We’re almost back to real time. Today the last of Nut’s children celebrates her birthday, and that would be Nephthys. Nephthys is rarely known for her own deeds, just her relationship with the others. She’s sister-wife to Set. She guards the spirits of the dead with Isis. She lives with Isis and Osiris–she moved in after Osiris died and she had that huge fight with Set. If I were Isis, I wouldn’t trust her in my house with my husband after what she pulled, but I suppose Isis trusts Osiris’s fealty.
There aren’t many stories told about her. She’s too wishy-washy for the fiery Set in my opinion. I hope he had a lot more fun with the two trophy wives given to him by Ra–Astarte and Anat. Yes, those were Canaanite goddesses. Yes, both were married. Set challanged Horus at being inept at defending Egypt and said he should take over as king of the gods. The council of gods heard his claim, but decided that he had raised a good point, but Horus would retain his title. However, Horus was ordered to do better. Ra, depending on Set for his protection, argued that Set should have some compensation for this. So his realm was expanded and he was given Astarte and Anat for wives. Both were fertility goddesses, but neither bore a child for Set. It was a weird redaction, but at least Astarte is a dragon-slayer. She does stuff. Nephthys is either causing trouble or acting as decoration.
If you get the Game Show Network you want to check out The Making of a Game Show Catch 21 tomorrow at 4 or Sunday at 2 and 10. Jason Block from The Block Party Podcast will be there talking about his experience as a contestant on the show.
Since Fridays are for podcasts, on Knit Spirit we have the end of the world as we know it, and talk of the added skills a knitter needs. The WritingCast will return next week at its regularly scheduled time.
July 18th, 2008
Today is the birthday of one of the best known Egyptian goddesses. The Egyptians called her Ist; the Greeks renamed her as Isis. She is called “She who knows all the names” because the belief was that names had power. If you can call something or someone by their true name, you can work magic on them. This concept has embedded itself in modern fantasy literature. Ursula LeGuin plays on this in her Earthsea novels.
A story is told that Ra took ill. Nothing and no one could heal him. Isis offered to heal him, if only he’d tell her his true name, for his was the only name she did not know. He gave a false name, but she found him out. Finally he relented and told her the truth and she used that name to work her healing magic.
She presides over magic and is a guardian of the tombs. If you’ve ever seen the two winged goddesses guarding the dead pharaoh in Egyptian carvings or tomb paintings, those are Isis and Nephthys. In magic, Isis is considered the strongest of the pantheon.
On the knitting front, this hat is done.
It’s called a “child’s baseball cap” and the cotton has a hand reminiscent of a baseball, not rough per se, but textured. The lacing is embroidered on after the fact. One of these days I’ll learn the knitting skills that aren’t knitting, like sewing and embroidery. It came as a kit from Nan as a Karma swap a while ago and it just called to be knit. Jane, please let me know when it’s okay to send this along for K4.
We saw Hancock yesterday. Sharron and I liked it; Jason hated it. Structurally it’s two movies. The first one is brilliant, and lasted about 40 minutes. Apparently they decided that wasn’t long enough so started a second, totally different movie with the same characters after the first ended. The second movie-in-the-movie wasn’t as good as the first. It’s a pity they couldn’t just roll the credits when the first ended. That first movie-in-a-movie was a satisfying story with a rich cast of characters and a good undercurrent of humor and emotion told in a tight, well-paced way.
July 17th, 2008
Horus is one of the most confusing deities in the Egyptian pantheon, likely because he is the redaction of at least 15 different myth traditions. The oldest form is a version of Horus the Elder (we get Horus the Younger later on). In one incarnation of Horus the Elder he was born on July 16 to Nut and Geb, but he is not twin to the other four, who were born in the same year. Another form of Horus the Elder was the son of Ra. Another was the son of Hathor, while yet another was the husband of Hathor.
As Horus the Younger he is born to Isis and Osiris on December 25, a coincidence that leads some to parallel the Jesus story to the Horus story. In fact there are only two good points of parallel. First is the birthday. Second is the iconography. A statue done of Isis and baby Horus would look just like a statue of Mary and baby Jesus done at that time. This is because Ancient Egyptian artisans (outside of the reign of Akhenaten) used a symbolic art form. You had a standard “divine birth of the Pharaoh” scene, so standard that the scene done for Hatchepsut clearly shows a male child. There would also be a standard “divine mother and baby” image. The Coptic Church in Egypt would have provided much of the early imagery, on which some later depictions were based.
