes to your ka, O Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners.
Here comes he who promises the night after the day;
Here comes the two sisters from Ra;
Here comes she who was manifested in Abdju.
For I have caused it to come to you.
Even the Eye of Horus comes to you
Because I have made it so.

*Light first wick*

Come to this Eye of Horus, Great Osiris.
Let its light renew your youth in peace.

*Light second wick*

Come to this Eye of Horus, O Numerous Akhu who reside in the Duat.
Come to this light and let it renew your youth in peace.

The Eye of Horus is your protection, O Weary One.
It spreads its protection over you; it defeats all of your adversaries.
Truly, your adversaries are fallen.

The Eye of Horus is your protection, O Akhu.
It spreads its protection over you; it defeats all of your adversaries.
Truly, your adversaries are fallen.

The Eye of Horus comes intact and shining
like Ra on the horizon.
The four torches go to your ka, O Osiris.
The four torches are your protection, O Lord of Ma’at
You are truly Enduring because of their protection.

It is Osiris who causes a torch to be bright for the potent Bas in the Duat.
May you make the living Ba of each and every Akh within your Domain
to be strong with their torch so that they will not be
repelled or turned back from the portals of the West.

Through your Steadfastness and Stability,
Each and every akh in your Domain flourishes.
They are restored to their true shape and form
As sure as the sun crosses the sky every day.

Purification of offering space:

*Take up water bowl/pitcher*

O water, may you remove all evil,
I give you essential water, O Lord of Eternity, a tide in your time.
I bring the flood waters to purify your sanctuary.
I bring you the flood waters to purify your temple
and your statue in your place.

*wet your finger and touch the four sides of your shrine, offering table or plate, etc.*

O Osiris, your altar is cleansed by the water;
Your altar is purified by the incense;
You are cleansed by Horus;
You are purified by Thoth.
Water invigorates your body;
It is I, your servant,
who comes to you in the palace where you reside.

Presentation of Libations:

These your cool waters, O Osiris
have come from your son, Horus.
I have come to you having gotten Horus’s eye,
So that your heart may become cool with it;
I have gotten it under your feet.
Accept the outflow that comes from you:
So that your heart will not become weary.

*Pour the water into first cup or bowl*

This water is the Eye of Horus,
take it to your countenance,
that it may brighten your face.

O Osiris, take this Eye of Horus
Which has been given to you by your son
So that you may live in Eternity
Glorious and pure.

*Pour the water into second cup or bowl*

O Glorious Spirits, take this Eye of Horus
It parts your mouth so that you may you taste its taste
Accept this Eye so that you may live in Eternity
Glorious and pure.

Presentation of Offerings:

O Lord of Rosetjau, stand up and sit down to a thousand of bread,
a thousand of beer, roast meat, your rib-meat from the slaughterhouse, “pulled” bread from the broadhall.

*place first offering*

As you are provided with a god’s-offering, these akhu are provided with bread.
You have come to your ba, Osiris, ba among the akhs,
in control of all that he sees, whom the Ennead tend in the Official’s Enclosure.
I have given you Horus’s eye, I have allotted it to you: may it endure for you with you.

*place second offering*

O Glorious Akhu, stand up and receive this your bread from me.
O Great Spirits, I will be an attendant for you.
O Enduring Akhu, accept Horus’s eye, your bread-loaf, and eat.

As everything is for the body of Osiris,
let everything be for the bodies of the Blessed Dead.

Grow aroused, you Great Akhu
Take this Eye of Horus and become uplifted.
In your place of Completeness you do not hunger. You have no thirst.
Your contentment is all you know in the land of the Duat.
Your heart becomes awash with joy
And your hearts fill with ma’at.

As you take in the Eye of Horus
You shall become as complete as every NTR:
your head as Horus of the Duat—an Imperishable Star;
your face as Eyes-Forward—an Imperishable Star;
your ears Atum’s twins—an Imperishable Star;
your eyes Atum’s twins—an Imperishable Star;
your nose as the Jackal—an Imperishable Star;
your teeth Sopdu—an Imperishable Star;
your arms Hapi and Duamutef—when you demand to go up to the sky, you go up;
your legs Imseti and Qebehsenuef—when you demand to go down to the undersky, you go down;
your limbs Atum’s twins—an Imperishable Star.

