egyptian religious calendar-cdxiii great year of ra wp-renepet
TRANSCRIPT
EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS CALENDAR
(by Kartikeya Senapati)
CDXIII Great Year of Ra (2012 CE)
WP-RENEPET
Part I: the Calendars of Ancient Egypt
Throughout all the millennial history of the Two Lands of Egypt, from the most ancient time of the
I Dynasty (founded by King Menes, the Horus Narmer in ca. 3300 BC) down to the Reign of the
last Sovereign of Egypt, Queen Kleopatra VII (69-30 BC) of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (the XXX
Dynasty of the Two Lands), two has been the calendars always and continuously used in Egypt,
without changes nor modifications:
-the Civil Calendar
-the Religious Calendar
The Civil Calendar:
The Civil Calendar has mainly administrative functions.
It is composed by three seasons:
Akhet, the season of the Nile's inundation
Peret, the season of growing
Shemw, the season of the harvest
Each season has four months, and each month has always 30 days: therefore the Civil calendar
consists exactly of 360 days plus the five epagomenal days (dedicated to the birth of the sons of the
Goddess Nut: Osiris, Horus the ancient, Seth, Isis and Nephthys).
The Egyptian civil year was called by the Romans “annus vagus” (“the wandering year”) for its
characteristic feature of wandering across the seasons. There is no correspondence between the
"seasons" of the Civil calendar and the natural seasons: in fact the Egyptian civil year is not fixed
always to the same days nor to the same seasons , but it goes backwards across the natural seasons
(and also across the Religious calendar), due to the difference of days with the cycle of the sacred
star Sirius/Sothis.
The Sothic cycle in the ancient city of Memphis has a period of 365.2507 days, while the Civil
calendar is always composed by 365 days: therefore every 4 years the beginning of the new civil
year recedes by one day in respect to the previous year and also to the heliacal rising of Sothis.
Every 1460 years the beginning of the civil calendar, after completing a full circle backwards across
the year, comes back to match exactly to the day of heliacal rising of Sirius: this cycle of 1460 years
was called by the Egyptians the “Great Year”, and it corresponds to the life cycle of the sacred
Phoenix (the Benu, bnw) of Heliopolis (Tacitus, Annals VI. 28). The “Great Year” was also called
“the Year of Helios” and “the Year of the God” (Censorinus, De die natalis 18, 10).
According to Censorinus, who wrote in 239 CE , “one hundred years ago (139 CE) under the
second consulate of the Emperor Antoninus the Pius and that of Bruttius Praesens", on the XIII
calens of August (20 July) the first day of the first month of the new civil year fell exactly on the
same day of the heliacal rising of Sothis.
Furthermore thanks to Censorinus it is known that in the Two Lands of Egypt the years were
reckoned also according to the cycle of Sothis: “we are today (239 CE) in the 100th year of that
Great Year”, the Year of Helios-Ra. Hence it is possible to date the end and the beginning of the
Sothic cycles not only before, but also after the year 139 CE: before our current era the last Sothic
cycle has begun in 1599, and the next one will fall on 3059.
The importance of the Civil Calendar for all that concerns strictly the Ancient Egyptian religion
hence do not lies in determining the religious festivities, that are instead fixed according to the
Religious Lunar Calendar, but in dating the current year of the “Great Year, the Year of Helios
(Ra)”, and the five epagomenal days devoted to the celebration of the birth of the Sons of Nut,
Osiris, Horus the ancient, Seth, Isis and Nephthys.
The Religious Calendar:
The Religious Calendar is based on the phases of the Moon and on the heliacal rising of Sirius at
Memphis. All the religious festivities of the Two Lands of Egypt are dated according to this
calendar. The religious calendar is connected to the Moon, hence the religious year is composed by
12 months, each month has 29/30 days, and every 3/4 years must be added an intercalary month .
Wp-rnpt (Wp-renepet), the last month (when there is the intercalary month Wp-rnpt is the XIII
month, otherwise it is the XII month) of the religious calendar, it is sacred to the God Ra-Horakhty,
Ra-Horus of the Two Horizons, and it is the month in which falls the heliacal rising of Sirius, and in
fact its name means “Opening of the Year”.
