Welcome to Gaia! ::

So I'm starting this thread for multiple reasons. First is to try to help those that are interested in Kemeticism. Second is to find out what I really know and where my weak points are. Third is because I believe people learn alot from each other. Someone out there knows a lot more than me and I'm sure there are probably people that know as much as I do but in different areas and we can all help each other.

I do not claim that I know everything about Kemet and Kemeticism and I am not claiming that my view on it is the right and/or only view. For all I know I could be totally wrong(I hope I'm not).

Also I would like to point out that I know you guys are not going to try to attack me or try to completely tear me down when you ask questions so don't be afraid to ask something because you think I might take it the wrong way.



Intro/Table of Contents
Cosmogony and Core Myths
Breaking Down the Core Myths
More Myths
Deities
Ma'at vs Isfet
The Ba and Ka
Death and Funeral Rites
The Afterlife
Symbols
Heka and Rituals
Holidays
Glossary
Pronunciation Guide
Sources/Recommended Reading List/"Bad" Books and Authors
Some of My Experiences With Kemetic Deities
Reserved

Creation

There are different versions of the creation myth depending on where you are in Kemet. Some of the more well known Kemetic creation myths are from Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis, and Thebes.

The System of Heliopolis
Atum(some say it was Ra) appeared from nun and with his hand took his seed into his mouth and then spit out Shu and Tefnut. Then from Shu and Tefnut came Geb and Nut.

Now I have read in a couple places that Nut and Geb made Ra and that Nut was supposedly "married" to Ra after She had Him but still loved Geb. That caused Ra to become angry and forbid Nut from having children during any day of the year. After hearing that Djehuty(some said it was Nut Herself) played draughts with the moon to win 70 seconds from each day to create 5 new days so Nut could give birth to Asar, Aset, Set, Nebet Het, and Heru Ur.

Then the story of Set murdering Asar takes place and Aset gives birth to Heru.

There are two different versions of the Ennead of Heliopolis:
Atum/Ra-Atum
Shu - Tefnut
Geb - Nut
Asar, Aset, Set, Nebet Het, Heru Ur

Other versions replace Heru Ur with Heru, sa Aset.

The Gods of Memphis
Ptah - Creator and supreme lord
Nefertem - the Primeval Lotus
Sekhmet - the Terrible Lioness
Sokar - the God of the Dead

The Gods of Hermopolis
There are actually several variations of the creation myth in Hermopolis. One version says that the four divine couples-Nun and Naunet, Amun and Amaunet, Huh and Hauhet, Kuk and Kauket(the Ogdoad of Hermopolis) that represented the basic negative characteristics of the primeval waters, came together to create the world but eventually died off. But from the duat they still make the world run.

Another version is that the "Great Cackler", the celestial goose, laid the Cosmic Egg that the world was hatched from.
A different version of this said the Cosmic Egg was laid by an ibis which lead people to believe Djehuty created the world since one of His forms is the ibis-headed God and He also had been connected to the Ogdoad(some myths said the Ogdoad were the offspring of either Amun, Shu, or Djehuty).

The Gods of Thebes
Amun - "the Invisible One" - created by the spirits of Hermopolis and the sun God Ra at the same time
Mut - Amun's consort
Khonsu - the moon child of Amun and Mut

Putting basic information. For more in-depth, if I was able to find it, can be found under Breaking Down the Core Myths or More Myths. Also if you do find something that is off please don't hesitate to correct me.

