In
every era of civilization and religion there is a concept of the living being.
They understood and manifest their very own beliefs for several centuries that
human being was not just a ‘living being’ but also takes a journey from the
Mighty Creator toward a better way of life in the afterlife. The journey of
every soul started from birth, living on this physical plain, death and the
experience with the underworld. There are many long roads and different stages that
had to be travelled by the soul. The journey of the human soul and the human
heart will be weighed during the judgment day at the hall of Osiris, with seven
steps of seven skies to the altar of God himself.
About the image above: coffin for mummy
From the collection of Aswan Museum
In
the everyday experiences that we see, the human being consists of the physical body
and there is a living being in it, we often refer to as the soul. But in the
ancient Egyptian religion the human being consisted of few parts.
Ha or Haw
This
is the human that can be easily recognized. The human body that hold the soul
or the medium that soul exist in it. The birth of a child from every mother and
grow up to be older and pass the time to afterlife.
About the image above: Ba statue
From the collection of Aswan Museum
Ba
The
‘Ba’ is the soul of the body. The
manifestation of the ‘Ba’ is the main
spiritual aspect for the survival of the human body that existed in the human
body to create a living being. The appearance of the ‘Ba’ was portrayed as a human–headed falcon. Even when the human
body has been mummified, the ‘Ba’ still
exist and sometimes it was shown flying or hovering over the mummy, entering
the tomb and meet others in the afterlife, or flying to join the ‘Ka’ in the afterlife. The ‘Ba’ is a unique character and personality
as mentioned in the Coffin Texts that
‘Ba’ comes into existence after the
human body is considered dead, it is acting like a living body that can eat,
drink, sleep, copulate, is corporeal just like in the real world. ‘Ba’ is stated to be the one who give
the direction of living (Wpíw bЗ is hnt
nr ‘nhw – Wpíw, as a Ba at very top of living – Pyramid Texts §1899c)
‘Ba’
is also recorded in the Conversation of Man
and ‘Ba’, when the ‘Ba’ would like to leave the body of man, there said to
be a dispute between the body of man and his own ‘Ba’.
Ka
The
‘Ka’ is a vital spark of the
existence of the ‘Ba’, a duplication
of the body that made ‘Ba’ existed,
as a reproduction of the projection of the individual, it is a spiritual entity
that was believed living within the body while one is alive and it also survive
after death. It was when ‘Khum’
created an individual person then the ‘Ka’
started following this creation through the entire physical life and afterlife.
The projection of the ‘Ka’ has to be the same as the individual self. The ‘Ka’ for women is a woman, the ‘Ka’ for man is a man, and the ‘Ka’ for child is a child. When a person
dies, the ‘Ka’ will stay at the tomb
as independent being, sustained through a variety of offerings presented in the
tomb.
About the image above: cobra head statue
From the collection of Cairo museum
Akh
The
most inner core of the ‘Ba’, the
spark of the divine-light from inside of the essence of the most self. The ‘Akh’ is the immortal part of the soul
that will emerge and form again after the person passed the judgment after
death. The ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ will be united
in the journey to create a divine soul known as Akh (or Akhu, Ikhu, Khu).
The
‘Akh’ was believed to live for
eternity unharmed. In ancient Egypt it was also believed that the proper
funeral sequences, proper offerings of special prayers and spells, mummification
process, the tomb offerings, strictly following the funerary literatures as
mentioned in the Coffin Texts and the
Book of the Dead or ‘Per-t-Em-Hru’ - all
of these processes will allow the soul not to die for the second time.
The
Journey of the ‘Akh’ started from the
separation of the soul after death to become as ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’, and then followed
by the judgment day with many questions and witnesses and then reunite again as
a process of a long journey afterlife.
Those
mentioned above were the most important elements of the soul processes of death
in the ancient Egypt religion. However those processes became more elaborate
with the extension of the following part of the process toward the progress of
the soul in the afterlife and the soul’s journey towards the Creator.
