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Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts: The Mystical Tradition of Ancient Egypt

by Jeremy Naydler

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A radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts as shamanic mystical wisdom rather than funerary rituals * Reveals the mystical nature of Egyptian civilization denied by orthodox Egyptologists * Examines the similarity between the pharaoh's afterlife voyage and shamanic journeying * Shows shamanism to be the foundation of the Egyptian mystical tradition To the Greek philosophers and other peoples of the ancient world, Egypt was regarded as the home of a profound mystical wisdom. While there are many today who still share that view, the consensus of most Egyptologists is that no evidence exists that Egypt possessed any mystical tradition whatsoever. Jeremy Naydler's radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts--the earliest body of religious literature to have survived from ancient Egypt--places these documents into the ritual context in which they belong. Until now, the Pyramid Texts have been viewed primarily as royal funerary texts that were used in the liturgy of the dead pharaoh or to aid him in his afterlife journey. This emphasis on funerary interpretation has served only to externalize what were actually experiences of the living, not the dead, king. In order to understand the character and significance of the extreme psychological states the pharaoh experienced--states often involving perilous encounters with alternate realities--we need to approach them as spiritual and religious phenomena that reveal the extraordinary possibilities of human consciousness. It is the shamanic spiritual tradition, argues Naydler, that is the undercurrent of the Pyramid Texts and that holds the key to understanding both the true nature of these experiences and the basis of ancient Egyptian mysticism.… (more)
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Definitely worth the read for anyone interested in Egyptology, ritual magick, initiatory magick, and Western Esoteric magical systems. Order your copy at https://amzn.to/2ZscPpo ( )
  gwspiral | Aug 26, 2019 |
Well worth a read for an alternative, and well substantiated, review of the purpose of ancient Egypt´s pyramid texts. His central thesis is these were directed at shamanic endeavors for accessing altered states of consciousness, where ancient religions ultimately manifested from. This contrasts with the mainstream views that these texts somehow served a funerary cult and conferred afterlife benefits on the dead Pharaoh (is this even phenomenally possible for the human condition...? Urhmm...). This book represents a repurposed PhD thesis, and as such is well supported in its evidence and logical in its approach. At times the author comes across as defensive, but positively & objectively so, and given the circumstance and counter-posed context of his thesis its little surprise.

I enjoyed Jeremy´s portrayal of Egyptology´s evolution and ultimately its floored foundation of premise regarding its mystical-religious past - that it was mundane, primitive, and essentially non-mystical. Implicitly, he reminds us how paradigm shifts happen in science, and arguably Egyptology is well overdue this. Anyone having experienced transcendental states of consciousness can see it as clear as day - that the mystical & ritual nature of these ancient Egyptian religious cults is embedded all over their Sun god temple art & iconography - not just the pyramid texts.

A brave book & author in my view and definitely worth a read. a great job and a big thanks. ( )
2 vote carltonbrownV47 | Apr 16, 2014 |
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A radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts as shamanic mystical wisdom rather than funerary rituals * Reveals the mystical nature of Egyptian civilization denied by orthodox Egyptologists * Examines the similarity between the pharaoh's afterlife voyage and shamanic journeying * Shows shamanism to be the foundation of the Egyptian mystical tradition To the Greek philosophers and other peoples of the ancient world, Egypt was regarded as the home of a profound mystical wisdom. While there are many today who still share that view, the consensus of most Egyptologists is that no evidence exists that Egypt possessed any mystical tradition whatsoever. Jeremy Naydler's radical reinterpretation of the Pyramid Texts--the earliest body of religious literature to have survived from ancient Egypt--places these documents into the ritual context in which they belong. Until now, the Pyramid Texts have been viewed primarily as royal funerary texts that were used in the liturgy of the dead pharaoh or to aid him in his afterlife journey. This emphasis on funerary interpretation has served only to externalize what were actually experiences of the living, not the dead, king. In order to understand the character and significance of the extreme psychological states the pharaoh experienced--states often involving perilous encounters with alternate realities--we need to approach them as spiritual and religious phenomena that reveal the extraordinary possibilities of human consciousness. It is the shamanic spiritual tradition, argues Naydler, that is the undercurrent of the Pyramid Texts and that holds the key to understanding both the true nature of these experiences and the basis of ancient Egyptian mysticism.

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