Aabit: a singing Goddess
Aah: a moon God
Aker: an earth God shown as two heads or two lions facing in opposite directions (east and west). Said to absorb poison from your body when called upon.
Amen: a sun God
Ami: a fire God
Ami Neter: a singing God
Ami Pe: a lion God
Amu: a dawn God
Amun: creator god, worshipped at Thebes as King of the Gods
Amutnen: a Goddess of milk cows
Anpu(Yinepu, Anubis): jackal God, inventor or mummification and guardian of cemeteries
Apet: a mother Goddes, nursing mother
Apuat(Upuat): a white or grey jackal god who guides souls to their place of rest
Aput: a messenger God
Asar(Wesir, Osiris): Ruler of the underworld and God of crop fertility
Asbit(Asbet): a fire Goddess
Aseb: a fire God
Aset(Isis): widow of Asar, mother of Heru and Mistress of Magic
Ashket: a Goddess of the winds
Ashu: water God
Aua: God of gifts
Auit: Goddess of nurses and children
Bait: Goddess of the soul
Baket: a hawk Goddess
Bast(et): the extra -et is silent. Feline Goddess, defender of Ra and bestowed of fertility
Bata: God of war and the chase
Bekhkhit(Bekhkhet): Goddess of dawn's light
Bes: protector God
Djehuty(Djehuti, Tehuti, Thoth): lunar God of wisdom, language, and writing, with ibis and baboon forms
Geb: earth God, consort of Nut and head of the divine tribunal
Hapi: God of the Nile and fertility. I feel this God is one that was bound to Kemet and one that we would not be able to call upon unless we were there in Egypt.
Heh: God of infinity, represented a wish to live for thousands of years
Hekat(Heqet): Goddess of childbirth and protection, symbolized by a frog
Henkheses: God of the east wind
Heru, sa Aset(Horus, son of Isis): sky falcon, opponent of Set and archetypical ruler of Kemet
Heru Ur(Horus the Elder): All I have at the moment is that He was one of the five children Nut had after Djehuti added five days to the year so Nut could give birth to Asar, Set, Heru Ur, Aset, and Nebet Het.
Hesa: a singing God
Hwt-Hwr((pr. Hoot Hoor))(Het Heru, Het Heret, Hathor): cow goddess of birth, death, and cosmic renewal
Hu: the God of taste
Hutchai: God of the west wind
Kekui(Keku): the God of the hour before dawn, "Bringer in of the light"
Kekuit: Goddess of the hour after sunset, "Bringer in of the night"
Khephera: God of the sun at night(at least that's what I got from reading Circle of Isis sweatdrop )
Khepri: scarab God of dawn and renewal
Khnum: ram God, creator god and controller of the Nile flood
Khonsu: creator moon God and controller of Fate
Khurab: a bird Goddess
Maa: God of sight
Mafdet: a lynx Goddess
Mahes: a lion God
Mathet: tree Goddess, said to help the deceased climb into heaven
Merseger: a cobra Goddess, said to live on a specific mountain in Kemet
Mesen: a blacksmith God
Meskhenet: the Goddess that presides at childbirth, symbolized by a birth brick
Min: God of male sexuality and agricultural fertility
Montu(Monthu, Menthu): war God, falcon headed, also represented by a griffin
Mut: avenging Goddess worshipped at Thebes as consort of Amun and mother of Khonsu
Nebet Het(Nephthys): sister of Aset and unwilling wife of Set
Neith: creator goddess and defender of the sun god
Nekhebet: protective vulture Goddess of southern Kemet
Neper: God of grain
Nerit(Neret): Goddess of strength
Nu: the primal water
Nun: God of the primeval ocean
Nut: sky Goddess and mother of Asar, Aset, Nebet Het, Set, and Heru Ur
Pakhet: a cat Goddess
Papait(Papaet): Goddess of birth
Pestit: Goddess of sunrise
Pestu: God of light
Ptah: creator God of Memphis and patron of artists and craftsmen
Ra: creator sun God and Ruler of the Universe
Rekhet: Goddess of knowledge personified
Remi: a fish God
Remnet: a cow Goddess
Renenutet: Goddess of the harvest, depicted as a cobra, said to be present at childbirth and is the one who decides how long the child will live
Renpiti: a God of time
Saa: the God of touch
Sekhmet: ferocious solar lion Goddess
Seshat "She who writes" known as the Lady of Literature and Libraries, Goddess of Architecture and Record Keeping, supposedly the wife of Djehuty but I think I read somewhere that they said She was also possibly His daughter
Set(h): desert and storm God, enemy of Asar, rival of Heru, and strongest of the Gods
Setem: the God of hearing
Shai: a God of destiny, each of us have our own Shai
Shesmu: a God of wine
Shu: God of air and sunlight who separated the earth and sky
Sia: this God personifies the perseceptive mind
Sobek(Sebek): primeval crocodile God and Lord of the Nile
Sokar: Memphite God of death and regeneration
Tait: a Goddess of weaving
Tanent: primal earth Goddess
Tauret: protector of women in childbirth, symbolized by the hippopotamus
Tefnut: sister of Shu and mother of Geb and Nut
Tum(Atum, Nefertum, Tem): creator deity of Heliopolis and evening form of the sun God
Un: God of existence
Unit(Uneet): a star Goddess
Unta: a God of light
Unti: a God of light
Ur Henu: a water God
Utchait: a Goddess of the moon
Utekh: a God of embalming
Utet Tefef: god of the 29th day of the month
Wadjyt(Uadjet): protective cobra Goddess of the north

Ba
Along with the body, the ka, the shadow, and the name, the ba was one of the major components in the Kemetic concept of an individual. Its closest analog in Western thought is the "soul"-a term with which ba is often translated-although the two concepts are not fully comparable.

