Egyptian Deities

Hello to you, too!
Are there any deities of the Egyptian religion that are thought as main? Yes, there are and there are also many others. I suggest you to browse through the Egyptian mythology. There you will find a lot of information. You can chek also these two websites:
- http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/main.html
- http://www.egyptartsite.com/list.html
Hope I helped you. May the light of knowledge shine in your mind.

Egyptian Mythology can get a bit confusing. first off, each region had different deities that were more predominant than others, and therefore different creation myths. while they all had a general theme [from nothing rose a god who created everything] the god and the how changed. i think my favourite was with Ra, but i've heard Amun, Atom, Amon-Ra, Phat, Khaphra [Keper] and a so on. the basic story goes from Nu rose a god [i'll go with Ra] and from Ra he created Shu and Tefnut, who gave birth to Geb and Nuit. he then became the sun and road across the sky. once humans were created he chose to rule them as their first pharaoh.

you also have deities from certain villages. Sobek, the god of crocodiles, was predominantly centered along the Nile because crocodiles were common in these areas. A traveler or someone living closer to the desert would probably pray to Set as he was the god of the desert. there would also be deities for certain places, or jobs, such as Bes who would looked after the house, Selket for childbirth and scorpion stings, and so forth.

there was a book i read back in high school all about the different myths, but i can't remember the title. look through the history section of your library, there should be some books talking about Egypt and different gods that should help you learn about them.

if i was to make a list of common gods, it would probably be [in no order] Ra, Amon, Amon-Ra, Set, Osiris Horus, Isis, Anubis, Bastes, Thoth, Hathor, Ma'at. there are MANY more, but i think those would be the ones more widely known to people.

Wow. That is a lot and I will try to keep all of that straight in my notes. Thank you! ^.^

Bastett is the cat goddess
Isis is the goddess of love and healing
Osiris is the god of the after life and is Isis's husband and Anubis's father
Thats all I can think of right now but there are alot more

-Argent

border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i67/Jonashotep/Borders/EgyptianSpellDivider.gif"/>Hello Everyone! I have gathered information for everyone interested in the Egyptian side of things. This is by no means all of the information out there and to let you know the descriptions of the Goddess and Gods of Egypt are rather short becasue they have a TON of info on them. I am attempting here to break it down on a a "Wheel of the Year" level because when I first began Egyptian Wicca I was thoroughly confused on where things fit per se. If you have any questions please feel free to ask^^My references for this information are as follows:~Egyptian Paganism for Beginners by Jocelyn Almond & Keith Seddon.~Practical Egyptian Magic by Murry Hope.~The Egyptian Book of Shadows: Eight Seasonal Rites of Egyptian Paganism by Jocelyn Almond& Keith Seddon~Feasts of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life based on the Egyptian Goddess Mysteries. by Normandi Ellis.~The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt by Rosemary Clark.~The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt by Rosemary Clark.~The Mysteries of Isis: Her Worship and Magick by DeTraci Regula.~Offering to Isis: Knowing the Goddess Through Her Sacred Symbols by M. Isidora Forrest.

Note Bene: I will let you know if you want to know the bare bones and a lot of this seems confusing to you I would suggest The Mysteries of Isis: Her Worship and Magick by DeTraci Regula because to put it bluntly she is the "Scott Cunningham" of Egyptian Magick and for me when I first started she was the easiest I understood..another is Practical Egyptian Magic by Murry Hope ..this book however took me 9 years to find so if you do not mind a scavange hunt with Thoth have fun^^

Egyptian Magick is at first a little strange to understand, yes, they use candles and wands and all of that nifty stuff...but...The primary tool is your mind as with any sort of Magick...They (the Egyptians) worked with "thoughtforms"; if you wish to give Isis an offering of 1,ooo cakes you write the heiroglyph with intention of course and offer it up, lierally its the thought that counts.

I have personally found after working with the Egyptian Gods that they are relaxed, humorous, and very patient, not to say they abide laziness. Example: I was really lazy about my Esbat one month....due to this any spell I tried that month calling upon help from the Goddess was literally stalled...it sling shotted and worked the following month when I did do my Esbat...I got the distinct feeling Isis was sitting there with a soft motherly grin saying "If you do not do what your supposed to..you will not get my support" it was not a form of punishment or bolts of lightening waiting for me..the spells simply fizzled.

 

The Egyptian Gods & Goddesses with the Wheel of the Year

* Keep in mind Isis and Osiris are very appropriate for all 8 Sabbats and Esbats these are additions that I personally enjoyed.

