Egyptian wicca

[i_am_serenity16]

Ok I'm a solitary eclectic wiccan but I've become increasingly interested in egyptian wicca because of the dieties I worship are egyptian and I was looking to find out more about egyptian wicca to see if maybe a change in path would be right for me. I've looked for websites with infor but haven't found any that tell me anything useful. Can anyone out there help me out with either some info or a site or two? Thanks a bunch :smoochypo .
:broomride

[Pip_Sensei]

There is no such thing as "Egyption Wicca" as Wicca did not exist back then. There however is Egyption Paganism which died out around 600 AD so reconstructing it is quite hard as a lot of the sacred texts have been destroyed by Muslims living in that area over the centuries.

[i_am_serenity16]

hmmm... makes sense but I've heard of egyptian wicca on other sites and even in a few threads here, so maybe it's more wiccan with egyptian dieties sort of thing...

[Pilot]

More than likely, but I don't see why you can't incorporate the two-

[unicornlightining]

As I understand it there are all forms of paganism and wiccan . The main devideing point being the wiccan rede and other such teachings. If you worship Egpytion deities, but keep with other wiccan teachings then yes you would be an Egpytian wiccan. The first thing you need to do is find out about their holidays so that you can get in tune with their weel of the year. Try to find others in your area interseted, or others here who are into Egpyt. I once had a girlfreind who was into Egpytian mythos. It works out fine with wicca from what I can tell.

[Ben Gruagach]

Look for Ellen Cannon Reed's book "Circle of Isis." It's a Wiccan denomination that focuses exclusively on Egyptian deities and myths.

(Wicca is flexible enough that it's very possible to focus on one particular myth system or culture -- being Wiccan does not mean you have to focus on Celtic myths for instance. Gerald Gardner certainly didn't!)

[i_am_serenity16]

Thanks everyone!

[Khuinaset]

There's a *huge* thread on it somewhere in this forum, try doing a search for Egyptian Wicca. You might also want to read the thread on Kemetic Orthodoxy/House of Netjer, because there's some interesting stuff in there. I also suggest checking out the House of Netjer forums (http://www.netjer.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?Cat=) because the people there are really nice and willing to help, even if you're not KO.

Have fun ;) Who do you worship, if you don't mind my asking? Having specific Names makes it a lot easier to find links for you :)

[i_am_serenity16]

Thanks. Isis and Osiris are who I work with most of the time but I also work with Annubis and Horus at times.

[Khuinaset]

Thanks. Isis and Osiris are who I work with most of the time but I also work with Annubis and Horus at times.

I found both of the threads:

Egyptian Wicca (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=50338)

Kemetic Orthodoxy/House of Netjer (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=59746)

Aset sites:

www.per-aset.org

http://www.philae.nu/akhet/aset.html

http://members.aol.com/sataset/

There's also a debate in the Gods and Goddesses forum about Aset/Isis, you might want to check that out.

http://www.wesir.org/ is the only comprehensive site I can ever seem to find on Wesir. And that says that's going through reorganization :hrmm:

ah, http://www.wesir.org/wesir/home.htm works, so you could use that.

Yinepu - http://yinepu.homestead.com/

http://senytmenu.org/Main.htm (has information on Yinepu/Wepwawet somewhere down the page)

and here's a thread I came across while searching for information for you, that might be useful:

http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp?boardID=4615&discussionID=126157

Which Heru are you talking about? The son of Aset, right?

http://www.kemet.org/glossary/heru-sa-aset.html

http://www.netconstructions.com/horus/ seems to be devoted to the Herus in general, not any specific one (there's Heru-sa-Aset/Heru son of Aset, Heru'ur/Heru the Elder, and one or two more I think but their names slip my memory at the moment).

http://touregypt.net/magazine/godsofancientegypt.htm TourEgypt is always good for general(sometimes detailed) info as well :)

Hope I was of some help!

[i_am_serenity16]

Thank you so much I will check all of those out! That should help a lot!