In some respects the ba seems to have been understood from the point of view of an observer rather than that of the individual with whom it was associated, personifiying the impression that individuals make on the world around them or their effect on others. This aspect of the ba is embodied in an abstract term, bau, meaning something like "impressiveness," "effect," or even "reputation." The Instructions for Merikare summarizes it's advice to the pharaoh on the proper conduct of kingship with the words "A man should do the things that are effective for his bau"-that which enhances his image in the eyes of others and the gods. Similarly, the king's actions against Kemet's enemies or the gods' intervention in human affairs are often called the bau of their agents. The ba itself seems to have been a property only of human beings or the gods, but the notion of bau is also associated with objects that would otherwise be considered inanimate. Warning against the misappropriation of grain, for example, the Instructions of Amenemope admonishes that "the threshing-floor of barley is greater of bau[i.e., has a greater effect] than an oath sworn by the throne."

Like the soul, the ba seems to have been essentially nonphysical. Unlike the soul, however, the ba could be viewed as a separate physical mode of existence of it's owner, even before death. Any phenomenon in which the presence or action of a god could be detected could be viewed as the ba of that deity: for example, the sun as the ba of Ra, or the Apis bull as the ba of Asar. In the Late period, sacred writings are frequently called "the bas of Ra." One god could be also be viewed as the ba of another. This is particularly true of Ra and Asar, who coalesced each night in the depths of the Duat, a union through which Ra received the power of rebirth and Asar was resurrected in Ra; the combined deity was occasionally called "He of two bas." Like the gods, the king, too, could be present as a ba in another mode of existence: Old Kingdom pyramids were often called the bas of their owners (for example, "The ba of [King] Neferirkare") and officials sometimes bore names that identified them as a ba of the king, such as "Izezi is His ba" (commemorating a pharaoh of the fifth dynasty).

Texts rarely refer to the ba of ordinary human beings during their lifetime. This silence has been interpreted as evidence that such individuals did not possess a ba before death, but the Middle Kingdom literary text known as the Dialogue of a Man with His Ba presents a major obstacle to that view. On this unique composition, a man living in difficult times argues with his ba the merits of life, even in misery, versus the uncertain nature of life after death. The text concludes with the ba's advice to "Desire me here [in life] and reject the West [land of the dead], but also desire that you reach the West when your body is interred and that I alight after your death: then we will make harbor together." This passage demonstrates the existence of an individual's ba during life and reflects the view of the ba as a separate mode of existence-in this case, an alter ego with whom it's owner could hold dialogue.

The ba appears most often in texts that deal with life after death. In these sources it is both a mode of the deceased's new existence and a component of the deceased as in life. The Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, the earliest textual source for the concept of the ba, inform the gods that the deceased "is a ba among you" and assure the deceased that "your ba is within you." In the Coffin Texts of the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom, the deceased appears as the ba of various gods but also as his own ba, with physical powers of a living body. The latter view is also reflected in the destiny described in the eighteenth dynasty tomb of Paheri at Elkab: "Becoming a living ba having control of bread, water, and air."

At the same time, however, Paheri's text also states that "your ba will not abandon your corpse," echoing the Coffin Texts: "my ba cannot be kept from my corpse." This relationship is reflected in vignettes of the New Kingdom Book of Going Forth by Day (Book of the Dead), which show the ba not only returning to the mummy and hovering over it but also participating in activities outside the tomb. This version of the afterlife, which appeared in the earlier Pyramid Texts, is based on the daily solar cycle. Like the sun, the ba reunites each night with Asar-embodied, in this case, in the mummy-and through that union is enabled to be reborn again each day among the living in a new, noncorporeal form of existence.

No depictions of the ba earlier than the New Kingdom have been identified with certainty, although some funerary statues of the Old Kingdom have been interpreted as showing the ba in fully human form. The illustrations that first appeared in the Book of the Dead depict the ba as a bird with a human head and occasionally other human attributes, symbolizing both its human nature and its mobility.

