Kemetic Netjeru

[Rival]

'Netjeru' means 'Gods' in Ancient Egyptian, and can cover anything from what we traditionally call Gods, to spirits, to the souls of the dead. Here, I'm focusing on the most literal meaning of 'Gods'. Recently, @Spiderman has been interested in identifying various Netjeru, so as they are not very well known I thought I'd put a thread together about how to identify them and post some of the most common ones. An exhaustive list would go into the hundreds or thousands, so you can see why I won't name them all; and although there are many Netjeru, many are similar to others so much so that they are merged into one God, such as Bat and Hat-Hor, or even Set and Inpu (Anubis) later.

First, Ra and Horu who are often confused.

Ra has the sundisc on His head, whereas Horu has the Pshent crown. Horu and Ra are often merged into Ra-Horakhty, and both are sky-solar Gods, Gods of kingship and guidance. These are two of the oldest known Gods, and Horu is so associated with Pharaoh that the Pharaoh's royal name is called his 'Horu name'.

​

Iset/Aset (Isis) and Her sister, Nebet-Het (Nepthys) are pictured usually identically when they are together, so one must differentiate using the symbols on their heads. Nebet-Het has a house with a basket on top, whereas Iset has a throne. Iset is a Goddess of many things (the Neterju are not as defined as European Gods tend to be in their roles, and are much more flexible), but She is mostly known for magic, life, and being Horu's mother; Her sister is often thought of as Her shadow-opposite in that She is associated with renewal from death, mourning, night time, embalming and health. Iset is Wesir's consort, whereas Nebethet is Set's consort.

​

Wesir (Osiris) is the Lord of the Duat, the underworld (although this is a huge misnomer as the Duat isn't under the earth in Kemetic cosmology but we'll not go there for now). He was the Pharaoh before He was murdered by His brother Set. Iset briefly raised Him from death long enough to concieve Horu, after which Wesir became Lord of the Duat. He is also called the King of the Living and other such titles, because He enables everyone to have eternal life through his own raising. He is associated also with fertility of land. Wesir has a very complex mystery to Him, so I won't type it all. He is notable for his mummiform figure, green skin and feathered crown. He holds a shepherd's crook and a flail, the symbols of Kingship.

​

Inpu (Anubis) is the wolf headed or dog headed God, associated with the mummification process and helping souls find their way through the Duat. He is seen as a kind of second in command to Wesir. He is also associated with guidance and protecting graveyards etc. There is a similar wolf headed God called Wepwawet, who has grey fur instead of black.

​

Djehuty (Thoth) is an Ibis headed God of mathematics, writing, wisdom etc. He is associated also with the Moon. Often He can be seen writing in scenes depicting the soul's trial in the afterlife. He is also associated with baboons.

​

Hat-Hor is the classic mother Goddess, often depicted as a cow. She is associated with drinking, dancing, sex, parties and, well, you get the idea. She is associated also with the sistrum, a musical instrument used in Kemet, especially in religious rituals. She is depicted with cow horns and a sundisc with Uraeus serpent,

​

Sekhmet is seen as the other aspect of Hat-Hor. She is associated with pestilence (healing as well as causing), warfare, protection etc. She is often depicted with a lioness head, sundisc and Uraeus serpent.

​

Bast. Together, Bast, Sekhmet and Hat-Hor are known as 'The Eyes of Ra' or 'The Daughters of Ra', and are generally seen as aspects of one another. They are, as such, all solar goddesses. Bast is usually depicted as a cat, but in earlier dynasties was more often pictured as a lioness. As the cat She is often seen as the gentler aspect, associated with pregnancy, childbirth and so on; She seems to have more of a domestic role.

 

[The Hammer]

Love this thank you.

 

[JustGeorge]

So the symbols on the 'hats' go a long way in identification, then?

