Makeshift Egyptian Ceremony

Date: August 1st, 2009.
First Month of Akhet, Djehuti, Day One
Location: Howard Johnson in Leamington
Written On: July 31, 2009

So, today is the Egyptian New Year, and one of three New Year ceremonies I celebrate. Today is also the day of my cousin Melissa’s wedding. So, because of that, I’m in Leamington; a small factory town just about 45 minutes north of Windsor.
So, I can’t have a big ceremony and feast for this New Years, which kind of sucks because I was hoping my mom and I would cook up a big feast with all of our favourite foods.
But, instead, I’m in a hotel room.
So, as to not break any possible rules, I’m writing a ritual for New Years without any candles or incense. How exciting! See, I love my candles and incense, but I also don’t want to get in trouble by the hotel staff, or have angry neighbours pounding on my door for “stinking up the floor”. But, this will help me be in touch with my oils and stones.

First off, I’m going to make a list of what I’ve packed, so that if I ever get caught in this situation again, I can refer to this list.
Basics
- Sea Salt
- Mini Egyptian statues (Bast, Anubis, Thoth and Isis)
- Large ankh
Oils
- Eucalyptus
- Bergamot
- Lemongrass

Stones
- Carnelian(1)
- Amethyst
- Zebra Agate
- Lapis Lazuli
- Malachite(tower and tumbled stone)
- Rose Quartz (ball)
- Hematite (1)
- Moonstone (1)
- Citrine (1)
- Sodalite
- Apatite
- Sunstone
- Ammonite
- Clear Quartz

Let’s plan the ceremony now!
I am going to put actions in regular type, and words spoken either verbally or mentally in italics.

Before this, take a nice bath or shower, and don’t get out until you feel really clean. Imagine the water washing away all the impurities from the past year. Dress either in ritual garb, or in comfortable clothes.
We arrange a mid-size work area. Upon our altar cloth, we lay out our stones, our bottles of oil, our holy water, our ankh and our miniature statues. Hopefully, we will have Timbits as an offering and New Years “feast”. Music is optional.
I like to position myself with my back against a wall or object that is against the wall, like a bed, so that I have a complete view of the area without having to worry about my back.
I am far from my home, and my temple, but today, the first day of the first month of the new year, I still must honour the Gods. Today, the star Sothis will rise over the homeland of Egypt, signalling the flooding of the Nile, the bloodline that sustains the country.
With your little finger, pick up a bit of the salted water and place it on the statues. Also, place some on your forehead. Sprinkle a little over the Timbits as well.
Though I am far from my temple, I ask for the Gods and Goddesses to join me in this ceremony. I also invite all spirits pure of heart and soul to join me here.
Center yourself. Feel the Gods, Goddesses and spirits. Let them speak to you, and greet them.
Today is also the day of my cousin’s wedding. This is the happiest day of her life, so please make this day and every day with her new husband joyous.
For the coming year, I don’t know what to ask for, so I’m going to cover the basics: happiness, love, health, and spirituality. I want to really become the person I should be.
Put a little bit of Bergamot oil on the statues, and over your heart. Bergamot is an oil of protection, money, and prosperity; all things we want for a New Year.
Eat a Timbit, slowly.
I thank the Gods for my “feast” of Timbits, and I invite everyone present to indulge in the offering.
Stand up, and place the Timbits on a surface for the spirits to eat. Return to your little “nest”, and start dealing your tarot cards for the upcoming year. I’m going to use the Animal Companions deck, and the Wheel of the Year spread, the second variation. Before you deal the cards, place a mixture of the oils eucalyptus and lemongrass on your third eye, to aid in psychic vision.
After you’ve dealt the cards, write them down in your traditional manner. Clean up your area, and pack everything up, except the Timbits (let the spirits indulge, and have a couple more yourself! This is your New Years feast, after all). You don’t have to analyse the cards just yet, as long as you have them written down, but if you wish, you may.
Now that everything is cleaned and packed back up, find a comfy place and relax; read a book, watch TV or a movie, analyse your tarot reading, anything.
-----
Well, this is the closest thing I could do to a real New Year’s celebration. I’m out of town, and in a hotel room. It’s rather spur of the moment, and there are probably a lot of elements that either don’t belong or are missing.
Think of this as a traveling ceremony, requiring small, compact things that fit in a suitcase.