Kemetism#Church of the Eternal Source

File:Ta_Kemet.jpg

The movement's name is based on an endonym of Egypt,{{Cite web |url=http://www.ta-noutri.com/tanoutri/pages/khemitisme.htm |title=Khémitisme, Tradition païenne égyptienne, la religion des anciens égyptiens |language=French |access-date=2008-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219132633/http://www.ta-noutri.com/tanoutri/pages/khemitisme.htm |archive-date=2008-12-19 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.kemet.org/kemexp1.html|title=What is Kemetic Orthodoxy? Introduction|language=English|access-date=2008-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911234223/http://www.kemet.org/kemexp1.html|archive-date=2008-09-11 |url-status=dead }} Kemet (the conventional vocalization of hieroglyphic notation km.t). The word is also sometimes written as Takemet, from the fuller tꜣ km.t.{{Cite book |last1=Verner |first1=Miroslav |author-link=Miroslav Verner |last2=Bareš |first2=Ladislav |author-link2=Ladislav Bareš |last3=Vachala |first3=Břetislav |author-link3=Břetislav Vachala |year=2007|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Libri|place=Prague|isbn=978-80-7277-306-0 |pages=168}} In translation from Egyptian, it means "black" (or in longer form "black land"), which is derived from the black colour of the fertile mud brought by the Nile during the annual floods (currently no longer occurring due to the existence of the Aswan Dam).

Kemetics sometimes refer to the ancient Egyptian deities as the Netjeru, also referred to as the Neteru or the Netjer.{{Cite web |title=Netjer {{!}} Kemet.org |url=https://www.kemet.org/taxonomy/term/123 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=www.kemet.org}} Kemetics also commonly prefer to refer to the Netjeru with their original ancient Egyptian name: for example, they would refer to Horus as Heru and Anubis as Anpu.

File:Ra_Barque.jpg in a barque; his daily voyage across the sky (𓇯)]]File:Isis_1652.jpg) in modern imagery; she holds a sistrum in her hand]] Kemetics do not consider themselves direct descendants of the ancient Egyptian religion but consistently speak of its recreation or restoration.{{Cite web |title=International Network of Kemetics |url=http://www.inkemetic.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005061721/http://www.inkemetic.org/ |archive-date=2008-10-05 |access-date=2008-08-21 |language=English}}{{Cite web |last=Raneb |first=Djehutijdjedef |title=Egypt - the image of heaven |url=http://kemet.pise.cz/4520-egypt-obraz-nebes.html |access-date=2009-09-26 |language=Czech}} Some Kemetics or hermeticists claim direct continuity with secret societies allegedly continuously existing since the prohibition of Paganism by Roman emperor Theodosius I in 392 CE, or since the closing of the last functional Egyptian temple (of the goddess Isis on the island of Philae) by Emperor Justinian around 535.{{Cite book |last=David(ova) |first=Rosalie |title=Religion and Magic of Ancient Egypt |publisher=BB/art |year=2006 |isbn=80-7341-698-0 |place=Prague |pages=333 |translator-last1=Vymazalová |translator-first1=Hana}}Verner, Bareš, Vachala, p. 139 However, these claims are historically unprovable.{{Cite book |author=DeTraci Regula |title=Isis and her mysteries: understanding the universal goddess |publisher=Book Club |year=2002 |isbn=80-242-0806-7 |place=Prague |pages=35 |translator-last1=Muková |translator-first1=Ivana}}

Since the Hellenistic period, ancient Egyptian religion has influenced many belief systems.{{Cite book |last=Hornung |first=Erik |author-link=Erik Hornung |year=2002 |title=Mysterious Egypt: the roots of Hermetic wisdom |publisher=Paseka |place=Prague |translator-first1=Allan |translator-last1=Plzák |isbn=80-7185-436-0 |pages=9n, 175n}} For example, Hermeticism is based on the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). Early and medieval Christianity also incorporated ancient Egyptian thought, including in extra-biblical legends of the stay of Jesus in Egypt, the recognition of the authority of Hermes Trismegistos by the Church Fathers and Medieval philosophers, or the adaptation of myths associated with the goddess Isis.{{Cite book |last1=Forman |first1=Werner |surname2=Quirke |first2=Stephen |year=1996 |title=Afterlife on the Nile |publisher=Opus Publishing |place=London |pages=17, 177n |translator-first1=Ladislav |translator-last1=Bareš}}Hornung, p. 74n These mythologies usually interpret ancient Egyptian culture, religion, and gods symbolically.see, e.g., {{Cite book |last=Kefer |first=John |author-link=Jan Kefer |year=1991 |title=Synthetic Magic |publisher=Trigon |place=Prague |isbn=80-85320-18-5 |pages=136n}} In contrast, the goal of Kemetic groups is a more or less rigorous restoration of the religious system in its historical form, although Kemetists generally admit that a completely accurate imitation of ancient practices is not always possible or even advisable.{{Cite book |last1=Naydler |first1=Jeremy |year=1999 |title=Temple of the Cosmos: the Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred |publisher=Volvox Globator |place=Prague |isbn=80-7207-245-5 |pages=8n |translator-first1=Miroslav |translator-last1=Krůta}}

