Who We Are
We are a Chicago-based community of spirit workers united by the following: an ethos of service to the Divine, to nature (and its creatures), and to our fellow humans, living and dead; and adherence to a cosmology, a devotional sensibility, and a set of spiritual technologies that are rooted in the cultic practices of the ancient Egyptians. A female practitioner of magic in ancient Egypt who could communicate with the dead, perform exorcisms and works of healing magic, and take part in temple rituals was known as a rekhet, a "knowing woman." She could come from a family of humble or royal birth, but her specialties were the same: serving as a living oracle and a source of apotropaic magic.
In our Iseum, we harness the wisdom of our female ancestors from our maternal lines--the source of our rekhet-knowingness--and ask for ancestral guidance and the protection of our Holy Powers in our work of becoming transfigured spirits (Akhu in Egyptian; singular: Akh) while we still live. We strive to be perfected humans, partaking of the essences and energies of our Gods to avert evil/izfet, promote healing, and restore balance to our ailing planet. Crucial to achieving this balance is highlighting the interrelatedness of the communities of the living and the dead and promoting ancestral cults to flourish, fighting social justice causes for First Nations peoples to reclaim the remains of their ancestors from museums, and upholding the dignity of the dying.
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Meet Rev. Anna Applegate, M.A.
Legally ordained Priestess in the worldwide Fellowship of Isis, Anna is a devout Polytheist who chiefly honors the Kemetic Neteru but also reveres mostly chthonic Deities of other pantheons. A medium, she is a certified Death Midwife who helps birth the dying into the Spirit World. Anna is also a Master Mason in the Eastern Order of Co-Freemasonry as well as an initiate in the West African Yoruba religion of Ifá; both traditions emphasize the cultivation of personal excellence in order to fuel spiritual evolution.
Anna holds a Master of Arts degree in English from Loyola University Chicago and is an experienced advertising wordslinger-for-hire. You can read about her esoteric adventures in her blog, Amor et Mortem ("Love and Death"). When she isn't teaching, leading rituals, teaching students, or reading, she enjoys painting, sculpting, beading devotional ritual jewelry that she sells on her Etsy site, Jackal Moon Designs, and rescuing feral cats.
Our Patron Deities: Nephthys (Nebet-Het) & Hekate
The Egyptian Funerary Deity Nebet-Het (Nephthys to the Greeks), the "Lady of the Temple," reigns over this Iseum. She is the mother of Anubis, sister to Isis, wife of Set. Her heka (magic) is great.
The pre-Olympian Titaness Hekate, especially Hekate Khthonia (of the Earth and Underworld) also reigns over this Iseum. She is the Witch Queen, Lady of the Crossroads, the One Who Leads a Retinue of Restless Spirits. Her arrival is announced by the baying of hounds. Ela, Dea! / Welcome, Goddess!