[Sisqi]

I liked the book Isis Magic... they do have groups going as well, check out http://www.hermeticfellowship.org/Iseum/

:tub:

[i_am_serenity16]

:D Thanks

[Paracelsus]

Try "Practical Egyptian Magic" by Murray Hope.

[Ben Gruagach]

I second the recommendation for "Isis Magic" by M. Isadora Forrest. You also might find the following helpful -- although they're not specifically about Wicca, they are good sources of info on Egypt and how you could incorporate Egyptian material into your practice.

"The Passion of Isis and Osiris" by Jean Houston. (This is an excellent book for helping you study the myths of Isis and Osiris in a lot of depth in relation to your own life and spiritual growth. Ambitious Pagans could also use this book as a pattern but apply the methods to other myth cycles.)

"The Mysteries of Isis" by DeTraci Regula. Lots of cool info about Isis lore and worship!

[Khuinaset]

I second the recommendation for "Isis Magic" by M. Isadora Forrest. You also might find the following helpful -- although they're not specifically about Wicca, they are good sources of info on Egypt and how you could incorporate Egyptian material into your practice.

I have an honest question here, at the risk of coming off as rude or something - I looked around at M. Isadora's site, and...well, to be honest, I wasn't entirely impressed. I'm remembering at least one page where she sourced Budge and she seemed, overall, to use Greek resources/take on things over the original Kemetic view. Is her book like that, or just the site?

And - I'd heard something about how "The Mysteries of Isis" basically made all the other Egyptian goddesses out to be nothing but aspects of Isis. Is that true?

Paraclesus, I tried looking but couldn't find anything on that book. D'you have any more information? I'm always looking for more books to put on my "to-get" list :D

I've also heard good things about the books by Rosemary Clark("the sacred tradition in Egypt" and "the sacred...magic? of Egypt" I think), anyone read either of those?

Thanks :)

[Ben Gruagach]

I have an honest question here, at the risk of coming off as rude or something - I looked around at M. Isadora's site, and...well, to be honest, I wasn't entirely impressed. I'm remembering at least one page where she sourced Budge and she seemed, overall, to use Greek resources/take on things over the original Kemetic view. Is her book like that, or just the site?

Could you provide the link to M. Isadora Forrest's website? I just did a Google search on her name but didn't see a website that appeared to be hers.

The worship of Isis historically extended well past the borders of Egypt even as far as the UK (they've archeological evidence of a temple to Isis in London) so it wouldn't surprise me if Forrest's book and some of the others that deal with Isis are not limited to just Kemetic/Egyptian information.

R. E. Witt's book "Isis in the Ancient World" is a good scholarly book about the worship of Isis outside Egypt as well as in Her original homeland.

And - I'd heard something about how "The Mysteries of Isis" basically made all the other Egyptian goddesses out to be nothing but aspects of Isis. Is that true?

Yes, DeTraci Regula's book does emphasize Isis' role as the Universal Goddess who encompasses all other goddesses. This idea was part of the historical Isis cult during the pre-Christian era when Isis had cults all over Europe. The most famous mention of this is in Lucius Apuleius' "The Golden Ass" who lived c. 123 - c. 170 CE.

I've also heard good things about the books by Rosemary Clark("the sacred tradition in Egypt" and "the sacred...magic? of Egypt" I think), anyone read either of those?

Thanks :)

I've copies of Rosemary Clark's two books ("The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt" and "The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt") but I'm not enough of an Egyptian scholar to be able to say whether the material is authentic or merely the author's recreation of what she thinks ancient Egyptian religion was like. The books are filled with a lot of impressive detail though.

[Kuruni]

I myself practice "Egyptian wicca", basically using concepts from wicca, paganism, and Ancient Egyptian Religion. A very informative site is http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/index9.html
At the very bottom is a large amount of informative links to different pages. Hope this helps.