Thanks to the inscriptions from the Temples of Egypt, mainly from the Temple of Horus at
Apollinopolis Megale (Efdu) and from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, it has been possible to
reconstruct the names of the months, the names of the days of the months (each day is called “Feast
Day of ...”), the names of the Gods of each month, the names of the Gods of the Feast of each
month's day, and the names of the Gods of each month's day.
The month of the Religious Lunar Calendar begins on the day of the invisibility of the Moon, the
“New Moon Day”, as an inscription from the Temple of Khonsu in the highly sacred Precinct of
Amon-Ra at Ipet-Sut (Karnak) testifies with complete clarity:
"He (Khonsu, the Moon God) is conceived on the Feast of the First Day of the Month (the day of
the darkness of the Moon), He is born on the “Feast of the New Crescent Day” (the II day), and He
grows old after the Feast of the XV day (the day of the Full Moon).”
Another calendar used in Egypt is the so-called “Alexandrian calendar”, imposed by Octavian to
Egypt despite the strong hostility of the Egyptian priests, and it is the same calendar, of course
somewhat changed, used today by the coptic christians. The only difference between the
Alexandrian calendar and the Egyptian Civil calendar is that the former provides that every four
years the epagomenal days are 6 (an extra day every four years), and not always 5 as it is in the
Civil calendar: This intercalary day fixes the calendar always to the same identical date, eliminating
completely the main feature of the Civil calendar, its "wandering" across the year, and altering even
the dates of the epagomenal days, and hence also the dating of the “Great Year of Ra”.
The dating of the Heliacal Rising of Sothis/Sirius and of the “Great Year of Ra”:
Since the Sothic cycle depends on the place of observation (longitude and latitude) of the heliacal
rising of Sothis, it is very important to remember that only at Memphis the Great Year of Sothis is
of 1460 years, and also that only at Memphis the year of Sothis is composed of 365, 2507 days. In
all the other places on Earth the years of the Sothic cycle (1460 years) and the days of the Sothic
year (365, 2507 days) are different, and there is no exact correspondence with the above mentioned
data of Memphis: hence it is necessary to date both the Egyptian Calendars (the Civil and the
Religious Calendars) always and only according to the heliacal rising of Sothis at Memphis,
otherwise all the countings of the days and of the religious festivities would be dated to the wrong
days, without correspondence with the phases of the Moon, nor with the periods of Years and Great
Years of the sacred Star Sothis.
To determine and date exactly the day of the heliacal rising of Sothis at Memphis it is necessary to
compare the times of the rising of the Sun and of Sirius: the first day in which Sothis rises before
the Sun (during the civil twilight, that is the dawn, and obviously not before it) it is the day of the
heliacal rising of Sothis.
In the current year 2012 the heliacal rising of Sothis has occurred on the 25 July:
the 25 July at Memphis the Civil Twilight (dawn) was at 4:44, the Sun rose at 5:10, while Sirius
rose at 5.05. (data from http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/mrst.php )
Since the current year is the 2012, and the last Sothic cycle has begun on 1599, and the heliacal
rising of Sirius at Memphis is fixed to the 25 july 2012, the first day of the Civil Calendar's new
year can be dated to the 5 April 2012, and the five days before it (31 March, 1-2-3-4 April) were the
epagomenal days dedicated to the celebration of the birth of the Sons of Nut; and since 413 years
have passed from the beginning of the last Sothic cycle in 1599, the current year 2012 is the 413th
year of the Great Year, the Year of Helios-Ra.
the Benu, the Sacred Phoenix of Heliopolis
Bibliography:
Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum: Altaegyptische Inschriften, Heinrich Karl Brugsch, Publisher: J.C. Hinrichs, 1883
Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen, (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta), Herausgeber Christian Leitz; bearbeitet von Dagmar Budde ... [et al.], Peeters Publishers, 2003
Ancient Egyptian Chronology, edited by Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, and David A. Warburton, Brill, 2006
The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, 26, Richard A. Parker, University of Chicago Press, 1950
Ancient Egyptian Science, Marshall Clagett, American Philosophical Society, 1995
Eye of the Sun: The Sacred Legacy of Ancient Egypt, Kerry Wisner, Hwt-Hrw Publication, 2000
Temple Festival Calendars of Ancient Egypt, S. Sabban, Liverpool Monographs in Archaeology & Oriental Studies, 2000
Revolutions in time: Studies in ancient Egyptian calendrics, A. J. Spalinger, Van Siclen Books, 1994
Civil Calendar And Lunar Calendar In Ancient Egypt, (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta), L. Depuydt, Peeters Publishers, 1997
Ceiling of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera: the 14 Gods of the Waning Crescent Moon
Part II: Religious Lunar Calendar of the month of Wp-renepet,
CDXIII year of the Great Year of Ra
Ra-Horakhty (Ra-Horus of the Two Horizons) over the entrance of the Great Temple at Meha (now called Abu-
simbel), the "Temple of Ramses, beloved of Amon". Ra-Horakhty is flanked by two images of the King Ramses II
giving salutations, prayers, and "Maat-offerings" to Him
19 July 2012, New Moon
Wp-Renepet (“Opening of the year”)
I Day, “Feast of Psedje(n)tyw/"Feast of the First Day of the Month”
The I day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Montu-Ra-Horakhty.
