Flavors of Religion

Since the topic came up in the last post I figured this would be the perfect time to address this discussion. I wanted to take some time to define some of the terms I have heard those who use Egyptian deities in their spirituality call themselves. I am not here to promote any of these paths. It is for you to decide what, if any, are applicable to your own knowledge.Also, I do not practice all of these paths. Much of the information found here was gleaned from talking to practitioners or by reading. For most of them I rely on links to sites of those organizations that practice themselves.

Kemetic - This is an overall term that refers to someone who follows Ancient Egyptian religion or deities. It is usually used for someone who exclusively follows Egyptian deities but not always.

Neo-Atenism- A revival of the Amarna period, monotheistic Egyptian faith surrounding the Aten.I don't know of any groups actively following this practice so if someone reading this does, please comment. That aside I have met some individuals who do follow this practice.

Eclectic Kemetic - I have heard this term used to describe groups or people who combine Egyptian religions or gods with other faiths. There are historical examples of this in the Greeco-Roman world of the following of Egyptian deities along side Greek or Roman Deities. In the modern practice it could be the blend of any number of belief systems.The Temple of Kemetic Wicca is one such group but there are many others. When merged with Wicca it is sometimes called Tameran Wicca.

Kemetic Reconstructionalist - I have heard this term used for several different spiritual paths. Most often it is someone who takes the Ancient Egyptian religion and tweaks it in ways that make it work for the modern world. These changes are made to give the religion more meaning in the modern era. The other way I have heard this used is for someone who studies Egyptology and other materials to recreate the religion as accurately as research allows. These practitioners also tend to use the Egyptian names of the god/desses rather than the familiar Greeco-Roman names. (eg. Iset instead of Isis) In addition, they also celebrate the larger Egyptian festivals such as Opet.The House of Netjer and Kemetic Orthodoxy are the two big groups that follow this path.

Pan-Africanist - This word applies to several groups who either: use Kemetic practice as a form of pride in black (mostly Nubian and Sudanese) culture and religious traditions or mix Kemetic beliefs with other African tribal beliefs to support and keep alive the diverse African traditions. Ausar Auset Society International is one such group. I would link to them but it appears their home site is currently down.There are some relationships historically between these groups and black supremacy groups that have been a concern at some points.A basic over view of what some of these paths follow can be found here.

Kemetic Revivalism - This is very close in concept to Kemetic Reconstructionalism. The School of Ancient Egyptian Magic and Religion is a group that practices this path.This group tends to put even more focus on scholarly pursuits than most Reconstructionalists. (At least from what I have seen)

Hermetic Orders - Most known of these is the Golden Dawn. This group is characterized by the mix of ceremonial magic, high magic and Kemetic systems along with many others to synthesize a religious practice. Another group associated with this practices are Thelema. The Temple of Set is sometimes listed in this group as well though it is significantly different from what I can tell.

Vampiric Kemetic - This is a path I just recently discovered. The only group I am currently aware of is the Kemetic Order of Aset Ra. From my begining understanding of this path, I haven't read much on it yet, it seems to be the mix of a Reconstructionalist style order of Isis and vampirism.

Kemetic (When paired with Old/Middle/New Kingdom) - There are those who seek to practice Egyptian faith as it was practiced during the Egyptian time periods. Like the reconstructionalists and revivalists they approach the faith in a very scholarly manner. The major difference is that these Kemetics do not feel that change is needed to make the religion applicable to modern life. They see the faith as a universal truth that defies the passage of time.

This is of course only a small selection of what is out there in terms of Kemetic based paths. I hope this has at least given some insight.

Supports? Secret ones.

I am going to veer off of our usual archeological topics and talk about something interesting in my personal life. You may or may not have figured out at this point that I am a practicing Kemetic. (Remember back to Kemet being the word for Egypt?) Kemetic refers to someone who practices the Ancient Egyptian faith.(I promise to get into the different variations I have heard in one of the next posts.) The rest of my family is not, in fact, most of them are Christian of some flavor. I don't know if the events today made this more shocking or not. I think it was just a surprise of the most unexpected kind regardless of the religious affiliations involved.