Ka
The complex ideas concerning the ka is one of the most important in Kemeticism. Since these ideas have no exact analogues in European cultures, it is impossible to translate adequately the word k3 and to identify the ka with more familiar concepts. Interpretations of the ka are numerous, ambiguous, and usually unsatisfactory, and they range from its identification with the Latin genius to analogy with "mana."

The word ka was expressed by the hieroglyph of two upraised arms, usually considered a symbol of embrace (or protection) of a man by his ka, although other interpretations are possible. A distinction should be made between the internal and external ka, as well as between the royal and the human ka, since these concepts were qualitatively different.

The idea that there was something securing the physical and mental activities of man arose in Kemet and elsewhere in prehistory. The internal ka was one of those entities. The reproductive role of the ka is obvious(as stated in the Pyramid Texts addressing Atum, "You spat out Shu, you expectorated Tefnut, and you put your arms about them as the arms of a ka, that your ka might be in them." suggesting that you get your ka from your parents or as some believe the gods themselves), but its connection to thought processes is less clear. The mind was usually related to the ba(Dispute of a Man and his Ba), but the word hmt("think" or "to act three together") leads one to suppose that there was also an idea of thinking as a trilateral process, with the ka playing some obscure role, along with the ba. Owing to the role of the ka in thinking, k3 could designate human individuality as a whole, and in different contexts it could be translated as "character," "nature," "temperament," or "disposition." Since character to a great extent preordains the life of an individual, k3 also means "destiny" or "providence." This use of the word engendered a tradition of interpreting the ka as a kind of universal vital force, but this idea is too abstract.

The ancient mind adopted personifications readily. It transformed this "inner motor" into a certain being. It seems that this being (the external ka) was primarily associated with the placenta(the twin of man), and was born with him. Supernatural associations of the placenta and the umbilical cord are reported by ethnographers in central Africa, but in Kemet such notions were forced out early by more elaborate ideas, and only allusions to them can be traced in dynastic times.

The scenes of the king's birth depict Khnum forming the baby king and his ka on a potter's wheel. In Old Kingdom pyramid temples, New Kingdom royal tombs, and the temples of the gods, there are many representations of the ka accompanying the king, either as a personified k3 sign or as a human form with the k3 sign on its head. The k3 hieroglyphic holds the serekh with the Heru name of the king, while the ka itself bears an ostrich feather (the symbol of the world harmony, or ma'at) in one hand, and a long staff with a finial shaped like the ing's head in the other hand. Thus, the royal ka is related to the Heru name describing the presence of the sky-god in the king. This portrays the dualism of the king's nature, which combines divine and mortal components: divinity is realized through the ka. In a number of cases (especially in the Old Kingdom), the finial is arranged at the level of the head of the falcon on the serekh, thus forming a composition structurally and semantically similar to the statues depicting the king with his head embraced by the falcon's wings, and demonstrating his double nature. The relation between the royal ka and Heru is apparent in its identification with Harsiese in the New Kingdom (although it could hardly be originally associated with Osirian ideas).

Another, qualitative different aspect of the ka can be seen mainly on the monuments of private persons. The Kemetics were amazed by the fact that depiction can evoke in consciousness an image of the represented. These images were objectified, turned from a part of the psyche into a part of the medium, and identified with the external ka. As a result, these representations (at first statues, but also murals) became the main cult objects in tombs and temples. This further supported by the words n k3 n NN ("for the ka of NN"), which were almost obligatory in the adjacent offering formulas. The most common translation of the word k3 as "double" is applicable mainly to this external human ka.

Unlike the royal ka, the human ka was never represented as a separate figure, becaus any representation itself is the ka. This explains the indifference of Kemetic artists to rendering individual features. They did not reproduce the portrait of an individual, but that of his ka, who was eternally youthful and in perfect shape.

In an Old Kingdom private tomb, the pictures created an entire world for the ka. It is an exact although incomplete copy of the earthly world: only people and objects essential for the owner are depicted. Being a reproduction of everyday life, this "doubleworld" is surprisingly realistic; nothing supernatural, the gods included, is represented. Every tomb formed its own Doubleworld, and their total did not merge into an aggregate next world.

The notion of the ka was a dominating concept of the next life in the Old Kingdom. In a less pure form, it lived into the Middle Kingdom, and lost much of its importance in the New Kingdom, although the ka always remained the recipient of offerings.

