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Underworld Priestess Crew
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 Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:43 pm
"The plug has been lifted from the unguent jar. A perfume of hours. The past has been rolled into a scroll I shall not see again. The eye of the hawk is unblinking. Open. Shut. Perfect." - Excerpt from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 4:42 am
Just wondering if you're ever going to post anything here? I'm very interested in learning about your take/beliefs/practices on the path.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 6:17 pm
Yes I am, sorry I have been swamped lately. I'll post soon, promise!
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:12 pm
What is Egyptian Polytheism:
This path is for people who are dedicated or follow the deities of Ancient Egypt.
For a very short overview:
The term Kemeticism was formed as part of the neopagan revival of the ancient religion and tends to refer an eclectic path that involves the ancient Egyptian deities.
Sometimes when referring to Kemeticism people are talking about "Kemetic Orthodoxy" which is a specific tradition involving the reconstruction of the religion.
There is also a branch of Kemetic Wicca which is a path that fuses together some of the principles of Wicca and the ancient Egyptian religion.
Personally, I try to avoid any form of the idea of Kemeticism, so as to avoid confusion and overlong discussion. I consider myself an Egyptian Polytheist which means I worship the many gods of ancient Egypt, live by the truths of Ma'at and have formed by own reconstructed rituals. Through my studies and reading about the history, I have found the ritual structure to be rather formal and strict, however you can make variations which I will get into further down in the topic.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:19 pm
A Brief Overview of the Deities:
Gods:
. . Aker..........................The double lion god.
. . Amun................................The hidden one.
. . Ammut.............................The devourer.
. . Anubis..............................The jackal, deity of embalming, cemeteries, guardian and guide of the dead.
. . Geb................................. Great Cackler..
. Hapi................................Father of the gods.
. . Horus...............................He who is above.
. . Khepri.............................. He who comes into existence.
. . Aten..................................Lord of all.
. . Khnum..............................Lord of the cool waters.
. . Min...................................Chief of Heaven.
. . Osiris................................King of the dead.
. . Ptah.................................. The Opener.
. . Ra.................................. Father of the gods.
. . Seth.................................. Lord of Upper Egypt, god of storms and evil.
. . Sobek............................... He who causes to be fertile.
. . Thoth............................... The great measurer, god of knowledge.
Goddess:
. . Bastet...............................The Tearer.
. . Hathor.............................. Mistress of heaven.
. . Isis................................... The throne.
. . Maat.................................The goddess of truth.
. . Mut...................................Lady of Heaven..
. Neith................................ Great Goddess.
. . Nephthys.......................... Lady of the house, Friend of the Dead.
. . Nut................................... The Sky.
. . Sekhmet........................... Mighty One.
. . Seshat............................. Lady of the Library.
. . Taurt................................ The great lady.This list came from: http://www.egyptartsite.com/list.html and I added on to a few of the deities. For more information visit: wikipedia, or www.egyptianmyths.net
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:34 pm
A Brief History of Ancient Egypt:
I always feel that the best way to understand a religion is to understand a little bit about the culture from which it came.
Egypt is located in North Africa and the main source of life is the Nile River.
In ancient history classes we are typically taught that there were three main kingdoms of Ancient Egypt: the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Each kingdom had certain deities that were predominant and each had certain dynasties that ruled. Little is known about the predynasty period that took place before the Old Kingdom. At the end of the new kingdom is when Egypt was taken over by the Romans (think about the stories of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony).
Because different deities were popular at different times it can be difficult to keep track of what deity was in charge of what. For example, during before the 5th dynasty in the Old Kingdom Anubis was considered the ruler of the dead. Then the Cult of Osiris grew in power and Osiris became the king of the dead. In the mythology it is said that Anubis gave up his claim to the throne out of respect for Osiris, who is considered the father of Anubis in most myths. Other's it is Set or Seth.
The Ancient Egyptians were very advanced compared to some other societies of their time especially with social equality, astrononmy and mathematics. They could build wonderous statues and monuments, and even move cities.
Men and women were equal in some ways, women could inherit property and could hold high positions such as a High Priestess. Homosexuality was also tolerated, evidence of homosexual relationships has been found in tombs. If you have other questions please feel free to ask. All of this information has come from what I remember of my Ancient History class and from what I have read over the years.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:38 pm
The Truths of Ma'at:
Also called the Divine Principles of Ma'at and the Negative Confessions of Ma'at.
These are the truths that are uttered by the deceased on their journey through the Underworld. These are said before the weighing of the heart. The heart is weighed against the feather of Ma'at to see if you had kept a light heart during your life on earth.
The Truths of Ma'at is a code of ethics and morals to live by. Scholars have compared this list to the Ten Commandments of the Bible and some debate that the Ten Commandments came specifically from the Truths of Ma'at. There are 42 in total.
