Em hotep. My name is Suren Oganessian, I’m very pleased and honored to be here, thank you for accepting me. I was born in California, in the United States, and currently reside in Florida. I recently took on the craft name Siamanto the Foreigner, after a famous Armenian poet who was a pagan. You can call me by either Suren or Siamanto. I realize I’ll have to take on an Egyptian name at some point, but I have yet to settle on one.
I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I was 11 years old, especially after a school field trip to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. I remember being so sad learning that the Egyptians no longer followed their Gods, but wondering if there was anyone in the present who still followed them. My interest ebbed and flowed over the ensuing teenage years but I never strayed far from the Netjeru, and began to follow them fully after realizing that there were modern pagans, leaving Christianity and adopting Kemetic Wicca. I grew from there, studied the pantheon of my Armenian ancestors, and began to follow my own polytheistic path. In my mid-30s I had a severe existential crisis and was in a very dark nihilistic place, until I felt the rather unexpected call of Sutekh. He helped me pull myself put of that abyss, and ever since, I have followed the Netjeru with a renewed enthusiasm. I feel like following the path of the Netjeru is my calling now.
Iwy Em Hotep ( Welcome ), Suren!
We are all excited here, I hope you enjoy the beginner classes I was also saved by Seth, I remember how I felt in a hot desert and on fire every time he appeared…haha
It is a fairly common question that people ask, whether there is anyone who worships the ancient gods…the good news is, there are!
Set is certainly a force to be reckoned with, He is powerful, and He takes no half-steps. He can be a great ally, but know His efforts to effect change are going to be BIG
Em hotep Suren! So good to meet you and look forward to learning with you in the Beginners course. One of my clearest childhood memories is being taken to a natural history museum by my mother and feeling awe, and honestly a little apprehension, in the Egyptian exhibit. I have not had a lifelong fascination with Egypt, but images/ideas always seem to emerge. Thank you for sharing - and I am happy that a call found you at a difficult time.
Em hotep and welcome! I am also very close to Set. I want to say that you don’t have to take on a kemetic name - many people choose one, or were given one as part of the Shemsu naming ritual which is not currently performed after the reorganization, but it’s not mandatory and doesn’t affect your standing or ability to belong in the temple in any way!
Hello fellow Setian. When I started to envision my depression as the Chaos Serpent, Set taught me that I need to fight it instead of giving in to its hypnotic gaze.
Em hotep, Reverend Padjaiemweru. Thank you very much, as well as the other shemsu, for accepting me to be here.
Set has been a wonderful ally. I ought to have been following Him a lot sooner really, I suppose I was led astray by what the mainstream has to say about Him. But the Pyramid Texts paint Him in a more benevolent light.
Thank you very much for your find words, Nana. I do have some mixed feelings about artifacts being taken out of Egypt or their country of origin and placed in a museum, but on the bright side it does do a lot to spread knowledge and immerse one in the past. Those artifacts carry an energy with them.
Thank you for the information, Setjezusenu. I may stick with Siamanto then. It is kind of an ancestral name. I like to follow a path that is a combination of Kemeticism and Armenian paganism, I don’t think they contradict each other much when you boil it down to their philosophy.
Uma vez ele me deu um dilema, espero que possa ajudá-lo: as melhores batalhas são aquelas que vencemos com cuidado, esmague Isfet antes que ele acabe com você. I also used to put a lot of orange juice on my altar, or drink it frequently…I discovered a while later that he loved it very much. It’s like giving candy to a child.
My name is Luna. I’m 37, from the US. I’ve been interested in for a decade and started practicing almost 2 years ago. Nice to be part of the class to continue my journey.
I’m having a little difficulty getting on the the discord server. I’m mostly mobile so any help getting on there would be helpful!
I have trouble with Discord too. But you can access the chat through the browser too from what I understand. Hope to see you in class today. Here is the link.
I share your mixed feelings about museums (and zoos) - at least some museums openly discuss their histories and how objects came to enter their collections. Casts of architectural elements or artifacts are an interesting option - I’ve never seen them, but a British museum took casts of the Easter Island heads and shipped them back to their collection to share with the community and researchers.
I was also saved by Seth, I remember how I felt in a hot desert and on fire every time he appeared…haha