KRT: Kemeticism, Public or Private?

Underground Kemeticism: How public are you about your beliefs and practices? How has it (or not) impacted your work life, your familial and friendly ties? What advice would you give to uncertain Kemetics about how to approach either telling or not telling others about their beliefs?

If someone asks, I tell, but no one ever asks. The closest I’ve gotten was when someone who worked at the zoo complimented me on my Horus necklace, but there was no real opening for conversation at the time. Ankhs are common enough as a fashion accessory that they’re practically invisible.

I’ve taught a tai chi class for a few years. That’s where I “work” though it’s just part time. I go in, teach the class and leave. The students never ask. Religion doesn’t really have anything to do with tai chi, beyond the fact that Heru enjoys it. We get into slightly mystical territory with the chi, but that’s Chinese, not Kemetic anyway. As a professional, I don’t really feel that it’s my place to bring religion into the classroom. (I wish others in this country would feel the same way!)

At home, my family does know. My daughter likes Bast, but beyond keeping her statue around to scare away the monsters at night, she doesn’t do much with it. She’s still a bit young. My spouse is not Kemetic, but we met at a pagan gathering, so all is good there. My mom and my sister know, but they pretty much ignore it. The rest of the family doesn’t know and probably doesn’t care. The mother in law would care, which is why my spouse routinely tells her nothing.

Telling or not telling used to be a bigger deal when I was a younger pagan and all excited about the shiny and new. At this point though, it’s not something I think about very often.

Internally, I feel like I’m on more solid ground as a Kemetic than I was as a generic pagan. Everyone has seen the statues and art. If someone did ask, I could talk about ma’at. I could talk about the well-defined roles of various deities and how they contribute to a stable society. I am proud of my religion, even if it is a quiet kind of proud.