Samhain~Athtor: Mother Night, Covers the infinate Abyss.~Heh: Serpent-headed Goddess "Revealer of Wisdom"~Anubis: Guid of the dead and of the underworld.~Auf Ra: peace, rest sleep and courage the "Twilight Sun"

Yule~Re Horakay newborn Horus or Ihy~Heket: Frog Goddess known as "Keeper of the Breath", childbirth and ressurrection.~Nek Hekh: Ra as an old man.

Imbolc~Asbiet: Primal fire Goddess~Mesen: Blacksmithing God~Nerit: Goddess of Strength

Ostara~Renpet: Goddess of the Year of Springtime & youth "Mistress of Eternity".~Taten: Fertile Nile silt God of spring.

Beltaine~Min: God of sexual potency and fertility.

Litha~Bes: Equated with Pan god of home and children.

Lammas~Rennenutet: Goddess of Harvest "Lady of the Double Grainery"~Wapwait: Corn Harvest deity~Neper: Grain God

Mabon~Ranuta: Patron Goddess of Winemakers and vineyards.~Shesmu: God of wine and master of perfumes.

* Tekhi" Regulator of seasons invited to all sabbats.

Additional Egyptian Goddess and Gods~Nefertumn: God of perfumes, Shesmu is like his second in command..excellent in making oils and incenses.~Hedjhotep: God of weaving & amulets. Perfect to invoke for knot and amulet magick.~Shay: God of Destiny and Fate...I invoke him for Tarot readings.~Souchos: The spirit who lives in the lamp. Used for Lamp and candle divinitations.~Taiyet: Goddess of divine coverings and ritual wear.~Hatmehyt: Dolphin goddess.~Ba Neb Djedu: Hatmehyt's consort.~Nahmauit: One of Thoth's wives "She Who Removes Evil" her symbol is the sistrum.~Unen-em-Hetep: Spirit of the "Existence in Peace"~Sebshen: Lover of Sunlight, guide and peacemaker.~Nehe: God of time.~Ba Neb Tatet: Arbitration and peace.~Khemnu: God of arts and crafts and gentleness~Ptah: Creativity, miracles positive manifestation, building and learning.~Bastet: Cats, pleasure, parties and lesbians.~Merit: Mistress of Music

Egyptian Names of the Moon~January: Tekhy~February: Menhet~March: Het-her~April: Ka Her Ka~May: Shef Bedet~June: Rekh Wer~July: Rehk Nedjes~August: Renutet~September: Henshu~October: Hent Hety~November: Ipet Hempt~December: Wep renpet~Wishing/blue Moon: Djehutet

The Charge of Bast by Ellen Cannon Reed

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"Silence is my name, and in silence I shall be heard. Be still and listen, my symbol is not the domestic cat that is dependent upon humans for its sustenance. No! my symbol is the wild jungle cat, the night prowler, the fierce hunter, sovereign and proud. It is here in the darkness that my lessons are taught. That which I bring, that which I teach, is not easily learned. Oh my dear ones!, yes, I can be the nurturing sun, I can be the gentle light of dawn. but you must first go through the dark night to reach the light. Know this...in the times when learning is the hardest, when the lessons are most painful, I am here with you..and that light is found through the learning and when the lesson is done, the dawn comes, the light comes, and the nurturing rays of the sun will warm your spirit. Will you learn my lessons? or will you hide from me and all I have to give you? Think now in the dark...what will you do?"

To Honor Tehuti/Thoth and to Help Write Better

Whenever I get a new pen I simply write Tehuti three times and then use the pen, he is the scribe to the Gods after all. :)

* I will update this upon further requests. I have rituals and recipies for oils and incenses regarding the Egyptian God/desses and magick ^^ I hope you all enjoy this.

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These rituals are credited to http://egypt.idolhands.com/

Dedication of the Temple

*This ritual dedicates a room as ritual space, works very well as a housecleansing, it also removes prior energy work*You will only need yourself and your athame.

1.Face west with your athame in your dominant hand and say:

"Praise be unto Asar Un-Nefer, King of Eternity, Lord of the Everlasting, whose forms are manifold, whose works are mighty..."

2. Thrust the athame foreward, with point of the dagger facing west and vibrate:

"Hutchaiu!"(HUT-ki-u)

3. Face south and say:

"Praise to you who created the gods who raised up the sk, who spread out the ground, who made those below and those above, he who lights the two lands.Open the doors of heaven, throw open the sky for me."

4. Once again thrust the athame point first to the south and vibrate:

"Shenbui!"(SHEN-bi)

5. Face east and say:

"O Ra, the womb of nut is filled with the seed of the spirit, which is Her. The earth bends beneath our feet. O ye who rise and rejoice!Carry us with you let us live forever."

