New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
| According to Egyptian tradition, today is the birthday of Set, god of the desert. Set also oversees thunderstorms and upheavals. He stands guard over Ra's barge in the underworld. Though at times Set has been considered evil, he is more properly understood as a god of necessary challenges and hardships. In modern times, careless practices make the deserts expand. Once-fertile land shrivels into lifeless dust. When Set sees humans behaving in uncivilized ways, he moves in and claims the land as desert. He sends the thunder and lightning but withholds the rain. War and discord attract his attention. Acts of compassion and husbandry ward him off, for such is not his concern. Address Set with this prayer:
Mighty one of the desert, Sunset-haired god of the dust, May it please you to stay out there, On the horizon, tending the barren lands, And not come here where people dwell. |
