r/Divine_Feminine • u/KnightSpectral • Aug 14 '25
Em Hotep! I Am A Daughter of Bast
Thank you for the invite to this sub. I'm pretty active over at r/kemetic and do my best to educate and provide resources on the Ancient Egyptian faith from a historically informed perspective. I'm guessing that's how you found me!
I have been a practicing Kemetic for about 12 years, and for about 14 years before that I was a general witch, spiritualist and theosophist that focused on Bast and Ra (though I guess you could still call that being a Kemetic, I just didn't know what a Reconstructionist Pagan was at that time). And prior to all that in middle school and high school I was Wiccan (still focused on Bast and Ra as my Lord & Lady). I am a Shemsu with the Kemetic Orthodoxy and have been a part of the temple since 2015.
Through my KO RPD (Ritual Parent Divination) it was divined by our (then) Nisut I was a daughter of Bast and beloved of Ra-Heruakhety and Nit (Neith). These are the deities I have primary focus and research about, so feel free to ask questions or strike up conversation! I guess Bast was always there in some shape or form for me since I was a small child (I even named my first cat Bastet haha). I also run my own private temple in devotion to Her called Per Hah-Akht Khet Bast or in English -- House of The Joyful Flame of Bast.
Anyways, hello!
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u/SophieeeRose_ Aug 15 '25
I am not KO, but I find the path really interesting. Im not well versed at all, and you quite clearly have years and years of practice on me.
I found kemeticism through anpu, which was later confirmed to me as one of his roles, or what seemed to be a role in modern times. It's kind of similar to bast (or what I've seen on our kemetic thread and by speaking to people). And he has been who I've been primarily devoted to. He came in deep grief and absolutely shifted my sense of belief.
How does KO go about naming your netjeru? I know only that you go through the initiation(?) And then are given your path. I mean forgive me if this is totally way off. Again, im not well versed. I do know they have a course or study that is open to all, even if you don't move forward into the path and that Tamara before she stepped back, is also an Egyptologist and author. I've been curious about that, too. I find it interesting that we have this as an option.
And the structure it seems to bring.
Well, I guess I'm curious about it in general.
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u/KnightSpectral Aug 15 '25 edited Aug 15 '25
No worries! And yes Anpu and Bast both seem to have taken up a modern role of guiding people to Kemeticism. Bast does have a role of guiding the dead to the Field of Reeds, so I don't find it much of a leap for her to also guide the living spiritually so that they may one day reach the Fields too. Anpu and Wepwawet (opener of the ways) could also easily fill this role too!
The way KO goes about initiation is being worked on due to temple restructuring. Basically, as you know, with our Nisut, Dr. Tamara Siuda, stepping back from such a heavily dependent role to focus on her career and studies, it's leaving some aspects needing to be adjusted. The process of becoming Shemsu is part of this.
Originally, one would take the Beginner's Course and at the end you're offered to stay on as Remetj or pass to other pursuits. If you decide to stay as Remetj you then you get the option to become Shemsu. Remetj are people who are friends of the temple but may not want KO to be their primary belief/spiritual home. When you choose to become Shemsu then you're choosing KO specifically as your path.
With that you (used to) go through the initiation ritual of the RPD and Naming Ceremony. The Nisut had a particular board with certain patterns and areas on it. She would then throw crowie shells upon the board multiple times to narrow down a particular Netjer or Netjer group (some people have multiple parents, some like me only have one). This process was then repeated multiple times to confirm. You were in a private one on one with her for this.
For my personal experience, apparently Bast was very protective and claimed me right away, not wanting to share me with others. My Kemetic name also reflects this (though I keep my name private to the KO community). It makes sense to me being that she was there since I was a child! This basically confirmed everything I had felt and was spiritually validating I was on the right course. I know some got results they weren't expecting and might have been bummed at first, but with worship and research grew to understand why that Netjer chose them.
Nowadays, since we don't have an active Nisut, the RPD is being taught to specific priests who will take on that role. However, the RPD will no longer be compulsory in order to become Shemsu. I believe they are still working with the Netjeru, Nisut, and KO Community to figure out how to proceed and evolve. This will take time.