Ib
This
part is very important to the quality of the soul, the ‘Ib’ (or Yb or Ab) or called the heart. The heart handles very
important role toward the quality of the soul. The heart or ‘Ib’ is the residence of the ‘Ka’. The ‘Ib’ is more important and plays greater role than the brain itself
and of immense importance during the ‘Judgment
of the Dead’ weighing the dead person’s heart on a scale with Thot and
Seshat as witness. How pure was your heart to influence the ‘Ba’ on its action through the ‘Ha’.
The
‘Ib’ is the intelligent interior of the created wishes, intentions, attentions,
attractions, through thought, mind, and ego. The heart is the state of the true
self to navigate the soul since the heart is also the source of good and evil
state of mind, positive and negative and continuously influencing the evolution
of the soul and its journey.
Ren
The
existence of the individual ‘Ba’, the
owner of the body is the ‘Ren’ or the
name of the person that has to be maintained in good manner. The name given at
childbirth in the ancient Egypt was given for public name and the other name
was the secret name that only the mother knows. The secret name has to be kept secret
for many reasons including power, magic purposes, etc. The ‘Ren’ is the name of the soul and the body during its lifetime. The
name of the person while in this world and will continue to carry this name to
the world afterlife, if the name was a bad person the people will remember that
you are bad forever, but if a good person you will be maintained and the people
will remember your efforts as a good person, and your name will survive, to be
read and spoken forever.
Sheut
It
is a ‘Shadow’- a protection shadow or ‘Sheut’ was a blessing for the ancient
Egyptian; it is an essential part of the living being. The power of ‘Ba’ and ‘Ka’ is referred to as a protection of the living soul and
connection with the other world, the universe and God himself (Ntr – Netjer - God).
About the image above: scene from papyri book of dead
From the collection of Alexandria Library
THE JOURNEY OF AKH TO THE
UNDERWORLD AND BEYOND
The
journey of the soul afterlife in the ancient Egyptian was quite complex with
all the beliefs, ceremonies and offerings. The sequence of the treatment of
souls starts from conception in the womb of the mother, until the baby is born
and slowly matures, applying the rules of social norms, having a good conduct guided
by Maat, prayer and belief in the rules of Gods and Goddess. While living, they
dedicated their time to build temples, learned things that are related to the
progress of life and to make sure they make no mistakes in thinking, speaking
and no act of wrong doing.
The
afterlife journey is as much as important as the life on the physical realm itself
and even in some part it is even much more important since this is the journey
that has no return and has to be kept harmoniously with the soul as mentioned
in many literatures. The journey to the external house of the dead that was built
in the imagination of ancient Egyptians was believed to have corresponded to
the ideas of the afterlife.
Crossing the Celestial River: The Journey begins by
crossing the river from the east side of the river bank (probably the river
Nile) by boat to the Land of the West (the land of the dead). The boat
navigated by the ferryman Makhaf on boat of Aken – who will then transport the
soul from the Land of the East of the river to the land on the West side of the
river.
Many
tests were happening during the crossing of the river. The demon snake appeared
in front of the Akh and tries to
attack him. Since the journey started, the ‘Akh’
has difficulties crossing the river so there was a need to say some prayers or
spell to protect him during his trip, the spell 33: ‘O Rerek snake, go from the way and take yourself off the way, Geb will
protect me, get up for you have eaten a mouse which Re detest’. On this way
to the land of the west, the ‘Akh’
needs to change its appearance and become a lotus flower, as a camouflage. The
ferryman will also help the soul by keeping the owner of the boat awake, but
the boat owner was so upset and unhappy because he carries the soul to the west
and he only wanted to carry the soul to the west if the ‘Akh’ can correctly name all parts of his boat. If the ‘Akh’ can answer all the questions and
passes this test then the owner of the boat will agree to transport the ‘Akh’ to the other side of the river.
Passing the gates and labyrinths by answering questions: After reaching the west
side of the river then the soul will reach the first of the many doors and
labyrinths. Every time the soul passed through one door, automatically the door
will ask certain question, the soul need to answer correctly and honestly to
pass through the next door and this door will also ask a different question and
the same sequence continue until the soul reach to its final destination at the
Court of the Underworld.
