The Field Of Rushes: The Egyptian Book Of The Dead

Throughout the life of an Egyptian, he/she would prepare themselves for the afterlife or what they called it – The Field of Rushes. The Egyptian Book of the Dead was almost a guide book for the deceased containing various spells and incantations that would aid in ones travel to the afterlife and the process of becoming immortal. The ancient Egyptians strongly believed in the afterlife and that each mummified corpse was expected to resurrect in another world. The Book of the Dead gave the Egyptians insight on what obstacles one would face reaching the afterlife.
The origins of the Book of the Dead have been traced back to the end of the Fifth Dynasty in Egypt’s Age of the Pyramids (around 2400 B.C.E.) and is said to be the oldest religious writing that has been
found around the world. No religion has come about suddenly, for there are stages almost that take place to bring about a religion and it’s as though the Book of the Dead is like the first stage of the human thinking about the afterlife. Even though is it named The Book of the Dead, It was never about one’s death or murder; more along the lines of what one would encounter after death and what to do once reaching that part of the afterlife. The living would study this book and the pictures within the book in hopes of overcoming what one would face once reaching the afterlife. If one were to commit a serious crime such as murder or robbery one would focus on the portion of the book that would give insight as to how to overcome that obstacle once reached in the afterlife. After one would pass away, the collection of spells and incantations would be written on a papyrus roll and sometimes carved all throughout the tomb so that person that passed away would know what would come of them.
Egyptians believed that being mummified was the only way to get into the afterlife and once someone passed. The deceased’s spirit would have to contend with gods, strange creatures and gatekeepers to reach the Hall of Final Judgment, surpass the 42 divine gods and overcome the weighing of the heart to reach Osiris and follow him into the afterlife One of the many ceremonies that would occur would take place on Earth and that is known as The Opening of the Mouth. The ceremony allowed the dead to eat, breathe and mainly enjoy the food and other offerings given to them for the afterlife. This ceremony was very important for the preparation of the afterlife because this was a way to offerings left to them. The priests would place different objects in ones mouth to make sure it stays open after being mummified.
After one had passed they would soon come across Maāt.
She was the personification of righteousness, truth, and justice and was the daughter of the sun god Rā. She appeared as a woman with her symbol being an ostrich feather, which she wore on her head. She assisted in carrying out the work of creation with her main duty assisting the judgment of the souls of the dead. If they were to succeed, she would lead the deceased into the Hall of Judgment. There was a two part process a deceased would have to partake in to further into the afterlife and the first process was the pleading of their innocence to the 42 gods who are seated in a row down the center of the Hall. The 42 gods had different faces and heads on them yet were in the form of a mummy with an ostrich feather upon their head. Nos. 1-5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13-20, 22-25, 27-34, 36, 37, 41 and 42 all had the heads of men. Number 6 had the head of a lion, number 9 had the head of a crocodile, and number 12 had a human head turned behind him. Numbers 21, 28-40 had snakes’ heads, number 26 had a hawks head and number 35 had the head of a hippopotamus. After ones plea to the gods, and if proven innocent, one would then continue further into the
afterlife.
Furthering into the afterlife the deceased would then come to the Weighing of the Heart. Egyptians thought the heart contained all records of the deceased’s actions in life. One would come across Anubis, the master of ceremonies, who would then lead them to the scales of Maāt. The heart of the deceased would then be weighed against the feather worn by Maāt in hopes that the heart would weigh less. While being weighed, Ammut, the devourer of the dead, would be near waiting to destroy the deceased if his heart should be heavier. If the heart were to be heavier than the feather that meant it would have been full of sin. As long as the heart didn’t weigh more than the feather the deceased would then be free to venture further into the afterlife. According to Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology “The only moment in which the dead man is not master of his fate is when his heart is weighed by Thoth before Osiris. If it does not conform to the standard required for justification, he is cast out; except for this, an absolute knowledge of the Book of the Dead safeguarded the deceased in every way from the danger of damnation.”
After being released the deceased would then be led by Horus to meet Osiris and which the deceased would then be noticed as one of his followers.