What is Kemetic Spirituality?
By Derric “Rau Khu” Moore
If you are interested in spirituality and decided to Google it. You might have noticed that there are a lot of articles on Kemetic Spirituality. But, what is Kemetic Spirituality? Before explaining what Kemetic (also sometimes spelled Kamitic, Khamitic or Ancient Egyptian) spirituality is and is not. It is important first to understand a little bit about the Kemetic people and their way of life.
Kamitic Map Copyright Derric Moore 2012
For starters, according to the Kemetic texts, wall art, and legends. The indigenous Kemetic people consisted of numerous tribal people who migrated from a southern land known as Kush (Ancient Nubia the modern day Ethiopia and Sudan region). Thousands of years ago, these ancient people settled alongside the Nile River and built an agrarian culture that revolved around the annual inundation of the great river.
The Kemetic spirituality is based upon the Kemetic peoples’ understanding of the Nile River. The Kemetic people did not have a monetary system but for goods and services. They relied upon a bartering system, which depended heavily on the annual inundation of the Nile River. For instance, if the Nile flooded it produced fertile lands, which in turn yielded a successful harvest, that allowed everyone within the country to reap the benefits. However, if the Nile did not flood and the harvest was not good, then famine reached into the homes of both the rich and the poor. Therefore, it was of great importance that the Nile flooded annually and made the land in the southern region fertile.
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Pyramid structure in Ancient Kush (Ancient Nubia or modern-day Sudan region)
Kemetic farmers courtesy of Wikipedia.org
To ensure that the Nile flooded, the Kemetic people would practice elemental magic so that the country was always prosperous. Being a very pragmatic culture, they would create ritualistic gestures and combine them with declarations for a successful harvest. If in the following year they had a bountiful harvest. They would record the ritual and repeat it the years to come. If they did not have a successful harvest after performing the ritual. Then, the Kemetic people would abandon the ritual and try to create a new ritual for a successful harvest.
In time, the Kemetic people had developed three ritualistic practices for ensuring that they had a successful harvest and they were: 1) Making offerings to the Nile; 2) Ingesting magical potions and inscriptions; and. 3) Petitioning their ancestors whom they believed could influence the lives of the living.
Kemetic Ritual courtesy of Wikipedia.org
Due to the Kemetic bartering system, a quid pro quo philosophy developed whereas they believed, “If I do this, then you do this for me.” This mainly was because incense and resins were in abundance. However, only the king could afford these items because they were highly prized. So, it became the sole responsibility of the king to perform the inundation ritual to the Nile (and other rituals around the country). This eventually transformed the king from being an ordinary man to a divine being who was responsible for the country’s prosperity.
The Kemetic king became God’s representative on earth. Or, the mediator between the spirit realm and the physical realm. This was symbolized by the leopard pelt to indicate balance, self-control or Maa.
In a relatively short time, the king was overwhelmed with performing so many rituals. So he delegated these rituals to other members of royalty and the priesthood.
Kemetic priest with leopard pelt
The Kemetic priesthood was very affluent because the majority of the Kemetic citizens were illiterate, so the priesthood was employed as scribes, carpenters, metalworkers, physicians and, artisans.
The Kemetic priesthood opened its’ membership to both men and women to meet all of the needs of the people. This is a celebratory feat that is still not seen in Judaism, Christianity and, Islam because of sexism.
In fact, some of the most famous Kemetic priestesses were Queen Ahmose Nefertari, Hatshepsut’s grandmother, the priestess Tamut and there are many others who held high positions in the priesthood in the Amun spiritual tradition.
As a result of servicing all the people, the Kemetic priesthood became so economically and politically powerful. That they could challenge the king’s authority.
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
The Kemetic priesthood was one of the professions where one could change their social status from an illiterate farmer to a high nobleman. One of the reasons the Kemetic priesthood was so widespread was because they allowed people to hone their talents in the service of the people. Consequently, the priesthood was able to develop numerous ritualistic practices that permeated every aspect of the Kemetic way of life. This made life, for priesthood members extremely busy because their business revolved around performing rituals for the people.
