Kemetic afterlife

[David19]

I have a question about the Kemetic afterlife, i was reading a bit of one book in a shop yesterday, that, you had to make a journey, that was dangerous, and that the Egyptian Book of the Dead tells you the types of deities you'll meet, the demons, and other beings you'll meet on the way, and how to get there, i'd like to know more about the Kemetic view of demons (as i'm interested in learning about the supernatural beings as well as the religion).

Also, i've read in a few books and sites, that the afterlife was a great place, where you do pretty much what you do on this realm/plane, like have sex, eat, drink (work?), is this true?, also is there any more to it, like is the afterlife the same place where the gods are or are they in a different realm.

And, in your opinion or the Kemetic view, are the other realms of the dead considered seperate (e.g. Olympus, Hades, Jewish/Christian/Islamic Heaven and Hell, etc).

Thanks.

[Tarbh Nathroch]

This would just be my understanding and belief of what I’ve read and been exposed to and can be drastically different to what others have taken from texts and the original belief of the writers themselves.

It seems to be the thought that the space or time between the two worlds of the living and the dead is a very confusing, disorienting and dangerous place. Full of lost human spirits, non-human entities and other distracting and/or harmful ‘things’ for lack of a better term. Feel free to call some demons. So the Book of the Dead is a guild of sorts to keep you on track and help you out since it would suck a great deal to be destroyed or lost before you even made it to judgment.

It is my belief though that right at death you are in good hands as it is Anubis’ job to get you to judgment and I believe he takes his job very seriously.

Should you pass your judgment and not be devoured by the so called demon Amitt and cease to exist. The after life is read to be very much like the living world with all the wonder and less of the hardships of this existence. Whether it is that way or that is just what people wanted to hear I guess can only be found out by dieing. I personally feel the soul has an active part in shaping its reality in the next life. That would be why all your loved ones would be there even though it is very unlikely their happy place and your happy place would be the same. What if they believed in reincarnation or went to hell…how could they possibly be with you in Heaven, Valhalla or what ever one might call the next world.

As for all the heavens being the same…well the same realm or plain yea, the same place no. Again just my feeling on it and are no means actual or correct.

Best I can say is read and form your own opinions but as always feel free to ask questions.

[David19]

Thanks for that, have you got any suggestions as to what to read about the Kemetic afterlife?.

[La Fortuna]

Hi David,:wave:

I am reopening or answering this thread now as I did not see much of a response and I think you have some very good questions.

It is very difficult to understand the Ancient Egyptian mind unless you are practicing the faith. Simply reading about certain concepts only tends to confuse and give a suface perception of their meaning.

Regarding the Beautiful West (Field of Reeds, Field of Rushes, The Afterlife), you seem to have a good concept of the realm. It is supposed to be as it is here. Having performed divination and contacting the dead, I have to say that this is correct.

O.K., so, after death Yinepu (Upuat/Yinepu), Opener of the Ways/Friend of the Dead greets the deceased and takes them to the Hall of Maat. There resides Osiris, Djehuti, Ammit, Anpu (Yinepu) and others. The heart is weighed upon the scale against the feather of Maat.

The journey that you speak of, Coming Forth by Day, is the journey through the Underworld just as Ra travels in his Solar boat through the night only to be reborn as Khepera at dawn. The travel at night through the Underworld is fraught with perils and Apep (Evil Serpent) who trys to destroy Ra. Ra is , however, protected in his boat by several guardians, Set included.

The supernatural and the demons that you speak of are phenomena based upon the principles of the cosmos and nature as are the Netjer (gods) who are the divine principles or functions. The Netjer themselves are the divine principles whose power we call upon to satisfy our needs and theirs as well as place us in harmony with the Divine Consciousness.

One needs to be aware of the 42 negative confessions in the Hall of Maat. They are the same as the 42 purifications that we strive to live by, somewhat like commandments. In fact, several commandments are based upon the 42 negative confessions that Moses gave the Hebrews. Negative, meaning instead of saying "thou shalt not", we say say "I have not" committed a particular wrong doing (sin). These are easily found on the internet.

Many Kemetics view the Netjeru, gods and goddesses, as part of the One God, the One Who has No Second. They were born from the One God during the creation, just as humans and everything else. We came from the One Source and return to it after death.

In my experience, the realms of the dead are one with the Divine consciousness of Netjer and co-exist with the other divinities in harmony.

In order not to take much of the Egyptian thought literally, one must delve deeper into the faith and practice to fully understand it. It is very difficult to try an explain certain experiences and communion with Netjer (One God) and the Netjeru (gods and goddesses) without this experience.

For reading, I suggest both of Rosemary Clarks books: The Sacred Tradition of Ancient Egypt and The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt. Also, although there are some critics of Budge's work, his translation of the Papyrus of Ani (The Egyptian Book of the Dead more correctly called The Book of Going Forth By Day is beautiful and easily obtained for about $10 at any large book store. Also, Rosemary Clark has a great Seminary program tied to her Temple Harakhte, it is well worth the time and very reasonable. She will answer your email personally and I am sure she can explain things much better than I.

You may, also, want to add the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts to your library as they give great insight into the Egyptian way of thinking.

If anyone else has more info on this subject, I hope you will post. I have only scratched the surface here and much more can be expounded on I am certain.

I hope this helps if you are still interested in this subject. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Best regards, La Fortuna:fpraise:

[David19]

I'd thought i'd bump up this thread, as i read something about the Kemetic afterlife in a book today

It mentioned there were different regions of the afterlife, which were ruled over by different gods (i'm not sure if it meant different regions ruled over by non-Kemetic deities or just split up and divided among the Kemetic deities?), and that there were some parts that were dangerous for humans, and i was just wondering, if this was true, and also what was life like in the afterlife, as i've read that you could die a second death, but i'm confused as to how ghosts could die (and what would happen to them once their ghosts got killed?).