The God of the “Feast of the New Moon” is Thoth
- Festival of Horus the Elder
- Festival of Osiris Onnophris
- “The sending of offerings to those in Heaven”
- Feast of Khnum-Ra (Esna)
- V day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-day festivity)
- III and last day of the “Feast of Mut feeding the Netjeru” (three-day festivity)
20 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
II Day, “Feast of the New Crescent Day”
The II day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Atum
The God of the “Feast of the New Crescent Day” is Horus the Avenger (Protector) of His father
- “Feast of Isis the Bright-One”-VI day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera”(twelve-
days festivity
21 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
III Day, “Feast of the First Arrival”
The III day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Shu
The God of the “Feast of the First Arrival” is Osiris
- Feast of Raet (the female counterpart of the God Ra)
- Procession of Ra Lord of Heliopolis
- Feast of Hathor as Sothis/Sirius
- VII day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-day festivity)
22 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
IV Day, “Feast of the Going Forth of the Sem-priest”
The IV day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Tefnut
The God of the “Feast of the Going Forth of the Sem-priest” is Imseti, one of the Four Sons of
Horus
- Procession of the Goddess Sothis
- VIII day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-day festivity)
23 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
V Day, “Feast of the Offerings on the Altar”
The V day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Geb
The God of the “Feast of the Offerings on the Altar” is Hapi, one of the Four Sons of Horus
- Procession of Min
- IX day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-day festivity)
24 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
VI Day, “Feast of the Sixth Day of the Month”
The VI day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Nut
The God of the “Feast of the Sixth Day of the Month” is Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus
- “Transporting the Rejuvenated-One (Osiris) to the Netherworld”
- X day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-day festivity)
25 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
VII Day, “Feast of the Part-Day”
The VII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Osiris
The God of the “Feast of the Sixth Day of the Month” is Qebehsenuf, one of the Four Sons of
Horus
- Heliacal Rising of the Star Sothis at Memphis:
Wpet-Renepet , “Festival of the New Year”
“Feast of Sothis Opening of the Year”
“Appearance of Horus as Lord of Ombos” (two-day festivity)
Festival of Nehebkau and Khnum-Ra and His Ennead at Esna
Procession of Ra
The next "New Moon" (17 August 2012) will be the beginning of the I Lunar Month of the New
Religious Year
- XI day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve-days festivity)
26 July 2012, First Quarter Moon
Wp-Renepet
VIII Day, ”Feast of the First Moon”
The VII day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Isis
The God of the “Feast of First Moon” is Maaitef (“the One observing His Father”), one of the
Seven Spirits (Akhu) of the entourage of Anubis
- II and last day of the “Feast of Sothis Opening of the Year”
- II and last day of the “Appearance of Horus as Lord of Ombos” (two-day festivity)
- XII and last day of the “Procession of Hathor, Lady of Dendera” (twelve -day festivity)
27 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
IX Day, “Feast of the Veiling”
The IX day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Horus son of Isis
The God of the “Feast of the Veiling” is Irdjetef (“the One Who creates His Eternity”)
28 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
X Day, “Feast of the Tenth Day”
The X day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Nephthys
The God of the “Feast of the Tenth Day” is Irerenef-djesef (“the One Who created His own
Name”)
- “Day of the Entering of the Eye of Ra”
29 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
XI Day, “Feast of the Sun's Rays”
The XI day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Hathor of Dendera
The God of the “Feast of the Sun's rays” is Nedjety-wr (“the Great Protector”)
30 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
XII Day, “Feast of the Paths of the Ancestors”
The XII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Horus of Apollinopolis Megale, Wetjeset-Hor,
(“the place of extolling Horus”)
The God of the “Feast of the Paths of the Ancestors” is Nedjsesh (“the One Who protects the
writing”)