6. Thrust the athame east and say:

"Henkhi sesui!"(HEN-ki ses-suey)

7. Face north and say:

"O grant me a path where on I may journey in peace. Thy water is to thee, thy flood is to thee, thy doors of heaven are open to thee, the doors of heaven are open to thee, the doors of Nuit are open to thee."

8. Thrust athame to the north and say:

"Qebui!"(KEB-e)

9. Turn deosil (clockwise) back towards the west and say:

"Praise the Lord of Truth, whose shrine is hidden from whose eyes mankind issed and from whose mouth the gods came into being. As high as is the heaven, as broad as is the earth, as deep as is the sea."

10. Thrust athame to the west and vibrate the word"

"Silence"

11. Raise your eyes and arms towards the sky and say:

"Above me stretches Nuit, lady of heaven,Beneath me lies Geb, Lord of the Earth,At my right is Ast, Lady of Life,At my left is Asar, the Lord of Eternity,Before me rises Heru the beloved child and hidden light,Behind me shines Ra, whose names even the gods do not know."

~Finis~

 

Well you might find it surprising that I suggest that Egyptians may not have been polytheist in the first place, but allow me to explain.

Thoth is an Egyptian god, if I remember correctly. And in the tablets of his teachings, which he wrote himself, he literally says word for word that there is one God/Source. I am not even joking. And the description he gives matches other accounts of the nature of the Source in ancient texts. I was absolutely dumbfounded upon finding this out. But nevertheless, it is true.

So while history books says Egypt was polytheist, I'm still left questioning that whether or not this is true. Thoth even went as far to say that he would appear to be a god to others by his knowledge, which, as we can obviously see, came to be true in at least some sense. But he never claimed to actually be a god. He told of only one Source/God, and actually offered an explanation of how people may have come to mistake him for a god. It seems to uproot the idea that Egyptians were polytheist right at the root.

So given this, I'd say it's reasonable to argue either way with this. Some might say Egyptians were polytheist, and worshipped the deities other members have been kind enough to list. But others might say Egyptians were actually monotheist (or at least this way up until a certain point, at which beliefs may have become obscured and turned into polytheism) given the evidence that I've pointed out.

But if nothing else, I can obviously say Thoth was a potential deity in ancient Egypt. Ra is another. The sun god. But beyond that, I don't know any other names.

Thank you guys for everyone that has been helping me out on this forum. Before now and getting all of these great answers, I wasn't too interested with Egyptian mythology, but now I am adding all of this information to my mythology journal/notebook :)

I honestly wouldn't write all this information in your mythology journey, as much of it isn't actual mythology, a lot of it is modern invention. Everything posted by Dj38 is New Age and/or Wicca based, while what Seer posted is Hermetic/Kababalistic, Argent posted a small amount which a good bit of research shows is just the surface, and Ludmil posted links. (Neko came the closest to a true attempt at explaining ancient Egyptian mythology.) It isn't strictly ancient Egyptian, nor is some of it remotely so.

Part of what makes a person a member of the Kemetic path is following the Kemetic paradigm (or belief system). A lot of what you see today when researching Egyptian paganism isn't, it's actually New Age and/or Wiccan concepts with a Kemetic flavor to them. Simply worshiping Kemetic deities doesn't make one Kemetic, it simply means that you are following Kemetic deities under a different belief system. I call people like this Tamaran which is based upon the phrase "Te Meryt" or "Beloved Land", while people who work within the Kemetic paradigm are Kemetic which is based upon "Kemet" or "Black Land". I use them this way as there is a phrase for Wiccans who work with Kemetic deities, Tamaran Wiccans, while I have never heard the phrase Kemetic Wiccan. Kemetic seems to be used to point out those who are revivalists and reconstructionalists, rather than people who take in only their unverified personal gnosis or people who work with the deities outside of their original origins.

One of the big tenants of Kemetic faith, of the real ancient Egyptian faith, is that of Zep Tepi. Zep Tepi is "First Time" and describes those "first times" of creation within the mythologies and beliefs of ancient Egypt. This is the attempt made by priests, by scribes, by Nisut-bity, etc, to bring the world back to the time of its original creation. This is why a lot of the information about ancient Egypt is complex, convoluted, and confusing. We are dealing with a religion that became old enough to look back on its origins and try to return to those origins. Zep Tepi allows us to bring back the original creation and destruction powers of the gods, it allows us to become a part of the constant renewal of life within us and around us. Zep Tepi forces us to try to emulate the past. And this, is where I make my main distinction between Kemetic groups/beliefs and Tamaran groups/beliefs. Kemetic groups try to revive and keep to the old ways as best they can; they research and study and spend a lot of their time researching the original myths, the original ways, and try to bring them into the modern world. Tamaran groups tend to take what applies to them, and then toss aside anything that doesn't. This means that sometimes you get confusions, mixups, and people insulting the deities they are attempting to worship.

