Ancient Egyptian Afterlife

Requirements for the Egyptian Afterlife

1.      Pass the “Test of Heart” in the Hall of Ma’at (Hall of Judgment). To do so, your heart would be weighed on Osiris’ magic scales against the feather of truth. If your heart was lighter than the feather of truth, you would board Ra’s sun boat. If it was heavier, the demon Ammit (a cross between a crocodile, a hippo, and a lion) would devour you and your heart, cutting your journey short

2.      Your name must be written down somewhere. Otherwise, your Ba and Ka would get lost!

3.      You need a preserved body. Without this, the two pieces of your soul would not recognize you in the future and get lost.

'----

The Egyptians believed that a person’s soul contained two parts – the Ba and the Ka. Legend says that the Ba returned to your family and watch over them, and the Ka enjoyed life in The Land of the Two Fields. Then at night, both the Ba and the Ka flew back to their tomb to reset for the next day.

If your name was not written down somewhere, or if something happened to your preserved body, then your Ba and Ka would get lost in the Afterlife and you would disappear forever. That is why grave robbing was the most serious crime in ancient Egypt. The robbers not only stole someone’s wealth, but their chance at happiness in the afterlife.

Osiris was the god of the living and the dead. He was murdered by his wicked brother Set, the god of evil. He wanted to rule the living and the dead, so he chopped up Osiris and scattered his pieces all throughout Egypt. Isis, Osiris’ wife, collected all of the pieces and used them to bring her husband back to life using her magic. This showed the people of Egypt that there was life after death, and thus the afterlife was born. Osiris later became famous for opening the afterlife to people other than pharaohs.