Wepet Renpet 2026 ☥ Kemetic New Year — The Sirius Rising

Wepet Renpet (ꜥpt-rnpt) means “the opening of the year” in Medu Neter (ancient Egyptian language). It is marked by the heliacal rising of Sopdet — what the Greeks called Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The ancient Kemet priests tracked Sopdet’s pre-dawn appearance on the eastern horizon each year as the signal that the Nile flood was coming and the new year was beginning.

In 2026, Wepet Renpet falls approximately July 19–23. This is not astrology. This is astronomy — the same observation the priests made for over 3,000 years. Sirius disappears below the horizon for approximately 70 days each year (the “70-day disappearance” the priests documented), then reappears on the eastern horizon just before sunrise. That reappearance — the heliacal rising — was and is Wepet Renpet. The new year is not January 1. It never was.

Thoth is the scribe of Wepet Renpet — he records what the year will hold. The Thoth Tee worn at the opening of the Kemetic year is a declaration that you understand what is being written. Isis is the mother of reconstitution — at Wepet Renpet, Osiris is being rebuilt from the 14 pieces Aset recovered. The Isis Tee carries that energy of gathering, reconstructing, and reconstituting what was scattered.

Ra’s solar disk is at maximum power at Wepet Renpet — the sun is in Leo, approaching its highest arc of the year before Akhet’s flood begins to cool the earth. If there’s a time to wear the deities on your body, it’s the opening of the Kemetic year — when the cosmological forces they represent are at their most active. These tees are made for that moment. ☥

Wake before dawn on July 19. Face east. If Sirius is visible in your latitude (it rises heliacally in the northeastern US around late July), observe it. If it’s not visible yet, hold the intention. The Kemetic practice was the act of looking — of orientating the body toward the horizon where Sopdet would appear. That orientation is itself the practice.

Light a candle. Write three things you’re releasing from the previous Kemetic year and three intentions for the new one. This is not a New Age ritual — it is the oldest year-transition practice on record. The Kemetic priests maintained written records of what each year began with and what was released at Akhet. You are continuing that tradition.

The 9 Ether Field Guide has the full Kemetic New Year ritual prompts and seasonal alignment calendar for Wepet Renpet through Akhet through Peret and into the next Shemu. The new year is not January 1. It never was. ☥