Hymn to Ma’at

To Ma’at who rose up from the waters of Nun, I offer my praise.
You wear upon your head the feather, light as truth,
bright as the sun-boat of your father Ra,
by which all souls are weighed. O goddess crowned by righteousness,
yours is what is fair and just. Yours is the might of a world
held close, of a realm where all is as is best.
Yours is the universe, O Ma’at, the seasons and the stars,
and all that is created, and all that comes from chaos
into form and harmony. You hold at bay all evil,
you drive disorder from the land, all turmoil from our hearts.
O shining Ma’at, most needful goddess, great of presence,
great of name, broad-winged one whose shelter keeps us whole,
I pray to you to know where I am, I pray for a firm footing.
May I do your work in the world, O Ma’at;
may I act only rightly and speak only true.

Hymn to Isis

To Isis who is great of wisdom, I offer my praise.
Daughter of earth and starry sky who holds in hand
the good of all, mother of the mighty and the merciful,
beloved of Osiris who dwells in the beautiful West,
I pray to you. O Isis who bears the lotus staff,
Isis who wears the many crowns, your gifts to humankind
are vast, your blessings fall on all who call your name.
Isis who is the friend of mothers, whose ways are swift
and certain, whose will is worked with clever wit
and magics bold and ancient, O Isis who is bright of face,
O lady of the many temples, lady of the many feasts,
yours is a love that spans the ages, yours is a sorrow
that stokes the fires of heart and spirit, yours are the powers
of life and of death. O Isis whose gifts of goodness
and grace are well and truly granted, I call to you.

Hymn to Khonsu

To Khonsu, shining god of Thebes, I offer my praise.
O son of the mother, O son of he who is unseen,
Khonsu who crosses each night’s sky, who watches
in the dark, whose eyes are clear, whose care is constant.
In ancient times your might was known, your wrath well feared
by the evil and the base, by those who would corrupt
the true. Yours too, O god, are gifts as cherished
as bright gold, as needful as cool water; the tides are yours
that rise and fall, the sweet night air that fills our lungs.
O Khonsu who is great of healing, who battles all ill
with righteous rage, whose goodness and grace are known to all,
I pray to you for light in the dark, I pray to you
for the weal of the world. O Greatest God of the Great Gods,
O lord of right who lives on hearts, O strength that stands
behind all good, I call to you for clarity and comfort.

Hymn to Wadjet

To Wadjet, great one of Lower Egypt, I offer my praise.
Wadjet who wears the Red Crown, mighty in ancient Memphis,
companion of Nekhbet with whom you ward the two lands,
yours is the delta, the many fingers of the Nile,
the dark and fertile soil; O Wadjet who is green,
who is of the flourishing lands, I call to you.
O Wadjet, mighty one who is the uraeus,
O cobra risen on your tail, guardian of kings,
O Eye of Ra, fierce in justice, fierce in vengeance,
easer of birth pains, protector of children,
O Wadjet, I praise your glory and your strength.
Defender of the right and the good, I pray to you;
punisher of the wicked and the foul, I pray to you;
avenger of the grieving and the wronged, I pray to you.
Wadjet, goddess fair and good, I honor you.

Hymn to Nekhbet

To Nekhbet, great one of Upper Egypt, I offer my praise.
Nekhbet who wears the White Crown, mighty in ancient Nekhen,
companion of Wadjet with whom you ward the Two Lands,
yours is the sedgeland and the reed, yours the lotus bloom;
yours is the vulture crown, O Nekhbet who is kind.
O mother of mothers, bearer of the shen,
O wide-winged goddess, shelter and shield of children,
helper of women in their travail, I honor you.
O good and gracious goddess, Nekhbet who soars,
who is mistress of the heavens, who sees all
that lies below, you are the unifier,
the bringer of harmony, the granter of strength.
O Nekhbet, fierce as any mother, yours is the gift
of devotion, yours is the work of the protector,
yours is the sustenance of Ma’at: I pray to you.

Hymn to Khepera

To Khepera who is self-created, I offer my praise.
Each day you rise anew, O god, again and yet again;
each day you rise is as the first; each day once more
you come into being, of yourself and through yourself.
As Atum is the setting sun and Ra the noonday star,
so you, O god, are each day’s dawn, each morn’s first light,
each day’s beginning, as it has ever been,
as it will ever be. I call to you, O ancient one,
O broad-winged Khepera, bearer of the shen
that encircles us in safety, rider in the sun-boat,
I thank you for your many gifts, O golden one.
Khepera who is the scarab, sacred and profound,
the ever-renewing world itself, O Khepera,
I pray to you for preservation; I pray to you
for a new beginning, a chance to rise anew.

Hymn to Mafdet

To Mafdet, slayer of snakes, I offer my praise.
O ancient goddess, fierce and swift, you are the foe
of baneful and venomous beasts, of serpent
and of scorpion, O healer of their deadly bite.
Your teeth are sharp, O Mafdet; with them you rend
the serpent’s flesh, with them you dispell the works
of the wicked, you destroy the enemies of Ma’at.
Daughter of Ra who is great, defender of Ra who is wise,
yours is the staff of the executioner,
the blade well wielded with certainty and skill;
yours is the guarding of holy places, sacred realms;
yours is justice, steadfast and relentless;
yours is the punishment of evil, O goddess,
yours is the vengeance of the wronged. O Mafdet
who is the sword of the righteous, I honor you.

Hymn to Bes

To Bes, granter of all that is good, I offer my praise.
Guardian of the threshold, ever welcome in the home,
Bes who is the protector of women, the champion
of children, the easer of birthing pains,
in every household you reside, to every heart
you bring comfort. O Bes who wards away the wicked,
you are the friend of the family, the shelter
of the helpless, the shield of the defenseless.
In times of fear and dread you grant us courage;
in times of sorrow and despair you are our solace.
Dispeller of evil and all that is ill,
you are as well a bringer of joy and merriment:
yours are the pleasures of music and dance, O god,
yours too are the delights of the bedchamber. O Bes,
I thank you for your many gifts, I pray for your favor.

Hymn to Taweret

To Taweret who is great, I offer my praise.
Taweret, holder of the sa, bearer of the torch,
mistress of the birthing-house, friend of the mother
and of the newborn babe, best of goddesses,
defender of humanity, in times long gone
your name was known in every household,
your might was known by all who dwelt within.
Women in their travail may call on you
and you will hear their cries, O Taweret
who listens to the prayers of all, who guards
the gate of every home, who keeps evil at bay.
Taweret who is the protector of children,
to you may we turn when all else seems lost,
in you may we seek solace, O goddess;
in you may we find comfort. I pray to you, great lady.

Hymn to Sokar

To Sokar who is arisen, I offer my praise.
O Sokar who is great of might, companion of Ptah
and of wise Osiris, well known in ancient Memphis,
well honored by the artisan, the maker and the smith,
O Sokar, you grant a steady hand, an artist’s eye.
In times long gone, O Sokar, each year you were carried
throughout the city, garlanded with onions,
your festival observed by all in joy and jubilation.
Enshrouded you are in the finest of linen,
O lord of the mysterious lands, Sokar who dwells
in the darkness, who roams the world beyond our own,
you ride upon your great sand-boat, traversing
the place of the dead, travelling freely and as you will;
yours is the necropolis, the realm of the spirit
where all is good, where all is as it should be.