Today, I was over helping my mom and step-father with some things to finish up their move to their new house. My step-father is one of those men that likes swap meets and flea markets and the like. He had a gift for me, or rather gave me something that he thought I would be interested in. He gave me an antique set of pharmacist's (Apothecary at the time they were made) scales. Then informed me that he thought I could fix them up and keep them with all of my statues.

I was floored. I rarely speak about my religion to my family, almost never in fact. Some how, in those little bits he picked up, not only that I wanted a pair of old school scales but that they were meant for my offering space. He didn't mention my religion at all, just a passing phrase that made it all feel extremely supportive.

A little bit of background for the reason for the scales. We, in modern culture, associate the scales with justice, honesty, truth perhaps. It was no different in Ancient Egypt. Ma'at, the goddess of truth, justice and fairness, was symbolized by the scales which were used to determine whether or not a person lived a "good life". Good in this sense relating to living one's life by the laws or truths of Ma'at. The scale is a central and important piece in belief and the imagery of the faith. It has the same sort of weight as something like the crown of thorns or the cross in Christianity where it is a sign of service and sacrifice for the better of others among other things.

Sadly, I don't have my camera charged so you will have to be satisfied for the time being with a rather cruddy camera phone picture. If I remember I will post an image of them when they are all cleaned up.

The Color of Luck

Every culture and religious or spiritual path has colors they associate with luck. The Egyptians were no different. They too had colors that meant good fortune. Before we get into talking about tombs and tomb paintings it might be worth while to discuss what the colors meant to Egyptians.

Black: considered one of the most lucky colors by the Egyptians. This association was linked to the black soils left by the flooding Nile. Black was the color of fertility and of the ideas of being blessed. Black was also associated with chaos and unknown/mysterious things because of night time and darkness associated with it. It often makes me wonder what an Ancient Egyptian might call out when he or she stubbed their toe on the couch walking in a dark house. Several gods are associated with the color black including Set, Sobek, Khnum, Hapi, Osiris and Apep. Horus is named the Ruler of the Black Land, ie the Nile Valley.

White: The color of truth and harmony. White is most often associated with Ma'at and the life giving powers of the lotus. White was also the color of the traditional garments of most Egyptians. Egyptologists suggest that the good fortune of white might be related to the way white repels the heat of the sun while black becomes blisteringly hot in the sun. White is also symbolic of the prevention of decay, likely, because of the white wrappings of a mummy. White is associated with Lower Egypt and rulership due to the white crown of the pharaoh.

Red: The color of blood and strength in the Egyptian mindset. It has the dual ideas of being a color of bloodshed and healing. The color is sacred to both Hathor and Sekhmet, both goddesses who went from rampaging menaces of blood lust to kind and caring goddesses. Red is the color of Upper Egypt and the pharaohnic crown of that region. Red is also associated with the desert regions. Set was given the Red Land to rule.

Orange: The color of death and rebirth. Orange is associated with the sunrise and sunset, there fore with death and resurrection of god and mortal alike. Orange is one of the sacred colors of Khephra, the beetle form of Ra, associated with rebirth, resurrection and change.

Yellow: This is the color of Ra, Horus and all the solar deities. Associated, like gold, with the rays of the sun yellow is a color of warmth and comfort. Yellow is also symbolic of power and kingship because of its association with the sun.

Green: The color of fertility and lush growth made green a very positive color in the Egyptian mind. Green was a color associated with many gods of prosperity and plant growth such as Hapi, Osiris, Sobek and Tuaret.

Blue: Blue is a very sacred color with a wide range of meanings. Blue is the most common color associated with amulets and therefore protection. Blue is also the color associated with death. This often makes me wonder if it is related to the blue-ish hue of lips when someone dies. I haven't seen any information to tell me either way. Blue was also associated with death because of the Egyptian belief that the dead passed through the sky. Blue has some associations with lotus flowers which might give it some connection to life or rebirth. It is likely that there were life associations because Tuaret statues are often shown in blue when she is given the duties of protection.