[Kuruni]

You might also find this text interesting. Its an article about Egyptian worship and rituals.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos446.htm

[BlackMagicalCat]

hmmm... makes sense but I've heard of egyptian wicca on other sites and even in a few threads here, so maybe it's more wiccan with egyptian dieties sort of thing...
can a goddess be destroyed by destroying her texts?can any one actually destroy a god or goddess?i would think they would be able to speak and reveal themself even if there followers and texts were destroyed,asuming they had any power.if not then maybe they wernt gods .just my viewpoint.

[BlackMagicalCat]

I myself practice "Egyptian wicca", basically using concepts from wicca, paganism, and Ancient Egyptian Religion. A very informative site is http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/index9.html
At the very bottom is a large amount of informative links to different pages. Hope this helps.
hey,i had a dream ,i was in an old store and i moved this wall and found old egyptian bricks and things and there were animal skeletons on them,the skeletons came to life and scattered across a field and a tiger came running towards me and i got down and covered my head.the tiger layed on me and poked me with her muzzle and then got up and left.the other animals ran past me and i heard the tiger say,i put my scent on you,your safe.lately im dreaming a lot of egyptian stuff and am starting to wonder why.

[BlackMagicalCat]

my spelling sucks

[Khuinaset]

Could you provide the link to M. Isadora Forrest's website? I just did a Google search on her name but didn't see a website that appeared to be hers.

The worship of Isis historically extended well past the borders of Egypt even as far as the UK (they've archeological evidence of a temple to Isis in London) so it wouldn't surprise me if Forrest's book and some of the others that deal with Isis are not limited to just Kemetic/Egyptian information.

R. E. Witt's book "Isis in the Ancient World" is a good scholarly book about the worship of Isis outside Egypt as well as in Her original homeland.

Yes, I know. :) I just meant her site seems to focus *more* on Greek(or possibly Roman, I don't really know) sources/information than Kemetic. It seems to me that it would be better to focus on the original things. But that kind of goes back to the whole Isis/Aset debate(here (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=83798)).

This is, to my knowledge, her site:

http://www.hermeticfellowship.org/Iseum/index.html

I just wasn't impressed with it overall. I think I mentioned most of what I found wrong with it in a post in the Isis/Aset thread but I can't seem to find it. The summary was using Budge, using Greek sources over Egyptian ones, and twisting around the myth of Aset and Re and making it...entirely different than the original, as here:

MANY OF YOU may already be familiar with the story of Isis and Re in which Isis becomes the possessor of the knowledge of the True Name of Re. Thus Re makes Himself vulnerable to Her so that She can, in turn, heal Him. For us today, the story teaches us that we, too—if we would bring the healing power of Goddess into our lives—must make ourselves vulnerable to Her.

(found the post if you'd rather read that instead - it's #23)

Yes, DeTraci Regula's book does emphasize Isis' role as the Universal Goddess who encompasses all other goddesses. This idea was part of the historical Isis cult during the pre-Christian era when Isis had cults all over Europe. The most famous mention of this is in Lucius Apuleius' "The Golden Ass" who lived c. 123 - c. 170 CE.

That isn't who *Aset* is, though(or at least IMHO). She was never seen by the Egyptians as an all-encompassing goddess. And it seems kind of disrespectful/degrading to me to mention all the other Kemetic goddesses as just "aspects" of Aset. That is JMO, though, and it once again circles around to the Isis/Aset debate.

I've copies of Rosemary Clark's two books ("The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt" and "The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt") but I'm not enough of an Egyptian scholar to be able to say whether the material is authentic or merely the author's recreation of what she thinks ancient Egyptian religion was like. The books are filled with a lot of impressive detail though.

:lol: At least I got the titles close to right! I'd like to get them as they look interesting, but I trust people I know at least vaguely over people at amazon, and haven't managed to find anyone's opinion of it.

[Sisqi]

Its been a while since I read her book and I don't have it here next to me to reference, so forgive me. I do remember her website being unimpressive as compared with the book. I happened to pick up a new copy at half-priced books. What I liked most about the book were the rituals, prayers, and other types of things like that. She does have a good deal of history included in the first half that covers both Kemetic and more Greek/Roman influences that span the timeline from the first appearances of Isis to the spread of the then virtually western-world-wide cult of Isis. Her own worship of Isis tends to fall in this last part of the time lines. I would highly suggest you browse her book at a local bookstore/used book store to see if its something that would fit into your library.

