continuing exploration of ancient Egyptian religion
I’ve been writing about Jackal’s Eve, the fictional Kemetic holiday in which Wepwawet and Yinepu deliver gifts on the Night Before Moomas. Moomas is, of course, based on “The Establishment of the Celestial Cow,” which was a relatively unimportant holiday in ancient Egypt. The Rev. Siuda has written a blog entry about Moomas, which she…
“The reward of one who does something lies in something being done for him. This is considered by god as ma’at.”-Pharaoh Neferhotep, c.1300 BCE “Ma’at, then, is the principle that forms individuals into communities and that gives their actions meaning and direction by ensuring that good is rewarded and evil punished. The concept of doing…
Djehuty From the story of the Shipwrecked Sailor (G Pinch, Handbook of Egyptian Mythology) The hero of this tale does not behave heroically in the sense of being particularly strong, brave, or selfless. All the sailor does is show the proper attitude for humans by giving thanks to the gods even in adversity and…
People The Egyptian word for people used in creation texts with a picture of a man and a woman following the phonetic part of the word. Humanity seems to have been divided into two genders from the beginning. This is in contrast to other ancient mythologies that made woman an afterthought or offshoot of the…
Map of the netherworld from the coffin of Gua, from Deir el-Bersha, Egypt. 1985-1795 BC. Ra says: Proceed in peace, that I may repeat to you the good deeds that my heart has done in the midst of the coiled one in order to silence evil. I have done four good deeds in the midst of…
It was because of the perceived mystical basis of ancient Egyptian religion that across the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, ancient Egypt had a reputation for being the fountainhead of esoteric knowledge and wisdom. Many Greek and Roman accounts of ancient Egyptian religion are not only respectful and sensitive toward its deeper spiritual import, but…
Maen is a House of Netjer member in Germany. After talking about Nut vs Hethert-as-day-sky-Goddess: Don’t you just love Kemetic theology? It’s like a kaleidoscope: twist it but a little, and another beautiful picture tumbles into place. Made up of the same elements as the one before, yet totally different and no less true.
Someone on the HoN board was contemplating Sekhmet’s near-destruction of humanity, and wondering if she was being especially nice these days to make up for it. Several people responded, saying that Sekhmet was not evil, she was doing her job at the behest of Ra, etc. My two deben: I think the stories can work…