Just another question, (sorry for so many)
How do people feel about being questioned about their Kemetic garments/jewlery/tatoos or bodily adornments? Have their ever been any issues at work or perhaps discomfort in wearing these religious symbols in public?
-D.
part of the senut ritual is purification, which usually involves a shower or bath and natron, a purifying agent, and purifying heka said aloud during the purification process.
Not trying to be cagy about what is actually done, but the full ritual can be found in the prayerbook written by Hemet (leader and founder of Kemetic Orthodoxy).
Padjaiemweru,
Got it, thank you!
So I donât currently have a Kemetic tattoo, but I do have a similar religious tattoo that has the same effect. (Plus I donât doubt for a second that the one I am planning wonât have the exact same reaction.)
I have a line in Hittite cuneiform running down the inside of my forearm. Itâs not uncommon that I will get asked about what it means, and since it is personal to my religious practice, itâs not something that I like to share. It has a lot of deeper context, so I donât share it outside of my direct circle. I am very uncomfortable when people ask about it, to the point where I have very cagey responses for stock questions. So âWhatâs that?â will get âItâs Hittite cuneiform.â, âWhat does it mean?â will get âItâs from a text I studied for a long time.â, and anything further than that would get âItâs personal.â which usually makes people stop.
I imagine the hieroglyphs I am planning to get will have a similar response. People get interested specifically in language they donât understand, which might invite additional questions. But I wouldnât want to explain what it means to have a line from A Dispute Between a Man and his Ba, for instance.
A lot of the time with stuff that ties into my religious experience I end up feeling like it is too personal to share. And that also might tie into the fact that I am very private with my religious beliefs in general. I certainly have signs and symbolsâ as an example, my work lanyard has two Aset-related pins on it âbut I donât advertise it. At most people will assume Iâm a history buff, which isnât wrong but also misses context.
That makes sense. A lot of people seem to respect Judeo-Christian symbols (at least within the U.S.) because that is the norm, and when it comes to Traditional African, or Eastern traditions images, and symbols can be exiticized, so I completely understand you wanting others to respect rather than interogate your religious wear.
Padjaiemweru,
Quick question, what did you mean exactly by Shemsu having an entirely different relationship with the Gods if their images were to be tattooed on the body?
-D.
For each person, it is different. I have none, so I canât speak from personal experience, but I have been part of conversations where it was described as basically always being in a temple to the god(s) depicted. One has to always be on their best behavior, cleanliness (not only physical, but spiritual and mental) at all times, etc.
Padjai
I see, thank you!
Upon reflection (and this is totally a different project than the one you are working on), Iâd argue that it is solely Christian symbols that are the norm. There is a separate conversation to be had about Jewish symbols in tattoos, which I am not qualified to speak on but that Iâve spoken about with my Jewish partner in the past when they got some themself. That certainly would be an interesting topic to explore another time.
I have an amulet of Sekhmet that I got (I believe) while I was taking the Beginnerâs Class or shortly thereafter, so Iâve had it for about 13 years, I think. Itâs sterling silver and about 2 inches tall, and looks like a miniature statue of Her standing. I also have Her tattooed on one arm and I have Bast tattooed on the other, as well as an ankh on my lower left leg and an udjat eye (with a catâs pupil in the eye) on my lower right leg. I havenât had the same experience with having the tattoos as others have described (that of feeling as though you are always in a temple or that you must always be on your best behavior) because I tend not to think about what tattoos are on my body; theyâre just part of me. I get that âalways in a templeâ feeling more when Iâm wearing the amulet because itâs a tangible object added to my body, the presence of which I can always feel. I donât have any ritual or dedicated clothing because I donât actually perform the Senut ritual; my shrine space is very informal. But everything I wear/have/do is very important to me
Once someone noticed me wearing an ankh and made a comment on it. Something along the lines âso many people wear faith jewellery, like your cross.â I didnât want to tell them it was an ankh and that I was pagan so I smiled and continued the conversation. It was funny to me in the moment and still is when I think about it. Other than that no one has noticed or asked what my jewellery means, though I rarely wear it.
I have one necklace that I wear for religious reasons:
Itâs significant to me in more than one way. First of all, it makes me think of Maâat, which is the foundation that everything is built on. Alternatively, the rising sun motif could also connect it to zep tepi, or to solar deities. The colors and design also makes me think of Shu-Anhur. We are currently in His year, so in this past year I have worn it mainly to give me a physical focus-object to connect with Anhur and remind me to think about those concepts, and try to learn from Him. (And if I wasnât wearing it for Anhur, I would wear it for Maâat for the same reasons.)
Originally, I only wore it during senut. But health problems have prevented me from doing senut as often as I used to, which means the necklace that was supposed to be a reminder has not had much opportunity to do its job. Itâs very easy for me to get caught up in day to day struggles and forget about things that are not in front of me⌠so now I wear it outside of senut as well.
And I sometimes wear a hair kerchief for the same reason as my necklace, to help me direct my focus to something or Someone specific. But I donât wear it regularly, just when I feel like it would be helpful.
For clothing, I have a set of whites, but they donât fit well, so I reserve those for major festivals, or occasions where the gods specifically want white. The rest of the time, I wear a pale green garment that is set aside for senut; I donât wear it for any other reason, so thatâs my regular senut clothing. If I had whites that fit better (hopefully soon) then I would wear them more often, but I think I would continue wearing the pale green as well.
thats so interesting, so off of that do you think you got your tattoos for Sekhmet and Bast, or more for yourself in showing that they are a part of your existence?
âThis perspective is also very personally relatable, I donât have any tattoos but I am always drawing symbols on myself with pen, and they seem to illuminate my existence/embelish my personality. Whereas if I am ever wearing a religious pendant or amulet it feels like the object has a life of its own that is being added to my life. Not sure if weâre interpreting this the same way though, so please feel free to correct me/ellaborate
Why did you not want to explain that it was an akh and that you were pagan? I can presume that people could have disrespectful or generally annoying responses, but Iâm intrigued as to what your reasoning was.
Kes, sorry to hear about the health issues! also that necklace is stunning.
Iâd say my tattoos were/are more for myself. I didnât really get a nudge from Sekhmet or Bast to get them, although They both seem fine with it. I wanted something showing my connection to Them which could never be lost or taken away. Theyâre my way of showing the world that I am devoted to Them. But as I said, the amulet I also wear does serve as a better physical reminder to myself that They are always with me (although itâs technically an amulet of Sekhmet, it represents both Sekhmet and Bast to me since They are so closely related).
Personally, itâs just because I like to keep my religion private. Iâve had some negative experiences around being open with religion, so even though I know that if I had corrected her she wouldnât have been upset, I didnât want to.
Thank you. Itâs from Temple of the Sun.
Just fyi, I donât think thatâs remotely boring
