I have a keen interest in ancient civilisations - though predominantly Greece and Rome. But my first love was Egypt so I was so excited to read this book. Unfortunately, I found it a little too dry and academic for me. Whilst undeniably interesting, at the risk of sounding like a child, I felt that adding images would have created a welcome break and illustrative support to the discussion. I also found the structure of the book incomprehensible, and the same limited texts referenced throughout. Instead of being a pleasure to read, I found it a chore, which was disappointing.

A wonderful nonfiction book that goes deep into Egyptian mythology and theology and gives you a nuanced perspective. I loved how each section focused a specific god/myth and then went onto elaborate it. This is a beautiful work and deserves all the accolades.

Note: I received a free unpublished proof of this book, for a limited time, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

I enjoyed this book, in theory, but I don’t think I’ve been this confused about the author’s process with a book since Sacramental Theurgy for Witches by Frater Barrabbas. (My review of that one is here: Book Review: Sacramental Theurgy for Witches by Frater Barrabbas)

Full disclosure, I did not read this book all the way through since I did not give myself enough time to read it before the deadline, but after getting almost halfway through and flipping through the rest, I can honestly say that even if I’d read through the whole thing, my opinion would, in all likelihood, be exactly the same.

This book is somewhat unique in that it is aimed at pagans, witches, occultists, magicians, and other practitioners of spiritual stuff, but mostly aims to chronicle the actual, historical practices of Egyptian religion. There is also a great deal of focus on how real-world historical events and sociopolitical factors influenced Egyptian religion and mythology.

I am actually impressed with the amount of solid information that is packed into this book. It doesn’t waste the reader’s time repeating the same stuff over and over again, telling them obvious stuff, or giving them a bunch of lists of things with no real context. (I’ve said this about a few books now. I’m going to keep saying it until it is the norm rather than the exception in occult/magical publishing.) The author’s writing style is also straightforward and easy-to-read, not pulling away from advanced, specific, or unfamiliar terms when they’re needed but not overcomplicating things.

The author spends an impressive amount of time on each topic and pulls in a lot of information, much of which comes from primary or academic sources. This part is where I started to have problems with the book, as the “much of which” does a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

Much of the information in this book comes from primary sources, or at least translations of old documents, such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead. A great deal of the other information comes from academic books put out by Oxford University Press, Routledge, and the like, and while some of these are quite old and might have been improved-upon more recently with new discoveries and research approaches, I realize that they still have their place in the study of Ancient Egypt.

I should add here—I really don’t mind people not citing sources if they’re talking about their own experiences or a culture that they’ve grown up in. I realize a lot of traditions are transmitted orally and through hands-on experience, and many have not been written about or have been written about inaccurately. I also tend to trust people’s claims about oppression or discrimination that people of their own culture/religion have faced, because presumably they have seen that first or at least secondhand as a person who is part of that culture/religion. Obviously if it turns out that people are lying about their culture or experiences, I have a problem with that, but my problem there is that they are lying, not that they aren’t citing a source for their own primary knowledge.

In this case, what I do have a problem with is the variability of the sources this author is citing. In certain sections, Draco cites Wikipedia, a tour site called “Tour Egypt”, other random online sources, and her own books. Academic and primary sources don’t have a monopoly on accuracy—there are plenty of people on sites like YouTube, Quora, and Tumblr who genuinely know what they’re talking about. However, most information transmitted through such general-purpose sites can be found somewhere else that can give the reader a better sense of where this information is coming from and the greater context around it.

I’m all for using Wikipedia, travel sites, and stuff like “Ancient Egypt Online” as a starting point in your research, but I do not think it is too hard to investigate where these claims come from and cite those sources instead. Aside from accuracy, you generally want to cite sources that can tell your reader more about the topic than the bits of information you’ve referenced. For instance, most of my sources on essential oils for my Master’s project were from scientific review articles, not because there was any rule saying they had to be, but because I figured those articles communicated basic information in a precise, accurate, and readable way alongside further, more detailed information that random websites would not necessarily have, even if they were right about the basic information I was pulling from.