Also, one of my other favorites is: Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Normandi Ellis. I like the more poetic form of this translation.

:tub:

[Darakash]

Yes, I know. :)
That isn't who *Aset* is, though(or at least IMHO). She was never seen by the Egyptians as an all-encompassing goddess. And it seems kind of disrespectful/degrading to me to mention all the other Kemetic goddesses as just "aspects" of Aset. That is JMO, though, and it once again circles around to the Isis/Aset debate.


I couldn't agree more, i get very frustrated with many of the Isis-worshipping sites, etc. In some of which, I have seen Isis (these sites never use the Aset) is given credit and history for things that were not only actually done by other goddesses, but by gods as well....like Tehuti/Dhejuty (whom is of course, referred to as Thoth on most of those sites). It seems to me that if the ancients really saw all netjeru as "ONE" they wouldn't have had so many for so many different functions and regions! I know damned well, taht my momma (Sekhmet) in NO way associates herself as an aspect of Aset! UH, NO!

But, I guess I can understand, if one is performing neo-pagan/wiccan rituals, the sort of mother-goddess all encompassing vision of Aset probably works more effectively in the "god/goddes" mindset/ritual...and, from all the non-kemetic followers Aset has, it doesn't seem that she minds this designation at all! So I guess if it works for ya, it's all good...
DK

[Khuinaset]

Its been a while since I read her book and I don't have it here next to me to reference, so forgive me. I do remember her website being unimpressive as compared with the book. I happened to pick up a new copy at half-priced books. What I liked most about the book were the rituals, prayers, and other types of things like that. She does have a good deal of history included in the first half that covers both Kemetic and more Greek/Roman influences that span the timeline from the first appearances of Isis to the spread of the then virtually western-world-wide cult of Isis. Her own worship of Isis tends to fall in this last part of the time lines. I would highly suggest you browse her book at a local bookstore/used book store to see if its something that would fit into your library.

Thank you! I appreciate that :) And thank you for not taking any of the comments as an attack or anything :D

Also, one of my other favorites is: Awakening Osiris: The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Normandi Ellis. I like the more poetic form of this translation.

:tub:

Yeah, I've heard that suggested for a poetic form of the translation. It's on my to-get list ;)


I couldn't agree more, i get very frustrated with many of the Isis-worshipping sites, etc. In some of which, I have seen Isis (these sites never use the Aset) is given credit and history for things that were not only actually done by other goddesses, but by gods as well....like Tehuti/Dhejuty (whom is of course, referred to as Thoth on most of those sites). It seems to me that if the ancients really saw all netjeru as "ONE" they wouldn't have had so many for so many different functions and regions! I know damned well, taht my momma (Sekhmet) in NO way associates herself as an aspect of Aset! UH, NO!

*grins* That goes back to the Isis/Aset debate too ;)

The Kemetic view of Netjer seems really...complicated. I'm not sure if I have it *quite* right, but the way I view it is that all of the Netjeru are distinct in and of themselves, but also part of something larger. Like a big body...you can't replace the liver(say, Sekhmet) with a lung(Aset) and expect things to go smoothly. In fact I'd imagine the body might get rather irritated with you :p :lol: There was an interesting debate on the Beliefnet boards a while back that had some input, after I get back from school I'll try and find it and post it.

[Redshire]

After a year of my own studies, I found "Circle of Isis" a big dissapointment, and am glad i didn't read it sooner.

I am still chipping away at "Sared Tradition..." and enjoying it.

As for the Isis debate... If one wants an all-encompassing mother goddess of the Egyptian persuasion, why not Nut? I've been working with Her and Geb, they are exquisitly wonderfull!! :)


em hotep

[Khuinaset]

After a year of my own studies, I found "Circle of Isis" a big dissapointment, and am glad i didn't read it sooner.

