The God(s) Of Egypt, The One and the Many Options

Greetings,

This is mainly for those of you who have worked with the Egytian ntr , but of course anyone who has any insight is urged to reply.

At the end of the 19th C. and beginning of 20th C. when E.A. Wallis Budge was the keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum there was a prevailing concept that the Egyptian deities were all personified aspects of the one “true” God. Of course Budge was a product of his time as this theory was also put forth by other leading German and French Egyptologists (Lepsius, Mariette, Pierret,etc.). Outside the realm of academia, this belief also prevailed in the occult circles of the time as a means to reconcile the many gods of the Egyptians with the YHVH of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The thousands of Egyptian deities were interpreted along a similar vein to the multiple names of God in that they represented the plurality through which the One could be comprehended.

Now, more recently Egyptologists (Hornung, Baines, Silverman, Shafer, Lesko, Quirke, etc.) are moving away from this interpretation and see the ntr of the Egyptians as local and regional deifications of the forces of nature. Through syncretism (i.e. Amen + Re = Amen-Re) spurred largely by political reasons these multiple regional gods became more singular through time. There is a slightly sinister overtone to these recent interpretations as they boil down to the human struggle for control and manipulation of the masses through a singular source of power (particularly relevant in the 18th Dynasty). Nonetheless, I'm sure 100 years down the line, people will look at these interpretations as reflective of our own unstable religio-political atmosphere.

Now here is the catch (I’m quoting from Le Page Renouf):

“Throughout the whole range of ancient Egyptian literature, no facts appear to be more certainly proved than these: (1) that the doctrine of one God and that of many gods were taught by the same men; (2) that no inconsistency between the two doctrines was thought of.” (Lectures, p. 92)

Given our modern concepts of God, nothing could be more contradictory…right?

It is, however, a true statement. Whether you look at the Hermopolitan , Heliopolitan, or Memphite cosmologies the various uses of the word ntr (i.e. ‘god’) and epithets in association vary tremendously. In one inscription you may have Amen (Amun) called the “one true hidden God” (in the Judeo-Christian sense) alongside wr-ntrt Isis (the great goddess Isis) and a little further down sps-ntr Wepwawet (the glorious god Wepwawet). The mix and match of singular and plural doctrines of God or gods is of little concern to the Egyptian scribes, or somehow they have managed to reconcile both concepts into something which we cannot entirely grasp.

If you have read this far, and I still have your attention, here are my questions. What are your views on the singular and plural aspects of Egyptian divinities? How do you reconcile these in your Magical workings?

My interest in this is because I am currently working with an Egyptian ntr, and have come to the realization that there is an underlying duality (and even multiplicity) in his nature. He appears to me as one being, but there are moments when he can be two and even three distinct divinities which are somehow still one... or maybe, he is an aspect of the One???

Anyway, do post your thoughts.

F

This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Dec 11 2006, 10:39 PM

My interest in this is because I am currently working with an Egyptian ntr, and have come to the realization that there is an underlying duality (and even multiplicity) in his nature. He appears to me as one being, but there are moments when he can be two and even three distinct divinities which are somehow still one... or maybe, he is an aspect of the One???

Anyway, do post your thoughts.

F

Greetings Faustopheles,

In my opinion I would say that you have described E. A. Wallis Budges estimation of ntr quite accurately. A lot of the Religions of Ancient Egypt as well as Judao/Christian have attributed the separate distinctions of various Tribal or Regional Deities to a single Deity. This usually solidified the growing and communities where two or more communities were joined into a central people where their Deities were centralized by Attributes and Characteristics.

In the easiest way I can comprehend the various Aspects of Deity, I consider them as somewhat like unto Egregors. An Egregor is a cumulative effective of the buildup of energies and attributes over periods of time ,and Egregors may gain as do Deities various additional attributes according to those involved in the working with these entities.

I consider Egregors and Deities to some degree to be reflective of their adherents energies, their adherents charateristics, and also, their adherents attributes. Take a group of people who come from various cultures, symbolic of tribes, these in turn give certain identifying characteristics to a group when they are gathered for a single purpose. Yes they are all separate individuals, yet, at the same time they are in one accord and in one mind. If you have ever been to a meeting of Ecclectic Worshippers whether Pagan or Other, and it comes time for Ritual you shall see people preparing themselves in a multitude of ways, some may ground themselves with the Earth, some may raise their hands to the sky, some may stand motionless drawing in the Air and circulating it as Prana to enliven their energy centers. All involved have come to particular ways to get in touch with Deity, whether that Deity is Subjective or Objective, One or Many, or Many of One. Each adherents and worshippers energy builds up the Group Egregor or Deity, and if you think of it, that is exactly how various Deities whether of the Egyptian, Babylonian, Hindu or other Religious Caste Systems coupled their Deities or Group Egregors in the times past. each one added a bit of themselves.

Then of course as you so adeptly stated; there is the political purpose of controling the populace by controling the Religious Expressions they were encouraged to exhibit.

You made an Excellent Post on this topic.

Respectfully,
Helel (Joseph)