Egyptian Afterlife- What Does It Mean?

Follow your soul. It knows the way.

I have always found Egyptian mythology interesting, but then again, all mythologies are fascinating, because it truly shows a deep-rooted culture behind it with a rich history. 

But what do I love about Egyptian mythology? It’s that gods have animal faces, that Egyptian pyramids were built so that the Pharaoh’s soul could ascend to heaven and join the gods. It’s that Egyptian mythology revolves around what they deciphered life, death, and the afterlife to be.

What fascinates me the most is how they have interpreted the soul of the living.

Ancient Egyptians believed that a soul is split into five main parts. The first is known as Ren, which is your identity. It is the name that captures your life and your identity. The second is the Ka, which is one’s life force, that is, a Ka is believed to be one’s spiritual replica. The third is the Ib, which is one’s heart that is formed when one drop of blood is taken at conception from the heart of one’s mother. For ancient Egyptians, the concept of the heart was not physical, but a part of one’s soul that embodies kindness, peace, intelligence, love, and all such other traits acquired in one’s life. The fourth is the Ba. Now the Ba is really interesting, for it is that part of the soul that exits the body when it dies. The Ba is believed to be of the form of a bird ahead of the human with the same alikeness. It is also believed that it is this part of the soul that can travel to and from earth and heaven. The fifth and the last is the Shuyet. Ancient Egyptians believed that a Shuyet, that is, a shadow, is an extended version of one’s self. A replica of one’s form. A Shuyet can be in the form of a statue, a painting, and any other form. The more the similarity, the more it is a Shuyet. 

One’s soul is of utmost importance when it departs the physical body. When one dies, a part of the soul finds its way to the Hall of Judgement. To understand the  Egyptian afterlife, it is crucial to understand the Egyptian concept of harmony and disharmony. Ancient Egyptians believed that from a sea of destruction, creation was formed. The Egyptian term for harmony is Ma’at and the term for disharmony and chaos is Isft. They believed that without Ma’at, without law and order, harmony, as it is, would cease to exist. Evil powers will run rampant on earth, thus wreaking destruction of what was created. 

Going back to one’s afterlife, after one’s death, it was the soul that was required to stand a trial, in the Hall of Judgment, in front of the Egyptian god of the dead, Osiris. The trial was so that it can be determined whether a soul was worthy to enter the afterlife, which was known as the ‘Field of Reeds’. It was the desired afterlife because it was one where sorrow and sadness were novel terms, a place where one could exist in pure bliss. So naturally, this place was only for the exceptional people who did good in their lives and did not commit any wrongful deeds. This was an afterlife that every ancient Egyptian wished to acquire. So in the end, how does one get into the ‘Field of Reeds’? 

The soul, in front of the Egyptian god of the dead Osiris, had to wait for its fate, as the dead’s heart was weighed on one side of a scale, and a feather of truth on the other. A feather of truth is a white feather that represents Ma’at. If the heart weighed lighter as compared to the feather of truth, it declared the soul worthy and deserving, to enter the ‘Field of Reeds’. However, if the heart weighed heavier than the feather of truth, it would be eaten by Ammit, a goddess with a head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, and the soul would cease to exist.  

One of the things that I find very interesting about ancient Egyptians and what they believed in, is that they did not believe in any form of ‘Hell’, because their worst fear was the idea of ceasing to exist, rather than any form of torture. They relished in the idea of forever existing and felt that since they would still exist in any place such as hell, being erased from existence was far more terrifying. 

I agree with the ancient Egyptians as well. Imagine spending your whole life making impacts on the world, whether it be good or bad, and harvesting the fruits of your labor in the few years before your death, only to die and your ceasing to exist, therefore making no impacts at all. But here is the thing. There is only one afterlife. Either you do good and blissfully exist in the ‘Field of Reeds’, or you don’t exist at all. This was what terrified ancient Egyptians, and this is what terrifies me more. I believe one could withstand eternal torment if it means that they had followed and acted on what they believed in the world above. But having come to the Hall of Judgment, only to have revealed that you have done more wrongful deeds than good, and to be erased from history, is truly what terrified early Egyptians. The very fact that, what you did for years and years, was not worth perishing. 

This may just be a part of Egyptian mythology, and what ancient Egyptians believed in, but I believe that every story has an element that we can take and learn from. From this, one can learn that one needs to be grateful, appreciative, and work hard to make a positive impact on the world. That at your deathbed, you will have the chance to say that what you did was what you had planned to do. That what you did was make a positive impact on the world, or if not the whole world, then on your world. That you will have the chance to peacefully exit this mortal plane by having no regrets and no amends to make. This is a peaceful parting of soul and body, where the body merges with the ground and the soul with the heavens above. 

Make a positive impact, and keep doing so. The world is not perfect, but it will be when everyone tries to make it perfect. Because everyone is trying, and trying is always better than doing nothing. Never be that one who stands by injustice, and lets the world burn while you cower in the safety of your home, because as per Egyptian mythology, you may survive, but when you die, you will cease to exist for all time. I’d rather leave a positive footprint on earth than no footprint at all. Let this be what inspires everyone to do good in life, loving people unconditionally, and expecting nothing in return. Mortals believe your words and actions, but God will look at your intentions. Do good, expect nothing, and the universe will reward you.