Le Divinità Nefertem
Verse
Prayer to Nefertem
As the desert of night fades away
we are called to awaken
In the golden light of the morning sun
we are reborn.
The sacred blue lotus blooms
in the waters of Nun,
a soothing scent to guide us
towards the light of our future
and the imprint of our past.
In Ra, they are one and the same.
May we remain forever youthful,
in devotion to life’s simple pleasures and fleeting beauty,
in reverence to our own impermanence.
May our father, Ptah, guide our hands to sculpt masterpieces.
May our mothers, Bastet and Sekhmet, protect and teach us,
to be at once fierce and gentle,
to be in control of our demons
and know them only as friends.
May we be one with Heka,
strong in our magic
and our connection to the cosmos.
At the fated end of day
may we lay ourselves to rest once more
under the watchful eye of the moon
content in the knowledge that
we have wronged none, we have done no evil.
we are beautifully complete,
as Nefertem, eternally.
Keywords
Upright: Radiant energy. Vitality. Optimism. Youthful exuberance. Enlightenment. Rebirth. Awakening.
Reversed: Disconnection from your inner child. Struggling to see the bright side. Stagnation. Overconfidence. Naivety
Correspondences
Planet: Sun
Aroma: Blue Lotus, Cinnamon, Myrrh
Description
The figure of a Nefertem out of the sunlight. His pose mirrors that of the naive innocence of the Fool trying to fly, but this figure has the wings of triumph and is moving forward with confidence instead of ignorance. He is born from the blue lotus and presents himself to Ra. In the Hermetic Tarot, this card is known as the “Lord of the Fire of the World.”
In a reading, The Sun is a very optimistic and positive card. It represents radiant energy, vitality, and youthful exuberance. It is a messenger of success and the light at the end of the tunnel. You may reach a certain point of awareness and enlightenment that makes you feel more confident about your place in the world.
The reversed may indicate a need to reconnect to your inner-child or childlike enthusiasm. You may be struggling to see the bright side of a situation, but the dark clouds are only temporary. On the other hand, you may need a dose of reality if you have a tendency to be overconfident or overly optimistic.
Design
I decided to add an 81st card to the fourth edition of the deck to pay tribute to my patron deity Nefertem. His name means ”he who is beautifully complete.” He is the Egyptian god of perfume, aroma, rebirth, youth, fleeting beauty, dawn/the rising sun, healing, and the sacred blue lotus. He was born in the waters of Nun (creation) and shed the tears from which all mankind emerged. He is also said to have brought the blue lotus to the nostrils of Ra (The Sun God) to soothe him as he aged. He is part of the Memphite triad which also includes his parents Ptah (a creator god, patron of craftsmen and sculptors) and Sekhmet (Goddess of the hot desert sun, plague, chaos, war, and healing.) He is a solar and leonine deity.
For the design of this card, I wanted to retain the recognizable aspects of the sun but add symbolism from the tale of Nefertem. The child figure now has the head of a lion and wings of a falcon. The flower at the bottom is of course the blue lotus he was born from. I also shifted the colors a bit to make it look more like a sunrise.
You may choose to use this version of the sun or the original in your readings.
Key Symbols
Falcon Wings: Enlightenment, divinity, spirit, Ra
Lion Head: the leonine aspects of Nefertem, protection, power, destruction
Blue lotus: Rebirth, Healing
Color Theory
Orange: Creativity. Identity. Pleasure. Passion. Desire. Inspiration.
Yellow: Instinct. Wisdom. Confidence.
Green: Green: Love. Compassion. Emotion.
Blue: Truth. Clarity. Communication.
Purple: Intuition. Spirituality. Psychic energy.