The 42 Divine Principles of the Goddess Maat
1. I have not committed sin.
2. I have not committed robbery with violence.
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have not slain men or women
5. I have not stolen food.
6. I have not swindled offerings.
7. I have not stolen from God/Goddess.
8. I have not told lies.
9. I have not carried away food.
10. I have not cursed.
11. I have not closed my ears to truth
12. I have not committed adultery.
13. I have not made anyone cry.
14. I have not felt sorrow without reason
15. I have not assaulted anyone
16. I am not deceitful.
17. I have not stolen anyone’s land
18. I have not been an eavesdropper
19. I have not falsely accused anyone.
20. I have not been angry without reason.
21. I have not seduced anyone’s wife.
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have not terrorized anyone.
24. I have not disobeyed the Law.
25. I have not been exclusively angry.
26. I have not cursed God/Goddess.
27. I have not behaved with violence.
28. I have not caused disruption of peace.
29. I have not acted hastily or without thought.
30. I have not overstepped my boundaries of concern.
31. I have not exaggerated my words when speaking.
32. I have not worked evil.
33. I have not used evil thoughts, words or deeds.
34. I have not polluted the water
35. I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly.
36. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds.
37. I have not placed myself on a Pedestal.
38. I have not stolen what belongs to God/Goddess.
39. I have not stolen from or disrespected the deceased.
40. I have not taken food from a child.
41. I have not acted with insolence.
42. I have not destroyed property belonging to God/Goddess.This list came from: http://www.nubeing.com/unblind2/42.htm
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:39 pm
The Afterlife and the Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a very well-known tool when it comes to the Ancient Egyptain path. However, the book is rather difficult to read. It is full of information and chants and is a very heavy read. If you want to read it, I would suggest a few pages at a time. The copy I have is The Egyptian Book of the Dead:The Book of Going Forth By Day. By Dr. Ogden Goelet and Dr. Raymond Faulkner. It has the translation as well pictures of the actual panels. The book is a translation of the Book of the Dead by Ani, which is the most used of any of the books of the dead.
The idea behind the book is for the deceased to use it as a guide. The person did not have to memorize it but they did need to have it with them in their tomb in order for their soul to have the information needed for the journey.
The journey of the dead was not simple. There were many challenges that had to be faced along the way.
At the point of death the Ka or soul leaves the body to take the journey. The trials include defeating the demon snake and the river of fire. At one point the heart will be weighed and if it is heavy with sin then the soul is destroyed for all eternity. If the person can pass the journey then they can be reincarnated.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:40 pm
Your Personal Altar: The altar should be decorated with trinkets or statues to represent the deities you follow. Incense is also very big with the ancient religion and is used to cleanse and as an offering. Pick objects that feel right for you for your altar. Candles, pyramids, scarabs, cat statues, if you think it is right for your altar than it probably is right.
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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:41 pm
Ritual Format: I will not get into great detail with the ritual format because we all have our individual ways of doing things. I for one, take a very formal approach to my rituals.
But he is just a general order of how things can go:
Ritual bath
Dress in ritual clothing
Annoint self
Annoint statues with oil
Light incense and cleanse area
Present offering
Opening prayer
Ritual
Closing prayer
There is little evidence that the priest called the elements or quarters during their rituals. Many rituals were done inside the temples. In fact, the priest and priestesses performed daily rituals to the gods. Since the rituals were done inside temples which are considered sacred places they did not call the elements. It is possible that the quarters were called for rituals outside temple walls but I have found no set format for how the quarters would have been called in those instances. I myself do not call the quarters, I have made my altar area into a sacred space.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 9:23 am
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:10 pm
Um. I was just skimming through and I noticed and you forgot the god Khonsu. He was the diety of the moon. Just thought I would let you know
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:55 pm
There are a lot of Gods not included in the list. I think this is just a brief overview. The Egyptian pantheon is so vast it would be ridiculous (extremely difficult) to try and create an entire list of them all.
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 12:05 pm
Yes, it is very brief, like any short list of deities of any pantheon are nowadays. The list shows the more well-known Egyptian deities. You have to be more considerate when you speak of a moon deity when it comes to the Egyptian pantheon because technically the Egyptians did not have a moon deity. Khonsu was associated with the moon but so was Thoth. I think there may have been a few others. But they were not moon deities, only deities with an association. Really when you do research on the Egyptian pantheon most of the deities are either solar or lunar. There is not just one deity associated with the sun and moon.
In the ancient Egyptian religion, ideas changed, deities changed, their aspects changed. That is just how it went and it takes a lot of study to try and keep everything straight and all the associations in order. Also, in most of the more well-known myths I have seen, the moon is considered the second eye of Ra or Horus (depending on what mythology you prefer).
Also, I just looked at the title of the section and it did say brief overview.
After doing some research, I found that Khonsu is associated with the moon. But like I said depending on what you read some call him the god of the moon but then usually say but so is Thoth and then other's call him a god associated with the moon. Khonsu is the god who protected travelers or more specficially those who traveled at night.
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Underworld Priestess Crew
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Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:59 pm
Winter Solstice is approaching quickly. This is when the ancient Egyptians celebrated their sun god Ra. Ra was also their god of creation.
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