In
the earlier papyri version the ‘Papyrus
of Nu, 1’ it was mentioned that
the underworld of the ancient Egypt has seven Arits or gates with its personal
gatekeeper, watcher and herald.
Gate/Arit
1: Gatekeeper: Shkhet-Hra-Asht-Aru, Watcher:
Semetu, Herald: Hu-Kheru
Gate/Arit
2: Gatekeeper: Tun-Hat, Watcher:
Seqet-Hra, Herald: Sabes
Gate/Arit
3: Gatekeeper: Am-Huat-Ent-Pehui-Fi, Watcher:
Res-Hra, Herald: Uaau
Gate/Arit
4: Gatekeeper: Khesef-Hra—Asht-Kheru, Watcher:
Res-Ab, Herald: Neteka-Hra-Khesef-Atu
Gate/Arit
5: Gatekeeper: Ankh-Em-Fentu, Watcher;
Ashebu, Herald: Teb-her-Kehaat
Gate/Arit
6: Gatekeeper: Aken-tau-K-ha-Kheru, Watcher:
An-Hra, Herald: Metes-Hra-Ari-She
Gate/Arit
7; Gatekeeper: Metes-Sen, Watcher:
Aaa-Kheru, Herald: Khesef-Hra-Khemiu
Besides
the seven gates, there were smaller gates that the soul needed to pass through.
In the ‘Secret Gates of the house of Osiris in Sekhet-Aaru’ there were twenty
one gates mentioned with very long names
of the gates, this was maybe to make sure the soul that passed would remember the
name of the gate when asked by the gatekeeper. Only ten of the gates mentioned
the names of the gatekeeper.
Gate 1: Neb-Setau-Qat-Sebt-Hert-Nebt-Khebkhebt-Sert-Metu-khesefet-Nesheniu-Nemehet-Uai-En-I-Uau,
The gatekeeper is Neri
Gate 2: Nebt-Pet-Hent-Taui-Nesbit—Nebt-Tememu-Tent-bu-Nebu,
the gatekeeper is Mes-Peh (Mes-Ptah)
Gate 3: Nebt-Khaut-Aat-Aabet-Senetchemet-
Neter-Neb-Am-S-Hru-Khent-Er-Abtu, the gatekeeper is Ertat-Sebanqa
Gate 4:
Sekhemet-Tesu-Hent-Taui-hetchet-Khefti-Nu-Urt-Ab-Arit-Saru-Shut-Em-Au, the
gatekeeper is Nekau
Gate 5:
Nebt-Rekhu-Resht-Tebhet-Tatu-An-Aq-Eres-Un-Tep-F, the gatekeeper is Henti-Requ
Gate 6: Nebt-Senket-Aat-hemhemet-An-Rekh-Tu-Qa-S-Er-Usekh-S-An-Qemtu-Qet-S-Em-Shaa-Au-hefu-Her-S-An-Rekh-Tennu-Mes-En-Thu-Kher-hat-urtu-Ab,
the gatekeeper is Smamti
Gate 7:
Akkit-Hebset-Bak-Aakebit-Mert-Sehap-Khat, the gatekeeper is Akenti
Gate 8: Rekhet-Besu-Akhmet-Tchafu-Sept-Pau-Khat-Tet-Smam-An-Netchnetch-
Atet-Sesh-Her-S-Sent-Nah-S, the gatekeeper is khu-Tchef-F
Gate 9:
Amt-Hat-Nebt-User-Hert-Ab-Mestet-Neb-S-Khemt-Shaa-…-Em-Shen-S-Satu—Em-Uatchef-Qema-Theset-Bes-hebset-Bak-Feqat-Neb-S-Ra-Neb,
the gatekeeper is Tchesef
Gate 10:
Qat-Kheru-Nehesert-Tenatu-Sebhet-Er-Qa-En-Kheru-S-Nert-nebt-Shefshef-An-Ter-S-Netet-Em-khennu-S,
the gatekeeper is Sekhen-Ur
In
the following eleven more gates, there were no gatekeepers mentioned.
