Hetepu Family Hope you are all doing fine during this very hot summer. Can’t complain. In a few months it might be cold as who knows what. Everything has its seasons, right? That’s Maa. I wanted to share something with you all that I have posted before but the more I in-sperience (inner experience) I get. The more I feel obligated to share to help others. Something has been troubling me because I keep hearing people having all sorts of mishaps with others yet; they claim to know about Maat. Then, I keep seeing people talk about the goddess Maat means balance, law, truth, etc. Then these people talk about lighting a candle to Maat and chanting the 42 Negative Confessions, which is actually called the 42 Declarations. I keep coming across sites of people claiming all of this and it just really trips me out, because I don’t have a fanciful relationship with Maat. I have not found Maat to be fairy-like. I wish she were sometimes because it would be a lot easier, but I am glad in the end that she is not.
Now, I am not here to criticize and casts stones. I just want to state for the record my experience with Maat because this fantasy-like spiritual times that we are in where you can find anything Egyptian like in the mall at Spencer’s (by the way I do like this store) has people believing that you can do whatever you want, so long as you light a candle and give Maat some patchouli incense. And, I am here to tell you, that I don’t so. This Western society that we live in is quick to follow anything and later deem it a fad because it doesn’t produce results. In the 1970s everyone wanted to be a guru. In the 1980s everyone was all about being culturally inclined. In the 1990s everyone wanted to be Kemetic/Kamitic. In the 2000s everyone wants to be a shaman, and so on. People claim to be spiritual in Western society but they are truly left-brained dominant, believing only in what they see. So, let me tell you from my experience who Maat is.
First off, Maat is the personification of the concept called Maa. Maa means truth, balance, order, law, morality and justice but lets explain this concept one-by-one. According to various Kamitic/Kemetic texts, when the Almighty God – Nebertchar (The Lord of Everything) created the universe, the first thing that the Divine created was the Maa. The Maa caused everything that came into existence to have its equal. This is why our universe is full of duality. You can’t fire without water, light without darkness, expansion without contraction, or man without a woman, etc. So this explains the balance part.
The law part deals with understanding the dual nature in the universe. For instance, what goes up must come down – that’s Law. Natural conception occurs between male and female species – that’s Law. Energy cannot be created only transformed – that’s Law and we can go on.
The Truth part deals with us all recognizing these dualities and the laws based upon the interdependency between them. In other words, we all know that what goes up must come down is the law of gravity.
We might not understand the Law of Thermodynamics but we understand the food chain and we understand that gasoline is combusted (destroyed) in order to become a form of energy to power our cars, etc.
Therefore, in order to understand the law requires a little understanding of science. When we understand science (and mathematic I might add) we see that there is a certain Order that nature follows.
The Fibonacci sequence is a fascinating phenomenon that illustrates this very concept. Science is riddled with Maa, the Periodic Table of Chemicals is another example of the Divine Order we call Maa.
How many people have you ever-heard talk about this in regards to Maa? Not many and we will see why here shortly.
So, let’s continue. We’ve covered the balance, law and order, which means if you understand that there is a balance and based upon that balance are laws that establish a particular order. This would mean that you would know that you couldn’t live any sort of way because it would disrupt the balance, be unlawful and disrupt the natural order of things, hence Morality. Now understand what Morality means. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have the desire to do wrong or to follow your lower nature. Sure, my wife is having a bad day (for whatever reason) and she comes home screaming at me. My conditioned response is to scream back at her but is that the Moral thing to do? No, the Moral or Maa thing would be to diffuse her fire with cool-water actions and behavior, like run a bath, put on some relaxing music, etc. until she is calm enough to discuss the issue. That’s Maa and as I told you, this is not fluffy bunny or fairy dusting.
If you read this and said “Hell NO!” or “No Way!” to responding to this situation, then guess what? You just turned your back on your chance of meeting the real Maat. You see most people who claim to know about Maa have no clue about the concept and definitely are just scratching the surface of the spirit called Maat. The reason is because Western society has painted a picture that anyone dealing with traditional spirituality particularly – African Traditional Religion and Afro-Diaspora traditions – are all about superstitious and animist beliefs. This has people thinking that the Kamitic philosophers weren’t just sitting in lawn chairs staring at the universe and cajoling Her to reveal her deep mysteries. No, the Kamitic philosophers were scientist and Kamitic spirituality (moral living) was based upon science. People forget that chemistry or khemistry was created in Kamit. But, some of these people claiming that they are priests, priestesses, shamans, etc. are really just ego-tripping and I hope that they realize it before it is too late that you can’t just do what you want and claim to be following Maa. Now, I am not saying that you have to be a mathematic or science expert to follow Maa, but don’t just follow people because they got a good theory. The cool thing about Maa, which I hope that you saw is that you, can test it and see if it works for you. If anyone told you different, then they just want your money and undying devotion. By the way, while we’re on the subject. If you ask someone to tell you about their maa (personal way) and why they do the things they do, and they start quoting scriptures or something that someone told them. This individual has no true experience or understanding of Maa either. Again, I am not here to judge or criticize anyone. I am just telling you my experience and what I know. If you were to meet me and observe my maa you would find that everything that I do is based upon what I know. I honor my aakhu (ancestors) because I know that they continue to exist on the other side of this experience we call life. You would rarely hear me say, “…Because So-and-so said“ So, how do you understand Maa and learn about Maat if you are not into mathematics and science? Well, another missed point about Maa is that the concept also means, Sight, thus holistic. Many pseudo- Kamitic/Kemetic believers think that the Left Utchat or Aabit refers to the Third Eye but it actually corresponds to the right hemisphere of brain, hence intuition.
