The Challenge
In Ancient Egypt, the general belief was if one wanted to pass on to the afterlife after death, the had to face the challenge of passing through the underworld. The underworld, or in this time called, Duat, was a dark place, it was filled with dark creatures, harmful animals, and monsters. All that could aid the ones attempting to pass through, was magic.
Because of this need for magic, the Ancient Egyptians took spells with them, spells taken from the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. They selected the spells that they thought would be the most useful to them, wrote them on papyrus scrolls, and buried them with them for luck.
The Duat, is the Ancient Egyptian realm of the dead. This is where the god Osiris resides alongside other gods and supernatural beings. Besides Osiris residing there, it is also where the sungod Ra travels from East to West at night. Most importantly, the Duat is the place where one's soul would go after the body had passed, to undergo judgement. Burial chambers were seen as in-between points between the Duat and the mundane world, which spirits could use to travel back and forth. All we know from the Duat comes from funerary texts such as the Book of Caverns, Amduat, the Book of the Dead, Book of Gates, and Coffin texts. Every single one of these documents serves a different purpose with a different perspective on the Duat, and most of the spells and texts are very inconsistent with each other. Researchers suggest that the texts, which are different in age and origin, never agreed on the interpretation of the underworld, and therefore, neither did the Egyptians.
weighing of the heart |
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In a section of the most well-known funerary text of the Egyptians, the Book of the Dead, the Weighing of the Heart is described. The Weighing of the Heart is where the god Anubis, who is on the far right, is shown with the scale with the feather balance, and Ammit, who is waiting for a heart to devour. Also seen is the god Osiris, guarding the gate to Aaru's Paradise, which gives us information about the age of the document.
The Egyptians interpreted the Duat pretty similar to the world that they lived in. There were islands, rivers, lakes, and field, but there were also lakes of fire, turquoise trees, and iron walls. (The Coffin Texts even has a map of the Duat.) Books such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead, served the purpose of guiding the newly deceased through the dangerous Duat, hoping to end up living life as an Akh or spirit. Firstly, the spirit must pass throught the gates of the Duat, which are guarded by dangerous spirits, often human bodies with the heads of animals or weapons. All these creatures carry names describing their purpose, such as "Blood-driner who comes from the Slaughterhouse" or "One who eats the excrement of his hindquarters"
If the deceases succeeded in passing through all these gates, and fought off the demons, the Weighing of the Heart, was reached. In this traditional ritual, Anubis weighed the heart of the deceases against a feather, the feather representing Ma'at (the goddess of truth and justice). If the deceased had not lived to follow Ma'at, the heart would outbalance the feather, if the heart was either lighter or heavier than the feather, the heart would be eaten by the Devourer of Souls, Ammit. If the souls passed the Weighing of the Heart, it would be allowed to enter the paradise of Aaru.
There was no Hell to which souls were condemned, the Duat is more complex in that way. The spirits of the underworld were also not evil, they were controlled by the Gods. Osiris, Thoth, Anubis, Hathor, Ma'at, and Horus all appear in the book of the dead as the soul travels to judgement.
The Egyptians interpreted the Duat pretty similar to the world that they lived in. There were islands, rivers, lakes, and field, but there were also lakes of fire, turquoise trees, and iron walls. (The Coffin Texts even has a map of the Duat.) Books such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead, served the purpose of guiding the newly deceased through the dangerous Duat, hoping to end up living life as an Akh or spirit. Firstly, the spirit must pass throught the gates of the Duat, which are guarded by dangerous spirits, often human bodies with the heads of animals or weapons. All these creatures carry names describing their purpose, such as "Blood-driner who comes from the Slaughterhouse" or "One who eats the excrement of his hindquarters"
If the deceases succeeded in passing through all these gates, and fought off the demons, the Weighing of the Heart, was reached. In this traditional ritual, Anubis weighed the heart of the deceases against a feather, the feather representing Ma'at (the goddess of truth and justice). If the deceased had not lived to follow Ma'at, the heart would outbalance the feather, if the heart was either lighter or heavier than the feather, the heart would be eaten by the Devourer of Souls, Ammit. If the souls passed the Weighing of the Heart, it would be allowed to enter the paradise of Aaru.
There was no Hell to which souls were condemned, the Duat is more complex in that way. The spirits of the underworld were also not evil, they were controlled by the Gods. Osiris, Thoth, Anubis, Hathor, Ma'at, and Horus all appear in the book of the dead as the soul travels to judgement.