Gate 11: Nemt-Tesu-Ubtet-Sebau-Hent-Ent-Sebkhet-Nebt-Aru-Nes-Ahehi-Hru-En-Ankhekh
Gate 12:
Nast-Taui-Si-Sekseket-Nemmatu-Em-nehepu-Qahit-Nebt-Khu-Setemth-Kheru-Neb-S
Gate 13: Sta-En-Asar-Aaui-F-Her-S-Sehetchet-Hap-Em-Ament-F
Gate 14: Nebt-Tenten-Khebt-Her-Tesheru-Aru-Nes-Haker-Hru-En-Setemet-Au
Gate 15:
bati-Tesheru-Qemhut-Aarert-Pert-Em-Kerh-Sentchert-Seba-Her-Qabi-F-Ertat-Aaui-S-En-Urtu-Ab-Em-At-f-Art-Itet-Shem-S
Gate 16: Nerutet-Nebt-Aatet-khaa-khau-Em-Ba-En-Ret-khebsu-mit-En-Reth-Sert-Per-Qemamet-Shat
Gate: 17: Khebt-Her-Senf-Ahbit-Nebt-Uauiuait
Gate 18:
Mer-Setau-Ab-Abtu-Mere-S-Shat-Tepu-Amkhit-Nebt-Aha-Uhset-Sebau-Em-Masheru
Gate: 19: Sert-Nehepu-Em-Aha-S-Ursh-Shemmet-Nebt-Useru-Anu-En-Tehuti-Tchesef
Gate 20: Amt-Khen-Tepeh-Neb-S-Hebs-Ren-S-Ament-Qemamu-S-Thetet-Hati-En-Am-S
Gate 21: Tem-Sia-Er-Metuu-Ari-hemen-Hai-Nebau-S
The different
versions of the gates had different ways of treating the dead, in terms of the
ceremony, offerings and the special day of doing these ceremonies. This is
crucial to help soul pass through the gates.
Being let into the great Court of the Underworld by God Aker: The Aker (Akeru or
Akerui) were the two flanking lions facing both ways. Aker is the guardian of
sunrise and sunset. Aker guarded the court of the fourteen judges in the
ancient Egyptian underworld. The two lions are named, Bakhu facing the sunrise
in the eastern side, and Manu facing the sunset in the western side. The two
lions were symbolizing two opposite things: the soul’s journey to say goodbye
to the life on earth and to welcome the arrival to the underworld.
Addressing a jury of fourteen judges about the deeds during
life on earth: The
deceased ‘Akh’ addressing the jury started
with the Declaration of Innocence:
‘Hail
to you, great God, Lord of Justice! I have come to you, my lord that you may
bring me so that I may see your beauty, for I know you and I know your name,
and I know the name of forty two Gods of those who are with you in this Hall of
Justice, who live on those who cherish evil and who gulp down their blood on
that day of the reckoning of characters in the presence of Wennefer. Behold the
double son of the Songstresses; lord of Truth is your name. Behold I have come
to you, I have brought you truth, I have repelled falsehood for you.
About the image above: weighing the heart
against the feather of truth
From the collection of Alexandria Llibrary
I
have not done falsehood against men
I
have not impoverished my associate
I
have done no wrong in the Place of Truth
I
have not learnt that which is not
I
have done no evil
I
have not daily made labor in excess of what was to be done for me
My
name has not reached the offices of those who control slaves
I
have not deprived the orphan of his property
I
have not done what the Gods detest
I
have not slandered a servant to his master
I
have not cause pain
I
have not made hungry
I
have not made to weep
I
have not killed
I
have not turned anyone over to a killer
I
have not caused anyone’s suffering
I
have not diminished the food offerings in the temples
I
have not debased the offering cakes of the Gods
I
have not taken the cakes of the blessed
I
have not copulated illicitly
I
have not been unchaste
I
have not increased nor diminished the measure
I
have not diminished the palm
I
have not encroached upon fields
I
have not added to the balance weights
I
have not tempered with the plumb bob of the balance
I
have not taken milk from a child’s mouth
I
have not driven small cattle from their herbage
I
have not snared birds for the God’s harpoon barbs
I
have not caught fish of their lagoons
I
have not stopped the flow of water in its seasons
I
have not built a dam against flowing water
I
have not quenched a fire in its time
I
have not failed to observe the days for haunches of meat
I
have not kept cattle away from God’s property
I
have not blocked God at his processions
I
am Pure. I am pure. I am Pure. I am pure. My purity is the purity of the great
phoenix that is in Heracleopolis, because I am indeed the nose of the Lord of
Wins who made all men live on that day of completing the sacred eye in
Heliopolis in the second month of the winter’slast day, in the presence of the
lord of this land. I am he who saw the completion of the Sacred Eye of
Heliopolis, and nothing evil shall come into being against me in this land in
this Hall of Justice, because I know the name of these Gods who are in it.