I’m also okay with authors citing their own books, but couldn’t the author have cited where she got the information for her first books, rather than her books themselves? Surely she still has some of her earlier sources around, or even copies of her own books with her earlier bibliographies. Granted, if Draco had been giving instructions on some practice or ritual of her own creation (see: Frater Barrabbas’ books), this would be understandable and even ideal in some cases, but I don’t think the information she was citing was anything she had created herself; it was still based on some earlier source.

The only bit I really had a problem with was when Draco cited Margaret Murray, whose research I don’t think is considered reliable anymore.

Overall, I think there is a lot of strong information in this book, and I actually might buy the thing down the line to give it more of a close read. I do think it’s important for modern pagans, occultists, and the like to have at least some understanding of Egyptian mythology and religion. Ancient Egypt is kind of like Greek mythology, Wicca, Catholicism, Thelema, the works of Joseph Campbell, and Spiritualism in that so much modern stuff has somehow been inspired by it that it’s worth reading about just to know where other stuff came from. (To my readers who aren’t as deep into the occult, here’s a comparison: in the fantasy sphere, the equivalents are Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, Edgar Rice Burroughs, C. S. Lewis, Robert E. Howard; in science fiction you’d be looking at E. E. Smith, H. G. Wells, H. P. Lovecraft, Asimov, Le Guin, Heinlein, Henry Kuttner.)

I ultimately think that digging into this book and the stuff it’s bsed on will be genuinely useful to my understanding of this topic that I am certainly interested in. I simply advise readers to do more research on any topics that interest them, particularly if the source seems particularly random or is one of the author’s own books. If you’ve read my other reviews of occult-y books, I usually tell readers to do this, but, well, doubly so this time, as I see no reason for an author who generally seems pretty good about finding, interpreting, and citing good sources to intersperse information from sources that might be unverified.

As someone who has always been interested in Egyptian gods and goddesses, I was really excited to check this out. Unfortunately, this was disappointing. I would advise those interested in this to know that this does read like a textbook; it is dense information. This isn't for someone new to the subject, unless you are very interested. In the end, this was too much for me.

Understanding the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses is a really interesting overview of an incredibly vast topic. Mèlusine Draco is able to condense a rather overwhelming subject matter and make it much more accessible to the average reader. It cannot be understated how challenging a task this truly was and to provide adequate context to keep readers engaged is impressive. I always love the quote from Dolnick, that was also included in this text, “…the reign of Cleopatra is closer to the year 2022 than it is to when the pyramids were built.”

The writing can be a little dense at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed slowly reading this book. I felt treating each chapter like its own short story or essay was helpful in allowing time to digest the text. The inclusion of all of the reference titles and quotes created a large reading list to allow the reader to delve deeper into certain areas of interest.

I think this is a great summary of an incredibly important time in history and learning how Ancient Egyptian culture still influences art, design and much more is very exciting. I would highly recommend this to lovers of history or those wanting to explore more about our ancient world.

Just a wonderful a read. The story telling was expertly done. I felt immersed in the delivery of this history.

This book was enticing since I have been interested in reading more about the rich ancient Egyptian culture. This book only partly delivered for me.

There is a sense of wonder I have felt about ancient Egypt. The introduction also reiterates this – Ancient Egypt taps into the power of the mind's eye with its soaring pyramids, sacred tombs, complex hieroglyphs, ancient temple walls, exotic pharaohs and colourful pantheon of gods. I have also felt a sense of familiarity since Indian culture has parallels to much of this (except the pyramids!). The author mentions that when you walk into Egypt's temples you can still sense a deeper intent with which they were built. I have felt that in the case of many of India’s old temples as well.