Ancient Egyptian religion underwent complex transformations across time and was worshipped differently in different locations.{{Cite book |surname=David(ova) |first1=Rosalie |year=2006 |title=Religion and Magic of Ancient Egypt |publisher=BB/art |place=Prague |isbn=80-7341-698-0 |pages=68 |translator-first1=Hana |translator-last1=Vymazalová}}{{Cite book |last=Assmann |first=Jan |author-link=Jan Assmann |year=2002 |title=Egypt: theology and piety of an early civilization |publisher=Oikuméné |place=Prague |isbn=80-7298-052-1 |pages= |translator-first1=Barbora |translator-last1=Krumphanzlová |translator-first2=Ladislav |translator-last2=Bareš}} One god could have different mythological associations and forms of worship in individual nomes or even individual temples. It is difficult to seek a purely original form of Egyptian religion that can be easily pointed to and reconstructed (see Reconstructionism).

Later reinterpretations of Egyptian religious ideas fundamentally transformed them.{{Cite book |surname=Janák |first1=Jiří |author-link= |year=2005 |title=Gate of Heaven: Gods and Demons of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Libri |place=Prague |isbn=80-7277-235-X |pages=57}}Hornung, p. 24 For example, some question whether the gods should be strictly worshipped by their Egyptian names or whether they can also be addressed by the Greek versions.{{Cite web |url=http://www.neosalexandria.org/name.htm|author=Sannion|title=What's in a name? |language=English |access-date=2009-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206015553/http://www.neosalexandria.org/name.htm |archive-date=2007-12-06 |url-status=dead}} This question holds special significance for Kemetics due to the ancient Egyptian idea of the importance of name to existence. It has been questioned whether Hellenestic and Christian reimaginings should be included in Kemetic reconstruction, or whether they should instead be excluded as traditions of antiquity.{{Cite web

| url = http://kemet.pise.cz/2335-nekolik-drobnych-rad.html

| author = Raneb Jehutijjedef

| title = A few little tips before you decide to address the gods

| language = Czech

| access-date = September 26, 2009

}} The answer to this question is one of the fundamental differences between various Kemetic groups.

{{CSS image crop|Image=The judgement of the dead in the presence of Osiris.jpg|cHeight=120|cWidth=250|oTop=50|bSize=1100|oLeft=9|Location=right|Description=Hunefer kneels in adoration before a company of deities.{{Cite web |title=papyrus {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA9901-3 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}}}

Different interpretations of the ancient Egyptian religion have different understandings of the monotheistic or polytheistic Egyptian pantheon. The ancient Egyptian religion was a polytheistic religion and Kemetists do not deny this polytheism, but different practitioners may elevate one deity to different levels. In traditionalist practice, each deity is their own individual being, although one may be more powerful.{{Cite web |url=http://kemet.pise.cz/6236-kult-cesta-k-bohum.html |author=Raneb Jehutijdjedef |title=Cult – the way to the gods |language=Czech |access-date=2009-09-26}} Others may practice henotheism, where practitioners revere many gods but chose to worship one, as manifested, for example, in the cults of Serapis and Isis. In monolatry, practitioners acknowledge many gods but only revere and worship one. Still others may conceptualize the Egyptian pantheon as a single universal divine force manifesting itself in various forms.