Hail
Far-strider who came forth from Heliopolis, I have no falsehood.
Hail
Fire-embracer who came forth from Kheraha, I have not robbed.
Hail
Norsey who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not been rapacious.
Hail
Swallower of shades who came forth from the cavern, I have not stolen.
Hail
Dangerous One who came forth from Rosetjau, I have not killed men.
Hail
Double Lion who came forth from the sky, I have not destroyed food supplies.
Hail
Fiery Eyes who came forth from Letopolis, I have done no crookedness.
Hail
Flame which came forth from backwards, I have not stolen the God’s offerings.
Hail
Bone-breaker who came forth from Heracleopolis, I have not told lies.
Hail
Green of flame who came forth from Memphis, I have not taken food.
Hail
You of the cavern who came forth from the West, I have not been sullen.
Hail
White of teeth who came forth from the Faiyum, I have not transgressed.
Hail
Blood eater who came forth from the shambles, I have not killed a sacred bull.
Hail
Eater of the entrails who came forth from the House of Thirty, I have not
committed perjury.
Hail
lord of Truth who came forth from Maaty, I have not stolen bread.
Hail
Wanderer who came forth from Bubastis, I have not eavesdropped.
Hail
Pale One who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not babbled.
Hail
Doubly evil who came forth from Andjet, I have not disputed except concerning
my own property.
Hail
Wememty-snake who came forth from the place of execution, I have not fornicated
with a child.
Hail
You who see whom you bring who came forth from the House of Min, I have not
misbehaved.
Hail
You who are over the Old One who came forth from Imau, I have not made terror.
Hail
Demolisher who came forth from Xois, I have not transgressed.
Hail
Disturber who came forth from Weryt, I have not been hot tempered.
Hail
Youth who came forth from the Heliopolitan nome, I have not been deaf to words
of truth.
Hail
Foreteller who came forth from Wenes, I have not made disturbance.
Hail
You of the altar who came forth from the secret place, I have not hoodwinked.
Hail
You whose face is behind him who came forth from the Cavern of Wrong, I have
neither misconducted myself nor copulated with a boy.
Hail
Hot foot who came forth from the dusk, I have not been neglectful.
Hail
You of the Darkness who came forth from the darkness, I have not been
quarrelsome.
Hail
Bringer of your offering who came forth from Sais, I have not been unduly
active.
Hail
Owner of Faces who came forth from Nedjefet, I have not been impatient.
Hail
Accuser who came forth from Wedjenet, I have not transgressed my nature; I have
not washed out the picture of a God.
Hail
Owner of Horns who came forth from Asyut, I have not been voluble in speech.
Hail
Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have done no wrong, I have seen no
evil.
Hail
Tempsep who came forth from busiris, I have not made conjuration against the
king.
Hail
You who acted according to your Will, who came forth from Tjebu, I have not
waded in water.
Hail
Water-smiter who came forth from the Abyss, I have not been loud-voiced.
Hail
Prosperer of the Common Folk who came forth from your house, I have not reviled
mankind.
Hail
Bestower of Good who came forth from the Harpoon nome, I have not been puffed
up.
Hail
Bestower of Power who came forth from City, I have not made distinctions for
myself.
Hail
Serpent with raised head, who came forth from the cavern, I am not wealthy
except with my own property.
Hail
carrier-off of His Portion who came forth from the Silent land, I have not
blasphemed god in my city.
