Does anyone here give offerings to their ancestors or pharaohs of ancient Egypt?
I’ve been acknowledging Hatshepsut recently. Just offering simple things at the same time I’m offering to the Nerjeru. I’ve been interested in her since starting my Kemetic path and I feel as though I have learnt some things from her.
Apart from that, I think I’ve only acknowledged my ancestors a couple of times when I’ve spent time at my shrine.
I’m just wondering if anyone feels a connection to their Akhu and if so, is it a strong one?
Yes, to honour our ancestors is done every Ancestral Holy Day, which is every 5th day of the dekan (dekan =10 day week) & to honour The Divine is every Divine Holy Day (9th day of the dekan) as practiced from the pharaonic era right upto present day
I purify first before doing anytjing spiritual) I do an offering of cakes (ancestral cakes called massa) and water with prayer in Medu (heiroglyph). That is done every Ancestral Holy Day. And I also put aside a little of what I eat everyday for my ancestors.
Hi, yes I honour my ancestors on the lunar cycles as per Reidy books and I think Sharon LaBorde books too but much less detail.
I think it’s important to do so even though they were Christian or atheists as in the wider sense, all roads lead to the one source??
I’m not sure whether my ancestors would want me to honour them in such a way or not, so I’m a bit unsure of how far to go with offering to them. However, I feel it’s important that I do acknowledge them in some way and appreciate that I wouldn’t be here without them.
I haven’t felt anything from my ancestors so far, whereas I have felt some kind of connection to Hatshepsut, but like @Senneferet said, the pharaohs would have been happy to be honoured with offerings.
I am unsure what I believe in regards to life after death, so I haven’t done much with mortals that have passed, but if I feel a connection comes my way, I would want to honour that somehow.
FWIW, most people I know have indicated that the Akhu seem to… mellow, a bit, after death, especially after a few years. Death is sobering, and gives you a very different perspective. So how someone was in life may not be how they are/what they desire in death. Also, Akhu are free to (and absolutely do, when they want!) refuse offerings or practices, or simply not show up at all.
So I wouldn’t worry too much. Just offer, pray, and whoever is open to that will accept it.
I have been pulled more and more to Akhu practices. I work with Nebthet and Hethert-Amenti, and there’s a lot of Akhu-ish stuff going on in Sekhmet-Nut who has also entered my life. I try to offer when I can whether it’s through Kemetic or Heathen practices, and I have been called to extend my KO divination method (Fedw) to the Akhu so that I can divine on their behalf.
It feels… weird. I’d spent many years avoiding the Akhu because honestly, no real connection to the blood family, etc. But I stated trying to work on that, and also, I did my first Heathen ritual. It did the same “sit down and feel them” thing for the Akhu as Kemetic stuff often does for the Gods. And I felt the Akhu and their love. And since then I’ve had a better connection and felt more pulled to work with them.
I include blood Akhu, nervously, in my Akhu, as well as community Akhu (nameless at this time, but like, LGBT Akhu and such), various non-blood Akhu, as well as the Pharaohs and their representations.