I have certainly found fruitful fellowship amongst Norse reconstructionists. I’ve been blessed to have several in my friends circle, and find their community to be welcoming.
… and I agree that there are a lot of parallels with Hinduism, The multiple creation deities and myths are something I learned about from reading Petrie’s summary of ancient Egyptian religion.
the video is interesting… I’ve come to this from a somewhat different angle. My “patron” deity has certainly been using me as a vending machine for a long time … Still not a fan of asking though
I guess there is an argument that priests in ancient Egypt did use deities a bit like vending machines in the temples. But going from some hymns I think there’s evidence of personal relationships as well.
I wish there were more surviving sources from domestic practices.
I think there is a legacy of practises that have gone somewhat unchanged, and that ancestor and deity worship is an emergent property of human behaviour.
Its tempting to draw comparisons between many modern or universal practises and Kemetic ones:
the erecting of a tombstone for the dead in the form of a stele
to pour one out for one’s homies - an offering of beer for dead comrades
leaving flowers at a grave - an offering, which reminds me of the symbolism of the sacred lotus
the cult of the Madonna - it seems to have inherited many elements from the cult of Isis
the wearing of amulets - even by monotheists whose religion expressly forbids any other kinds of ‘magic’
Davy Jones and his locker as a personification of death at sea
the growing cult of Santa Muerte amongst South American Catholics - a polytheism emerging in such a staunchly monotheistic culture is fascinating, especially given her role as a psychopomp
Lady Luck as the personification of good fortune
Mother Nature
Harvest festivals
Probably some of this is wishful thinking or completely unconnected, but I do think that people have a propensity for building world views that include deities and reverence for the dead.
I’ve ended up re-reading some of Petrie’s book that I mentioned after reflecting more on this. Its very outdated now, but he does mention the practises of the modern Coptic and Islamic Egyptians, which include the offering of bread to the deceased at their tombs.
its not exactly a primary source for domestic practises, but its interesting to know that there is some legacy of the ancient Kemetic practises remaining in the modern indigenous population.