Kemetic branches today

[Gleb]

This is a bit confusing for me. There is KO, which is.. Um.. They bring back the traditions of Kemet and rebuild them for our modern life, as much as I understand. There is Kemetic Revivalism and Tameran Wicca as much as I know. Please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere!
I guess I'll stay solitary, since I don't like being a part of an arranged, formal group. After reading the Kane Chronicles, I decided to stay somewhere between the "Path of Kanes" and Per Ankh. In other words do what my heart tells me to be right and trust my feelings and instincts. Basically this thread is for discussing different branches of Kemetism in our modern era.

Any input will be highly appreciated!

[anubisa]

I've heard of Tameran and Kemetic and of course the Egyptian paths. However, I haven't heard of the Path of Kanes. I probably need to do a little more research.

[Gleb]

I've heard of Tameran and Kemetic and of course the Egyptian paths. However, I haven't heard of the Path of Kanes. I probably need to do a little more research.

Anubisa, The Path of Kanes is something fictional from the Kane book series.
I can't define it in words. If you're interested' you can read the books.

[anubisa]

Anubisa, The Path of Kanes is something fictional from the Kane book series.
I can't define it in words. If you're interested' you can read the books.

Oh. Whoops. Thanks for letting me know.

[Gleb]

Oh. Whoops. Thanks for letting me know.

It's okay. Hehe

[Banu]

This is a bit confusing for me. There is KO, which is.. Um.. They bring back the traditions of Kemet and rebuild them for our modern life, as much as I understand. There is Kemetic Revivalism and Tameran Wicca as much as I know. Please correct me if I'm wrong somewhere!

Kemetic Orthodoxy and Revivalism are the same thing. They take ancient Egyptian religion as a starting point and have evolved something somewhat different which they believe works better for the modern day. This includes some aspects borrowed from other religions and some which they believe are divinely inspired. They're a large and successful group, whose current leader is Tamara Siuda.

Tamaran Wicca is an approach to ancient Egyptian gods through a Wiccan framework. They incorporate ancient Egyptian symbolism, but usually stick to traditionally Wiccan forms of worship and ideas about the nature of divinity.

Kemetic Reconstructionism is where ancient traditions are researched and brought into modern times in a way which attempts to reserve their original meaning and historical form as closely as is possible in a modern world. There are many different approaches to reconstructionism as different people often have different ideas about which practices should be strictly, historically preserved and which are open to reconstruction. Most agree, however, on a core principle of ma'at and the value of knowing your sources.

There is (or at least was) Kemetic Traditional Religion, which was a splinter group off of KO. They used to have an associated temple which called itself Per Ankh, but I'm not sure if that's the same as your Per Ankh since it's a fairly common name.

And, wow... many of the branches I used to know about are no longer around. I've been out of touch for a while, so perhaps someone else will have some more updated material.

With kind regards,
Banu

[Gleb]

Thanks for your help, Banu! From what you wrote, I guess I'm a Kemetic Reconstructionist. Too bad there is nobody to celebrate any Kemetic or even pagan holidays with. When it comes to holidays, do Reconstructionists celebrate all of the holidays from the Kemetic calendar, or do they choose specific holidays form the list based on different criterias such as the deities they worship?

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Maybe I'll make my own holiday when the time is right in order to thank the Neteru for everything they gave me. It's a long time until then.

[DavidMcCann]

When it comes to holidays, do Reconstructionists celebrate all of the holidays from the Kemetic calendar, or do they choose specific holidays form the list based on different criteria such as the deities they worship?

Different places in Egypt had their own favourite Gods and so their own local calendars, although many feasts were celebrated everywhere. Any reconstructionist calendar will be a modern construction. As a solitary, it's up to you. Personally, I like the idea of doing things at the same time as other people, even if I can't be with them, so I celebrate the major Hellenic festivals when people in Greece are doing so.

[Banu]

Thanks for your help, Banu! From what you wrote, I guess I'm a Kemetic Reconstructionist. Too bad there is nobody to celebrate any Kemetic or even pagan holidays with. When it comes to holidays, do Reconstructionists celebrate all of the holidays from the Kemetic calendar, or do they choose specific holidays form the list based on different criterias such as the deities they worship?

- - - Updated - - -

Maybe I'll make my own holiday when the time is right in order to thank the Neteru for everything they gave me. It's a long time until then.

I agree with David McCann. You'll see "Egyptian Festival Calendars" in modern use and they're mostly combinations of many different festival calendars from many different temples. There are so many festivals on these calendars that it's more unusual to find a day which is not somebody's holiday than one that is, and many days are claimed by more than one celebration. This gets exhausting after a while, and the specialness of a holy day kinda gets lost when it's happening all the time. There are a few holidays which were important all across Kemet:

Wep Renpet, the Opening of the Year, was the biggest one. It occurs with the helical rising of the star Sirius over your city or over some location you choose as being spiritually significant, these days that's usually some time in early August. There's an article which walks you through how to calculate it, but I'm not allowed to link to it. Google " Religious Calendar of Ancient KMT " and it's one of the first options, it's an article by Richard Reidy. One of the major parts of the ritual is taking your cult image out into the sunshine to recharge, purify, and unite with Ra. Also it's a good idea to petition Sekhmet for protection from her arrows that year.

The Beautiful Feast of the Western Valley and the Raising of the Djed Pillar are important holidays where we honor our blessed dead. The Raising of the Djed Pillar usually happens in December, and that's where the lamentations of Aset and Nebet Het are read, and a small Djed pillar is ceremonially raised from a position laying on its side to a position where it is standing up. It represents the resurrection of Wesir (Osiris). I can't off hand remember when we usually celebrate the Beautiful Feast of the Western Valley, but I can get that information if you want it.

And many reconstructionists do chose a few holidays which are special to their most important deities. I mostly just celebrate Bast, Sekhmet, Djehuty, and Anpu all year 'round! Although I am partial to the Day of Chewing Onions for Bast. If I'm paying attention the day that happens, I'll be sure to eat onion themed foods as much as possible that day!

[Gleb]

I assume I'll have to look up these calendars and have at least some major holidays in my list. Indeed, it is hard to find a day which isn't a holiday to anyone. I still remember passing through that kind of link. I should have it saved in the favourites somewhere... Good gods, I thought "How do they manage to get things done?".

We have to sticky this, lol. Thank you so much for the input! ^_^