However, the average Kemetic citizen focused on honoring and venerating their ancestors. Generally speaking, the only time the average citizen hired a priest or priestess was for emergency purposes such as to call on the higher spirits for healthy cattle and successful harvest. Other than that, the average citizen made all of their petitions to their ancestors.
The ancestors were very important because they helped the Kemetic people understand what they needed to do before they physically died. This is why so much emphasis was placed on ensuring the ancestors were pleased.
Excavation into King Tutankhamen’s Tomb
Today, a lot of people are under the impression that because there are numerous organizations that have Kemetic iconography. That they are the true bearer of the Kemetic Light, but they are not the bearers of the Kemetic Light.
Kemetic influence in Christianity
Meanwhile, there are a lot of people trying to mimic the Kemetic way of life, but they forget that the Kemetic people lived in an agrarian society with strong and loving rulers.
In fact, we do not have a trustworthy clergy or any other professionals who are concerned about our health and wellbeing. This is because our contemporary society is based upon a monetary system, which places values on technological gadgets and the possession of things like shoes, clothes, a new car, home, etc. Consequently, this society focuses only on a few of its citizens prospering and uses religion as a means to incite fear in everything spiritual.
The Kemetic Trinity: Osar (Asar, Osiris, the Father Center), Oset (Aset, Isis, the Mother/Holy Spirit – right) and Hru (Heru, Horus, the Son – left)
The rising interest in Kemetic spirituality is to return back to the days before the rise of monotheistic religions – particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Since the inception of these three main western religions, which were tasked with bringing peace to all of humanity. There have been countless atrocities such as the enslavement of people of color, brutality against women and numerous wars waged in the “name of God,” who supposedly is bringing peace on earth.
Oset (Aset, Auset or Isis in Greek) and the Virgin Mary
Before the rise of these Abrahamic religions, life on earth was relatively peaceful and simple, and since most of these religions borrowed concepts and principles from the Kemetic religions and spiritual traditions. Most see Kemetic spirituality as a purer form of these religions minus the religious dogma, religious fear and, guilt about God, and religious social control.
All practitioners of Kemetic spirituality strive to live their lives according to the Kemetic concept of Ma’at or Maa. Maa is the Kemetic word for balance, order, truth, righteousness, etc. The concepts of Maa can be found all throughout the Kemetic literature because it is very similar to the Chinese Tao. But unlike Taoism whose philosophies and practices have been preserved over the ages in books and secured in Chinese culture for hundreds of years, the books about Maa have been destroyed by looters and lost in the sands of times.
Maat (the Personification of Maa – Divine Balance, Divine Law, Divine Order, Divine Truth)
Since there is no clear concise Kemetic text explaining in detail their beliefs and practices, adherents of Kemetic spirituality have interpreted the practice of the philosophy as they desire. Most followers can be grouped into two categories: Kemetic Reconstructionists and Kemetic Shamans.
Hru (Heru, Hrw or Horus) Leading the Way and Jesus leading the Way
Kemetic Reconstructionists (KR) are usually individuals who focused on reconstructing the Kamitic/Kemetic religion of old. As a result, most KRs rely heavily on the Kemetic spiritual texts such as the Pert em Hru (so-called Egyptian Book of the Dead), the Pyramid Texts, the 42 Laws of Ma’at (the model for Moses’ Ten Commandments), etc. Most KRs may have one shrine will a host of Kemetic icons on it to demonstrate balance, which in this sense is very similar to the original Roman Catholic religion prior to the Council of Nicaea. The various divinities are seen as archetypes and/or emissaries of God similar to how the various saints are viewed in Catholicism.
