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Ancient Egyptian mysticism - where to start?

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Portillo

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If i wanted to get into Egyptian mysticism as a form of religion/belief, where would i start? Noob question i know.
 
Hmm, let's see.

You will need to learn Hieroglyphics - and the proper pronunciation - just for starters.

From there I would recommend you get into an Egyptology course or two at the nearest big university - this way you'll actually know what it is your hieroglyphs are telling you.

Once you're done with that, you'll be reasonably equipped to reconstruct enough from the fragments remaining to get a vague idea of Egyptian spirituality - that is, of course, assuming you're only talking about pre-hellenic, pre-coptic ancient Egypt.

One thing that you might find tricky is finding a pharaoh. Ancient egyptian spirituality literally revolved around the pharaoh - even after he died. You may want to become a pharaoh yourself, but you'll need to commission priests and masons to make the proper arrangements for your burial. These, like the pharaoh, no longer exist, as you know.

And here is the MOST important bit: Never, ever, ever, EVER believe anything you read about "Egyptian Mysticism" from a book you found on the shelves of a New Age store.

;)
 
You could try looking into Kemetism. It's a contemporary revival of the Egyptian religion... a bit "New Agey", but it's probably a good place to start. If you're wanting something more traditional and authentic, you'd better start studying those Egyptology courses. ;)
 
^ Honestly, I think you'd be wasting your time with Kemetism (which is, for the most part, just another Wicca).

I am very very convinced that the pursuit of a new Egyptian spirituality is a futile matter at best. Any manifestation of it today seems to be largely the result of the naiivete and the angst of teenagers.

The thing most people don't seem to realize, is that for the ancient egyptians, spirituality was a privlige that only the Pharaoh and his entourage had the honour of practising. For the populace, there were only local folk superstitions - they got their spiritual fulfliment through the Pharaoh mere existence.

The many gods of the Egyptian pantheon also had very political connotations. Throughout the year, ONLY the pharaoh was allowed to pray for them in the temple - their statues were paraded outside to the public only a few times during the years (differes from god to god, region to region, and era to era). But that was the basic idea.

The entirety of the Egyptian religion revolved around the idea that the Pharaoh was god on earth (ie. egypt), and the most people did their part simply by being masons or carpenters or farmers or what-have-you who devoted their lives to ensure that all necessary provisions were made for the pharaoh's burial, which in the Egyptian mind was actually the middle of one's life-cycle and therefore the most important point.

So you see, any attempt to adapt such a highly, highly exclusive and specialized religion to non-pharonic, not to mention - modern, life... is absolutely doomed to be a laughable failure.

I know that some people attempt to glean some kind of spiritual significance from reading the Pert em heru (Book of the Coming to Light/ Book of the Dead). While the journey can certainly be taken metaphorically and adapted to psychological transformation, I wouldn't think it particularly efficient, seeing how there are so many similar yet vastly less backwards methods of doing just the same.

The only form of "Egyptian" mysticism that can have any relevance today (IMO) starts to come into being in Ptolemaic egypt, after Alexander's concquest and the helenization of Egypt. This is when Alexandria flourished as a cultural capital of the world and where scholars of all persuasions gathered to discuss matters of philosphy and religion...etc.

One such result of these cultural interminglings is Hermeticism, which I highly suggest looking into :).
 
^ Yeah, I tend to agree. Someone may find Kemetism useful as a modern spirituality, inspired by the Egyptian mythology, but any attempt to recreate and practice the actual Egyptian religion would be impossible. It's a bit like the modern revivals of Celtic spirituality, which are dubious at best.
 
All hail Set!! ;)

I don't think you need to learn to read hieroglyphics to enjoy egyptian mystsicism. Remnants of it exist; tarot cards (Book of Thoth), astrology, goetic magick....

Jammy said:
One thing that you might find tricky is finding a pharaoh. Ancient egyptian spirituality literally revolved around the pharaoh - even after he died. You may want to become a pharaoh yourself, but you'll need to commission priests and masons to make the proper arrangements for your burial. These, like the pharaoh, no longer exist, as you know.
Click to expand...

Lol :D Me likes...:):)
 
swilow said:
I don't think you need to learn to read hieroglyphics to enjoy egyptian mystsicism. Remnants of it exist; tarot cards (Book of Thoth), astrology, goetic magick....
Click to expand...

