*Note: The opinions here are solely those of Crystal Shea, opinions made from reading the majority of the books on the books page of this site, communing with the Goddess, and watching documentaries. They are not necessarily those of anyone affiliated with her. And your opinions may be quite different if you read the same books.
I was at a gas station and the cashier asked me about my Isis pendant. I told him who it was and then he asked me what I believe in. I found it very hard to sum up such an intricate religion in one sentence. So I said, “The fundamental interconnectedness of all things”. Which is true.
The Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses everything – science, art, spirituality, and even everyday activities. It also has a very strict moral code. Even taking responsibility for any actions that harm the Earth or any and all of its occupants.
There are 100’s of Gods
and Goddesses in the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. Each with its own
aspects and functions. This site is primarily for Isis, but I do
hope to make pages for many of the other main deities. I’d welcome
any volunteers who’d like to help with one:)
The Ancient Egyptians believed in an all encompassing creating being who is male/female and omniscient. But they broke that all encompassing divinity into many Gods and Goddesses so they could relate to different parts of it as needed.
The Ancient Egyptian religion is a Universal spiritual practice, which is different from other Pagan Orders, which are usually Earth based. For the Ancient Egyptians the human body and the Earth were microcosms of the Universal cosmos.
Of course, its a difficult religion to practice exactly as the Ancients did, partly because it was lost for so long. Also, not everything has been dug up. When you want to find out about a certain subject you will probably have to refer to works done mostly by archeologists. I have mixed feelings about the archeological society as a whole. On the one hand we depend on them to dig up the objects and writings to give us more clues on how to live spiritually like the Ancients. The facts are likely to be valuable. The interpretations, however, are an entirely different matter.
As a practitioner of the Ancient Egyptian Religion, it is important to figure out where the author's point of view is coming from. The best place to figure this out is in the Introduction. If you're the type who always skips introductions, you're going to have to at least skim through them. If you have a strong connection with any of the Ancient Egyptian deities, they will guide you as to what is absurd and what is spiritually true. The best example of this is to read Budges’ “Egyptian Book of the Dead” and Normandie Ellis’ “Awakening of Osiris”. Budge was coming from a scholarly view and Ms. Ellis from a spiritual point of view.
The one thing I do know is that if you trust Isis, she will bring you what (and sometimes who), you need to take you on your spiritual path.
I can't explain the entire Ancient Egyptian Religion and all of its aspects here. All I can suggest is that you read everything you can get your hands on. There are lots of suggestions on the Books page. Try libraries first and then bookstores.
Here's a technique for
finding them: Find a section on Egypt or the Occult, open your mind
to the Neters. Hold out your right hand a couple of millimeters from
the book spines. Slowly move your hand along the shelf and don't
look at them. You will feel a tingle in your hand when you pass the
book you are supposed to read.
So each Divine Story
is designed to symbolically explain each Neter and its function.
Which is partly why there are so many different versions of each Divine
Story. The fact that these versions occasionally conflicted with
each other made no difference to the Ancient Egyptians. It was the
symbolic meanings that mattered.
They believed in divine balance: the balance between Chaos and Order. The God Set (or Seth) is the God of Chaos. He represents the harsh realities of a chaotic Universe. The God Osiris and the Goddess Isis represents Order and Civilization. The constant battle between the two is ever going on.
Chaos surrounded their lives. To the West was the harshest desert in the world, from which one good sandstorm could destroy a village. Then there was the temperamental Nile River. On the one hand they depended on her for water, irrigation and nutrients for the soil.
The Nile flooded every summer, brining rich top soil from the Nubian Mountains. But if the river flooded too high it would destroy the towns and wash away the topsoil. If it didn't flood high enough, no top soil would replenish their farmland and famine would result.
So everything they did, from the most mundane daily task, to the most elaborate ritual of the year, was done with the intent on maintaining Divine Order. That meant that everything they ever did had a spiritual purpose. And everything was a part of a spiritual practice: Science, math, art and the symbolism they used were also a part of their spiritual practices. They went beyond 2+1=3, and included the spiritual symbolism of that equation.
The first thing I suggest
is to little by little, make your daily routine into a spiritual celebration.
For example, when I put my contacts in each morning, I make a little prayer
to the God Horus: “Oh, my friend, my father, my brother, Horus, help
me see the world in the way you want me to see it.”
Each version has its own divine principle it is trying to convey on both the conscious and subconscious levels with symbolism. This not an easy concept to grasp, so don't be disappointed if you don't get it at first.
The Ancient Egyptians
believed in a singular force that brought the Universe into existence.
And they divided that all-being into many of it's various aspects or components
that they called “Neters”, each with its own divine purpose or principles.
In order to relate to them better they gave the Neters forms that symbolized
that particular divine principle.