It was 2006 and the silence in the late-90s Impala was
stifling. The sun outside was beating down heat from above and the black tar
radiated the same from below. The ancient AC of the car struggled to keep up.
The sickly whirl of its fan was the only sound to cling to as I waited for her
response. My ostensibly liberal Christian co-worker seemed stunned.
Of all the
religions I could say she had not been prepared for me to say Kemetic and was
even less prepared for my brief explanation of what it was. It’s a modern faith
that reestablishes the worship of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. I told her
calmly. I didn’t say the word pagan but I could see it reflected in her eyes
nonetheless. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel and my first thought was
that I had just made this the most awkward Wal-mart supply run ever.
“Well then…” she said finally, taking a deep breath.
Then suddenly she filled the car with a spirited
football-game-style cry that is to this day the most startling yet soul-warming
reaction I’ve ever gotten to a declaration of my faith:
“GO RA!”
------
As I mentioned in the RPD post, I had known going into the
RPD that Set doesn’t come as a single parent. Though if you had given me a list
of all the Names ever known and asked me to circle the top ten most likely
Names to fill the space beside Him, I can honestly say that Ra would not have
been one of them. That may be because I haven’t had much in the way of contact
with Him, so I was entirely blind-sided by the revelation that He was my other
parent. But in the same instant as I was surprised something clicked into place
for me and I immediately recognized the inherent truth of that parentage. I’d
be lying if I said I’d even come close to unpacking what all of this means for
me, but at the moment, my reaction is about the same as my coworker’s reaction
in the story above.
It’s also a huge relief.
For years I’ve been alone with Set and while I love Him with
all my heart and soul and fully accept His influence in my life, Hemet (AUS)
was entirely correct when She speculated that the reason He is always one of
two when appearing as a parent might be because His energy needs to be balanced out. My
gut reaction to hearing that Ra was my other parent and being reminded by Hemet
(AUS) that they work well together—especially on the Night Boat in that hour
when the waxen one is slain—was that Ra would be the influence that reigned in,
commanded, and usefully directed the otherwise unbridled fury Set often
inspires in me.
Suddenly, Ra’s reflection starts to show in every moment of
control where I have successfully made good use of Set’s rebel spirit. He is
the one who has tempered my overconfidence and kept me from building stone
boats, so to speak. He is the one who has directed my occasional redness at
productive and ultimately necessary tasks. And when I start to think of Him as
the one directing my strength and fury and sense of justice, I also wonder if
this is where Sekhmet comes into the picture. Everywhere I turn, there are
connections. It’s a wonder I did not see them before.
I have much to meditate upon—a blessing given I am about to
spend a few hours enjoying the elegance and simplicity air-travel (I say that last
bit with extreme sarcasm, obviously). I will happily trade my usual
frustrations with contemplation. To that end, I’m leaving overly early and plan
to spend some time in a terminal today puzzling things out.
Safe travels to anyone else who’s flying, driving, sailing
or otherwise making pilgrimage or journey this weekend.
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