 

[Rival]

Amun is the Kemetic Creator God par excellence. He is transcendent, hidden, the source of everything. He is one of the most widely attested Gods, and Amun theology, prominent in Waset (Thebes) eventually posited that all the Netjeru are just aspects of Amun. Amun wears a crown with feathers and is depicted as a man. Sometimes He has blue skin and a ram head.

​

Set is usually seen as evil, but this is not so! He is enlisted by the other Gods to help defeat the chaos serpent, Apep. He is associated with storms, chaos, desert and so on. He has an animal head usually called the 'Set animal', for no-one knows what it is and may be made up.

​

Ma'at is the Goddess of justice, and is both a concept and a God. She presides over the Divine Court, and is naturally associated with law, order etc. She is pictured with a feather, which symbolises justice.
​

​

 

[Sand Dancer]

'Netjeru' means 'Gods' in Ancient Egyptian, and can cover anything from what we traditionally call Gods, to spirits, to the souls of the dead. Here, I'm focusing on the most literal meaning of 'Gods'. Recently, @Spiderman has been interested in identifying various Netjeru, so as they are not very well known I thought I'd put a thread together about how to identify them and post some of the most common ones. An exhaustive list would go into the hundreds or thousands, so you can see why I won't name them all; and although there are many Netjru, many are similar to others so much so that they are merged into one God, such as Bat and Hat-Hor, or even Set and Inpu (Anubis) later.

First, Ra and Horu who are often confused.

Ra has the sundisc on His head, whereas Horu has the Pshent crown. Horu and Ra are often merged into Ra-Horakhty, and both are sky-solar Gods, Gods of kingship and guidance. These are two of the oldest known Gods, and Horu is so associated with Pharaoh that the Pharaoh's royal name is called his 'Horus name'.

​

Iset/Aset (Isis) and Her sister, Nebet-Het (Nepthys) are pictured usually identically when they are together, so one must differentiate using the symbols on their heads. Nebet-Het has a house with a basket on top, whereas Iset has a throne. Iset is a Goddess of many things (the Neterju are not as defined as European Gods tend to be in their roles, and are much more flexible), but she is mostly known for magic, life, and being Horu's mother; Her sister is often thought of as her shadow-opposite in that she is associated with renewal from death, mourning, night time, embalming and health. Iset is Wesir's consort, whereas Nebethet is Set's consort.

​

Wesir (Osiris) is the Lord of the Duat, the underworld (although this is a huge misnomer as the Duat isn't under the earth is Kemetic cosmology but we'll not go there for now). He was the Pharaoh before He was murdered by his brother Set. Iset briefly raised Him long enough to concieve Horu, after which Wesir became Lord of the Duat. He is also called the King of the Living and other such titles, because He enables everyone to have eternal life through his own raising. He is associated also with fertility of land. Wesir has a very complex mystery to Him, so I won't type it all. He is notable for his mummiform figure, green skin and feathered crown. He holds a shepherds cross and a flail, the symbols of Kingship.

​

Inpu (Anubis) is the wolf headed or dog headed God, associated with the mummification process and helping souls find their way through the Duat. He is seen as a kind of second in command to Wesir. He is also associated with guidance and protecting graveyards etc. There is a similar wolf headed God called Wepwawet, who has grey fur instead of black.

​

Djehuty (Thoth) is an Ibis headed God of mathematics, writing, wisdom etc. He is associated also with the Moon. Often He can be seen writing in scenes depicting the soul's trial in the afterlife. He is also associated with baboons.

​

Hat-Hor is the classic mother Goddess, often depicted as a cow. She is associated with drinking, dancing, sex, parties and, well, you get the idea. She is associated also with the sistrum, a musical instrument used in Kemet, especially in religious rituals. She is depicted with cow horns and a sundisc with Uraeus serpent,

​

Sekhmet is seen as the other aspect or Hat-Hor. She is associated with pestilence (healing as well as causing), warfare, protection etc. She is often depicted with a lioness head, sundisc and Uraeus serpent.