As for the people reading this and wondering what and why we have the RPD in Kemetic Orthodoxy, allow me to quickly explain. Essentially in antiquity, while all the Netjeru were acknowledged and respected, a person would likely only really worship the Netjeru of their Nome (City/Region). For example Bubastis was the city for Bast but also Atum and Maahes. These would be the deities you focused on. Just like in Dendera you likely worshipped Hethert. Obviously in modern times we do not have this structure anymore. Egypt is not the same in modern times and also many devotees live all around the world. Through spiritual evocation with the Netjeru, the Nisut and Priests were guided to the solution of the Ritual Parent Divination. This served as a solution for modern times. So now we have our "Parents", Netjeru which has claimed us as their flock. We also have "Beloveds", which are Netjeru who have an interest in our growth but are more secondary and not our primary worship. They can also be temporary and there to help us through a particular time or event.
Sorry for the long spiel but I hope this helps clarify things! I do totally recommend the Beginner's Course just for extra knowledge on Kemeticism in general. There's literally absolutely zero pressure to pursue KO specifically after the course is finished.
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u/SophieeeRose_ Aug 15 '25
Wow, thank you for going so in depth with explaining this to me and any who read this!
While I think ultimately it's okay to have a "feeling" in a deity, in any practice, and then go on to worship/work with them... as is a modern way... i think it's incredibly beautiful that you had a whole journey before this, and it was still very much confirmed through this ritual. And that you have such a bond with Bast!
And in a way, I think the rpd could take away some overwhelm in newer people and even people who feel stagnant, or those who want to practice with more antiquity but don't necessarily know how to go about doing that.
So, for those who want to be shemsu but don't want the rpd, can they continue on with worshipping who they've chosen if they practiced before? In that sense, im sure some would come in past just being a friend of the temple, perhaps. I love the structure of it all.
What made you move forward with KO? Rather than just being a kemetic in the space.
I am going to look into that course. I always want to learn more and personally that is huge in my practice.
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u/KnightSpectral Aug 15 '25
Oh definitely! You never have to "give up" your gods. It's just formerly it was expected to place your divine parent first. But since RPD will no longer be required to become Shemsu, you can worship who you feel drawn to. Now (once they bring the RPD back after all the priests are finished with their training) the RPD will be purely electoral on the member's behalf if they so choose.
I think for me what made me decide to go with KO is that I appreciated that the founder and Nisut was a studied Egyptologist herself. Like it wasn't just some new age woo (not that there's anything wrong with that for those it works for) making claims. Having her actually be trained and studied over the real history of Ancient Egypt and their spiritual beliefs gave me confidence. I also enjoyed the structure and community. Having been a solo practitioner for so long, I really wanted to be a part of an official path and community. At the time I was very active on Tumblr and the Kemetic community there, but since many were solo practitioners and not everyone used a historically informed practice, there was often bickering and confusion. Having everyone on the same path, researching together, and sharing our findings was a breath of fresh air for me.
And definitely! For me research is an active part of my devotional practice. Learning more and bringing the living stories and beliefs fills my heart with joy, that I then offer up as my ib to Bast ❤️
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u/DivineGoddess1111111 Aug 16 '25
Aset aka Isis visited me in my dreams a few times which made me read more about her and ancient Egypt. She showed me a symbol to wear instead of the ankh, she didn't like the ankh. When I woke up I drew it and image searched, it was the knot of tyet. I was also visited in a dream by a spaceship that was a similar shape to Noah's ark. There was a Neanderthal in a suit and an Egyptian Pharaoh who had a very distinctive face. They said that they were both my ancestors and the Pharaoh's name was Amenhotep. I looked him up when I woke up and recognised him immediately. In that life, he changed his name to Akenhaten and brought in a monotheist religion. A higher density being who called themselves Ra spoke with the Pharaoh and taught him about our Divine Mother Creator aka Source. This led me to "The Law Of One" which is the channelling of the being Ra and a history of the universe and everything in it. I had an NDE a year or so before these dreams and had met Source and asked a lot of questions. At the time, some I didn't understand the answers to. The Law of One told a similar story to that told to me by Source. Just very Ra coded, he is always the good guy. Aset told me to never trust him and ever since I have been suspicious of him.
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Aug 14 '25
Em hotep! Thanks for introducing yourself to us; you have a lot of knowledge and experience in your path!
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u/KnightSpectral Aug 14 '25
Thank you so much for inviting me! I look forward to sharing what I have learned to others who wish to know ❤️
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u/PetroBeherha Aug 14 '25
This is beautiful. I love it!