Generally, trying to make complete sense of the Horus myth makes my head explode. I just put the elements I liked best together for the Horus I use in my stories. I use Horus the Younger almost entirely and then add in the war with Set elements from Horus the Elder. One of the fun things the Egyptians did was put their opinions in the mouths of the gods. So if the Pharaoh was being an idiot they’d say, “Set says that Horus is being an idiot.” We get a lot of stories of the two of them bickering. Sometimes it comes to war. Sometimes the council of the gods rules on the issue. Sometimes Isis tricks Set and Horus wins that way. When it comes to the council ruling, Ra often sides with Set because Set defends him against Apep, completely ignoring the Horus Behdety variation of Horus, who defends Ra against Set. Take it as alternate universe fanfic; it’s the only way it’s going to all make sense.
In yarn diet news, I subscribe to the Yarniverse Kureyon Club and a shipment came during the diet period. I’m not doing Lizard Ridge, at least not yet, so instead I made this reading bag.
It’s storing my to-be-read collection of books and magazines, making it easy to tote those from room to room, or anywhere I want to bring my reading. I’m terrible. Half of it is filled with comic books. This one was a pleasure to knit. I was done with it before I was ready to let it go, it’s such a fun little knit. The pattern is called, Lew, and it’s available here. I had to line it, and I’m horrible at sewing, so the finishing took longer than the knitting. Still, I think I’m going to do this one again. If I do, I’d make two changes. I’d use a long shoulder strap instead of the handles and I’d sew in a little pocket. Maybe it’ll be the inspiration I need to become competent at sewing.
July 16th, 2008
Set’s legend is mixed. He was lord of Lower Egypt (the north, near the delta) while Horus was lord of Upper Egypt. When Narmer united the country, becoming the first pharaoh, he was from Upper Egypt. It was understood that the gods of Upper Egypt warred with the gods of Lower Egypt and the Upper Egypt gods won. This is why we have all of those Set vs Horus stories running around. In the earliest legends the giant serpent Apep would chase the sun as it traveled across the sky. Apep would attack and try to eat the sun barge, but Ra’s defenders would drive him off. Set was the strongest of the gods and chief amongst Ra’s defenders. As such it is he that stands at the head of the barge, first to fight, and it is to him that the people prayed if they saw the sun overcome (aka an eclipse).
Depending on the story, he’s either more brilliant than the others (he alone realizes the world needs Apep, because the balance of night and day must be maintained) or just a stupid oaf who lucks into getting things right.
My favorite story is told two ways. All that varies is the order of events, but changing that, changes everything. Set chose to adopt Anubis to raise as his own, but Nephthys feared for the child, hiding him for a time in the desert until Set found them. Nephthys feared for Anubis and hid him for the time in the desert. Set found them and chose to adopt the child to raise as his own.
Knitpickin points out rightly that Set and Horus were opposites. Set ruled the desert and Horus the cities near the Nile. Set also ruled over Chaos, his primary realm, while Horus ruled over Order, particularly in his role as special deity to the pharaoh. The elite went to Horus; the misfits, the outcasts, the artists and the people who just didn’t dance to the common drummer found favor in Set’s eyes. The Israelites, being outsiders and shepherds (thus living outside of the cities) would have been thought by the Egyptians to be under Set’s protection.
In modern literature he’s often presented as pure evil, rejected by Egyptian society. In fact the pharaoh was thought to be crowned by both Horus and Set. “Seti” means “of Set”. Ramses took Set as a patron because of his nature as a war god. Set was offered libations of beer and lettuce, especially today, his birthday. And for his birthday, I offer you this tribute sock pattern.
Materials
100 grams fingering weight yarn. I used red because that color is sacred to Set.
A set of 4 size 1 dpns.
400 beads. It’s a good idea to get extras for defects or spillage.
Leg
Cast on 64
Work K2 P2 ribbing for 2 inches.
Work 1/2 inch stockinette, decreasing one stitch on the first round.
Work bead chart from the top down seven times around.
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Continue in stockinette until the leg measures six inches.
Heel
Setup rounds
K1. M1. K30. Turn
Slip 1. Slip 1. K2. Purl to last 3. K3.
