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Post by ShonenSenshiDave on Oct 31, 2003 6:46:00 GMT -5
The Book of the Dead (Egyptian/Kemetic) Greek Religion, Walter Burkert (Hellenic) Athenian Popular Religion, Mikalson (Hellenic) The Eddas (Norse/Asatru)
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Post by Cyberpaladin85 on Nov 1, 2003 20:43:59 GMT -5
Hey, a place of Kemetic worship is very close to my hometown, the San Francisco Bay Area! By any chance, do any of you guys know of its' near exact location?
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 1, 2003 22:14:42 GMT -5
SSD and I are in Pennsylvania....so no clue on our parts. Do you know the exact name of the place that you can look it up on the internet?
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Post by Cyberpaladin85 on Nov 1, 2003 22:55:28 GMT -5
It's called Per Ankh.
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 1, 2003 23:00:48 GMT -5
Here's what I found on them......but I don't really know about the organization, so can neither endorse it, or warn against it.....that will be your choice CP. www.per-ankh.org/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Per Ankh is a sisterhood of temples dedicated to the practice of the Kemetic religion (Ancient Egyptian) in the modern world. We are dedicated to the worship of the Netjeru (Ancient Egyptian gods), keeping to and upholding ma'at, and helping to nurture a Kemetic community. As a Sisterhood of Temples, we stand in community with the natural world and its cycles, and our ancestors--those who came before us and those who will come after we die. Community is part of how we worship, and how we participate with Netjer, as well as one another, to create and re-create our world and ourselves. What you will find here is a place for your participation in this process of worshiping, living, learning sharing, and serving that is part of our Traditional Religion of Ancient Egypt (Kemetic Faith). Per Ankh is a non-profit organization incorporated in Wisconsin with corporate offices in California that offers workshops, classes, and lectures in the Kemetic religion, sponsors KemetOnline, and provides additional training that can lead to ordination through the House of Life Seminary. Email Address: perankh@per-ankh.org
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Post by Cyberpaladin85 on Nov 1, 2003 23:19:06 GMT -5
Thanks for the link. Interestingly, they don't give the exact location of their temple in the SF Bay Area. Any ideas on how I can find it?
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 1, 2003 23:36:52 GMT -5
I just modified my post on Per Ankh, and put their email address at the bottom of the information......or you can always try telephone information.
I see that SSD posted "The Book of the Dead", and I would only recommend this book if you are seriously upon the Kemetic path, as it is a hard read, IMHO.
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 2, 2003 2:29:07 GMT -5
I have a "Divinity Readings" thread here in General Chat, but I was wondering if anyone else does readings?
What tools do you normally use?
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Post by ShonenSenshiDave on Nov 2, 2003 8:21:41 GMT -5
I see that SSD posted "The Book of the Dead", and I would only recommend this book if you are seriously upon the Kemetic path, as it is a hard read, IMHO. Yes, but as we Recons like to remind people, we are a religion with homework! The Iliad, Eddas, the Book of the Dead... when you are trying to take an ancient religion and bring it inot modern times, some hard reading is required... look at all the book I have just to put together a solid Hellenic ritual. And that's not even counting the number of extra books I have to read for the Clergy program through Hellenion!
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Post by RowanMoonWynd on Nov 2, 2003 13:07:21 GMT -5
I have a "Divinity Readings" thread here in General Chat, but I was wondering if anyone else does readings? What tools do you normally use? I use Tarot cards and Rune stones. They usually work pretty good for me, although I just mainly use them for myself. I have done readings for people in the past and it always seems to work then to. For example, The Tarot foretold of my step-mom and dad's divorce, she didn't believe me because they had been married for almost 25 year, but within two years of the reading..........divorce.........and she was the one that filed!
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 2, 2003 23:25:56 GMT -5
Introduction to Runes
Runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet, used for writing, divination and magick. They were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, the British Isles, and Iceland from about 100 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E. Runic inscriptions of great age have even been found in North America, supporting stories that the Vikings arrived in the Americas long before Columbus.
Tacitus, in Chapter X of his Germania, describes a form of divination used by Germanic tribes:
"To divination and casting of lots, they pay attention beyond any other people. Their method of casting lots is a simple one: they cut a branch from a fruit-bearing tree and divide it into small pieces which they mark with certain distinctive signs and scatter at random onto a white cloth. Then, the priest of the community if the lots are consulted publicly, or the father of the family if it is done privately, after invoking the gods and with eyes raised to heaven, picks up three pieces, one at a time, and interprets them according to the signs previously marked upon them." I've been working with Runes since 1994, when I was introduced to their use at a family reunion. I'm of Norse heritage. I believe that this is why I found a natural affinity to runes, although one certainly does not need to be Scandinavian to use them.
Runes are an oracle from which one seeks advice. They work best if you detail your current circumstances and then ask a specific question. Rune readings are sometimes obscure. They hint toward answers, but you have to figure out the details. This is when the rune casters intuition becomes paramount. Some times the Runes "sing" to me, and their meaning becomes instantly clear.
Runic divination or "rune casting" is not "fortunetelling" in the sense that one actually sees the future. Instead, runes give one a means of analyzing the path that one is on and a likely outcome. The future is not fixed. It changes with everything one does. If one does not like the prediction, one can always change paths.
