The Religion of Ancient Egypt
The following essay is meant as a simple overview of the Ancient Egyptian religion.
There are many books which exhaust this topic to a great extent, which can be found
in the Recommended Reading List page.
In Ancient Egypt, the religion was ingrained in everyday life. Unlike our many of our modern cultures today, like the U.S.,
there was almost no separation of church and state. The Pharoah was a god incarnate, and the temples played a
crucial part in the overall economy of Egypt. Priests served rotational positions in the temples for several
months out of the year, then going home to serve their hometowns (much like our military reserves).
Netjer was seen everywhere, influencing everything. The Ancient Egyptians saw ma'at
as the underlying foundation for all of Creation, the laws governing nature, and the laws governing man.
Even the Netjer were bound by the laws of Ma'at. Ma'at, not only a concept and an idea, was a goddess in her own right.
Without Her, isfet (chaos) would reign.
In the Ancient Egyptian religion, there was no word for "religion", because it was something that just "is."
The closest word to religion is heka, which loosely translates as "magic", which signifies the relationship
of magic and religion as one and the same, intertwined and indistinguishable from each other. Priests were magicians,
magicians were priests. Ritual & magic were tied together. When one is in ritual or saying a prayer, one is
doing magic.
The two (magic and religion) were interwoven in many aspects, including that of healing.
Magic amulets were just as commonplace and used in conjunction with rituals, prayers, and herbal and medical
concoctions, and were part of the healer's and priest's medicine bag.
Modern Spirituality
Today modern Kemetics try to incorporate our spirituality and religion into our everyday lives
as the Ancient Egyptians did. It is not enough to simply remember Netjer and call on Them when
we need them, but to remember them every day, starting from when the Sun rises to when the Moon sets.
We practice our religion/magic everyday with daily rites, prayers at meals, where
we remember our gods much of the day and night. We feel Them with us, and know that we are loved
and cherised. We give to Them as They have given to us.
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