Row 1: S1 K2 (S1 K1) to last 3 stitches. K3
Row 2: S1 K2 Purl to last 3 stitches. K3
Repeat these two rows until the heel flap measures 2 inches.
Turn Heel
Row 1: K22. SSK. K1 Turn
Row 2: S1. P6. P2 Tog. P1. Turn
Row 3. S1. K7. SSK. K1. Turn.
Row 4: Sl. P8. P2 Tog. P1. Turn
Continue as established until you have used up all the stitches. You should have just completed a purl row. Knit across. If you find yourself ending on a knit row, just fudge it and start right on picking up the gusset. No one will notice.
Gusset
Pick up one stitch in each slipped stitch up the side of the heel flap onto needle 1. On needle 2, knit across the instep stitches. Pick up one stitch in each slipped stitch down the other side of the heel flap onto needle 3. You should have picked up the same number of stitches on both sides. Now knit the first half of the heel stitches onto needle 3 and slip the rest onto needle 1. The center of the heel is your new start of round.
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: Knit to last 3 stitches on needle 1. K2Tog K1. Knit needle 2. On needle 3, K1, SSK. K to end of round.
Repeat these two rounds until you have 64 stitches remaining.
Continue in stockinette until the foot measures two inches less than the desired length.
Toe
Round 1: Knit to last 3 stitches on needle 1. K2Tog K1. On needle two K1 SSK. Knit to last 3 stitches of needle 2. K2Tog K1. On needle 3 K1 SSK. Knit to end of round.
Round 2: Knit
Repeat these two rounds until you have 16 stitches remaining. Knit needle 3 onto needle 1 so you have two needles with 8 stitches each.
Graft toe closed.
July 15th, 2008
Osiris was the first of the children born to Nut during the extra week and today is his birthday. I should point out that, although Thoth was the one who figured out how to overcome Ra’s curse, the earth god, Geb, is Nut’s husband and the father of her children. Nut is the goddess of the sky, and she’s often depicted arched over him.
Osiris is the one who displaced Ra as king of the gods, at least for a while.
There came a time when Nephthys felt her husband Set was ignoring her, casting his eye to Isis instead. So she disguised herself as Isis to try to seduce Set. I find it odd how, in all of what happens next, she is perceived as sweet and innocent. Set gets a bad rap for refusing to commit adultery, instead rejecting “Isis’s” advances. Osiris came upon her next and, taking her as his wife since she was in disguise, he bedded her. She became pregnant with Anubis (who oddly enough looks a lot like Set). Set, on learning this, decided to kill Osiris. Again, Nephthys was clearly the one in the wrong, and she wasn’t taken to task for her actions. Yes, yes, both pairs are brother/sister and husband/wife. Genetics isn’t much of an issue. Ra shot his kids out of his eyes.
Set created a huge box sized precisely to fit Osiris and held a party. As one of the party games, he offered a boon to whomever fits the box best. All the gods and goddesses tried, but of course Osiris was the closest fit. As soon as he lay down in the box, Set slammed it shut and threw the box into the Nile. Isis recovered the body and Set feared she might revive him magically for her magic was powerful. So he found the body and cut it into pieces, scattering the pieces all across the earth.
As Knitpickin pointed out yesterday, the Egyptian gods didn’t fight clean. Set caused a Nile Carp to swallow Osiris’s phallus. Isis set out to gather the pieces, but could not find the phallus, so she carved him a new one of silver. She put the pieces together and mummified him, burying him in Egypt. He rose as the god of the dead. Before he journeyed to Aaru, he magically impregnated Isis with Horus, a son to succeed him.
This served as an example to the Egyptians of how to prepare a body, so that the Ka might go to Aaru. The body must be mummified whole even if parts must be replaced in effigy (clearly, they work). The body must be buried in Egypt, which is why Egypt never colonized other lands. No one wanted to risk dying outside of Egypt. They’d go to places like Nubia (then called Kush) and steal some gold or what not, then come home again.
I find it interesting that Egypt has an idea of Heaven, but not Hell. The heart is weighed against the feather of Ma’at, either by Ma’at herself or by Anubis, depending on when the story is being told. If the heart balances against the feather, the person may go on to Aaru, which is like a perfected form of Egypt. If not, the heart is fed to the giant dog Ammit, and the person is destroyed. The legends never say if the soul must be as light as a feather or heavy enough (have enough left that isn’t worn away by sin) to push down a simple feather. I rather like the latter.
