There are two “styles” of rituals that the Ancient Egyptians practiced. They may both be used in any ritual, and the most potent ones have both intertwined.
The first are usually termed “Hymns” by scholars. From an outside perspective it may seem like over-effusive compliments to the Gods/Goddess (Neters). In reality, what you are doing is calling upon various aspects of that particular Neter. All Neters have many aspects, some bad and some good, which is a part of their balanced nature. You may not want to manifest all of their powers at the same time.
For instance two aspects of Isis are as the Goddess of Healing, as well as the bereaved widow of Osiris. If the purpose of your ritual is to heal, it might not be appropriate or helpful to call on her as a grieving widow. Or if you are trying to cope with the loss of someone or something, her aspect as the grieving widow would be exactly what you would need.
The second “style” of rituals were almost shocking to me when I first came across them. The Judeo-Christian mind set was still thoroughly ingrained in me that the idea as being “good enough” to be God was unthinkable.
But the Ancient Egyptian view was completely different. The Gods and Goddesses represent divine principles that are contained in all life, the Universe and people. On a personal scale everyone contains inside them all the Gods and Goddesses put together. We all experience death, regeneration and rebirth like Osiris. We all fight for order like Horus and we all have times of generating chaos like Set.
So in the second “style” of ritual you attempt to identify yourself with the particular God and Goddess that symbolize the aspects you need in your life at that time. When you become the God or Goddess you can tap directly into those aspects of you that you already possess, but possibly couldn’t properly focus on. Maybe even aspects you’ve never connected with before.
For these reasons, and many others, when you perform a ritual you should, ideally, recite with passion and feeling. This is beyond merely “acting” the part but rather being the part. The idea is not to put participants asleep by monotonously reciting a language you don’t know.
The idea is to sweep other participants along for the ride as your emotions spread to all within the sacred space. This takes practice. One way to practice is to read aloud translated passages of ancient texts. When you practice this try and connect with that Neter. Think about all you know about this particular God or Goddess and let them into your body. You may find yourself unintentionally using a different voice. One you’ve never heard before.
Speak from the heart, truly mean what you say. Feel the power of that Neter fill you. Feel yourself take on the characteristics of that God or Goddess. And remember – regardless of your gender you possess the qualities of both the masculine and feminine aspects.
During Temple rituals I will often have a male member read as Isis or a female member read as Ra, because it can be harder to connect to the opposite qualities. And a highly protected and magically charged sacred space may be just what you need to try it.
The
voice comes first, as in the Ancient Egyptian creation story, speaking
the word was the motivating act that brought the Universe into being.
So before you learn about ritual movements and tool uses, perfect your
vocalization of your rituals. Don’t be shy about it. You are
the living embodiment of the God and Goddess.
*This section will be added to as time goes on. I feel that doing the ritual at all is more important than the detailed nuances you will find here. This page is for those who are already doing rituals but wish to go father or get more meaningful results