Part I: Ancient Egyptian History by Michael Poe
intro | history | ritual | temples | priesthood | religion | craftsmen | bibliography

In the beginning..
Egypt wasn't always a thin ribbon of life surrounded by desert. From 200,000 to 10,000 BCE most of what is now known as the Sahara desert used to be verdant grasslands and plains with many trees and several rivers. There was an accumulation of different cultures down to 5,000 BCE.

From 6,000-4,000 BCE different belief structures, and both matrilineal and patrilineal societies existed along the Nile, for by then the Sahara was rapidly turning to desert and the cultures went to the only remaining source of water, the life giving Nile. Agriculture was already developed, and irrigation systems in use. There was already predominant goddess and god worship in these societies.

From 4,000-3,100 BCE, Egypt evolved into states, numbering from 36 to 44, called Nomes. From time to time, Egypt became united into two kingdoms, the Upper Kingdom, from around Aswan down to Cairo, with its capital at Nekhen, whose chief god was a goddess, Nekhebit, the Vulture Goddess; and Lower Egypt in the Delta with it's capital at Uatchet, whose chief god was also a goddess, Uatchet.

Nekhebit, the Vulture Goddess was an maternal Earth Mother symbolizing regeneration of life, from Death comes Life, as the vulture is one of the few animals that can mainly subsists on bodies of animals that would poison others. Uatchet, the Snake Goddess, was venerated as a fertility goddess , snakes lay many eggs, and as protection from snakes. The two goddess, Nekhebit and Uatchet, became the part of the crown over the third eye. Later, the snake goddess became associated with the Serpent Fire whose it's power came out at the third eye, the Egyptian equivalent of the Kundalini, , instead of the top of the head which became associated with another god. The worship of Hathor, Amon, Thoth, Horus, Bast, Sekhmet and a few others are well established though Isis is yet to be found or mentioned.

Throughout its 4,000 odd year old history there is no systematic account of the doctrines used. Different men living at different times do not think alike; and no college of priests had formulated a system of beliefs that was received by all clergy and laity alike. 42 nomes; 42 religions in 4,000 years! Changes were extent, differences, even in the same periods, were great. But all had one thing in common, Organic Totality.

Organic Totality: the physical environment, human organizations, conscience, language and ultimate goals, all make up Egypt's totality. Egypt did not have a central dogma or sacred book. But the one thing that prevented them from losing their individuality and from coalescing into a common unit is the belief in more than one set of gods. The Egyptian religions were both personal and nationalistic. It was personal to each individual or family; private, interwoven with a sense of personal right and wrong, with a personal shrine or "niche" in every house to their personal gods/desses. It was nationalistic because usually the place of the national seat of government determined, for the most part, the overall thought of the period, the morality of the period. The Egyptian religion offers a variety of paths to the ultimate source by individual contact and tailoring information and guidance according to an individual's needs and level of development.

Three aspects of the Egyptian religion and culture.

• Polytheism; all gods and goddesses are emanations or forces from one source (although in each state, the one source may have a different name).
• Actualization of the Individual; the development of the potential of the individual was important to the Egyptian colleges.
• Direct communication/relationship of an individual's surroundings.

The kings of Egypt had from three to five "great names". In addition to Horus there is also the "nebti" name. This name is from the Two Ladies, Nekhebet and Uatchet, and Pharaoh becomes the force uniting the dual monarchy. This name goes back to the 1st dynasty and is based on the two capitals of pre-dynastic Egypt, Neken and Buto, seats of the two goddesses. The third name is the "bee" name. "He who belongs to the sedge plant and the bee," the "nesu-list" name, symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. Predynastic: According to Manetho, a race of people came into Egypt and some became the founders and rulers of This and Memphis. The system of solar theology arrived in Lower Egypt (Delta) as early as 5,000 BCE in the form of the "Shensu Heru" or Followers of Horus. They made their way to upper Egypt before the 1st dynasty. In predynastic times there were two distinct kingdoms, Upper and Lower Egypt, with their capitals at Neken located slightly north of Thebes, and Buto, in the Delta. We have names of at least 12 kings of these two areas, although the Book of Sothis lists 86 kings, and the "Old Chronicles" lists 84.