Violet/Purple: I have seen almost no references to purple in my research thus far. I will be sure to look more deeply into this. In fact, I didn't even realize I hadn't read about purple until this post. Good reminder that there is always more to learn.

Gold:  The sacred color (and material) of both the sun and the pharaoh. Gold is the color of power, control, destiny and worship. The list of the importance of gold would be a whole article. It might be explained by simply saying gold is the most important color to Egyptian culture and religion.

Silver: Silver isn't often used in Egyptian metal working but there are associations with the priesthood, night and the common people given to silver from time to time. Silver is also related to the ideas of health and knowledge, likely due to the association of Thoth with silver in some myths.

That covers all the basic colors. If you want to know about a color I didn't list feel free to ask. I will do my best to find references and meanings for the rest of the myriad of colors.

On a side note, as I was already asked this via email..... The color associations I listed above are related to the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Greeks, Romans and more modern people may have had other associations when they viewed the Ancient Egyptian religion or when a blended religion was created. So, what I have said may not be agreed upon by all practitioners of Egyptian style religions/paths.

Understanding Pyramids I - What is a pyramid?

There are several pyramids in Egypt. Giza is of course the most commonly known five pyramids (Khufu, Khafre and the three queen's pyramids). There are also the red pyramid, the step pyramids, the bent pyramid and others. We also have to consider the mastabas at some point.

It may seem odd to ask what a pyramid is. Mathematically, it is an object consisting of a square base and four isosceles triangle sides.  This defines which monuments can be considered pyramids. However, talking about a pyramid and nothing else would be like talking about a house without commenting on the yard and landscaping. There is more than just a pyramid built when a pharaoh undertakes this kind of construction. First, we are going to talk about what makes up the building of a pyramid complex, i.e. the pyramid and the buildings associated with them.

Pyramids- these are the burial areas. We will get more into exactly what is constructed and included in a pyramid in later posts. For now, we will just consider this the focal point of the pyramid complex.

Workers Camp - during the production of a pyramid there are towns built up around them. These "towns" house the workers which can include painters, stone cutters, scribes, managers and other craftsman. These towns also had food production facilities to feed the workers. Other people who would live on site were overseers, sculptures and those in charge of gathering the vast resources.

Pyramid temple - This had several purposes which change over time as the pyramid is built. Early in construction this would be the place where the priests would reside who took care of the sacred elements of a pyramid's construction. Planning of writings and artwork would take place as well as sacred imagery such as statues would likely be constructed in or near the temple. Another function of the temple would be to minister to injured workers. The priests/tesses of several gods served as doctors in Ancient Egypt. After construction the Pyramid temple would become the place where the mummy would be prepared. After burial then it would become an offering location for sustaining the pharaoh.

Step pyramid of Djoser with enclosure wall Photo © Peter Brubacher.

Enclosure wall - This is a common element of both pyramid complexes and temples in general. The enclosure wall was a short stone wall, usually, that separated the sacred areas of the temple or pyramid from the rest of the world.

Subsidiary grave- These can include graves of officials, pyramid workers or other family members.

Avenue of Sphinxes - Luxor

Statue avenues or plain avenues - Most pyramids and temples have an avenue connecting the pyramid to the enclosure wall. Some temples have avenues of sphinxes. These are stone roads flanked by multiple stone statues.

These are the basic buildings and structures associated with pyramids. The subsequent posts will explain most of these items in depth but for now this is a good basic start for a discussion of pyramid construction.

By Request

I asked around for what people reading this blog might want to know about. The overwhelming response was, how were the pyramids built?

This topic on the surface seems very simple but there is more than the building involved in how. As with any great undertaking (think the first skyscrapers in our own time) there has to be a government to manage it, people to work, architects, plans, reasons, materials, shipping lines and a whole list of things. In order to properly speak about these monuments, and likely some of the temples along the way, it is going to take many posts to get to the point of actually putting the stones on the sites. The first question has to be why build them? Why even try?

So, this will be our voyage for the next few weeks... what, how, why and when for the pyramids of Egypt.

