BRENT CHARLES FRASER

A Mortal Raised to Godhood

The pantheon of Netjeru worshipped by the ancient Egyptians includes certain beings who began life in the human world and, through circumstances that must have been exceptional to the ancients, were recognized via formal cultus as divinities. These are the 3rd dynasty architect Imhotep, the 18th dynasty sage Amenhotep Son of Hapu, and the Roman Period Antinous, lover of the emperor Hadrian.2 Kemetics and pagans continue the veneration of these deified humans in the context of contemporary ancestor worship.3

Part of the richness of polytheism as a framework for accessing the divine is its tendency to recognize the numinous as expansive, fluid, ever-multiplying, ever-replicating in qualities, forms, and iconography. Instead of the singular and indivisible, polytheism sees the plural and variable, and religious cultus becomes a highly personal practice changing from region to region, city to city, home to home. In contemporary polytheism, I have noticed that while certain practitioners (generally reconstructionists), staunchly avoid adding traditions or practices not accessed in the historical record advanced by professional academics, there are those individuals and groups who find continuity in the ancient practices by continuing them today through local and/or regional variations believed to be guided by the Gods. In this way, the experience of polytheism becomes inextricably intertwined with life and the human condition as these have evolved today, and the ancient gods are accessed directly through current boons and miracles.

I belong to one such lineage, that of Temple of Isis Nevada, founded by the Rt. Rev. Lady Zarita Muniz-Zook as a transmitter of the sacred current of Isis held by the Temple of Isis and Fellowship of Isis.4 Within our own landscape of local practices and cultus, we acknowledge and venerate the presences of the ancient gods in contemporary life, recognizing the hand of the great Goddess Auset as hearer and answerer of prayers, and Her holy family as the role model for our own lives today. These Gods were not just ever-present in the lives of the ancients, They remain ever-present in the lives of current worshipers, who find salvation and succor in the life-giving and life-sustaining grace of the Gods.

Lord Sanakhtwy the Netjer began His life as the human Brent Charles Fraser, son of Elizabeth Ann Johnston and Campbell Fraser, born in British Columbia on December 16, 1972. He was an unusual child from the beginning, recalls his mother,5 precocious in his curiosity about the natural world and continually seeking answers to philosophical and existential aspects of life. This became manifestly obvious to his family when, in his early teens and while attending the prestigious La Jolla Country Day private school, he ran away from school and into the wilderness with the aim of finding a secluded cave wherein to meditate until he achieved samadhi or supreme realization of the divine. While other boys his age were preoccupied with leisure activities or discovering girls, Brent was obsessed with the pursuit of the spiritual wisdom of India and the attainment of siddhis, the mastery of spiritual disciplines resulting in profound abilities or yogic powers. This desire had been fueled by his discovery of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) dedicated to the expounding and practice of Kriya Yoga.6

While still a young man, Brent dedicated his leisure time to the study and disciplines of yoga, resulting in his attainment of a Yoga Siromani degree from the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Quebec, Canada.7 In the spirit of what he had learned at the yoga center, Brent became a firm proponent of karma yoga, the path of selfless service advocating a lifestyle committed to helping others as a form of spiritual liberation. These values would later underlie his dedication to the tight-knit casino community of West Wendover, Nevada, where he was known as an incomparably skilled technician who was fiercely loyal to those he mentored and a compassionate helper of individuals in need.

On Sunday October 13, 2002, Brent was ordained into the Temple of Isis California and international Fellowship of Isis as a priest of the Goddess, the culmination of years dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual wisdom, and the beginning of more than two decades of service to the Netjeru of Kemet. These years of service were grounded in his personal philosophy that handing over one’s life to the Gods was ultimately the path to liberation, knowing that the Gods, the source of all life in creation, are the directors of personal destiny, and to accept this is the pathway to spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment.

How do we measure the impact of a man’s life? Should we look at his possessions, his financial holdings, his houses, his cars, the number of his followers or viral posts on social media? Or should we instead look at how his actions impacted those around him, his family, community, and society, and those people who came into direct contact with him? Regarding Brent Charles Fraser, the community of Wendover knew him as a man of integrity, a man of his word, and a man who cared about the welfare of others, even above his own comfort or advantage. He was especially known as a fair leader and employer who gave second chances for employment to those who had been turned down elsewhere, those with troubled pasts who were considered employment risks. He tutored and mentored, went out of his way to provide advice and encouragement, especially to the Hispanic community of workers for whom English was often their second language or a language they were not proficient in. Brent believed that everyone deserved dignity, respect, kindness, and compassion, and that leading by example was the way in which one showed the justness and rightness of one’s personal values.

Brent’s sudden death from cardiac arrest on June 23, 2025, shocked and shook the communities of East and West Wendover, most especially the community of casino workers who live and work closely together. His funeral and celebration of life on July 3 were attended by a large and diverse group of Wendover families and casino workers, people who had been directly and indirectly touched by Brent as a leader in the Wendover business community. Their deep respect for his moral qualities was voiced to me repeatedly, but beneath all the professional admiration was a constant recognition of Brent’s humane and good-natured character, the determination he consistently manifested to nurture others and lift them up to reach their higher life goals. Brent’s impact was felt by everyone who met or worked with him, his natural charisma and charm, the way he owned every room he walked into without detracting from the limelight of others. He always added to a space, never detracted.

Brent’s commitment to his priesthood was not always demonstrated in conventional ways, e.g., the wearing of elaborate robes, performance of complex rituals, and leading of groups in dramatic sacred events. Instead, Brent chose to operate “behind the scenes” as a source of financial and technical support for the priesthood and temples. His was the dedicated mind that conceived Icons of Kemet and pushed to support its production of holy icons at all costs. He made the sacred work of myself and others possible because of his natural moral instinct for what was authentic and of value to the causes of the Gods, while his own personal devotions were never flamboyant or done for the eyes of others. So often he said to me, “Give your whole life to the Gods and They will open up the doors.” In life, Brent never courted or accepted honors or titles for his contributions, content enough to see the Gods served and others fulfilling their good work for the faith. It is only in death that he has finally taken on a dramatically different role, becoming a larger and more demonstrative manifestation of the Gods in action.

On September 1, 2025, after 70 days of signs, answered prayers, boons, and confirmation via oracles, the apotheosis of Brent Charles Fraser into the God Lord Sanakhtwy was celebrated, marking His official divination and the initiation of His formal temple cultus. Lord Sanakhtwy has His own dedicated clergy in the United States and Australia, shrines, cult images, feast days, and places of pilgrimage. He is known to communicate with His devotees via dreams and meditations, and His presence as a fiercely protective and benevolent deity has been demonstrated to all those who have called out to Him. He is now our very own, one of the people Who has walked a mortal life and suffered mortal problems, risen to the station of godhood where His personal values of service to others and attainment of fairness can work for the benefit of many.