​

Bast. Together, Bast, Sekhmet and Hat-Hor are known as 'The Eyes of Ra' or the 'Daughters' of Ra, and are generally seen as aspects of one another. They are, as such, all solar goddesses. Bast is usually depicted as a cat, but in earlier dynasties was more often pictured as a lioness. As the cat she is often seen as the gentler aspect, associated with pregnancy, childbirth and so on; she seems to have more of a domestic role.

Super informative. I get so confused. Thanks!

 

[Rival]

If you want to identify and learn about anymore Netjeru, please ask

 

[Spiderman]

'Netjeru' means 'Gods' in Ancient Egyptian, and can cover anything from what we traditionally call Gods, to spirits, to the souls of the dead. Here, I'm focusing on the most literal meaning of 'Gods'. Recently, @Spiderman has been interested in identifying various Netjeru, so as they are not very well known I thought I'd put a thread together about how to identify them and post some of the most common ones. An exhaustive list would go into the hundreds or thousands, so you can see why I won't name them all; and although there are many Netjru, many are similar to others so much so that they are merged into one God, such as Bat and Hat-Hor, or even Set and Inpu (Anubis) later.

First, Ra and Horu who are often confused.

Ra has the sundisc on His head, whereas Horu has the Pshent crown. Horu and Ra are often merged into Ra-Horakhty, and both are sky-solar Gods, Gods of kingship and guidance. These are two of the oldest known Gods, and Horu is so associated with Pharaoh that the Pharaoh's royal name is called his 'Horus name'.

​

Iset/Aset (Isis) and Her sister, Nebet-Het (Nepthys) are pictured usually identically when they are together, so one must differentiate using the symbols on their heads. Nebet-Het has a house with a basket on top, whereas Iset has a throne. Iset is a Goddess of many things (the Neterju are not as defined as European Gods tend to be in their roles, and are much more flexible), but she is mostly known for magic, life, and being Horu's mother; Her sister is often thought of as her shadow-opposite in that she is associated with renewal from death, mourning, night time, embalming and health. Iset is Wesir's consort, whereas Nebethet is Set's consort.

​

Wesir (Osiris) is the Lord of the Duat, the underworld (although this is a huge misnomer as the Duat isn't under the earth is Kemetic cosmology but we'll not go there for now). He was the Pharaoh before He was murdered by his brother Set. Iset briefly raised Him long enough to concieve Horu, after which Wesir became Lord of the Duat. He is also called the King of the Living and other such titles, because He enables everyone to have eternal life through his own raising. He is associated also with fertility of land. Wesir has a very complex mystery to Him, so I won't type it all. He is notable for his mummiform figure, green skin and feathered crown. He holds a shepherds cross and a flail, the symbols of Kingship.

​

Inpu (Anubis) is the wolf headed or dog headed God, associated with the mummification process and helping souls find their way through the Duat. He is seen as a kind of second in command to Wesir. He is also associated with guidance and protecting graveyards etc. There is a similar wolf headed God called Wepwawet, who has grey fur instead of black.

​

Djehuty (Thoth) is an Ibis headed God of mathematics, writing, wisdom etc. He is associated also with the Moon. Often He can be seen writing in scenes depicting the soul's trial in the afterlife. He is also associated with baboons.

​

Hat-Hor is the classic mother Goddess, often depicted as a cow. She is associated with drinking, dancing, sex, parties and, well, you get the idea. She is associated also with the sistrum, a musical instrument used in Kemet, especially in religious rituals. She is depicted with cow horns and a sundisc with Uraeus serpent,

​

Sekhmet is seen as the other aspect or Hat-Hor. She is associated with pestilence (healing as well as causing), warfare, protection etc. She is often depicted with a lioness head, sundisc and Uraeus serpent.

​

Bast. Together, Bast, Sekhmet and Hat-Hor are known as 'The Eyes of Ra' or the 'Daughters' of Ra, and are generally seen as aspects of one another. They are, as such, all solar goddesses. Bast is usually depicted as a cat, but in earlier dynasties was more often pictured as a lioness. As the cat she is often seen as the gentler aspect, associated with pregnancy, childbirth and so on; she seems to have more of a domestic role.