Regardless of whether the sun is worshipped as a god by a particular Kemetist or not, as in Ancient EgyptThe adoption of the sun as a central divine principle was continuously present in Egyptian religion and remained a subject of constant evolution throughout the Pharaonic period, described many times in literature. Mircea Eliade, for example, refers to it, albeit not with entirely convincing arguments, from a general religious studies point of view as the relationship between theology and the politics of solarization. See {{Cite journal |surname=Eliade |first1=Mircea |author-link=Mircea Eliade |year=1995 |title=History of Religious Thought 1: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries |publisher=ISE |place=Prague |isbn=80-7298-052-1 |pages=106n |translator-first1=Kateřina |translator-last1=Dejmalová}}The development is summarized in {{Cite book |last=Assmann |first=Jan |author-link=Jan Assmann |year=2002 |title=Egypt: theology and piety of early civilization |publisher=Oikuméné |place=Prague |isbn=80-7298-052-1 |pages=61 |translator-first1=Barbora |translator-last1=Krumphanzlová |translator-first2=Ladislav |translator-last2=Bareš}} the sun is considered to be an image of divine power and the source of every existence. The sun is deified as Ra or, during the New Kingdom, Amun-Ra.

File:800px-Louvre_Re_tete_faucon2.jpg

Another important principle of Kemeticism is maat, order. This concept was one of the cornerstones of religious thought of the Ancient Egyptians – its observance was supposed to ensure the stability of the world and its orderly running. Its importance is evident from the fact that even the pharaoh, who was understood as a divine being, was primarily tasked with bearing responsibility for and contributing to maat. The epitome of the concept in Ancient Egyptian religion was the eponymous goddess Maat and her symbol the ostrich feather.

As a result, the respect of rules of all kinds by each individual was synonymous with support and maintenance of the cosmic order, while their non-observance could lead to its disruption. The collapse of maat would lead to the demise of the world and the victory of chaos. In pursuit of maat, Kemetic practitioners may follow prevailing ethical ideas and good manners. However, there is no explicitly binding text codifying moral norms.

File:Naos_kemeti.JPG

File:Mezaenaset's household Kemetic Shrine.jpg

Ancient Egyptian practice venerated maat, a concept encompassing truth and honor. Ritual worship of the gods in pursuit of maat is thus considered holy. Commonly worshipped Old Egyptian gods include Ra, Amun, Isis and Osiris, Thoth, Sekhmet, Bastet, Hathor, and others.

This worship generally takes the form of prayer, offerings, and setting up altars.{{Cite web |date=2011-11-08 |title=Kemetic Starter Guide |url=https://thetwistedrope.wordpress.com/kemeticism/kemetic-starter-guide/ |access-date=2018-12-12 |website=The Twisted Rope |language=en}} Altars are most often constructed using a statue or two-dimensional representation of one or more given deities, as they serve as the focal point of worship.{{Cite journal |author=DeTraci Regula |year=2002 |title=Isis and her mysteries: the knowledge of a universal goddess |publisher=Book Club |pages=17 |isbn=80-242-0806-7 |place=Prague |translator-first1=Ivana |translator-last1=Muková}} Most commonly, Kemetism understands the representation symbolically, understanding it as a means to better focus on the divine power.{{Cite web |last=Dutton |first=Erik |title=In Praise of Idols |url=http://www.neosalexandria.org/idol_praise.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017183330/http://www.neosalexandria.org/idol_praise.htm |archive-date=2009-10-17 |access-date=2009-06-15 |language=English}}{{Cite web |author=Kallistos |title=On Images |url=http://www.neosalexandria.org/on_images.htm |access-date=2009-06-15 |language=English |archive-date=2009-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017183350/http://www.neosalexandria.org/on_images.htm |url-status=dead }} A smaller subset of Kemetists may understand the idol as a real representation of the divine being in the human world. Therefore, in accordance with ancient Egyptian tradition, the idol is stored in a special sacred container (nau) from which it is to be removed only in the course of a religious ritual,{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} of which the presentation of sacrifices is the most essential part.

Additional altar items include candles, votive offerings, prayer beads, incense burners, and one or more dishes for food offerings.{{Cite book |last=LaBorde |first=Sharon |title=Following the Sun: A Practical Guide to Egyptian Religion |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-365-87722-3 |edition=New Revised}} Most Kemetic offerings try to keep to tradition, offering the same or similar items the ancient Egyptians would have offered.

