Happy Yule
Hope you all had good celebrations over the evening/night/morning. I had a wonderful time last night and was glad to see those who came out to celebrate with us.
I've been asked several times why I celebrate Yule with all the other "Pagans" since I'm Kemetic and follow a different calender and set of traditions. While it is not called Yule there is actually a Egyptian festival that coincides with Yule. (Egypt is in the Northern Hemisphere too :) ) The festival called Hb-nxt (The victory festival) or Hb-stH (The festival of Set) or msw.t-ra (Which translates to something close to the Festival of the New Year of the sun) This is a festival of Set and Ra both.
The mythology behind this festival is that every evening the sun (Ra as Atum) passes into the underworld. The Duat/Tuat (Underworld) is filled with beasts and demons that try to devour, kill or otherwise hamper the rebirth of the sun. On Yule/Solstice the sun spends the longest time in the land of the dead and Ra is at his weakest point throughout the year. Also those things of "evil" (Actually chaos when you translate texts) are stronger on this night than any other. Set (Seth/Sekhet/Sutekh if you prefer) always accompanies Mehen (the solar snake god) on the Solar barque every evening through the underworld. In this mythology Set is the protector of the sun and not really associated with the deceit and betrayal he has when associated with the Osiris mythology. On the longest night of the year, as the myth goes, only Set and Mehen have the strength to drive off Apep (the evil, chaotic serpent that seeks to kill the sun). Set as the god of darkness, violence, storms, the sky and strife is the only one able to stand up to the onslaught of beings encountered this night. For most of Egypt's history and particularly in Lower Egypt and the delta area, Set was seen as a heroic god who while evil, chaotic and destructive was also a great and noble warrior.
Historically, Set is believed to be demonized through two events.. one in the unification of Egypt where Upper Egypt was mostly Osiris based and Lower more Set based leading to religious conflict and later during the foreign invasions of Hyksos, Persians, Greeks and Romans. This later demonization was related to Set being the god of Foreigners who were now the oppressor, invader and ruler.
The imagery of Set from this myth is shown in several aspects related to this myth. He can be shown as a snake headed god on the front of the solar barque (which is actually a combination of Set and Mehen). He can be shown as Set in his usual form or, in later art, as the dual Horus-Set god where he and Horus have been melded into one two headed god in the representations. Set as the defender of the sun is most often depicted in the garb of a foot soldier with a spear either held at his side or raised as if poised to spear an adversary.
The purpose of the festival is to give offerings and strength to both Set and Ra. The festival is two fold. The time before the actual solstice evening is a gathering of force/energy, you might say, to aid Set and after the Solstice night it is a celebration of Ra being reborn after the trials of the night. I don't know much about other Yule traditions but from what I do understand the purpose in many of them seem to be the same as the Egyptian standard as far as the sun goes.
On a side note there are specific offerings to be used. For the night before it is meat, incense and oils to Set. Honey is the traditional for Ra because honey was known as sun tears from the way honey drips from the hive when the sun hits it.
I've been asked several times why I celebrate Yule with all the other "Pagans" since I'm Kemetic and follow a different calender and set of traditions. While it is not called Yule there is actually a Egyptian festival that coincides with Yule. (Egypt is in the Northern Hemisphere too :) ) The festival called Hb-nxt (The victory festival) or Hb-stH (The festival of Set) or msw.t-ra (Which translates to something close to the Festival of the New Year of the sun) This is a festival of Set and Ra both.
The mythology behind this festival is that every evening the sun (Ra as Atum) passes into the underworld. The Duat/Tuat (Underworld) is filled with beasts and demons that try to devour, kill or otherwise hamper the rebirth of the sun. On Yule/Solstice the sun spends the longest time in the land of the dead and Ra is at his weakest point throughout the year. Also those things of "evil" (Actually chaos when you translate texts) are stronger on this night than any other. Set (Seth/Sekhet/Sutekh if you prefer) always accompanies Mehen (the solar snake god) on the Solar barque every evening through the underworld. In this mythology Set is the protector of the sun and not really associated with the deceit and betrayal he has when associated with the Osiris mythology. On the longest night of the year, as the myth goes, only Set and Mehen have the strength to drive off Apep (the evil, chaotic serpent that seeks to kill the sun). Set as the god of darkness, violence, storms, the sky and strife is the only one able to stand up to the onslaught of beings encountered this night. For most of Egypt's history and particularly in Lower Egypt and the delta area, Set was seen as a heroic god who while evil, chaotic and destructive was also a great and noble warrior.
Historically, Set is believed to be demonized through two events.. one in the unification of Egypt where Upper Egypt was mostly Osiris based and Lower more Set based leading to religious conflict and later during the foreign invasions of Hyksos, Persians, Greeks and Romans. This later demonization was related to Set being the god of Foreigners who were now the oppressor, invader and ruler.
The imagery of Set from this myth is shown in several aspects related to this myth. He can be shown as a snake headed god on the front of the solar barque (which is actually a combination of Set and Mehen). He can be shown as Set in his usual form or, in later art, as the dual Horus-Set god where he and Horus have been melded into one two headed god in the representations. Set as the defender of the sun is most often depicted in the garb of a foot soldier with a spear either held at his side or raised as if poised to spear an adversary.
The purpose of the festival is to give offerings and strength to both Set and Ra. The festival is two fold. The time before the actual solstice evening is a gathering of force/energy, you might say, to aid Set and after the Solstice night it is a celebration of Ra being reborn after the trials of the night. I don't know much about other Yule traditions but from what I do understand the purpose in many of them seem to be the same as the Egyptian standard as far as the sun goes.
On a side note there are specific offerings to be used. For the night before it is meat, incense and oils to Set. Honey is the traditional for Ra because honey was known as sun tears from the way honey drips from the hive when the sun hits it.