O Great Akhu, become clean through Horus’s Eye and
Make your bones firm.
O Great Akhu, become Whole through Horus’s Eye and
All of your obstructions will be removed through Osiris’s two kites.

You will not perish, your ka will not perish
As Osiris lives, you shall live.
As you live, Osiris lives.

Sun and Thoth, take each and every akh with you,
that they may eat of what you eat of,
that they may drink of what you drink of,
that they may live on what you live on,
that they may sit where you sit,
that they may grow powerful from what you grow powerful from,
that they may sail in what you sail in.
The booth of each and every akh is plaited of reeds;
the flood of each and every akh is in the Marsh of Offerings;
their feasts are among you, gods;
the water of each and every akh is wine, like the Sun.
They will circumnavigate the sky like the Sun,
They shall course the sky like Thoth.
And both akhu and NTRW shall live in peace in the Duat.
Whole and Complete. A million times effective.

Reversionn of offerings:

O Great Bull of the Wesr, your enemies withdraw from you.
Heru has turned himself to his Eye in its name of Reversion-of-Offerings.
These your divine offerings revert;
They revert to your servant for life, stability, health and joy.
So that you may flourish for eternity.

 

All Souls 2013

I was lucky enough to be able to go to this year’s All Souls Procession down in Tucson. The All Souls Procession is a local event that occurs every year around Dia de los Muertos and All Saints Day and is geared to help people honor their ancestors, family and community. When I go, I go walk with a local Taiko group that likes to utilize elements from Japan’s Obon celebrations- most notably, Ondo dancing.

Much like the last time that I went, I stared at my prayer form for quite a while before I could even begin to figure out what to write on it. In an effort to get inspiration, I placed it in front of the shrine with some offerings for the gods; which proved ineffective for inspiration. But at least I got their blessing in a way.

I decided to go a different route instead. I decided that I would look at the past year, as though I had gone to All Souls last year, and reflect on how things had changed. This last year has been an adventure and many things have occurred and transformed. Some for the better, some for the worse. I mused on it for a while and ended up writing a short series of statements on my prayer form and folded it into a heart- a double edged symbol for me for the heart represents a lot of my astral work, and its reflection – balls – is a main symbol for Set.

Unlike my last prayer form, which focused heavily on purging the pain from my system and finding some sense of foundation in my crumbling life, this year’s prayer form focused about celebrating the fact that I’m still standing. I have been monitoring the anger and pain I feel for a while now, and I knew that I would be a fool to think that this one ceremony/event would be enough to purge that anger and pain out of me. So instead of even attempting to figure that out, I opted for the latter- focusing on what I’ve got left. While its true that my life has crumbled significantly in the last year, what has managed to survive is beautiful indeed, and I am very grateful that these people and things are still with me even now.

Its worth cherishing and remembering daily. I wanted to really embrace that.

Also like last time, I didn’t experience some sort of earth shattering mind breaking epiphany. However, the event was much more organized and more enjoyable (to me) than the last time I went. We were able to give our dancers enough space to move freely, and the crowd that lined the streets was very supportive and the whole vibe throughout the procession was better. In addition to this, the weather was awesome.

As I stood around waiting for the procession to start (which is about 2 hours of killing time) I listened to the DJ talk about the nature of the Procession. He discussed repeatedly about how the Procession is about experience. You’re there to be in the moment and to be a part of the gathering around you. It’s not about being a spectator or watching from being a camera lens (a problem that I have). To keep true to the nature of that mentality, I didn’t get very many photos. However, you can take a look at the All Souls FB Page, Tumblr, more Tumblr, or some news footage to see some of the variety of costumes and floats.

Much like with the Obon dances I participated in a few years back, this year’s Procession felt very much like I was a part of something more. I felt more connected with the people around me, with the community that came out to watch us, as well as with the other dancers. This year I didn’t stay for the finale of the Urn burning. I was too tired and had to drive back to Phoenix that same night so I decided to leave early. However, I don’t feel like my experience was any less for not staying. I knew that my Prayer Form would be burned in the urn and that I felt secure in my gratitude about what I still had in my life- my friends and family that are still standing with me despite the past year of turmoil.

And that is enough for me.

Relevant Posts:

• All Souls 2011
• All Souls Procession FB Page
• All Souls Website