The Fluidity of Egyptian Myth

Been doing a little bit of research in the past couple days, and I can't help but notice how fluid Egyptian myth seems to be. There are several creation stories, several gods/goddesses have similar attributes, different deities are revered in different parts of Egypt. I realize this was the case in most cultures, but we seem to have solidified the Greek and Roman myths into a pretty tight canon (even if that canon is incomplete and flawed in some ways). Why doesn't Egyptian myth have a similar "canon" which we turn to? It seems to resist this treatment, and somewhere I read that Egyptians did not see the myths as strongly narrative as other cultures. How do you reconcile this in your practice? Do you try and choose narratives to focus on? How do you decide which narratives to focus on?

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Permalink Reply by Lucian C. Z. on December 13, 2012 at 13:52

I think the Ancient Egyptian civilation lasted for so long that it went through a lot of changes. It was also not a monolithic culture, but an amalgam of cultures resulting in the the huge variety.

How do I reconcile this into my own practice? Well I really don't try to reconstruct ancient egyptian religion. I use elements of it to bring to a modern practice. I believe, however, that the Egyptian Gods and Goddess are living Beings with Whom I can commune and Who have reached out to me on many levels. I have been worshipping Them for many years now. I ask Them to guide me as to what I incorporate into my practice.

Permalink Reply by Argent on December 16, 2012 at 5:43

Thanks for the reply. I am not trying to reconstruct things either, but I do feel a desire to create some kind of narrative, so I can keep all the associations and stuff straight in my head. If I were interested in working with the energies of certain gods and goddesses, it would be easy and I think it's a very popular thing to do these days--just think about what associations and correspondences deities have, and don't really think of them as stories. It's interesting that I feel this need to construct narratives with these deities, because I do tend to think of the different aspects of the divine as different energy types, for the most part--and I normally eschew narrative. Wondering what this desire all means....

Permalink Reply by Lucian C. Z. on December 16, 2012 at 14:27

I think what draws me the most is to look at the temples where the deities to Whom I drawn were worshiped. Then research the particular narratives, stories, myth cycles of those particular deity cults. Follow those cycles of the deity cults of those deities to Whom you are devoted. I too dislike this idea of finding correspondences. To me, that just cheapens the process of getting to know and developing a relationship with a deity Who I can consider to be Living. I also dislike it because it tends to build this notion that the deities exist to simply work "spells" with. I go to the same deities regardless of their associations for whatever I need because I have developed a relationship with Them. I honor the other deities, but I don't have the same relationship with Them. The deities whom I serve will take care of me. At least that's how I experience it.