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“Those f*cking guards!”

My Kemetic friend is furious. He's telling me about his dream-come-true, once in a lifetime trip to Egypt: finally he's able to be in the temples for which his soul has yearned for years.

But he couldn't worship there, he couldn't offer. The guards would intervene whenever they saw anything even vaguely religious occur.

Oh, the curse of the jealous religions.

Pagans, of course, have had such obstacles placed in our way for millennia.

Fortunately, there's a way around.

One of my favorite books as a kid was Ann Nolan Clark's 1953 Newberry Award-winning Secret of the Andes. Little did I know at the time how central it was to be in my career as a pagan-in-training.

Our hero is a young Peruvian boy whose family, since the Conquest, have been the secret guardians of the hidden treasure-cave of Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor. Before he can enter into knowledge of his family's secret responsibility, he must first undergo the Testing.

In one unforgettable scene, an old man stands facing East. In his heart and mind, he recites the ancient prayers of the ancestors that welcome golden Inti, the splendid Sun, back into his waiting world.

To the stray observer, though, remarks the narrator, he looks like nothing more than an old indio, standing by the side of the road.

This is the immemorial wisdom of the secret pagan: Let the enslavers think what they will. In our hearts and minds, we can be free.

Thus will the Old Ways live, until our freedom come again.

It's hard to deny the allure of ancient Egypt, a culture both physically and spiritually so self-sufficient, so self-contained, managing somehow to be simultaneously exotic and familiar. Here, if anywhere, it would seem, does one find a paganism complete unto itself, entirely unreferential to any other spiritual perspective.

Though I've never been Kemetic myself—I have even been accused (jestingly, to be sure) of anti-Kemetism (!)—my pagan career does indeed owe a debt of gratitude, if indirectly so, to the Black Land and its culture, Zilpha Keatley Snyder's 1968 teen novel The Egypt Game having opened my eyes to the possibility of actually doing pagan ritual today.

So, while Richard H. Wilkinson's 2003 The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt may not entirely live up to the promise of its title—complete, after all, being a pretty broad claim—it does indeed serve as the most compendious storehouse of the Two Lands' gods and goddesses that I know of.

Pagans—by which I mean us, the modern pagans—even get one line at the end.

From the last paragraph of the book's final chapter, “Epilogue: A Lasting Legacy”:

To walk on the road of God is to be filled with light,
Great are the advantages gained by those who
Discipline themselves to follow it.
It’s a monument raised by them on this Earth,
Those who follow the Paths of God,
Those who cling to the Ways of God,
Spend all their lives in joy,
Gathering riches without equal.
(…)
The West is the dwelling place for he who has not transgressed the Rule.
Happy is who reaches there!
Nobody can reach there unless
Their hearts have conformed exactly to the Rule.
Down there there is no distinction between rich and poor,
Unless it is in the favour of he who is found to be righteous
When weighted in the scales of justice before the master of Eternity.

-- The inscriptions from the tomb of PetOsiris, high priest of Thoth (4th/3rd century B.C); quoted from: Cristian Jacq, “The living wisdom of ancient Egypt”

Living as a kemetic is walking your path of life together with Netjeru.

Come to the Netjeru with open heart, embrace Them with joy, let Them help you to get better when you are in sadness. Bring Them flowers, water, bread, say Their names, dance for Them, dedicate to Them your actions, listen to music you associate with Them and assemble your devotional playlists. Look at the images of the Netjeru - online or in art albums you may have, marveling at Their beauty. Sit before the shrine and just think about Them. Share with Them your thoughts, your worries and doubts. Don’t be afraid of asking questions.
Look at the wonders of nature and see the manifestations of Netjeru in the sky, in the sun and moon, in every flower and every bird.

