tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post730984999052032586..comments2023-10-21T03:23:13.433-07:00Comments on Isis of the Stars: Thoughts on the Festival of OpetArchpriest Michael Starsheenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17812333873957985737noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post-87832067527674019262011-08-15T17:04:13.045-07:002011-08-15T17:04:13.045-07:00No, no, not your pardon. MINE. I said I. Duncan wh...No, no, not your pardon. MINE. I said I. Duncan when I meant I. Forrest. And you were kind enough to overlook my gaffe ;-)<br /><br />I genuinely hope you will be feeling better soon, M.Rhondda Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894513265370961573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post-31437999998357754592011-08-15T16:15:50.973-07:002011-08-15T16:15:50.973-07:00Pardon me, I meant Isadora Forrest. I've been ...Pardon me, I meant Isadora Forrest. I've been on medication for a couple of weeks that has totally trashed my brain. I've been trying to dig my way out of the confusion, but haven't quite gotten there yet.<br /><br />I look forward to your feedback on my post, Rhondda! It's always good to have a dialog going.Archpriest Michael Starsheenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812333873957985737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post-25583830828271424542011-08-15T15:12:42.118-07:002011-08-15T15:12:42.118-07:00LOL. Isadora Duncan. That would be Rhondda;s "...LOL. Isadora Duncan. That would be Rhondda;s "mentalpause" talking ;-) <br /><br />Wouldn't it be something if I WAS receiving email invitations to a blog operated by Isadora Duncan? Ahh, but the honored dead do not blog. <br /><br />As you no doubt sussed out, the person I meant is the well-known Priestess of Isis and author, Isidora Forrest.<br /><br />I will address your comments about "correctness" and festival calendars and the like on the blog post you dedicated to that subject.Rhondda Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894513265370961573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post-63766026795241999682011-08-02T16:26:47.653-07:002011-08-02T16:26:47.653-07:00I've been using Bob Brier's adjustment for...I've been using Bob Brier's adjustment for precession for Cairo, which is still coming out to August 1. I will post some pictures in a blog where I address this next, but I wanted to answer you directly. <br /><br />The current coincidence of the heliacal rising of Sirius with Lughnassadh is just that, a coincidence. We have been through 4000 years of precession since the heliacal rising matched the mid-July date usually used, and several thousand years since that matched the presumed Summer Solstice date that should coincide with the beginning of the inundation as described in some of the myths. So "correctness" is a non-issue; we are no longer living in a time when what we see matches their world.<br /><br />Secondly, if you want to celebrate an Egyptian calendar, I would tend to want to celebrate the rising according to when it is seen in Egypt, not where I am located. My seasons bear no relationship to those in ancient Egypt, so my ritual calendar—to be perfectly correct—should reflect the local, seasonal, and deific aspects where I am. The fact that so many pagans use a northern European Celtic calendar reflects their origins in ancestry, but also doesn't correspond to where they live *now* usually. So that also puts "paid" to the issue of correctness, does it not?<br /><br />Thirdly, as I have emphasized, even in Egypt, the Inundation no longer occurs, thanks the the High Dam at Aswan. (Which just happens to coincide with the Elephantine shrines of Hapi and Satis, who were the guardians of the Flood. Go figure!) As a result, the land along the Nile no longer received the fertilizing silt and plant matter that it used to get with the flood—whenever it might occur—and is becoming more like the Red Lands of the desert around it. This is part of the reason behind the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt this year—the people can no longer rely on the fertility of the land to grow sufficient food at a price they can afford because of the Dam, which provides most of the power to cities like Cairo.<br /><br />My feeling on this is that we either celebrate the festivals according to what is in our hearts and feels right for *us*, or we need to shift to whatever is *correct* for our own time, place, and location, and quit worrying about what the ancient peoples of far-away lands thought and believed. I tend to use a bit of both, or of all of it, in my own practice, but that's my particular weirdness. I don't believe in "correctness," I believe in pragmatics—what works for my mind to go into an appropriate space for insight into the mysteries.<br /><br />It doesn't help things that I tend to think in hieroglyphics, though.<br />MichaelArchpriest Michael Starsheenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812333873957985737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5152070149800744263.post-14836739124584869302011-08-02T08:50:33.246-07:002011-08-02T08:50:33.246-07:00Thank you for all these postings of your writings ...Thank you for all these postings of your writings and thoughts, Michael. I have enjoyed your new blog very much. <br /><br />My husband and I are in the midst of our Nen Sokar or New Year celebrations. In years past we've done them as you do, the closing of the year and the 5 epagomenal days, culminating in the Festival of Opet on Aug 1. <br /><br />This year, however, we were trying something different, a more accurate orientation to Peret Sopdet rather than a lose orientation to Lughnassad. <br /><br />Alas, we already had the calendar of events for our Weret Renpet celebrations set (today as Ausar's day, based on a heliacal rising of Aug 8th) when I received a link to Isidora Duncan's blog, in which she links to an accurate calculator for the heliacal risings of heavenly bodies. You just need to know your latitude and your elevation above sea level in meters. <br /><br />Drat. I discovered that the true heliacal rising for Kansas City is August 16th. That's practically the Wag Festival! So, o well, my attempt at "being correct" has failed this year, since it's too late to change our plans now. There's always next year ;-). <br /><br />What do you think about the "correctness" issue when it comes to the heliacal rising of Sopdet? One thing I think of is that perhaps what was important about the rising of Sirius was that it coincided with the Inundation. That perhaps it's not the rising of the star alone that "counts". Because, what about "in the year 2525"? (If man/woman is still alive... ;-) What with the precession of the equinoxes the rising of Sirius could be in September...farther and farther from the seasonal event to which it was moored in ancient times.<br /><br />I feel sure you've thought this through so I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.<br /><br />"Shay met em ronpu"<br />May you live 100 years<br /><br />RhonddaRhondda Francishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894513265370961573noreply@blogger.com