Founding Initiate enrollment is open — the Outer Court is now receiving petitions.
An Ancient Order · Kemet · Waset · The Hidden Light
The Craft of Amen Ra restores the initiatic path of the Nile Valley — the Mystery System of Kemet (ancient Egypt) from which the world's Craft descends — as taught by Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan and carried by his initiates.
The Arc of the Craft
The Source
The temple schools of Waset (Thebes), Men-nefer (Memphis), Annu (Heliopolis) and Abdu (Abydos) were the first lodges. Instruction was graded, oath-bound, and given only to those prepared to receive it.
Ptah was honored as the Great Craftsman. Imhotep, who raised the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, stands as the first Grand Architect. Before every temple stood two pylons — the first two pillars.
The Journey
Greek students came to the temples of Kemet (ancient Egypt) to study. Rome inherited what Greece carried. The builders' guilds of Europe kept the geometry and the grades long after the temples were closed.
London, 1717: the Craft is organized as speculative Masonry. In 1784, Prince Hall and African Lodge No. 459 return the Craft to African hands in the Americas.
The Return
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan spent decades teaching the Nile Valley origins of civilization and leading study tours into Kemet, placing his students inside the temples themselves.
The Craft of Amen Ra restores that path at its source. Today the Order receives Brothers and Sisters who will study, live by Ma'at, and build.
Wisdom · Strength · Beauty
Tehuti (Thoth)
Wisdom is the Word measured before it is spoken. Tehuti gives the initiate speech, number, and the discipline of exact thought.
Heru (Horus)
Strength is the will that restores what was broken. Heru, son of the widow Auset (Isis), teaches the initiate to contend without becoming what he contends against.
Het-Heru (Hathor)
Beauty is proportion made visible. Het-Heru teaches that a life, like a temple, is judged by its harmony and not by its scale.
Three Grades · Three Courts
The Entered Seeker · Outer Court
The 42 Declarations of Ma'at, the Ten Virtues, the history of the Nile Valley Mystery System, and the discipline of silence.
Fellow of the Craft · Hypostyle Hall
The Seven Liberal Arts, the sacred geometry of the pyramid, Tehuti and the Word, the working tools, and a work of service.
Master of the Hidden Sun · Sanctuary
The Ausarian rite of death and rising, the Widow's Son, the Eye restored, the capstone, and custody of the teaching.
Study Before You Petition
Shu is the breath between sky and earth — the Neter who lifts the heavens so light can travel. The House of Shu is the Order's open study circle: a free weekly online gathering where seekers read Dr. Ben together, sit with the 42 Declarations of Ma'at, and prepare to petition. No experience required. Come and study.
The 42 Declarations
I honor what is not mine.
I speak what is true.
I bring comfort where I go.
I govern my temper with reason.
I practice the discipline of silence.
I keep my heart light and true.
1918 – 2015
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan — known to his students as Dr. Ben — was an Egyptologist and historian who taught at Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center. He authored 49 books and led decades of study tours into Kemet, teaching inside the temples themselves.
He taught that Africa is Alkebu-lan and that the Mystery System of the Nile Valley is the source of the Craft. He carried the Craft of Amen Ra from the Nile Valley temples to America.
His books remain a foundation for disciplined study of Africa, Kemet, religion, and the historical record.
In Memoriam
July 14, 1954 – January 25, 2026
Keeper of the Kemetic flame. Teacher of the Widow Sons of Ra. His instruction to every craftsman: Orient yourself within yourself. Orient yourself in the world.
Honor the LineageThe Video Library
73 recorded talks on Kemet (ancient Egypt), its temples, and the Nile Valley tradition — gathered for study in the Outer Court.
Teaching records carrying the tradition of Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan through the temples and sites of Kemet (ancient Egypt).
01Kemet Nu Productions
Watch the teaching
02Kemet Nu Productions
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03Kemet Nu Productions
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04Kemet Nu Productions
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05Kemet Nu Productions
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06Kemet Nu Productions
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Temple-site teachings of Ashra Kwesi, with Merira Kwesi, from the sacred sites of the Nile Valley.
01Kemet Nu Productions
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02Kemet Nu Productions
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03Kemet Nu Productions
Watch the teaching
04Kemet Nu Productions
Watch the teaching
05Kemet Nu Productions
Watch the teaching
06Kemet Nu Productions
Watch the teaching
The Written Record
The scholarship the Craft studies, catalogued with its editions and where each one can be obtained.
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
4 editions · Buy on Amazon
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
1 edition · Buy on Amazon
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
3 editions · Buy on Amazon
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
1 edition · Buy on Amazon
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
1 edition · Buy on Amazon
Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan
1 edition · Buy on Amazon
The Public Record
September 28, 2026
A release announcing a work on Egungun and the Yoruba tradition of honoring the ancestors.
Read releaseSeptember 28, 2026
A book notice presenting a study of the wider yogic chakra system.
Read releaseSeptember 28, 2026
A release introducing a work on Ganesha, symbolism, obstacles, and inner discipline.
Read releaseSeptember 28, 2026
A book notice on pranayama, breathwork, and the practical discipline of breathing.
Read releaseSeptember 28, 2026
A release introducing a work on Aje, the Yoruba spirit of wealth and prosperity.
Read releaseSeptember 21, 2026
House of Shu Publications announces its Outer Court companion to Chancellor Williams’s The Destruction of Black Civilization.
Read release
Teachings in Motion
Weekly teachings, convocation recordings, and guided study through Dr. Ben's Nile Valley legacy. Subscribe to keep the Light in your feed.
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Before You Knock
The Market of the Temple
Books, regalia, and temple goods that help carry the Light. Every purchase supports the Order's study circles, prison ministry, and the restoration of the Craft at its source.
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Membership
Petition when you are ready. Until then, study with us — the House of Shu costs nothing but your attention.