Since ancient times, runes have been used for divination and magic, in addition to writing. The word "rune" actually means mystery, secret or whisper. Each rune has esoteric meanings and properties associated with it, beyond its mundane meaning and phonetic value. Each translates into a word or a phrase signifying concepts important to the early peoples who used them, representing the forces of nature and mind. Each rune has a story attached to it, a relationship to a Norse God.
Odin, the Norse High God of the Aesir, hung from the world tree, Yggdrasil, impaled on his own spear, for nine days and nights in order to gain the knowledge of runes. When the runes appeared below him, he reached down and took them up, and the runic knowledge gave him power . He later passed on this knowledge to the Vanir goddess Freya. She, in turn, taught him the magic of seidr. Heimdall, the god who guarded the Rainbow Bridge, taught the runes to mankind.
Runic alphabets first appeared among German tribes in central and eastern Europe. Some runes symbols are likely to have been acquired from other alphabets, such as the Greek, Etruscan, and the Early Roman. The runes were made of straight lines to make the characters suitable for cutting into wood or stone. The earliest runic inscriptions on stone are dated to the late 3rd century AD, although it is probable that runic alphabets had been in use for some centuries before.
The Old Germanic Runic alphabet or "Elder Futhark" contains 24 runes. The first six runes of the alphabet spell out the word "FUTHARK". As the runes spread northwards into Scandinavia, some rune symbols were dropped and the alphabet was reduced to only 16 runes. Between 400 and 600 AD, three Germanic tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, invaded Britain. They brought the runes with them. The forms of several of the runes changed, notably the runes for A/O, C/K, H, J, S, and Ng. Also, changes in the language led to nine runes being added to the alphabet to compensate for the extra sounds, and several runes were given different corresponding letters. This alphabet, expanded to 33 symbols, has become known as the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. The rune names themselves have been passed down relatively intact. Although no manuscript exists listing the names of the older, Germanic runes, the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian rune poems agree to such an extent that their common origin can be deduced. Here you can see number of Runic Scripts.
The Runes are divided into three Aettir or groups of eight. D. J. Cooper discusses the significance of the Aettir in understanding the runes and using them in magick.
On the other pages of this website you'll find information on rune casting, making a rune set, rune magick, recommended reading, etc. These pages are directed to the curious, the beginning runester, and the runemaster.
One who aspires to become adept with runes must have some knowledge of the mythology, history, and culture of ancient Europe and Scandinavia. The kenning of runelore is inextricably dependent upon these. Much of what you find here will merely point you in the right direction. The rest is up to you. Delve as lightly or as deeply as you wish. I hope you fall in love with runes as I have.
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Post by khyron1144 on Nov 3, 2003 19:58:13 GMT -5
I accidentally stumbled onto this thread while checking up on two of my own. I found it interesting enough that I thought I would say a few things.
First off, I must say I am not a Pagan, although I am equally also not a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, or Rooster Worshipper. All I am is theistic in a week vague sort of way (I know there's something out there bigger than me; I just don't know if it likes to be called God, Jesus, JHVH, Allah, Brahmin, the Tao, The Horned God, The Goddess, Cthulhu, or Fred).
I was brought up mainy Christian with some Native American influence (I've been through a sweat lodge and I know what smudging is about).
Lately I have been doing some volunteer wok for a pagan lady who is starting a healing and teaching sanctuary down the road from where I live. I rake leaves, help watch her two year-old daughter, print brochures on her computer, move and set up chairs, and whatever other way she can find to make me useful. In exchange, I get to attend some classes and will have a sort of job reference to put on my resume (I'm a 22 year-old college drop out looking for my first real job, anything to make my resume look good is a Gods-send).
I attended a Samhain ritual/ party at her place on Friday, and I plan on attending a Norse Myth and Magic class there on Sunday.
Now here's a question: Could somebody point me towards some material regarding religious Taoism? I read the Tao Te Ching of Lao-tsu a while back and find philosophical Taoism appealing. It sort of more closely fits waht I already think than most other philosophical systems, and I am curious about how Taosim is practiced as a religion.
Question number two: If so many of these words (just to give two from my own post, Samhain and Tao) are transliterated as well as translated, why aren't they spelled more phonetically?
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Post by LadyWinterWolf on Nov 3, 2003 20:07:30 GMT -5
Question 1 : Taoism TAOISM. Taoism is not a religion, nor a philosophy. ... But the original source of Taoism is said to be the ancient I Ching, The Book Of Changes. ... Description: Explanation of Taoism as the way. Covers both ancient and modern Taoism. Category: Society > Religion and Spirituality > Taoism > Articles www.crystalinks.com/taoism.html
Question 2 : I'm clueless on that one...sorry.
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Post by khyron1144 on Nov 3, 2003 21:12:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the link. It is of some help. The lead in quote you posted was slightly misleading. Here's a fuller version of that quote:
Here's why it appeals to me. This particular quote was drawn from the same site:
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Post by khyron1144 on Nov 3, 2003 21:22:52 GMT -5
I see that SSD posted "The Book of the Dead", and I would only recommend this book if you are seriously upon the Kemetic path, as it is a hard read, IMHO. I have to say that the easiness of the read of any ancient wisdom text is dependant largely on the particular translation you're reading unless you're actually reading it in the original language (in which case, you are very talented and a very dedicated student too). I bought a cheap Dover Press edition of the Tao Te Ching that was a reprint of an old Oxford University Press edition of the book from about 1900. The language was so clunky that I never made it all the way through. I found a version translated by Thomas Cleary, whose translation of the Dhammapada I had previously read. That one was sheer joy to read.
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