I’ve been knitting my way through the Knit Picks summer sampler and yesterday I finished the tea cup cozy.
The yarns involved are Shine Worsted and Main Line. The Shine Worsted (the terra cotta color in the picture) is nothing to write home about. It’s just like Shine Sport, and like that, it works best at a slightly tighter gauge to avoid pulling and pilling. The Main Line (the blue in the photo) shocked me. It has a softness comparable to cashmere. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I know I have to make a cardigan in that. It would be good for early spring or autumn because it’s mostly cotton, so not as warm as wool. It’s machine washable, the stitch definition is great, it’s a joy to work with. I’ve never touched this yarn before, but I know I will work with it again.
I’m not sure if I like Fair Isle in cotton. These yarns have no stretch at all, which I find helpful when there is stranding in a pattern. I caught every third stitch, and it does it’s job, but I wouldn’t use this for a Fair Isle sweater.
I wanted to take a picture of Hikari with Sharron for the blog, but he’s shy.
July 14th, 2008
Back when the Ancient Egyptians invented the calender, they divided it into 12 months of 30 days each. They then grouped those months into three seasons in accordance to the state of the Nile, be it flooding, receding, or receded. I’ll bet you’ve done the math and seen that this is 360 days and won’t gel. It didn’t. After enough time letters would be written that said, “it was the third day of Inundation when the land was dry”. Eventually they realized they needed to fix things. Enter the “extra week”–five days really, starting tomorrow.
The story was told that Ra was the king of the gods. It was prophesied that Nut would give birth to the god that would replace him, so he cursed her that she not give birth on any day of the year. This made her very sad. So Thoth, god of wisdom, god who brought writing to the Egyptians, played a game of Senet with Khons, god of the moon. The prize was a portion of Khons’s light. As an added bonus, this explains why the moon cannot shine full all the time but must wax and wane. Thoth used that light to create five extra days, outside of the normal year. Nut was able to bear children on those days.
As I said, the extra time starts tomorrow, but I wanted to start this contest today, because today is Ra’s birthday. Ra is the hawk-headed deity who drives the sun barge across the sky on its daily voyage. I love that the Egyptians actually pinpointed the location of the entrance to the underworld, where Ra traveled by night to rise again the next morning. It’s in the Bakhu mountain range in modern-day Iraq.
So here is the contest. Leave a comment on the blog, either today’s entry or one of the subsequent ones talking about each of the gods, for a chance to win hand dyed sock yarn in my Ancient Egyptian colorways. It’s 30% silk/70% merino. 440 yards. 100 grams. Enough for an average pair of woman’s socks.
The contest will end when we return to normal time on July 20, which, coincidentally, is the birthday of Alexander the Great. A winner will be selected at random. Watch this space on July 15, Set’s birthday, for a free beaded sock pattern.
As an aside I find it amusing that the Roman calendar started with 10 months then added two extras: July (for Julius) and August (for Augustus). This is why the prefaces of the later months don’t match their actual numbers. Sept = 7. Oct = 8. Nov (think Novena) is 9. Dec = 10.
July 13th, 2008
Today we have an episode of Knit Spirit dealing with the ancient past.
I’ve knit the third project from the Knit Picks summer sampler. These are the fingerless (aka typing) gloves.
I went with the optional picot edging on the thumb and I used mattress stitch to seam up the lace edging. This yarn gets a lot of flack for pilling and pulling. This is because it’s spun loosely for softness (which causes the pilling) and it has modal for shine. The modal makes it slippery, which causes the pulling. I talk about this on the show, but these are knit on size 4 needles and at that gauge, this yarn is wonderful. I recommend knitting a bit tighter than the gauge on the band for the best results.
July 11th, 2008
First, if you haven’t seen it yet, someone set up a Ravelry account in the name of John McCain. Go click and see. He has no listed stash and no projects. Sadly, the person who set this up didn’t know enough of the flag code (McCain, I think, would) to realize that half the patriotic patterns listed are actually a violation. In particular, (b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise . (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. And (e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way. The American Flag socks fit all three. This, by the way, applies to the flag, not the colors in any other configuration. The Captain America sweater is fine. I find it ironic that the flag code advocates burning the flag, granted as a dignified way to destroy a flag no longer suitable for display.