They should all be in a music video together, or better yet, be mortal Kombat characters battling each other for dominance!

 

[Kooky]

I know that the gods of Olympic Greece and ancient Mesopotamia had localized cults and temples dedicated to their worship. Did the ancient Egyptians have a similar setup? Was there e.g. one city that would be the "city of Bast" or the "city of Hat-Hor" the way the Greeks would have a "city of Athena" or an "Artemis of Ephesus"?

I'm also interest in how this works for modern Kemetics. Does every believer have a "personal" Netjeru they are particularly devoted to, do you pray to them depending on circumstances, or are they always worshipped commonly rather than separately?

Sorry if this is a little off topic.

 

[Rival]

I know that the gods of Olympic Greece and ancient Mesopotamia had localized cults and temples dedicated to their worship. Did the ancient Egyptians have a similar setup?

Yes. Kemet was divided into 'nomes' - administrative areas. These tended to have the local cult/temple God/Goddess. More broadly speaking, Upper and Lower Egypt were associated with certain Gods.

I'm also interest in how this works for modern Kemetics. Does every believer have a "personal" Netjeru they are particularly devoted to, do you pray to them depending on circumstances, or are they always worshipped commonly rather than separately?

Not really. I imagine practitioners have a Netjer they feel particularly attached to, but Kemeticism is very individual and tends to vary widely from person to person. It does seem to be more based on circumstance, though, to which one prayer is directed. In AE it seems some folks did choose a personal patron God; Pharaoh was known to do this, generally.

 

[Native]

Hello Rival and thanks for this very interesting OP
I´ve studied this for about 35 years via the comparative mythology method, and I would like to comment on your OP.

First, Ra and Horu who are often confused.
Ra has the sundisc on His head, whereas Horu has the Pshent crown. Horu and Ra are often merged into Ra-Horakhty, and both are sky-solar Gods, Gods of kingship and guidance. These are two of the oldest known Gods, and Horu is so associated with Pharaoh that the Pharaoh's royal name is called his 'Horu name'.

IMHO we are dealing with 2 main troubles:
1) Different naming and symbolising in different cultural periods.
2) The historic confusion with interpreting the deities of creation in the ancient known part of the observable Universe, our Milky Way galaxy and its celestial scenario, of course including our Solar System

- All ancient cultures had/have their story of the pre-conditions before the creation of "solid matters and objects. If accepting the Milky Way to be the ancient known part of the creation, these pre-conditional stories contains deities of both genders and elementary forces which belongs to these pre conditions.

In the Egyptian story of creation, the Ogdoad, these Milky Way pre-conditions and their deities are specifically mentioned and this preconditional story end up with a creation of a "fiery light" in the center of this creation. This central ligt becomes the creator of everything in the Milky Way.

If having no clues of the Milky Way extension in this story, scientists; scholars; authors and laymen have no other options but to interpret this "fiery light" as the Sun = Ra. But in fact it should be Atum-Ra.

This Atum-RA becomes the "father to the goddess Hathor" (and her cultural period likes) and Hathor represent the Milky Way contours on the southern hemisphere , and in this way. we have a close and logical family connection in this story. Atum-Ra, the central Milky Way light, is father to Hathor, the Milky Way Mother goddess.

Atum-Ra, the Milky Way light, is also the father to Horus, hence we now have 2 secondary deities of both genders in this part of the creation story, and both deities represent the contours of the Milky Way on the Earth´s southern and northern hemispheres. Hathor on the southern and Horus on the northern hemisphere.

When it comes to the prime symbolism, horns; snakes, dun beetles and oval shaped headdress belongs specifically to the Milky Way symbolism, whereas the Sun = Ra, is naturally symbolized by rays or beams of light shining down to the Earth.