However, overall the central theme in most KRs practice is the Kemetic Asar (Osiris), Aset (Isis) and Hru (Horus) who are viewed as the first and original divine trinity. In fact, most KRs view Hru (Heru, Hrw or Horus in Greek) as the original prototype or avatar of Jesus who was born of virgin birth, identified by a star in the east, adorned by three kings, a teacher at 12 years of age, performed miracles, baptized at 30, crucified, rose from the dead, etc. 3000 years before the birth of Jesus. Some KRs worship Hru similar to the way Christians worship Jesus with the distinction being that the Kemetic hero is not seen as the literal savior of humanity, but rather as a divine energy that exists within everyone and can be used to help humanity save themselves. Consequently, a lot of KR practices revolve around meditation and meditative practices that focus on merging with the God-Self within.
Kamitic Shamans or Kemetic Shamans are usually individuals who use the Kemetic philosophy as the core of their spiritual tradition and combine it with influences from other spiritual paths (usually traditional African beliefs and practices) because Kemet is recognized as the cradle of traditional African spirituality.
Unlike KRs, Kemetic Shamans only believe in worshiping God who may be called Neter – the Supreme Being – or Nebertcher – the Lord of Everything; and working with a host of spirits such as their ancestors and divinities from other pantheons. Most Kemetic Shamans are very eclectic and their altar reflects their spirituality. However, their main focus is achieving and maintaining balance in their life, and helping others to accomplish the same feat.
This is because Kemetic Shamans believe that the reason they are here is to perfect themselves by mimicking the Creator, who is the epitome of balance or Maa. In other words, most KS believe that when we have an illness, problem, etc. in our life, the physical problem reflects a spiritual imbalance. To live in balance is to live perfectly, and although one may not achieve perfection in life, one can still attempt. From this perspective, evil is anything done excessively, while good is anything that is done in moderation. For this reason, it is not uncommon to find a host of other divinities on a Kemetic Shamans altar because they are all seen as forces working towards attaining and maintaining balance in an individual’s life.
Another thing to keep in mind is that most Kemetic Shamans are practical spiritual practitioners that focus on tangible results. In order to achieve such goals, they are usually led by the Spirit, which could be the spirit of an enlightened ancestor, a spirit guide or a personal spirit guardian. Consequently, most of the KS beliefs and practices were not be found in a book. Most of their beliefs and practices are due to them communicating with their primary spirit and trial-and-error. When most KS speak about a subject it is because they have a had a personal experience with the subject they are speaking of. For instance, most KS would not advise that someone engage in a practice that they have not done themselves.
Because they are practical spiritual practitioners that are led by the Spirit, there are no spiritual rules, no religious dogma, no guidelines, etc. that the Kemetic Shamans follow except the ones that they establish for themselves. If something works they use it but, if something does not feel right, they abandon it.
On Monotheistic and Polytheistic Beliefs
It should be noted that Jews, Christians and Muslims will be quick to claim that adherents of Kemetic spirituality are idolaters because they have a narrow view of God. This is because western religious beliefs is based upon the acceptance of an individual’s opinionated perception regardless if it is right or wrong. The ambiguity within western religions is the main reason religion has created more division and authored wars among its followers and other faiths. This is the reason women have been and are still persecuted in western religions because of the misunderstanding of the Divine Feminine principle.
In Kemetic spirituality, God is understood to be the Creator of All Things, which means the essence of God exists in everyone regardless of their color, race, ethnicity, sex, and beliefs. This means that there is not just one way to understand who and what God is. In fact, knowing God is not based solely upon beliefs, but upon experiencing God for oneself. Since God is too abstract for our human mind to truly comprehend, Kemetic adherents believe that God has created numerous divinities, which all represent different facets of the Divine. In other words, the so-called gods and goddesses are actually different aspects of the Divine who is the Source of Everything. That being said, Kemetic adherents do not worship idols, they simply focus on knowing all of the attributes of their Creator who they are mimicking since they are Children of God.
Overall, Kemetic spirituality is becoming increasingly popular because it actually delivers what it promises, which is an improved relationship with the Divine that allows one to see God within themselves. In other words, it delivers true peace of mind.
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