Egyptian Goddess Festivals-A Year of Celebration

Celebrating Goddess Festivals in Ancient Egypt Throughout the Year

“Feasts of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life based on the Egyptian Goddess Mysteries” by Normand Ellis provides the history, context, practice, meaning and purpose for re-engaging with these ritual celebrations once again in our lives.  

1. Continuity and Change in Egyptian Festivals 

Over 5,000 years of Egyptian history, the names, dates, practices, and meanings of many festivals changed. Despite these changes, they consistently affirmed the divine connection of life with Nature, the Cosmos, and the Creative Lifeforce manifested through various Gods and Goddesses.  

2. Divine Consciousness and Universal Spirit 

The ancient Egyptians believed in a universal spirit or higher awareness that permeated all existence. This was represented by the hieroglyphs n-t, and the word Neter (singular) or Neteru (plural), meaning “divine principle” or “force of nature.” For them, Nature and the gods were one and the same, reflecting a worldview where all aspects of divinity and the natural world are interconnected. 

3. Living Myths, Archetypes, and Rituals 

The ancient myths the Egyptians told become living symbols and archetypes when we shift beyond our daily routines and immerse ourselves in their timeless narratives and rituals. In doing so, we enter mystical, numinous worlds of spirit, discovering meaning that transcends our ordinary lives. 

4. Modern Relevance 

Today, people can still connect with these divine energies for inspiration, healing, and empowerment, either by reviving the festivals or by integrating their symbolism into daily life.  

By participating in these revived festivals or incorporating their symbolism and rituals into our daily lives, we honor the enduring relationship between humanity and the Divine Consciousness that ancient Egyptians celebrated.  

By weaving these rituals into our routines, we may experience a deeper sense of purpose, connection to nature, and inner healing that echoes the wisdom of ancient Egypt. 

5.Ancient Egyptian Religious Festivals

Below is a list of the major Goddess Festivals I studied in classes with Normandi Ellis and engaged with personally as part of my PAHS Priestess Training over the first year.  

I recommend you read her book, “Feasts of Light” for much more information regarding many other festivals and for reflective questions and activities with which to engage with the relevant festival and Goddess or God. 

What I offer you are my writing responses from my engagement with each festival and Goddess / God that I hope will give you a window into how these ancient Beings are still very much alive, active, willing and able to engage with us, to bring inspiration, guidance, healing, empowerment, and connection through from their worlds to ours for the betterment of all.  

These include a variety of spiritual and mystical experiences including rituals, invocations, ceremonies, and journeys, and also dreams and past life experiences.

Each response arose spontaneously and we were given freedom to experience our connection and celebrations with each Goddess/God in whatever we (or They) felt appropriate.

I will also include some of my responses to the second and third year subjects of our Priestess Training (PAHS) in another Article with attachments.

At this stage of writing I am currently in the last stages of my training and will re-write my responses and Post them in due course.

Festivals

October         8       Feast Day of Ma’at

November   12      The Osirian Mysteries and the Lamentations  

December   21     The Feast of Isis, the Black Cow  

January       19      The Brilliant Lights of Neith  

March            5      Blessing of the Fleets  

March          16      Feast of the Hand of God  

April              15      Festival of Bast in Bubastis  

May              15      The Hierogamos of Hathor and Horus  

June              13      Festival of Mut  

July               19      The Rise of Sothis and the New Year  

August          7      Feast of Sekhmet (the Inebriety of Hathor) 

September  17      Hathor’s Birthday 

Summary of Each Goddess/God and Festival

Feast Day of Ma'at:

October 8th

The Goddess Ma'at is one of the oldest Egyptian Goddesses.

Ma'at is a Cosmic Goddess of Truth, Justice, Balance, Harmony, Order, Reciprocity, and Propriety / Morals and Ethics.

Ma'at is the Creator Goddess who brought Order from chaos at the moment of Creation.

Her Plinth that she stands on represents "The Principle of Foundation" which everything and everyone is based on.

Ma'at wears and ostrich feather on her head as a symbol of Truth and Power. At death the person's heart is weighed against "Ma'at's feather to see if you have lived a good and truthful life.

Ma'at also may wear the Solar Wings which also symbolise Truth, Justice, and Cosmic Balance.

Ma'at is representative and the symbol for Order in the Cosmos - of the stars, seasons, and actions of both the Gods and humans. It was Ma'at who kept Order out of Chaos.

It is Ma'at who reminds us to honour her Laws through our Honesty and Truth, Propriety, Ethical behaviour, and Reciprocity for the Order, Balance, Harmony, and Justice to exist inour world and the Cosmos.

Understanding that the laws of "As Above, So Below, and As Below, So Above are laws of Ma'at.

People, Priests, Priestesses, Kings and Queens would know all her Laws as the 42 Confessions. These were the Laws of Moral Ethical and Truthful Behaviour written as Negative Cofessions: "I have not sinned by ......."

At death each person would be assessed by Ma'at and Anubis in "The Weighing of The Heart". The person's heart was placed on one tray of the scales against Ma'at's feather on the other tray. If your heart was as light as Ma'at's feather you would be deemed to have lived a good and just life and could enter the Afterlife. If you had not lived a sinless life you would be devoured by the Goddess or Demoness Ammut andyour Soul would cease to exist.

The Osirian Mysteries & The Lamentaions of Isis:

November 12th