I've recently gained access to the Housing program here on Gaia- for a long time my poor little computer just couldn't handle it. But I've got a new one (new to me, anyway), and a better connection now, so I've been trying to figure out what to do with my house. For the meantime, I've settled on a Gaian-Egyptian chapel.^_^ Unfortunately, they won't allow me to do what I'd originally wanted- I'd wanted to put a Bast statue up on that golden Egyptian table/altar they have, but it seems you can't place statues on tables. I'd also thought about placing a cabinet up there. because traditionally Egyptian cult images are placed within a cabinet called a naos to protect Them and give Them some privacy between rituals, but apparently no cabinets are allowed on tables, either. LOL!
So then it occured to me that in an Egyptian temple, the offering table wouldn't actually be in the same room with the image- there would be a small room in the very back of the temple where the naos was kept, and the room just before it would have the table where the offerings were kept. So I placed an Egyptian Door to one side to show where the Holy of Holies is situated, and arranged an offering table piled with offerings before it. I'd originally intended this as a shrine for Bast- hence the green lighting and green cushion by the area's edge (though those lamps kind of remind me of the papyrus collumns of the hypostyle hall... vaguely... and I like that ) - but the door gives the place enough ambiguity so that any ntjr or ntjrt could be envisioned in the room beyond. Actually, as it turns out I couldn't find anywhere in the room to place the pair of Bast statues I'd bought with an idea of flanking the entrance, because anywhere I put them it just seemed crowded- I'm already looking forward to the day when the Housing program is expanded to give us more space!
As it is, I had to try to squish the entirety of the temple into one room, so there is a table off to one side with an inscription and some water with which to purify yourself. But just as the Graeco-Egyptian period had it's own take and influences on Egyptian traditions, I suppose the Gaian-Egyptian culture will have it's own compromises and unique twists!
There is one thing which I managed to work in of which I am quite proud, though.
3nodding The ancient temples had stone engravings collectively called
cippi, which were covered with prayers, spells, and pictures of gods or sacred objects- water was poured over the face of the stone so that it flowed over the carvings and took the form of the words and images, thus absorbing their power, and could then be used for healing, protection, purification, offering, or a variety of purposes depending on the inscription.
heart There would be a trough with a funnel-shaped drain in the center for channeling the water into a container brought by the user. I only had room for one such stone, so I'll leave it up to the viewer to choose whatever is appropriate to the moment- there is a drain at the bottom of the inscription, btw... it's just too small and delicately wrought into the design for us to see from this far away. Really.
cool Feel free to place a vase or cup of the water in your own home- there are even some "Egyptian" style ones available on the market.^_^ Eventually, I hope to have a section of the shrine where people can donate items (such as candles, flowers, or offerings) to be kept in the shrine. It's too bad there isn't a small stella in our current Egyptian item selection- or even the opportunity to have a statue of your avatar made! Both of these items are traditional offerings which people set up in temples, so that they always have the benefit of a presence of some sort there, and are able to share in any offerings after passing over.
Here's a link to the house if you'd like to come visit:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/homes?user=2044832 And if your computer does not support the housing program, I have a screenshot here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/webenbanu/Just for fun/GaianTemple1.png I dressed as a temple musician for the shot, you see I am playing a harp for the deity.
It's simple, but I didn't want to make it too busy. I might eventually work out some sort of temenos wall around the edge of the arrangeable living space, so that the outside would be the outer courtyard. I just don't want to obscure the view inside, since we can't rotate the view to see around objects.
So what do you all think? Do you have any ideas to make it better? Anything you particularly like, or think it would be better off without? Did you take some water from the cippi to place in your home?
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