Hmm. Well, I only came into it after a month or two of my own study, and I really enjoyed it. The Netjer part the most, but I found the guided meditation, song, and prayer stuff really interesting as well. The hieroglyph part annoyed me, though, because she sourced Budge(and I recall a few minor errors), but I liked everything else, and still skim it from time to time. I really liked the writing style, as well. It was also very nice to see a person that had a few more obscure deities in there, and didn't relegate Set to "evil god" part. However, I can see how after a year it might be a disappointment. :)

I am still chipping away at "Sared Tradition..." and enjoying it.

D'you mind giving me an overview of the contents and information and such? This might be better suited for PM, though :D

edit: Sheesh! went and checked amazon.com and it's almost five hundred pages long! I can see how that would take some time :p

[Redshire]

Hmm. Well, I only came into it after a month or two of my own study, and I really enjoyed it. The Netjer part the most, but I found the guided meditation, song, and prayer stuff really interesting as well. The hieroglyph part annoyed me, though, because she sourced Budge(and I recall a few minor errors), but I liked everything else, and still skim it from time to time. I really liked the writing style, as well. It was also very nice to see a person that had a few more obscure deities in there, and didn't relegate Set to "evil god" part. However, I can see how after a year it might be a disappointment. :)

I was mainly dissapointed because it wasn't anything I hadn't learned already, except maybe the ritual/cerimonial aspects. But I've been working on my own form of practice... But whatever. I can see how it would be a good beginners book.

D'you mind giving me an overview of the contents and information and such? This might be better suited for PM, though :D

edit: Sheesh! went and checked amazon.com and it's almost five hundred pages long! I can see how that would take some time :p

certainly. I'll get that to you tomorrrow. :)

em hotep!

[Erincelt]

Just ran across this thread and thought I'd chime in with my two deben. :)

I have read Clark's "The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt" and would generally recommend it. The author does lend a Hermetic bent, but manages to do it respectfully, and while still addressing loads of valuable information. She actually gets into things like the anatomy of the "spirits" of a person (b'a, k'a, khat, ren, etc) and gives some interesting ways of thinking of the Great Names. Also the first chapter ends with her idea of how to attribute qualities to the directions with a Kemetic theme. Its goodness. ;)

As to the Aset/Isis bit... I'm just not even going to get involved. But in response to the suggestion of using Mut, one might even consider Ma'at, as she is known as "the Mother of us all". :) Of course, if one tries to be mythologically correct, that pins you to using Djehuty/Thoth as companion god. But hey, Old Man Thoth never done me no wrong. Heh. (Except now He will beat me for that blatant rebellion against the sacred laws of grammar.)

[Leucothoe]

I really enjoy Circle of Isis. It's an extremely well-written book, and an easy read. Some of the books out there require me to slap myself every 8 or so minutes to continue reading. Circle of Isis is interesting and flows very nicely. It's apparent that Ellen really knows the deitys personally; she speaks of them with such devotion. Right now I'm reading Ancient Egyptian Magic by Cassandra Eason. Has anybody read it? So far it's pretty interesting.

[Witchy_Momma]

Does the Egyptian path follow the wheel of the year or do they have their own sabbats?

Leslie

[Tarbh Nathroch]

No it does not.

There are a few folks here who have mentioned adapting the wheel and finding common ground and shoe horning the two together. Not being one of those people I couldn’t help you with it. Read though or try a search and see if you can find one of those people if they don’t reply to your question.

[Khuinaset]

Does the Egyptian path follow the wheel of the year or do they have their own sabbats?

Leslie

It depends on how much Kemeticism you blend into your path - I still do the sabbats(not a huge ceremony or anything though), and I observe most of the big Kemet festivals(the birthdays of Wesir, Set, etc. ).

[Redshire]

Does the Egyptian path follow the wheel of the year or do they have their own sabbats?

Leslie

I would say "both".

Personally, I do not see how one can claim the Wiccan title and not celebrate the traditional Wiccan Sabbats. Take out the Wheel of the Year, an intrinsic part of Wicca, and IMHO you would be Kemetic with Wiccan flavoring.


em hotep