(Translated by Allen and
Faulkner)
The
tests did not stop here, further journey will continue to different parts of
the Underworld.
Taken by Anubis to Balance of Truth to weigh his heart for
sins:
Anubis will lead the deceased Akh to the balancing scale in the Hall of Ma’at,
the God of Truth by his right hand while his left hand carries the key of life.
On the scale of Truth, appeared the Goddess of Justice, Truth and Order, Ma’at
as a symbol of the fair and true balancing scale. For this scene was mentioned
in the papyrus of Ani: ‘Pay good heed to
the weighing in the balance of the heart of the Osiris, the singing women of
Amen, Anhani, whose word is truth, and place thou her heart in the seat of truth
in the presence of Great God’.
Anubis
is responsible to weigh the heart, the heart of the deceased Ankh kept in a jar
and placed in one of the weighing pans and the other side is weighted with the
feather of God Ma’at.
Papyrus Ani:
Oh my heart of my being
Do not rise up against me
as witness
Do not oppose me in the tribunal
Do not rebel against me
before the guardian of the scales
You are my Ka within my
body
The Khum who prospers my
limbs
Go to the good place
prepared for us
Do not make my name stink
before them
The magistrates who put
peoples in their places
If it is good for us it is
good for the judge
It pleases him who renders
judgment
Do not invent like before
the God
Before the great God, the
Lord of the West
Lo, your uprightness brings
vindication!
During
the weighing of the heart, also appeared Ammit (Ammut) the deity of the
funerary. Ammit took the form of hippo-lion and crocodile. His titles were the
Heart Eater, Great Dead and the Devourer of the Dead. The most important
journey is in this part. The ‘Akh’
need to convince that he is innocent and to make sure that ‘Ammit’ will not swallow the heart of the deceased ‘Akh’. If the heart is swallowed by
‘Ammit’, then the ‘Akh’ will not
be able to continue his journey to the Hall of Osiris and his immortality. The
‘Akh’ will be restless forever or ‘to die
for the second time’.
If
the ‘Akh’ passed in this part of the journey then he will continue his voyage
to the next hall.
If the heart wasn’t heavy, brought by Horus to Chief Judge
Osiris:
The ‘Akh’ will be escorted by Horus to
the Hall of Osiris and he will have a ‘question and answer session’ with Thoth
the God of Scribe.
From the Book of Dead:
Thoth: ‘Come’, says Thot
‘why have you come?’
Akh: ‘I have come and press
forward so that I may be announced’
Thoth: ‘What now is your
condition?’
Akh: ‘I am purified from
evil things, I am protected from the evil deeds of those who live in their
days; I am not amongst them’.
Thoth: ‘Now I will announce
you. But who is he whose heaven is fire, whose wall is cobras, and whose floor
is a stream of water? Who is he, I say?’
Akh: ‘He is Osiris’
Thoth: ‘Come forward, then,
you will be announced to him. Your cakes will come from the Eye of Ra, your
beer from the Eye, your meals of the dead from the Eye. This has been decreed
for the Osiris the overseer of the house of the overseer of the seal, Nu,
triumphant’
After
this conversation, then Horus will continue to hold the deceased ‘Akh’ hand to Osiris and identified as
one of his followers with good manner and righteous heart. And Horus convinced
Osiris that this Akh is pure and asked Osiris to grant him to enter His Hall. ‘His
heart is righteous, and it hath come forth from the Balance; it hath not sinned
against any God or any Goddess. Thoth hath weighted it according to the decree
pronounced unto him by the Company of the Gods and it is most true and
righteous. Grant thou that cakes and ale may be given unto him, and let him
appear in the presence of the God Osiris, and let him be like into the
Followers of Horus forever and ever’. (Papyrus
Ani)
Osiris
who is sitting on his throne with the water lily flower growing from the water
under his feet and the four sons of Horus stand on the flower, will then receive
and accept the ‘Akh’ in the
Underworld as Horus followers. Osiris accompanied by Isis and Nepthys. He
accepted the presence of the ‘Akh’ because
he was pure and has no sins.