It is common during worship for Kemetics to pray in the dua (𓀃) gesture, which models the hieroglyph meaning worship and adoration.{{Cite web |title=Feeding the Ka |url=http://www.joanannlansberry.com/journal/pathmark/feed-ka.html |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=www.joanannlansberry.com}}{{Cite web |title=Ancient Egypt: the Mythology - Adore |url=http://www.egyptianmyths.net/adore.htm |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=www.egyptianmyths.net}}

Journalist Ahmed Naji describes Kemetism within Egypt as a "new wave of fascism," accusing them of racism towards African refugees in Egypt and distortion of history. He describes their juxtaposition of Pharaonic Egypt with neighboring African countries as grounded in "racist white American rhetoric against Africans."{{cite news |last1=Naji |first1=Ahmed |title=أبناء كيميت وكتابهم المقدس |url=https://manassa.news/stories/11104 |work=manassa.news |date=May 12, 2023 |language=ar}} Egyptian Kemetists have been compared to Egyptian nationalists and accused of collaboration with Zionism, as they reject calls to unite the Egyptian cause with Palestinians and other Arabs.{{cite news |last1=Al-Youssef |first1=Shaimaa |title=لماذا اتفق اليساريون والإسلاميون في مصر على معاداة أبناء كيميت؟ |url=https://raseef22.net/article/1099037-لماذا-اتفق-اليساريون-والإسلاميون-في-مصر-على-معاداة-أبناء-كيميت |work=رصيف22 |date=3 December 2024 |language=ar}}

{{Main|Kemetic Orthodoxy}}

File:Truth and Mother Temple.jpg]] The American Society of Kemetic Orthodoxy was founded in the 1980s. It brings together members from various states and, according to its own characterization, attempts to follow the Egyptian traditions as closely as possible and to revive them.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kemet.org/nisutAUS.html|title=Biography of Hekatawa I, our Nisut (AUS)|language=English|access-date=2008-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111174240/http://www.kemet.org/nisutAUS.html|archive-date=2011-01-11 |url-status=dead }}

Entirely in this spirit, it is headed by an authority (currently Tamara Siuda) using some of the titles and other attributes of ancient pharaohs. She is conceived as the present incarnation of the royal ka, gold embedded in the spirit of Hora, an aspect of divinity embodied in the human form of a spiritual leader of the community.

On the other hand, it is in this movement that the departure from the traditionalist (i.e., closest to Egyptian religion) conception of god/gods, expressed in the concept of monolatry as official doctrine, is most pronounced.

{{Main|Fellowship of Isis}}

Another type of Kemetic organization is the Fellowship of Isis, formed in Ireland. It differs from most others in that, following the model of late antiquity in the henotheistic sense, it focuses on the cult of the goddess Isis, transposed into ancient Greek and Roman settings. Egyptian traditions are therefore heavily modified in him by their ancient interpretation, by religious syncretism, and by modern multiculturalism.See the book {{Cite book |first=DeTraci |last=Regula |year=2002 |title=Isis and her mysteries: the knowledge of a universal goddess |publisher=Book Club |place=Prague |translator-first1=Ivana |translator-last1=Muková |isbn=80-242-0806-7 }}, which is not, however, the official text of the community.

{{Main|Ausar Auset Society}} The Ausar Auset Society is a Pan-African spiritual organization founded in 1973 by Ra Un Nefer Amen.{{cite book |last=Asante & Mazama |title=Encyclopedia of Black Studies |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2005 |page=104}} It is based in Brooklyn, New York. They use ancient Egyptian aesthetics as basis of their religion.

Other Kemetist societies include The Living Nuhati, and the defunct French Ta Noutri.Ta Noutri is referred to as a Kemetic organization by the website [http://liens.religion.info/index.php?id=186 Religioscope] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124085529/http://liens.religion.info/index.php?id=186 |date=2007-11-24 }} and the website [http://www.unisson06.org/annuaire/liens_spiritualite.htm Unisson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327200634/http://www.unisson06.org/annuaire/liens_spiritualite.htm |date=2008-03-27 }}

• Egyptian mythology
• List of Neopagan movements
• List of religions and spiritual traditions
• Hermeticism
• Temple of Set – an unrelated religion, centered around the Egyptian god Set

{{Reflist}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=May 2011}}

• Marilyn C. Krogh; Brooke Ashley Pillifant, Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Internet: A Research Note, Sociology of Religion (2004).
• Ellen Cannon Reed, Circle of Isis: Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches (2002), {{ISBN|978-1-56414-568-0}}.
• J. G. Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions, 5th ed., Detroit (1996).
• {{cite book | last=Wilkinson | first=Richard H. | author-link=Richard H. Wilkinson | title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt | publisher=Thames & Hudson | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-500-05120-7 | url=https://archive.org/details/completegodsgodd00wilk_0 }}

• {{Commons category-inline|Kemetism}}

{{Kemetic}}

{{Neopaganism}}

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