Netemet Ankh Netemet Sed Festival
By dcorrell

Dramatis Personae:
Horus the Elder
Hathoor of Dendera
Four Doorkeepers.
Conspirators.
Sekhmet the Bloodthirsty Goddess.
Ra.
Ape of Thoth for Tahuti
Four Children of Horus

Horus: "A Feast for Fire and a Feast for Water!"
We are gathered together here tonight to Celebrate the Summer Solstice. As the Sun enters Cancer, Cardinal sign of Water, we are reminded of the Ancient Pilgrimage made by the Priestess of Hathoor as she yearly journeyed from Dendera to Edfu, where together with her Brother Horus they gave Homage to the Sun. Let the Ritual begin upon Holy Ground Let the Ape of Thoth Perform the Ritual proper to Invoke the Energies of the Aeon of Horus:

(Begin by performing V Reguli)


Act I. The Beautiful Sailing of Hathoor from Dendera.

Scene 1 Outside the Great Temple of the Goddess at Dendera.

First Devotee: Oh for the Great Day to finally arrive!
Second Devotee: Yea, they have been preparing in the Temple for weeks on end.
Third and Fourth Devotee: Let’s go to the Temple of the Great goddess!

The scene 2: A camp along the gently rising Nile.
 
Form Procession to greet and accompany the Golden Hathoor upon the waters,
Four Doorkeepers Emerge: the Priest carrying Fire (lantern), the Prophet carrying the incense (Frankincense), the bearer of the sacred writing (Book of Law) and the bearer of the Sacred Emblem (Stele).

The Four: It is She! Hathoor, the Eye of Ra, the Golden One! (Repeat 3x)
 
(Hathoor is Veiled in Light Radiant Gold seated in her Barque upon the waters)

Hathoor: Come with me my children into my barque the Mistress of Love. Together we will journey upon the mystical waters of the Nile to visit my Brother Horus in his Temple at Edfu.
(Help Goddess out of the Canoe)

All accompany the Goddess in procession as before cheering and brandishing weapons and leafy boughs.

All Chant and Drum: A KA DUA TUF UR BIU BI A'A CHEFU
DUDU NER AF AN NUTERU

(Procession winds from pool to Playhouse where all circle the campfire).


Act II. The Bloodthirsty Goddess.

Horus let us visit the Temple of Maat here in Karnak Let us pay homage to Sekhmet the bloodthirsty Lioness of Hathoor, the Eye of Ra.

Horus: Even at the beginning of time some conspired against Ra the Creator.

First Conspirator: Some Creator, Yeah! If I were Ra I'd ---
Second Conspirator: Yea this lousy creation!
Third and Fourth Conspirator: It’s so hot and now the waters are beginning to rise to flood again.

Ra: Send forth the Eye, Let the Lioness Sekhmet be powerful to chastise the insurgents!

Sekhmet: Let me go forth I will rend and devour all of Humanity! (She runs and wreaks havoc circling and slaying. (Participants fall down)

Ra: Woe is me before all of humanity is destroyed, Let the ground be covered with Red Beer, that Sekhmet might be decieved!
Sekhmet drinks of the beer and falls asleep.

Silently the Ape of Thoth splashes water upon her and leads her and procession to the Temple.

Horus: The Rite of the First Fruits of the Field
Let the Four Children of Horus fly to the Four Quarters that good fortune may be ours.
(Four children fly cackling forth north, east, west, south.)

All present offerings of Beer, Cakes, and the First Fruits of the Season:

All: Unto Nuit who opens the Waters and the Banks.

All move to the mound of Geb and make offerings.

Hail unto Geb. Great Cackler upon thy Mound at Creation.
 
Next Follows an explosion of sound as the procession finally arrives at the High Altar.

All: Joy Forever! Joy Forever!

(All sing, dance, and make merry. The Hymn to Hathoor is sung:)

Hymn to Hathoor

All Hail, Jubilation to you, O Golden One,
Sole ruler, Uraeus of the Supreme Lord himself!
Mysterious one who gives birth to the divine entities,
    forms the animals, models them as she pleases,
    fashions men---
O Mother!--- Luminous One who thrusts back the
    darkness, who illuminates every human
    creature with her rays,
Hail Great One of many names---
You from whom the divine entities come forth in this
    your name of Maat-Isis!
You who cause the throat to breathe, daughter of
    Ra, whom he spat forth from his mouth in this
    your name of Tefnut!
O Nuit who appeareth in your barque in this your
name of Maat!
O Venerable Mother, you who subdue your
    adversaries in this your name of Nekhebet!
O You-who-know-how-to-make-right-use-of-the-
    heart, you who triumph over your enemies in
    this your name of Sekhmet!
It is the Golden One--- the Lady of drunkenness, of
    music, of dance, of Frankincense, of the crown,
    of young women, whom men acclaim because
 they love her!
It is the Gold of the divine entities, who come forth at
    her season of Epiphi, the day of the
    new moon at the festival of `She is Delivered'---
Heaven makes merry, the Earth is full of gladness,
    the Castle of Horus rejoices.

Horus and Hathoor are united.

The Circle is disolved into Ecstasy.