I better take a brake here and await your response

Thanks again with Regards from
Native

 

[Rival]

Hello Rival and thanks for this very interesting OP
I´ve studied this for about 35 years via the comparative mythology method, and I would like to comment on your OP.

IMHO we are dealing with 2 main troubles:
1) Different naming and symbolising in different cultural periods.
2) The historic confusion with interpreting the deities of creation in the ancient known part of the observable Universe, our Milky Way galaxy and its celestial scenario, of course including our Solar System

- All ancient cultures had/have their story of the pre-conditions before the creation of "solid matters and objects. If accepting the Milky Way to be the ancient known part of the creation, these pre-conditional stories contains deities of both genders and elementary forces which belongs to these pre conditions.

In the Egyptian story of creation, the Ogdoad, these Milky Way pre-conditions and their deities are specifically mentioned and this preconditional story end up with a creation of a "fiery light" in the center of this creation. This central ligt becomes the creator of everything in the Milky Way.

If having no clues of the Milky Way extension in this story, scientists; scholars; authors and laymen have no other options but to interpret this "fiery light" as the Sun = Ra. But in fact it should be Atum-Ra.

This Atum-RA becomes the "father to the goddess Hathor" (and her cultural period likes) and Hathor represent the Milky Way contours on the southern hemisphere , and in this way. we have a close and logical family connection in this story. Atum-Ra, the central Milky Way light, is father to Hathor, the Milky Way Mother goddess.

Atum-Ra, the Milky Way light, is also the father to Horus, hence we now have 2 secondary deities of both genders in this part of the creation story, and both deities represent the contours of the Milky Way on the Earth´s southern and northern hemispheres. Hathor on the southern and Horus on the northern hemisphere.

When it comes to the prime symbolism, horns; snakes, dun beetles and oval shaped headdress belongs specifically to the Milky Way symbolism, whereas the Sun = Ra, is naturally symbolized by rays or beams of light shining down to the Earth.

I better take a brake here and await your response

Thanks again with Regards from
Native

I'm not prepared to debate here, but there are many Kemetic creation myths, so to talk of just one is wrong.

It is Nut who is associated with the Milky Way.

I'd like to leave this here, though.

 

[Native]

I'm not prepared to debate here, but there are many Kemetic creation myths, so to talk of just one is wrong.

Rival, I´m perfectly aware of this, as I myself referred to "different cultural periods" and different mythical descriptions of the creation..

It is Nut who is associated with the Milky Way

Again Nut refers to another cultural period than Hathor.

I'd like to leave this here, though.

If you later on chose otherwise, you´re welcome again

 

[Rival]

Again Nut refers to another cultural period than Hathor.

I'm trying to keep this thread basic. I'm not saying you're wrong; I'm aware that Hat-Hor, literally meaning House of Horu, is celestial - but to go into all these details on this thread would be writing a book. If folks ask I'll go into more detail, but I can't write it all in one OP, that would be un-doable. I'm giving brief overviews of the most commonly understood myths and aspects.

 

[Native]

I'm trying to keep this thread basic. I'm not saying you're wrong; I'm aware that Hat-Hor, literally meaning House of Horu, is celestial - but to go into all these details on this thread would be writing a book. If folks ask I'll go into more detail, but I can't write it all in one OP, that would be un-doable. I'm giving brief overviews of the most commonly understood myths and aspects.

It´s all fine by me, I just acted as a Comparative Mythologist on your:

First, Ra and Horu who are often confused.

I did this because we have huge misconceptions and misinterpretations between Galactic and Solar deities as mentioned above, because scholars, authors and laymen have no clues of the Milky Way connection and its symbolism, and take all texts and symbols to count for Solar System matters.

This confusion of course affects the "commonly understood myths and aspects" as you mentioned.

 

[JustGeorge]

Would you mind explaining some of the major festivals in Kemeticism? I've been researching festivals around the world(past and present), and I find the information on the Kemetic ones is often vague, especially when it comes to time of year.