In my views, the deities that Tamarans worship aren't "real deities"; I consider them god forms. They are no less powerful, awesome, or great than the real Kemetic deities, but they aren't the originals, they are copies created out of our minds. That isn't to say that these god forms aren't kau (multiple ka or spirit bodies) of the original deities, they very well could be. I just can't accept that Aset (Isis) is the ultimate fluffy, mothering goddess because she wasn't back then and she hasn't been in my experiences. I don't see my gods as being there for my amusement or personal benefit, I work hard to keep up good relationships with them and when I fail I try to fix things between us.

This isn't a snub at people who I would consider Tamaran, I'm simply saying what I believe in regards to the topic at hand and my personal fears that Kemetic beliefs will continue to get watered down in an attempt to make them fit individual needs.

As for the groups of deities, yes, there are many thousands of groups. Most groups existed within a single village; that of a mother, father, and child or otherwise a group of similar or interrelated deities. As Neko said, there are tons that cover various areas, and by far she has the best list of deities on here. If you want to go through this, you should pick up a dictionary of Egyptian deities, or several even. If a certain deity or several attract you, follow the research that the original person did, and do some of your own research.

There are two groups called the Ogdoad and the Ennead. They are from two different cities, both of which ruled all of Egypt at different times. The Ogdoad includes Amun, Amunet, Kak, Kaket, Hu, Huhet, Nun, and Nuanet. These deities are those at the original point of creation and it is through them that the rest of the world is supposed to have sprung into being. The Ennead includes Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Wesir (Osiris), Aset (Isis), Set, and Nebthet (Nephthys). This is a familial listing, Atum being the original creation deity, and his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren following. Both groups are good to work with and/or meditate on.

You'll have to dig around a lot to find every bit of information you possibly can about any particular practice and/or deity, and in order to better understand it you'll need to do some major research into the culture and history of ancient Egypt. Do some serious research on the scholarly information out there for them if you want the real myths. I keep about 50 different books on various topics on ancient Egypt, and maybe about 10 which are Tamaran. While Tamaran books can be helpful as many of them do contain some information, the scholarly ones are the best for understanding the original beliefs. If you would like any of those titles, I can send you a mail listing them all out and I even have a few pdf copies.

Yes Seer, there is a form of monotheism that existed in ancient Egypt. It was within the ideas of each of the different areas and in much of the major beliefs after the beginning of the old Kingdom. It was most pervalent in the Amarna era, as this is when Akhenaten declared that the Aten (the physical disk of the sun) was the one and only true god and that all other gods were poor forms of him that should not be worshipped. After this was repealed in Tutankhamun's time, monotheism of this form was nearly wiped out, but the idea that there was a main form of deity remained. This main form of deity was regarded as untouchable by man, that is why we have beings like Amun ("hidden") as the main form. However, this all occurred well after the rise of the religious beliefs, and as such the polytheism of ancient Egypt was first. In the beginnings there was hard polytheism, then it got softer and softer, until the Amarna period, after which the Greco-Roman influence caused it to continue to get soft. Monotheism, as such, evolved from polytheism in ancient Egypt (though it is arguable that the individual villages who first started worshipping the gods were monotheistic).

What you mention about Thoth's tablets is Hermetic, whose teachings are based in the idea of Hermes Trismegistus, who is not Djehuti (one of the translations of Thoth's ancient Egyptian name). This was a later and far more modern invention than anything ancient Egyptian, and it copies the idea of "put a higher authority in charge of some wisdom written by a common man". It's not bad, it's just not ancient Egyptian.

I hope this straightened a bit out, and left no one with hurt feelings.

Thanks for that Satset, personally my feelings weren't hurt, I quite enjoyed reading your post. [And thanks for mentioning Akhenaten and the Aten don't know why I didn't want to bring it up] I do want to learn more about Kemetic I currently know Egyptian mythology/history from a historical sense, so while I can speak from translated texted and ancient discoveries, I don't know much about the applied religious practices. [But I just assume its trying to return to the roots of the ancients over just calling the Goddess Isis, that actually bugs me for some reason]

A lot of the more Kemetic religious practices deal with taking the knowledge you get from the historical sources, deriving the essence/concepts of those original practices, and attempting to copy them or perform them to the best of your ability. What you know now is an awesome way to start to use them. :)