Egyptian Religion and Cosmology

[Ms Lamy here follows most Egyptologists - e.g. Wallis Budge and others, who, coming originally from an exoteric Western Judaeo-Christian background, are very much limited to a monotheistic approach. Even in esoteric monotheism like Judaic Kabbalah and Sufism we find the same thing, the dependence on this idea of a single supreme personal God (I am not talking about the impersonal and transpersonal Absolute here). I would suggest this is a one-sided and unnecessarily narrow approach to the original Egyptian position. it may well be that both the monistic and polytheistic positions are correct and complementary. If this is so however, then the Egyptians would be much more likely to be monists along Hindu or Neoplatonic lines (one Supreme - many "aspects" = "gods"), rather than along Judeo-Christian-Islamic lines (one God, with many "powers"). Yet at the same time these aspects - certainly some of them, probably most, possibly even all - can also be approached and equally correctly understood along polytheistic/pagan lines, as indicated by the generic Pagans and Neopagans approach. Speaking personally, I myself have absolutely no qualms in calling the Neters gods. Jung, incidentally adopted a similar position when referring to the archetypes of the collective unconscious, which he equated with "gods"]

[a better approach would be to understand the Egyptian family of religions in the same way as we see the Semitic religions or the Indian religions - they are distinct religions but still share a common understanding of reality, divinity, and the cosmos.]"

There are four great Egyptian religions, and doubtless many more minor ones, which shared (as in the Hindu family of religions) overlapping mythologies, theologies, and iconographies. All adopt a more or less Henotheistic/ Kathenotheistic approach. It is wrong to consider them as strict polytheism as in the Homeric pantheon. These four religions are as follows:

An aberrant attempt at strict Monotheism was represented by the Pharoah Akenaten's attempt to institute a worship of the sun disc (Atenism) and oppression of all other religions. This did not catch on.


Heliopolis Theology	Memphis theology	Hermopolis theology	Theban theology