The Art of Nature

Ancient Egyptian art has many beautiful qualities; color, form, balance, some might say perfection. There is one interesting fact that many people overlook. Egyptian art commonly catalogs nature. Before reading texts you can tell the season by the birds and fish in the art. There are vast illustrations of what plants and animals were in Egypt or brought from other countries. There are a few things I wanted to share on this subject.

First, this video (not in English but there are subtitles) about Karnak.



and the second is the research of Rozenn Bailleul-LeSuer. Who studies avian imagery in Egyptian art. I had the chance to see her speak at the 58th annual meeting of ARCE (American Research Center in Egypt). Her work centers around both dating tomb representation with seasons and using the imagery in marsh artworks to research how and if migratory bird patterns and numbers have changed. It also gives us a glimpse into how Egyptians categorized various behaviors such as brooding and chick rearing.

I am personally fascinated by the way meticulous Egyptian art is giving us a good look at ancient ecosystems.

Hey YOU! Put Those Artifacts Back.

In modern archeology there is a movement to put artifacts and bodies back where they had been found. In many cultures this is the respectful thing to do regarding religion and/or culture. Egypt and the mindset of the Ancient Egyptian puts a very different twist on the idea of returning items. Were an Ancient Egyptian to enter into this discussion they might disagree with those who want Egyptian artifacts returned to where they were found. I'll try to work through several of these arguments based solely on information we have currently about Ancient Egyptian culture and religion.

Anyone who has seen an Egyptian monument of huge stones can easily understand the Egyptians built things to last. This can also be seen reflected in their religion. Continued life after death was partially attached to the continuation of the mortal body. This was the purpose for mummification and why many dynasties of Egyptian rule had harsh and deadly punishment for tomb raiders. Preserving the body was important to religion and the very soul of a person. Through this lens of an Ancient Egyptian let us explore the idea of a mummy in a museum. A mummy in a museum is kept in a temperature and moisture controlled area. It is protected from decay and any living things which might disturb or destroy it, such as tomb robbers or rodents. A mummy in a museum can be expected to go on as long as the museum stands and is maintained. For an Egyptian this doesn't seem to be a bad plan for preserving their body into eternity. This is especially true when we consider the incidents of tomb robbing, burning mummies for fuel and grinding them up for medicines.

There are other considerations to the idea of Egyptian artifacts in a place such as a museum where they are viewed by the masses. These ideas all deal with images... one of the images itself and the other dealing with language. We'll start with the language one since it is usually easier to understand. Egyptians had magical standard that when a word was said it gave power and life to that thing. So, every time someone says King Tut his being in this world and the after world gains more power. In fact, in order to weaken others Egyptians would often attempt to erase them from the world. We see this with both Hashepsut and Ankenaten whose names were systematically carved off of stone items. An Egyptian seeing a plaque that had a king or gods name on it that was read by thousands of people every year doesn't seem too bad after all. The more we say the names of those who have passed on the more power hey maintain.

The other image related consideration is the Egyptian idea of imagery. An image was not just an image but the item itself, a manifestation in some sense of the word. For example, a statue of Ramses the Great is not just his likeness but actually the pharaoh himself standing there before us. Seeing the image of someone or some thing in a whole and healthy form also gave energy and power to them. If a statue of Anubis is standing in a great hall of a museum to be seen by thousands of people a year then he will remain a strong god. Here again an Ancient Egyptian might well agree with putting things on display.

The final question we might address from the aspects of an Ancient Egyptian is all of the replica tombs and monuments we see. What would an Egyptian thing of these? Given our past few paragraphs I think that the repetition of imagery would be something that would meet with their approval. Very often the Egyptians themselves did this very thing. The sacred texts such as the Book of the Dead are copied widely as are motifs and kings lists. Repetition ensured survival of at least one copy which was necessary.

Over all, unlike many cultures and religions, Ancient Egyptian practices might well approve of the care a museum or other qualified facility could give to their dead and artifacts. It is something to consider not only when looking at Egyptian artifacts but those of any culture. What was the standard care practices of the culture or religion and do facilities such as museums provide those requirements?