The
Cedonian conception of the universe centers on two crucial concepts.
Ma'at, meaning truth, justice, and order. And
Apophis, meaning chaos and destruction. To the Cedonians, Apophis is in a constant struggle with Ma’at, and if it wins, the world loses its cohesion and integrity and is destroyed. They believe that the purpose of the Gods and of people is to fight against Apophis and maintain Ma’at.
They view royal authority itself as a divine force. So although they recognized that the Pharaoh is human and subject to human weakness, they still view him or her as a god, because the divine power of kingship is incarnated in him. The pharaoh acts as a unique intermediary between the mortal and the divine and is key to upholding Ma'at, both by maintaining justice and harmony in human society and by sustaining the gods with temples and offerings. Upon his death, the king is believed to become fully deified, although of a different class of deity than the Holy Family. Many mortuary temples are dedicated to the worship of deceased pharaohs as gods.
Oracles
Cedonians use oracles to ask the Gods for knowledge or guidance. People of all classes, including the pharaoh, ask questions of oracles, and their answers can be used to settle legal disputes or inform royal decisions. The most common means of consulting an oracle is to pose a question to a divine image while it is being carried in a festival procession, and interpret an answer from the barque's movements. Dreams are another popular method of divination, with supplicants posing questions to oracular priests and priestesses to have dreams about as they sleep.
Creation Myth
Cedonians believe that before time began, there was only the primordial ocean of Apophis and the primordial god Atuma’at. For an endless time, they existed, swimming together within each other. But Atuma’at was lonely, so he tore himself apart to create the first gods,
Isekhmet - the clever queen of the earth,
Thosiris - the wise king of the oceans, and Set - the violent maker of storms.
Set, jealous of his brother’s wife and throne, attacked Thosiris and killed him. But Isekhmet found the body of Thosiris and through her magic became pregnant by Thosiris after his death. Thosiric then entered Duat, the underworld, and became the ruler of the dead. In the fullness of time, Isekhmet gave birth to fierce Sun Horus and beautiful Moon Ptathor. When he grew to adulthood, Horus fought and defeated his uncle Set at His Mother’s command and inherited the throne that had been his Father’s.
Ever since, Horus has journeyed through the Duat each night meeting with Thosiris and fighting with Apophis. Each day, Set guards the entrances to the living world from Duat so that Apophis can’t sneak in while Horus is in the sky.
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