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 gyptischen Gtter und Gtterbezeichnungen, (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 Abusimbel), 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(twelvedays 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