Entering the Fields of the Reed (paradise) and get the eternal
life: The
pure ‘Akh’ then can pass the Hall of
Osiris and granted a plot of land to start his life in the afterlife. The ‘Akh’ was also being able to reunite
with their family in the afterlife of the underworld, after the seven steps
toward the test and judgments then finally the soul to be granted to enter the
field of eternity, a place in the blessed land. The ‘Akh’ will now in the place
called paradise. Only the immortal souls, the souls that have no sin will
occupy this place and granted a piece of slot land of eternal life and be happy
forever.
Regional section of the
Underworld
According
to the Papyrus Nu 1, the ancient Egypt believed that the underworld
(heaven and hell) are divided into fourteen Regions called Aat. Each of this
Aat presided over by special God.
The
names of the regions are:
Aat
1: Amentet
God’s
Name: Amsu-Qet or Menu-Qet
In
this region a man lived on cake and ale.
Aat
2: Shekhet-Aaru
God’s
Name: Ra-Herukhuti
The
wall of iron, the wheat here is five cubits high, the barley is seven cubits
high and the Spirits who reap them are nine cubits high.
Aat
3: Aatenkhu
God’s
Name: Osiris or Ra
Aat
4: Tui-Qaui-Aaui
God’s
Name: Sati-Temui
Aat
5: Aatenkhu
God’s
Name: Osiris
The
Spirits live here upon the inert and feeble
Aat
6: Ammenhet
God’s
Name: Sekher-At or Sekher-Remus
This
was to the sacred god, the spirits could not find this out and it was accursed
for the dead
Aat
7: Ases
Wherein
the serpent Rerek lives
A
region of burning, fiery flame
Aat
8: Ha-Hetep or Ha Sert
God’s
name: Qa-Ha-Hetep or Fa-Pet
A
region containing roaring torrents of water
Aat
9: Akesi
God’s
Name: Maa-Thetef
A
region which is unknown even to the God
Its
only inhabitant is the ‘God who dwelleth in his egg’.
Aat
10: Nut-Ent-Qahu or Apt-Ent-Qahu
God’s
Name: Nahu, Kapet and Neheb Kahu
The
city of Qahu
Aat
11: Atu
God’s
Name Sept or Sothis
Aat
12: Unt
God’s
Name: Hetemet-baiu or Astchetet-Em-Ament
Aat
13: Uart-Ent-Mu
God’s
Name: Hebt-Re-F
A
deity of hippopotamus
Aat
14: Kher-Aha
God’s
Name: Hap or the Nile
It’s
a mountainous region of Kher-Aha, quiet region
The
journey of the soul continues to this region according to the fair judgment
they receive. In a particular region of their afterlife, the soul will
experience a process of self-improvement, depending on what they have done in
the real life on earth. Were they helpful, having good conduct, speaking kindly
with respect, etc. or were they doing the opposite? The souls will receive
progress in the afterlife until such time that they will be born again to a
different personality on earth. This will only happen after the time passed in
this region of Aat, except for the souls that gain the eternal life, they will
never return to this physical realm for rebirth, as they will be granted a
place in the field of reeds of Sheket Aaru in the world of Osiris.
I want to elaborate on the photograph that says: scene from The Book of the Dead, Alexandria Library.
ReplyDeleteThe actual caption for this picture is: Horus presents the first Pharaoh of Egypt to Osirus, sitting in judgement. Behind Osirus is his wife (and sister) Isis and her sister, Nephthys. Above Osirus is the God of the mortuary of Memphis gaurded by six cobras on each side (12 total).
This picture is dated to 1320 B.C.
I managed to see the symbolism here that was robbed and later used in the bible. Osirus was born on December 25th, the day Christians celebrate as Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
The same Jesus who would sit in judgement upon the living and the dead.
The God of the Mortuary of Memphis represents the father of Jesus (God) and the twelve cobras represent Jesus' twelve deciples. This was the conversion, from this original picture to the modern day Christian myth. Amazing....
And it didn't come until around 300 A.D. about the time that Constantine the Great changed history, by rewriting it. I have the Book of the Dead, an awesome good book.