What is Kemetic Spirituality (Kamitic Spirituality, Kemeticism or Ancient Egyptian Spirituality)?

Before explaining what Kemetic (also sometimes spelled Kamitic, Khamitic or Ancient Egyptian) spirituality is, 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 a 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.

Pyramid structure in Ancient KushLike most indigenous cultures from around the world, the Kemetic people studied nature and developed their spirituality thereafter. The Kemetic people relied upon a bartering system for goods and services. In fact, gold was not even valued by the Kemetic people as it is today, until after it was conquered by the Romans.  This bartering system depended on the annual flooding of the Nile to make the desert soil fertile, great importance was placed on ensuring that the waters of the Nile overflowed.  Without a monetary system, 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.

Kemetic farmers courtesy of Wikipedia.orgTo ensure that the Nile always flooded so that they were always prosperous, early Kemetic people began making ritualistic gestures accompanied by words for a successful harvest. If the following year the harvest was a success, then the ritualistic gestures and the spoken phrases were recorded and repeated to influence next year’s harvest. If the harvest was not a success after performing a ritualistic gesture and words, then that ritual was abandoned. In time, the Kemetic people had developed three methods of 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 living.

Kemetic Ritual courtesy of Wikipedia.orgSince Kemet was basically an oasis that relied upon bartering, a sort of quid pro quo philosophy developed and the most abundant offerings were incense and resins.  But, because incense and resins were so prized, only the king could afford to make these offerings for the successful inundation of the Nile. In time, it became the sole responsibility of the king to perform these rituals all over the country, to ensure that all of the Kemetic citizens could prosper.   Thereby transforming the king from an ordinary man into God’s representative on earth. Basically, the Kemetic king was seen as a mediator between the spirit world and the physical world symbolized by the leopard pelt, which was also a symbol of balance and self-control or Maa. Soon it became too much for the king to perform all of these rituals and eventually it was delegated to other members of royalty and the priesthood.

In a relatively short time, the Kemetic priesthood evolved and became so powerful that they were able to challenge the king’s authority because aside from performing rituals for the Nile that ensured that everyone was prosperous. The Kemetic priesthood worked as scribes, carpenters, metalworkers, physicians, and artisans that provided a host of spiritual services to the people mainly because the majority of the Kemetic people were illiterate.  To service their people, the Kemetic priesthood opened its’ membership to both men and women, a celebratory feat that is still not seen in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of sexism.  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.

In fact, through the Kemetic priesthood, one could elevate their social status from an illiterate farmer to a high nobleman within the community.  There are numerous accounts of common people with special skills having a change in social status because they used their skills to improve the lives of others because the priesthood allowed people to hone their talents.   It was through the priesthood that various spiritual practices were developed and beliefs were shared with other cultures that the Kemetic people encountered. Because spiritual rituals permeated every aspect of the Kemetic peoples’ life, the Kemetic people were described as being the most religious people in the ancient world.
Life for members of the Kemetic priesthood was busy because the Kemetic priesthood was a business that focused on performing spiritual rituals the people. However, the average Kemetic citizen only venerated their ancestors and celebrated local and national spirits during their festivals. In other words, the basis of Kemetic spirituality revolved around the veneration of their ancestors. For the most part, the only time the average Kemetic citizen petitioned the higher spirits, divinities or so-called gods and goddesses, is for emergency purposes such as for a successful harvest and healthy cattle.  Again, the Kemetic people focused on group prosperity and not on individual, which allowed their society to exist for thousands of years. As a result, every western system such as western religion, western government, western science, western financial structure, etc. has been inspired by the Kemetic society and has desperately tried to imitate their success.  All of these western systems that were inspired by the Kemetic culture have failed miserably to mimic the Kemetic success because western scholars focused on treasures of Kemet because their tombs were full of valuables. Instead of on the Kemetic concept of Knowledge of Self.

Consequently, many of us live in a country that may be rich in Kemetic symbolism but it is not the bearer of the Kemetic Light.

In fact, many of us do not live in an agrarian society with strong and loving rulers. We do not have a trustworthy clergy and other professionals who are concerned about our health and wellbeing. Since 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. Prosperity is not based upon ethics, the morality of the services that one provides other citizens but the collection of material things. In this western society, religion is not used as a means of ensuring that everyone within the country is prosperous but instead used to incite fear in its citizens of a tyrannical deity.  In order to ensure social obedience to the wealthy ruling class and dominance over the masses’ physical and mental potential. In place of an appreciation for nature and respect for all living beings, is the exploitation of the natural resources and the manipulation and maltreatment of all human beings, especially people of color.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 Shaman 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 KS 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.