31 July 2012
Wp-Renepet
XIII Day, “Feast of Seeing the Rays of the Sun”
The XIII day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Tjenenyet, Goddess of Hermonthis (Iuny,
the modern Armant) associated with the Goddess Raet (the wife of Ra). She is one of the two
wives of the God Montu
The God of the “Feast of Seeing the Rays of the Sun” is Tekenw
- “Feast of the Shemsu-Hor (the Followers of Horus)”
1 August 2012
Wp-Renepet,
XIV Day, “Feast of Recognition”
The XIV day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Iunyt (“She of Iuny”). Goddess of
Hermonthis(Iuny), Iunyt, like Tjenenyet, is associated with the Goddess Raet (the wife of Ra), and
She is one of the two wives of the God Montu
The God of the “Feast of Recognition” is Hem-Ba (“the Servitor of the Ba”)
2 August 2012, Full Moon
Wp-Renepet
XV Day, “Feast of the Full Moon Day”
The XIV day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Thoth
The Goddess of the “Feast of the Full Moon Day” is Irmaway
- Festival of Horus Maw (“Horus the Uniter”)
3 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XVI Day, “Feast of the Second Arrival”
The XVI day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Qebehsenuef, one of the Four Sons of Horus
The God of the “Feast of the Second Arrival” is Shedefmedef (“the God Who pronounces His Own
Words”)
4 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XVII Day, “Feast of Recognition”
The XVII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus
The God of the “Feast of Recognition” is Horus Hrywadjef (“Horus who is on His papyrus”)
5 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XVIII Day, “Feast of the Moon”
The XVIII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Hapy, one of the Four Sons of Horus
The God of the “Feast of the Moon” is Iah, the God of the Moon
6 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XIX Day, “Feast of Hearing His Words”
The XIX day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Imsety, one of the Four Sons of Horus
The God of the “Feast of Hearing His Words” is Horus Iun-mut-ef , “Horus Pillar of His Mother”
- “The Udjat Eye (the Eye of Horus) Returns Complete”
- “The Praises to Mut” (three-day festivity)
7 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XX Day, “Feast of Choice”
The XX day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Horus in the Great Palace
The God of the “Feast of Choice” is Upuaut
- “Feast of Purification, Cleansing, and Renewal”
- “The Praises to Mut” (three-day festivity)
8 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXI Day, “Feast of Providing”
The XXI day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Nephthys
The God of the “Feast of Providing” is Anubis
- last day of the “The Praises to Mut” (three-day festivity)
9 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXII Day, “Feast of the back of Sothis”
The XXII day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Isis
The God of the “Feast of the back of Sothis” is Nay
10 Auust 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXIII Day, “Feast of the the Part-Day”
The XXIII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Horus
The God of the “Feast of the Part-Day” is the Great Nay
11 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXIV Day, “Feast of the Shadows”
The XXIVday of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Nut
The God of the “Feast of the Shadows” is the Flaming Nay
12 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXV Day, “Feast of the Sun's Rays”
The XXV day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Geb
The God of the “Feast of the Sun's Rays” is the God Shemaa
13 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXVI Day, “Feast of the Going Forth”
The XXVI day of the lunar month is sacred to Osiris
The God of the “Feast of the Going Forth” is the God Maaitef (“the One observing His Father”),
one of the Seven Spirits (Akhu) of the entourage of Anubis
14 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXVII Day, “Feast of Answering”
The XXVII day of the lunar month is sacred to the Goddess Tefnut
The Goddess of the “Feast of Answering” is Tunabwy
- “Hathor in the Hall of Appearances”, at Dendera
15 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXVIII Day, “Feast of the Jubilee of Nut”
The XXVIII day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Shu
The God of the “Feast of the Jubilee of Nut” is Khnum
16 August 2012
Wp-Renepet
XXIX Day, “Feast of the Attender”
The XXIX day of the lunar month is sacred to the God Atum
The God of the “Feast of the Attender” is Utet-tefef
- Feast of Khnum, night procession (Esna)
- “Feast of the Robing of Horus of Apollinopolis Megale”