Your goal in the kemetic religion is to maintain Maat and keep relationship with the Netjeru.
Religion should bring happiness and fulfillment, and while trials and tests happen, the Netjeru are not here to make your life miserable. In turn, they are loving and caring, and They are willing to help you on your path of spiritual growth.
Devotion begins in the heart;
And “going in Ma’at” is the primary “way”. It’s the way of life; it’s not “practicing religion”, but Living the religion.
The first step in walking in Ma’at, walking with the Netjeru, however simple it may sound, is: “Place God in your heart”.

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"Come, let me cause you to know them,
namely, the four principles of life…
to bind with them -
Set your heart upon god!
Adhere to the law!
Make revenge!
Go in ma'at!"
Be small of wrath!
Be thoughtful!
Be a good man!.."
"Conversations in the House of Life" ("The Demotic Book of Thoth" - 388-390)

If you feel called to Kemetic religion and wonder what should be your first step, my answer always is “Just make that step”. Come before the Netjeru to walk on the path of Ma’at and prepare a place in your heart where your honored Gods will reside, making your body and soul into their temples; guiding your boat on the waters of life.

If you have attraction to certain Netjer, by whatever reason, try talking to that one.
Even if you just consider the deity to be handsome. This also is a valid reason :)
If you are attracted to the pantheon as a whole, address them all, as one divine family… and ask if someone wants to take a larger role in your life, to “step in”.

Once you let them in (as living gods- they may reside in your heart), even if you don’t think about them often, they think of you :)

It’s not required to think about the Gods every single minute of your life, but it makes one happy when you know that deities are loving, caring, helpful and ready to hear your prayers, your praises, and the sharing of your concerns and worries with them. They are like your family and friends; think about your prayer/shrine time as about divine phone call or skype chat with a close friend who is not physically present, but always ready to answer your call and listen.

If you are drawn to several Netjeru already, then start doing more for them and learn more about them.
 
You do not have to have one central Netjer to work with. There is more likely to be several. In Ancient Egypt it was not common to choose only one Netjer to serve/“work with”. People had personal devotions, and may be had their favorites between Netjeru; but more common case was that there was a group, or “family” of the Netjeru who were closer to that particular person.

Frequently it was defined by the place they lived in and other circumstances. We know accounts of ancient Egyptians who had Netjeru appearing to them in dreams, and this causing their focus of devotion to significantly change. There are recorded stories of people who were called for intense devotion by Mut, Aset/Isis and Djehuty after the Netjeru making clear appearance in a dream. But most of the people simply followed their hearts, natural attraction, tradition of family and home town.

Choosing one “primary” Netjer doesn’t mean that you can’t have “many”. Historical example again: even the high priest of one temple could also have priestly ranks and offices in other temples, dedicated to other Netjeru. So, Egyptian priests could bear titles “high priest of NN, and priest of NN, and NN, and having a shift in the temple of NN”, and it totally worked.

Witches build a temple for Hathor in Wisconsin. A new Tarot deck celebrates icons of black history. And debate consumes the Pagan community over what it means to be a real polytheist. It's Watery Wednesday, our weekly segment on news about the Pagan community. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

The start of the Egyptian year was the First month of the Inundation (named Dhwty) and was a time of great celebration, coinciding with the rising of the Nile. “You shall follow Thoth, on that beautiful day of the start of Inundation.”
During this month there were three festivals for Thoth, held on the 4th, 19th and 21st. Entries from various calendars give the following descriptions of these feast days. 4th day - a “Festival of Thoth”. 19th day - a “Festival for Thoth, the very great, in the whole country”. [...] 21st day - a festival to “celebrate ‘the triumph of Thoth’ in the presence of Re”. [...]
Bomhard suggests that the first day of the new year, which coincided with the rising of Sirius, was the 19th July.
This would give the festivals in Dhwty the following modern dates; the 4th as the 22nd of July, the 19th and 21st as the 6th and 8th of August and the 26th as the 13th of August.  (Quoted from: -- Lesley Jackson "Thoth, the history of Ancient-Egyptian God of Wisdom)

For this festival day, I'd like to share some of my devotional poetry...