Returning Home: Death of WSR
The deceased Wsr (center) with the Goddesses Aishat (right) and Nebfest (left)
Even with resistance from modern intellectual and political fronts and beliefs, Meritah (Africa) has come to be understood as the birthplace of the ingenuity of humanity... but when the topic of spirituality arises, for some reason or another we look elsewhere. It is a hard idea for the modern mind to comprehend that the origins of spirituality also come from the birthplace of humanity itself... but ask yourself, how could it not? This is the place where civilization and culture stem from, but somehow when concerning spiritual morality and human enlightenment we cannot associate these concepts with Meritah.
Our destiny is rooted in our origins but the modern world’s continual path of denial and disconnect from humanity’s origins only harms us. Is it surprising that we, as descendants of our Ancestors who lived by spiritual and moral laws, are now facing times of desolation and destruction in this modern world? This carelessness of the modern human to deny his/her spiritual roots and spiritual origins leads us to search for answers on our own and often times we can become misinformed or mislead. Journeying on this path of spirituality, we come across recurring themes and stories, but if we again look to the cradle of civilization, one cannot deny the origins of these concepts. By reconnecting and reclaiming our origins as humans we can realign ourselves to our spirituality that originated in Meritah.
If we turn to our Ancestral culture of Kemet, we will also find the Holy Drama, the original spiritual text of humanity, and the beginnings of human enlightenment. We are given a glimpse of the Divine Model, a guide we can observe and use to help navigate this lifetime as humans. From the Holy Drama comes the themes and concepts many religions and practices of spirituality follow.
Religious leaders throughout history saw the seduction of the story of a caring and compassionate God Father who sacrificed for the sake of his children and his people. Various cultures share the same story of death and resurrection. It is not a coincidence that the allure of a God/father who sacrificed for his children is not a new concept. A human being cannot invent, only imitate, so when creating a new cosmogony, even those who sought to usurp the honor of Kemet used the Holy Drama as a model to copy. The Holy Drama entails the story of the Ancestral father Wsr who, along with his brother Seth, was given equal domain over this world, with the difference between them being how they would choose to express their immortality.
Wsr chose immortality through death and resurrection to share the gift of life with his descendants while Seth chose to keep it to himself and thus could not die or reproduce. The story unfolds with Seth plotting the death of his brother Wsr, but with Wsr’s choice to transcend death and live through his descendants, he resurrected and gave humanity a chance to live, experience, and similarly exist through cycles of death and reincarnation. From copying the model of Wsr sprang many religious and spiritual stories of reincarnation and resurrection that we find today.
Wsr gave humanity a chance to advance ourselves. Through his various reincarnations, he presented humanity many gifts such as agriculture, astronomy, language, healing and medicine. Perhaps his greatest gift was the opportunity to come close to the Divine. When asked what our agenda would be, we were in awe of the Divine World. We could only reply that we wanted to be like the Neteru (Gods).
Difficult as this task is, Wsr took it upon himself to again assist us and gather from the various Neteru what would be known as the Great Book of Divine Ordinances and the Code of Human Behavior. These 77 Commandments are humanity’s guide towards spiritual refinement and are the values which humanity vowed to live by and uphold. These tenets helped forge the first civilization of human dignity and honor across the land. These values are what define Kemet and was the reason it is looked at and seen as the center for the advancement of spirituality and philosophy worldwide.
After Wsr’s death, his son Heru took on the mission to reclaim his father’s kingdom and restore his name. All humans share the same experience as Heru in fighting to restore the honor that belongs to Wsr by upholding the values and principles that he brought to humanity. Let us take a look at the modern world now. It is easy to describe what we see now as the fall of human values. It is also easy to counter that argument by stating how technologically advanced the world has become.
This ideological battle distracts us from the real war that is going on not outside but inside each individual. Looking at the 77 Commandments, you will see that they all deal with refining oneself and how one interacts with the existence. This is what was taught in the Temples of Uast (Thebes) and has continued to be taught in the traditional initiation camps in Meritah. To carry on the name and the legacy of one’s father is an honorable thing. To show gratitude for all that our Ancestral father has done, we as his children honor him by taking these gifts that he has left us with and fight to uphold these values in our everyday lives, to stand up and show that we are worthy of his sacrifices for us.
According to the Kemetic Sidereal Calendar, the 17th of the month of Ateeri is the anniversary of the Death of Wsr. This is one of the holiest days of Kemetic tradition. From sunrise to sunset, initiates and Kem worldwide partake in a spiritual fast. This fast, in honor and reverence for Wsr, is not as simple as “no food, no water” for 12 hours. Kemetic people around the world reserve this day as a time to mourn his death and the loss we as humanity suffer from losing our Ancestral father.
It is a time to reflect on how we as people measure up to the standard our Ancestral Neter set for us. Wsr’s choice to die and resurrect is the reason humanity has an opportunity for life. Kemetic people meditate on the choices Wsr made in the Holy Drama and how we are preparing ourselves everyday for the journey to the World of the Dead we ourselves must traverse.
By refraining from food and drink, the body is forced to stabilize and find equilibrium. As our bodies are re-setting themselves, so too are our minds. Many reflect and question where their focus and energies are centered, what are their personal desires, wants, and ambitions and how do they line up with the Ancestral paradigm. Where have I been lacking in quality and where have I been dishonest in moving towards raising my qualities?
For the fast, these are some initial thoughts that may come to mind. The Death of Wsr is a day where Kem people analyze their lives, look at their spirituality and see where they stand in alignment in the greater scheme of the existence. This is the paradigm of the Kemetic culture and the continual daily battle of good and evil within oneself a Kem must face. The modern world does not emphasize matters of reflection and introspection.
These meditations during the Death of Wsr are a stark contrast to the modern world’s concept of what a holy day is. It is not a coincidence that this day falls on the onset of the modern “holiday” season from “Thanksgiving” to “Christmas” and the “New Year”. These are representative of the continuation of disconnect from our spirituality brought to us from Meritah. The Death of Wsr is a day to remember to humble ourselves to realize the effort it takes just to be a good person, but instead we here in the modern world seek luxury and opulence during this period. Instead of spirituality we are looking at materialism. Instead of looking within and reflecting on our lives we are looking outside.
In getting too attached to this future-thinking modern society, we are forgetting to look back into our past from where we as a people came from. Lost in the present, many are living without the values that our Ancestors strived to live by everyday. These modern man-made distractions have us denying our roots, Ancestral legacy and gratitude to the land that has given us everything. By that very definition modern society is bringing about our self-destruction.
We think we are continually moving forward without a clear goal in sight, forgetting that we already had our path before us. To know where and how to navigate, we must remember and understand where we started. We cannot continue to be distracted by the modern world that is not focused on our Ancestral heritage. Meritah has already provided us with the basic building blocks of a moral and spiritually dignified civilization. The strength of a tree is in its roots - it is time we remember to honor them.
Fulfilling a destiny requires an understanding of one’s history. How does humanity reach its potential, neglecting the roots from which it sprung? Can we say with spiritual and intellectual honesty that we lived an honorable life before we go into the next phase of our becoming? This life is but one part of a longer journey that continues after death.
The Holy Drama is our guide to navigating life to live with honor before that day we ourselves will transcend to the next phase. We have these tools and these values to protect and uphold. Alongside Heru, in honor of our Ancestral culture, in honor of our Ancestral Father Wsr, we must fight to restore their names and carry on tradition and fulfill what humanity promised ages ago. May this year's fast purify your heart, may your contemplations be productive, may the Ancestors hear your prayers and grant you the courage to walk upright in your destiny.