The time span over which the culture evolved runs into 1,000s of years, during which time several changes happened. This book provides a detailed account of the primary Gods & Goddesses starting with Nun – the oldest of the Gods referred in almost all creation myths. Many of the ancient cultures often refer to primeval waters from which order evolved. The Sun God Re, who came from the sky Goddess Nut is another revered and important figure. Many of these beliefs were later rendered in art. There was a period during the rule of Pharaoh Akhenaten when the rulers tried to move the populace to monotheistic practices (Athenism) but was later reverted. As with Indian philosophy (the supreme force being Brahman), there is the concept of Being, the creator, regarded as invisible. The Great pyramid is closely aligned with star formation and astronomical charts were always critical (quite a few have survived to this day in some form).

The subject is fascinating, but the writing is average. It is dense and the tone is very flat. The content is not well organized and some matter tends to repeat. Overall, sadly, the book fails to get you excited about a rich culture.

Quick Summary: A non-fiction, historical work

My Review: Understanding the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by Mélusine Draco is a non-fiction title scheduled for release in September 2024. It presents a mystical origin story for the Egyptian pantheon.

About the Book: "The authentic Egyptian religion developed over thousands of years, with each deity assuming many forms under the influence of various religious movements and/or foreign invasions. Each form also developed its own positive and negative aspects, which responded in various ways to different people, and so it is now impossible to be dogmatic about how the gods of those different theologies relate and blend."

My Final Say: While this was a very interesting read, it was too verbose and top heavy, in my opinion. It was incredibly technical and not so much reader friendly. The origin content was especially captivating. The listings were helpful but tedious to get through. It may have been helpful to assign pictures at the aforementioned point, as they would have created visual space and context for the reader.

Other: Readers who enjoy Egyptian mythology, historical mysticism, divination, and ancient astrological content may like this resource.

Rating: 2/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: G
Status/Level: 📝

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title.

This is a well-researched, easy-to-understand, and fascinating read. If you're interested in Gods and Goddesses from any ancient society, you would love this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Melusine Draco for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of Understanding the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. This was a 4 star book from me - full of well researched and informative writing that explore the history of archealogical discover into ancient Egyptian history, culture and ethos on life. The detail of cultural insights was amazing and found new things that I didn't know about a culture I have studies since childhood. A great read for anyone who loves non-fiction, history and discover more about our world.

I’m sorry, I really struggled with this one, I just could not get into it and found it to be very draining to read. Which is a shame because I love reading about the Egyptian era,

Because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.

If you enjoy history, check this one out.

This book was absolutely fascinating, but definitely reads like a text book. The information is dense and thorough and I really learned a lot about the different aspects of the Gods and the customs and myths surrounding them. I will say that i was really disappointed that there were no pictures or illustrations. I think that it really would have helped break up the heft of the information.

**I was provided an ARC copy from the publisher through NetGalley.**

DNF @ 16%

Melusine Draco contributes Understanding Egyptian Gods and Goddesses to her pre-existing body of publications through John Hunt Publishing on modern magical practices. Ms Draco has a background as a magical and spiritual instructor and has affiliations with the Temple of Khem as well as the Coven of Scales.

Let me acknowledge first and foremost that I am not the target audience of this book. My interest in Egyptian history and mythology is purely through the lens of someone a couple classes shy of an Ancient Studies minor at the undergraduate level. I am taking a trip to Egypt this year and have always sought out stories about international culture and mythologies. I am a well-versed student of Egyptology, but not an expert. I am, however, very familiar with research compilation and summarization as a scientist by education.

This book is not very accessible at the beginner level. Which is okay. I'm not a beginner. There are very few to no images (at least to the point where I stopped) and the text blocks are very dense. As a student of Greco-Roman mythology, I am well-versed in the co-existence of multiple origin myths and how all forms of myth combine in the body of the work. It also makes sense for the origins of various deities and their prevalence to be impacted by geography. Unfortunately, for me, the utility of the information presented is impacted by its presentation. Ms Draco's writing style is not one that aligns well with me, nor is it one that would be super widely accessible to the layman.

As I don't particularly need a scholarly understanding of the topic at hand, nor do I intend to utilize understanding through the lens that Ms Draco offers, I am cutting my losses here. I will refrain from rating this book as a result.