Ritually Impure
Impure things include plastic, wool, and certain animal products, for instance anything that has urea in it(this can be found in many types of perfume, soap, and cosmetic products, and is a derivative of animal urine). Some argue that silk is impure because of how the silk is formed. Others say because of how the silk is generally harvested that it is against ma'at, therefore is impure. So from what I've gathered a general rule of thumb an item that contain animal product(s) is impure if it contains animal waste or was gather in someway that would be against ma'at, with the exception of wool. I lost where I saw the reasoning for wool being impure in the temples.

Offerings
When offering to Netjer:
-When we offer food or drink, we usually consume it after a period of time when we feel Netjer has "finished" with it. Netjer takes the non-physical essence of the food, but what is left is "blessed" in a sense as Netjer has interacted with it.
-When we offer objects like stones or jewelry, they are usually left on the shrine or stored in a box on/under/near the shrine.
-When offering actions, there's nothing to dispose of anyway.

When offering to your ancestors (Akhu):
-We do not consume food or drink offered to our Akhu, as they are deceased. They remove the 'energy' of the food and afterwards it isn't something we consider good for us to eat. You can dispose of the food by leaving it out for wildlife, watering a house plant with water, or just throwing it away. Keep in mind food offered to the Akhu is usually a very small portion so you aren't tossing a whole meal.
-When we offer objects like stones or jewelry, again, they are usually left on the shrine or stored in a box on/under/near the shrine.
-When offering actions, just as with offering them to Netjer, there's nothing to dispose of anyway.

KO Prayer when offering food(I have seen other Kemetics that use it as well)
"hotep netjer em shabu en imenti her iabi(ho-TEP net-JER em SHA-bu en yih-MEN-tee her yab-EE)", which means "May Netjer(God) be satisfied with the repast to the right and to the left".

akh: a transfigured dead person with semi-divine powers
cippus(pl. cippi): a magical stela with a image of a divine child overcoming dangerous creatures
constellation: deities who form a fixed group in a particular context
Delta: the north of Egypt where the Nile splits up before reaching the sea
duat: the underworld or inner sky; the realm of the dead
ennead: a group of nine deities who may be arranged into generations; a council of deities
hieroglyph: a Greek term meaning sacred carving, used for individual symbols in the pictorial script
Hermetica: texts produced in Graeco-Roman Period Egypt which purported to be the secret teachings of the god Hermes Trismegistus
inundation: the flood caused by the annual rise in water levels of the River Nile
ithyphallic: shown with an erect p***s, often of exaggerated size
nome: an administrative region or province of Egypt
nun: the primeval ocean, a state of watery chaos
ogdoad: a group of primeval deities, usually eight in number
papyrus: a paper made from papyrus stems or a book-scroll made from this paper
pharaoh: a term for an Egyptian king; literal meaning, 'great house'(the palace)
primeval mound: the first land to rise above the primeval waters at creation
scarab: image of a dung-beetle; symbol of Khepri, god of dawn
scribe: a person trained to read and write
shabti(ushabti): a magical figurine that acted as a substitute for a deceased person
solar bark: the boat of the sun god, also known as the Boat of Millions
stela: a flat slab with inscriptions and/or images, mainly as set up in tombs or temples
Underworld Books: illustrated texts recording the journeys of the sun god, chiefly found on the walls of royal tombs
uraeus: image of the cobra goddess who protects the king
vignette: an illustration to, or visual summary of, a funerary text

Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction by Geraldine Pinch
The Ancient Gods Speak: A Guide to Egyptian Religion edited by Donald B. Redford
Circle of Isis: Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches by Ellen Cannon Reed(*WARNING* If you read this take it with a grain of salt. She calls her practice Tameran Wicca. Also alot of her stuff on the deities is UPG. Still an interesting read though.)
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt by R.T. Rundle Clark
Sacred Texts
Per Aset
Kemet.org
Ancient Egypt Online
Philae.nu (where I got the festival dates for Djehuty and Nebet Het)



Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler
Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts: The Mysical Tradition of Ancient Egypt by Jeremy Naydler
Magic in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch
Handbook of Egyptian Mythology by Geraldine Pinch**
Egyptian Religion by Siegfried Morenz

*All books on this list I have not had a chance to read yet but I have heard good things or were recommended to me to read
**This book wasn't actually recommended. I found it while putting other books by Pinch on hold but after reading Egyptian Myth and hearing good things about Pinch I figured this one shouldn't be bad


This list us just for books and authors that I have either heard a lot of negative about or wanted to burn while trying to read it

Coming into the Light by Gerald and Betty Schueler
Any books on Egypt by E.A. Wallis Budge