I’m working my way through the summer sampler from Knit Picks. Yesterday I finished a lace scarf in Crayon. Today I did a headband in Cotlin.
This is the opposite of Crayon. It has fabulous stitch definition and it’s more firm than soft. It’s a cotton/linen blend which gives it a sort of dry hand and no stretch at all. This is good for a headband where you don’t want it to stretch out of shape. The pattern is nice because it’s thick enough in the back to lift the hair off the neck. It’s cool and pretty and a very fast knit. If the right pattern presents itself, I will be using this yarn again.
July 10th, 2008
Yesterday, Jane put out a call to those who could craft to do so. I’d reiterate her reasons, but I wouldn’t be able to capture the beauty of her words. Go read the original, then go make something beautiful.
This is my response.
Forgive the pins; it’s blocking.
It’s creation for the sake of nothing but creation. A laceweight cotton scarf. I don’t know anyone who is into the fad of wearing scarves in summer. It’s far too lightweight to be of any use in winter. I knit it because the pattern is beautiful and the yarn is so soft, it’s delicious. It’s Crayon from Knit Picks. The yarn has no clue what the term “stitch definition” means, but a softer yarn would be hard to find.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what she said, and while I still disagree that evil always looks the same (Adolf Hitler isn’t Isabella I) I do agree that evil stands in direct opposition to creativity because evil can pretty much be defined as destruction for the sake of destruction, and the greatest evil is the destruction of G-d’s most wonderful creation, life and the human soul.
July 9th, 2008
First, I want to point you to Jane’s Blog today. She’s written an amazing essay on good/evil/and the ability to create.
My coworkers and I have a totally different view of New York. They hate the city and want to leave. I love New York and hate having to go elsewhere. It is, in my none too humble opinion, the finest city in the world. Other cities boast of a “Broadway house” or a “Broadway tour”. We have Broadway.
The topic came up a while back on New Yorkers being rude. In some small towns strangers smile and greet you when you pass on the streets in the morning. I’m sorry, but you can’t do that in Times Square. The noise would be deafening. We forgo those small courtesies in deference to practicality.
I assert that, in practical good, we shine. I remember walking down the street in Phoenix when an old woman fell. I went over to help her, and I was the only one. Other people ignored her. In New York she would have been surrounded by helping hands.
There are two factors at work here. One is the population density. If there is one helpful person per 10,000 that puts four on every block in New York on a random afternoon. The other is the lens.
Ask Janice about how New Yorkers treat the handicapped on the subway and she’ll tell you that no one ever gives up a seat. She’ll tell you about a pregnant woman who almost passed out from the heat, until Janice chastised a man to give up his seat for her. She’ll tell you about an old grandmother who couldn’t stand, but not one would give her a seat.
Ask me the same question and I’ll tell you about the time a lady came on with a cane, clearly badly balanced, and you would have thought there was a prize for the person who could give her a seat first. Half the car got up at once and called to her to have a seat. I’ll tell you about the time a Muslim woman in a long sleeve, long skirt dress, looked about ready to faint and a total stranger gave her his seat and his bottle of water.
She’ll tell you about the time an old woman was trying to cross a snow drift and a young man pushed her aside. I’ll tell you about the time I was having trouble and a total stranger offered me his hand.
She’ll tell you about how people don’t want to know from anyone else and I’ll point to the gentleman yesterday who flagged down a cab for a woman, just because she obviously needed a cab. A woman had run out of a building and yelled for one that had just passed so he signaled one that was on the way for her.
We live in the same city, and yet different cities. If an old man can’t get a door open, she’ll see the two people who walk past and I’ll see the third person who holds the door for him. She doesn’t want to love New York, so she’ll cast her eyes on the negative. I can’t help but love my city, so my heart remembers the positive. I’ve had so many people do so many nice things for me. Holding doors. Waving down the bus. Helping with a package. Yesterday I dropped something when I got up to get off the bus. One person found it for me and the driver waited for me to retrieve it. That’s the face of New York that I know.
She sees death in concrete and steel. I see life in poetry, plays, music, and art. She longs for open, empty spaces and I need the crowds and noise and energy of the city. She can’t stand the noise of too many people in too little space. I can’t stand the quiet darkness of the wilderness for very long.
It amazes me, when we talk about New York, how we could both experience, even the few blocks around the office, in such diverse ways. Then I realize, that too is part of the magic of this place.
July 8th, 2008
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