And, who speaks to us intuitively? You got it, the Spirits.
In other words, what you know based upon your personal experience is symbolized on the Maa Aankh (below) as the Right Utchat, or Aakhut hovering above TASETT – The Physical realm.
But what lies beneath your subconscious, the superconscious, hidden, mysterious or spiritual realm is symbolized by the Left Utchat under KAMTA – The Spiritual Realm.
Remember the two Eyes are associated with the Sun and the Moon or Ra and Amun Ra.
This means if you are not all that, keen on your true mathematic and scientific thinking. Then you need to find a way to intuit and communicate with the other side. One way to do this is by using an oracle. There are several theories as to how oracles work. One theory is that since we are all connected to One Source, hence the Web of Life. There are invisible threads like a spider web that connects you and everything in it together, so when you throw a shell, pull a card, read a random passage, etc. The oracle is taking into account everything about the universe, your shortcomings, your family, friends, even your alleged enemies, etc. and symbolizing it in your throw. All you are doing is really plucking that spoke or energy.
Oracles are not some spooky things, they are simply tools used to help you to intuit. There are all types of oracles that exist. If you pay attention to your dreams then you are using your dreams as an oracle. Oracles have been used all over the world by a number of cultures. There are all sorts of examples of oracles being used in the Bible. For instance, in Genesis 44:4-5 and 15, Joseph the Dreamer used an oracle referred to as scrying. The Urim and Thummin oracle was used by the priests in Leviticus 16:7-8. There are other oracles that have been used in the bible as well.
In China the most common oracles known in the West the I Ching and Kau Chim, but there are a number of oracles systems used in China. In Africa, there are a number of oracles that are used. The most popular African oracles are Ifa and Meridillogun based upon the Yoruba spiritual system, but there are a number of divination systems practiced throughout the continent even by Christianized and Muslim Africans. The Koran is also used as a form of divination, just like African Americans in the United States use the Holy Bible.
Ok, some of you are all about Kamitic science and think that oracles are superstitious fake Cleo devices, but let me appeal to you metaphysically. According to Maa we are all interdependent right? If you can’t accept that truth what about the fact that you need balance. For instance, you know what you know, but what about what your higher self…do you know what it knows? The thing you have to keep in mind about oracles is that they do not predict the future. They simply weigh the odds based upon your decision and tell you the possible outcome. This means if you change your plan and attitude, then you can change the divination and therefore the outcome.
Let me give you an example. Recently, I threw a cast based upon the system I use described in the Maa: A Guide to the Kamitic Way for Personal Transformation, about a couple’s relationship. The picture that the tablets gave me was of a Father, Mother and the Youngest Child. The description was two adults trying to have a conversation but the youngest child interrupts them. What also came to mind was the image of a father and mother trying to have “relations” but the child’s presence interrupts them also. I told the couple, the problem with their relationship is communication. I told them that they are not talking about things to one another. I told them that both of them are holding back their feelings and then it Maat spoke (not literally) to me and said, “Baby.” Following her lead I told the couple, “You are having problems because you won’t talk about a Baby.” Come to find out, this was the couple’s problem. The father wanted children but the mother didn’t and they never talked about it. This was their communication problem, so do you see how Maat gave me a holistic perspective? Living by Maa means getting a full perspective or a holistic view. If you are not taking into account your intuition, then you have a lopsided view of the Cycle of Life. You only see one perspective. You don’t see if your decisions are beneficial or damaging to you and those around you. You don’t see if your decision is justifiable and because you don’t see the whole picture. When imbalances occur you think it is something that occurs “all of a sudden.” Maat is the patroness of true scientists and she will show you that nothing happens “All of a Sudden.” Everything that occurs in our life is based upon Cause and Effect.
So, following Maat is not about doing what you want to satisfy your desires or the desires of others but following the Path of the Feather, which means doing what is ideal to restore and maintain balance in your life, community, etc.
I hope this helps. Hetep
Copyright 2013