There are several approaches taken by metaphysically minded people of today about ancient Egypt. There are those who rely on Edgar Cayce. Those who read Budge, the most predominant writer who unfortunately gives an unrealistic and narrow view of ancient Egypt. Those who Elizabeth Haitch's book, Initiation, which relates a fanciful yet historically inaccurate Egyptian initiation. Those who practice through traditions such as Golden Dawn, or paths of Wicca, who do not draw upon traditional or historical Egyptian traditions. (The Golden Dawn uses Greco-Roman Egyptian Tradition, acknowledged by Egyptologists as the period when most of the Egyptian traditions have been radically changed by outside influences, much already lost, and even hieroglyphic writing being incomprehensible.)

There is no evidence that the Ancient Egyptian religion came from elsewhere. In fact in almost every case the a pagan religions that came into contact with the Egyptian invariably adopted the priesthood, had the priesthood teach them, or made it a part but separate from the main religion. This is different from today's pagans who choose to take snipits of the religions they encounter rather then being taught or adopting the priesthood of the other religion.

Egyptologists, The Church of the Eternal Source, and many Hermeticists agree that in the Late Period of ancient Egypt, the priesthood began forgetting the important esoteric side of their own religion, and started adopting others bits and pieces, without the total integration that they practiced earlier. It resulted in a almost total breakdown of usefulness in practicing magic, mumbling now meaningless phrases, and effectiveness in their magic and rituals.

Occult philosophy by these groups and many others maintain that the more powerful an object is based on the formula: # of people using it + # of years in use + the ability of the individual to use it + the correctness in its use. The astral plane is exclusively made up by just this principle, and it's this plane where much of the magic is done. Feel a talisman that was made and used 4,000 years ago, it still has as more power than the modern work of most systems. In Jungian terms an old cultural symbol is more embedded in our subconscious as a universal symbol, and will be more powerful and last longer than a personal one. The effectiveness of the individual to practice his magic or religion is also directly proportional to the abilities and effectiveness of his/her teacher, and the degree of success in achieving the goals in his/her training.

Co-partnership in Egypt
Horned gods in Egypt include Amon, Menthu, Serapis, Sokar. Since at the inception of ancient Egypt, 42 different societies were involved in the consolidation of the kingdom, later to become nomes or states, and these societies were patrilineal or matrilineal, accommodation had to be made for both, so laws were passed making male and females equal. Rights of women were highly established. Women could marry and divorce; they could establish their own businesses without a man's consent or co-signature; they could conduct them before, during and after marriage, and there was no community property; . Married couples were considered co-partners and co-equals. Pregnant women, by law, had to be taken care of by the husband or the police came and beat him up.

The Queens of Egypt
It was the 2nd King of the 1st Dynasty (around 3,070 BCE) that passed a law that women could rule Egypt. Here they are, with the dynasties that they belonged.

1st Dynasty Merneith, Horneith, IV Henutsen, V Inty, VI Ankhsenmerira, Nitrokris (Noblest and Loveliest), VII Queen, name unknown, VII Queen, name unknown, XII Sebek-neferu-Ra, XIII Aufna, XVIII Hatshepsut, Ptolemiac Period Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III, Cleopatra VII (the famous one).

Hatshepsut is well known because the Pharaoh following her became famous and his monuments, and those of hers that he defaced, are still in existence. For women seeking their historical roots she is a queen worth of study.

Queen Henutsen, also called Isis, Mistress of the Pyramids and wife of Khufu or Cheops,The Egyptians raised Henutsen to the status of a Goddess and shrines were built for her. If you visit the pyramids, give an offering or a prayer to her, for she is the Mistress of the Pyramids and Guardian thereof. She is sometimes seen in a white robe flittering around the Great Pyramids and the other pyramids.

In ancient Egypt, to say the name of a person who is deceased is to make them live forever in heaven. Other ruling queens were later elevated to Goddesshood, Nitrokris, Merneith, Hatshepsut.

Hieroglyphica
Hieroglyphics did play a part in the Temple teachings, as symbols of the god/desses, of power objects, of inter-relations. They themselves had power within them and the mere act of writing them down (or using a rubber stamp in today's world) would give the spell more power. As for being seed syllables, I'm not sure; you will have to give a few more examples, but there are hieroglyphics that do stand for and embodied the levels of creation, but not all of them were syllables or letters. Remember that while a number of hieroglyphics stood for letters, and some syllables, most of them stood for showing what the letter/syllable was for; so that if two objects were spelled the same, another hieroglyphic of the object would be inserted.

The hieroglyphic stamps (Metropolitan museum editions) are very useful, extremely accurate of the hieroglyph. If using them in magic, be sure to bless and consecrate them first, along with the ink. You can use henna as an ink.

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