Recently, a member of my temple announced her pregnancy. She mused about seeking hippo imagery for Tawaret and I piped in: “Let me knit one for you. It’s something I do as a service for Ptah.”
Wait a minute, I thought as the words left. I do a service? It was weird to think about it, but now that knowledge makes me grin. My service for Ptah is creation.
These will be the third and fourth hippos I have knitted for fertility and protection, making for five completed plush “amulets” and several more on the way. I find the yarn, I examine the pattern, and I pray. I pray to Ptah, Lord of All Creation, and bid Him to help me master my craft. I pray that the construction of the plush will be strong and comforting. I pray to Aset, Great of Magic, and ask Her to guide me in filling the work with my magical intent and power. And I pray to whatever other Netjeru is associated with the work, requesting Their presence, requesting that They lend one of their protecting spirits to the amulet I have created. I ask for the patience and nurturing of Tawaret. I ask for the courage and wisdom of Sekhmet.
It’s a new craft for me. It’s a magic my friends call stitch witchery, a form of cottage magic that suits my style. The very act of knitting is calming, lending to a meditative state that lets the energy flow into the work. I have knitted as a form of devotion to Ptah since our relationship began. I have invited other deities to my devotional time as well – non-creation deities such as Nut, Aset, and Hethert.
I am also a writer, though I do not commonly produce devotional works. However, one poem, “The Red Lord,” has now been published through The Charles Viewer and The Bennu, the literary magazines at my former college and the House of Netjer, respectively. In addition, I am gathering ideas to submit for Beyond the Pillars – a Pagan Fantasy anthology being published by Neos Alexandria – and the Kemetic Storytellers, a radio play style project put on by my friend Heruakhetymose.
One day, I would like to create jewelry, statuary, and visual arts for my gods as well; in the meantime, I honor and support those who do the art better than I.
I do not know if I create because Ptah is my Father, or if Ptah is my Father because I create. Perhaps it is neither of these. However, I know these things to be true: I am a creator, and He is my Father, and the things I create are my service to Him.
Dua Ptah, Master of Craftsmen! Nekhtet!
Their Love Flows Like Wine 