 

[The Crimson Universe]

@Rival After knowing about certain Egyptian Gods from this thread, it has really peeked my interest. Could you suggest me some introductory books for beginners, that has color illustrations of the Gods. I would love to add them in my collection of physical books.
Thanks.

 

[Rival]

@Rival After knowing about certain Egyptian Gods from this thread, it has really peeked my interest. Could you suggest me some introductory books for beginners, that has color illustrations of the Gods. I would love to add them in my collection of physical books.
Thanks.

Hi Greg,

I'm glad you've enjoyed it I don't own a book with coloured illustrations, although I'm sure you could find one online. A book I would recommend would be 'Celebrating the Egyptian Gods' by Sharon LaBorde, as that one also comes with prayers for each and has black and white illustrations iirc.

This book seems useful https://www.amazon.co.uk/Egyptian-Myths-Guide-Ancient-Legends/dp/0500251983/ref=sr_1_6

 

[Rival]

Would you mind explaining some of the major festivals in Kemeticism? I've been researching festivals around the world(past and present), and I find the information on the Kemetic ones is often vague, especially when it comes to time of year.

It is very vague and as the AE calendar is not very well-matched with ours, dates often differ considerably.
calendar - The Egyptian calendar

A major holiday would have been the Sed Festival, which celebrated 30 years of a Pharaoh's rule (so could happen whenever) and happened every 3~ (or so) years afterwards. This included the Pharaoh doing things to prove he's still fit to rule, ritual things, and religious things. If you really want to get into the Sed Festival and its roots, I would strongly recommend 'Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts' by Jeremy Naydler. It takes the perspective, very well done imo, that the Pyramid Texts, far from just being funerary texts, are also shamanic wisdom useful for the living, and are strongly linked to the Sed Festival. It's a thick book and not light reading (at a glance, maybe 400+ pages) but it's up there as my number 1 book for 'Stop thinking everything in AE is about death or taxes!' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shamanic-Wisdom-Pyramid-Texts-Tradition/dp/0892817550/ref=sr_1_1

Other holidays are things like Gods' birthdays, such as Horu's birthday.

Another would be celebrating the inundation Opet Festival. The Akhet season is June through to September.

Calendar: Akhet | Ancient Egypt Online

This site comes with some good dates New Page 1

Here's more about Wesir (Osiris) festivals The Osiris Festivals. Such holidays employed dramatic re-enaction (although not quite what we'd call theatre), mourning, drinking etc.

Tekh festival Festival of Drunkenness: A Unique Ancient Egypt Tradition happened September-October.

 

[JustGeorge]

It is very vague and as the AE calendar is not very well-matched with ours, dates often differ considerably.
calendar - The Egyptian calendar

A major holiday would have been the Sed Festival, which celebrated 30 years of a Pharaoh's rule (so could happen whenever) and happened every 3~ (or so) years afterwards. This included the Pharaoh doing things to prove he's still fit to rule, ritual things, and religious things. If you really want to get into the Sed Festival and its roots, I would strongly recommend 'Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts' by Jeremy Naydler. It takes the perspective, very well done imo, that the Pyramid Texts, far from just being funerary texts, are also shamanic wisdom useful for the living, and are strongly linked to the Sed Festival. It's a thick book and not light reading (at a glance, maybe 400+ pages) but it's up there as my number 1 book for 'Stop thinking everything in AE is about death or taxes!' https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shamanic-Wisdom-Pyramid-Texts-Tradition/dp/0892817550/ref=sr_1_1

Other holidays are things like Gods' birthdays, such as Horu's birthday.

Another would be celebrating the inundation Opet Festival The Akhet season is June through to September.

Calendar: Akhet | Ancient Egypt Online

This site comes with some good dates New Page 1

Here's more about Wesir (Osiris) festivals The Osiris Festivals. Such holidays employed dramatic re-enaction (although not quite what we'd call theatre), mourning, drinking etc.

Tekh festival Festival of Drunkenness: A Unique Ancient Egypt Tradition happened September-October.

Thanks for all the information!