I'd be more inclined to attribute Aleister Crowley's revelations to his drug habits, than remnants of any ancient religion. ;)
 
Jamshyd said:
^ Honestly, I think you'd be wasting your time with Kemetism (which is, for the most part, just another Wicca).

I am very very convinced that the pursuit of a new Egyptian spirituality is a futile matter at best. Any manifestation of it today seems to be largely the result of the naiivete and the angst of teenagers.

The thing most people don't seem to realize, is that for the ancient egyptians, spirituality was a privlige that only the Pharaoh and his entourage had the honour of practising. For the populace, there were only local folk superstitions - they got their spiritual fulfliment through the Pharaoh mere existence.

The many gods of the Egyptian pantheon also had very political connotations. Throughout the year, ONLY the pharaoh was allowed to pray for them in the temple - their statues were paraded outside to the public only a few times during the years (differes from god to god, region to region, and era to era). But that was the basic idea.

The entirety of the Egyptian religion revolved around the idea that the Pharaoh was god on earth (ie. egypt), and the most people did their part simply by being masons or carpenters or farmers or what-have-you who devoted their lives to ensure that all necessary provisions were made for the pharaoh's burial, which in the Egyptian mind was actually the middle of one's life-cycle and therefore the most important point.

So you see, any attempt to adapt such a highly, highly exclusive and specialized religion to non-pharonic, not to mention - modern, life... is absolutely doomed to be a laughable failure.

I know that some people attempt to glean some kind of spiritual significance from reading the Pert em heru (Book of the Coming to Light/ Book of the Dead). While the journey can certainly be taken metaphorically and adapted to psychological transformation, I wouldn't think it particularly efficient, seeing how there are so many similar yet vastly less backwards methods of doing just the same.

The only form of "Egyptian" mysticism that can have any relevance today (IMO) starts to come into being in Ptolemaic egypt, after Alexander's concquest and the helenization of Egypt. This is when Alexandria flourished as a cultural capital of the world and where scholars of all persuasions gathered to discuss matters of philosphy and religion...etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jam. Oh well, i guess ill just study Ancient Egypt rather than attempt to become a Pharoah myself. ;)
 
Meh there wasn't really any ancient Egyptian mysticism.

The Egyptians were a people with a bloodthirsty Pagan religion, then they got conquered by Alexander and started to interpret their myths through the lens of Greek philosophy, then once their mythology was thoroughly allegorized they said "see? We invented philosophy!"

Or so's my understanding from Coplestone :)
 
^ Yeah, i guess im just fascinated by the pyramids and all the alternative science theories that have come from Ancient Egypt.
 
Sweet P said:
I'd be more inclined to attribute Aleister Crowley's revelations to his drug habits, than remnants of any ancient religion. ;)
Click to expand...

Many other people besides Crowley have investigated the Lesser Keys of Solomon and related materials. I'm not sure why your mentioning him.
 
because you said tarot - the book of thoth. that was designed and commissioned by crowley. the book of thoth isnt an actual tarot book from ancient egypt. the connection of tarot cards to ancient egypt is fairly recent, and has no evidence to support it.
 
i like the aesthetics of ancient egypt, but their religion is fucking freaky. can you imagine how many people died to make the pyramids?? what kind of mindset were they in - it is hard to even imagine (even with the help of a shitload of psychedelic drugs). i think they had to have been, as well as advanced, completely centred on the pharaoh and his circle as jamshyd said, and as cruel (by our standards) as any ancient civilization. indeed...i doubt the blood of 1000 new agers would be much use to serve the egyptian gods...
 
ControlDenied said:
because you said tarot - the book of thoth. that was designed and commissioned by crowley. the book of thoth isnt an actual tarot book from ancient egypt. the connection of tarot cards to ancient egypt is fairly recent, and has no evidence to support it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is why I mentioned Crowley. :)

As for the Lesser Key of Solomon, there's no evidence linking it to antiquity. It first appeared in the 17th century, and it contains adaptations of various 16th century and medieval texts.
 
Is "11" Crowley's nickname? I used to be really into his writing - he is an incredible writer and philosopher.the way he ties in arabic mysticism has influenced me forever as a writer, and in the way i see reality... his theories are just fucking sweet'

too bad he was 1/2 evil
 
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