Ma'at

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Ma'at
Partner of  Thoth,
whom I adopted as
God of Blogging

Ma'at
pronounced Ma aht
means Truth

Ma'at
the Egyptian Goddess
represented truth,
order, justice
and balance
It was Ma'at's task
to prevent the world
from falling into chaos

Ma'at also helped Ra,
the sun God,
steer his boat
across the sky each day
guiding his direction

Ma'at is depicted as a woman
with a white ostrich feather
on her head
She carries a sceptre
in one hand
and an ankh
in the other

In the Hall of Judgement
Ma' at weighs the hearts of the dead
against her feather
If the heart weighs heavier
it is thrown
to the crocodile headed Ammut
to devour
If the heart weighs lighter
than the feather
the soul may cross
into the kingdom of Osiris,
into paradise



Notice in the image above
Thoth
on the right
recording his observations



Illustrations such as this
were common
in the Egyptian
Books of the Dead

The Book of the Dead
such as that of the Scribe Ani
written in 1240 BC,
which is called the Papyrus of Ani,
was a document
written for a particular person,
composed to assist the newly deceased
to negotiate the afterlife


These books included hymns
spells and instructions


It was common to also
include a list behaviours,
a code of ethics,
or commandments


sometimes called
Going Forth by Day

42 Negative Confessions from the Papyrus of Ani

1. I have not committed sin.
2. I have not committed robbery with violence.
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have not slain men and women.
5. I have not stolen grain.
6. I have not purloined offerings.
7. I have not stolen the property of the god.
8. I have not uttered lies.
9. I have not carried away food.
10. I have not uttered curses.
11. I have not committed adultery, I have not lain with men.
12. I have made none to weep.
13. I have not eaten the heart [i.e I have not grieved uselessly, or felt remorse].
14. I have not attacked any man.
15. I am not a man of deceit.
16. I have not stolen cultivated land.
17. I have not been an eavesdropper.
18. I have slandered [no man].
19. I have not been angry without just cause
20. I have not debauched the wife of any man.
21. I have not debauched the wife of any man.
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have terrorised none.
24. I have not transgressed [the Law].
25. I have not been wroth.
26. I have not shut my ears to the words of truth.
27. I have not blasphemed.
28. I am not a man of violence.
29. I am not a stirrer up of strife (or a disturber of the peace).
30. I have not acted (or judged) with undue haste.
31. I have not pried into matters.
32. I have not multiplied my words in speaking.
33. I have wronged none, I have done no evil.
34. I have not worked witchcraft against the King (or blasphemed against the King).
35. I have never stopped [the flow of] water.
36. I have never raised my voice (spoken arrogantly, or in anger).
37. I have not cursed (or blasphemed) God.
38. I have not acted with arrogance
39. I have not stolen the bread of the gods.
40. I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead.
41. I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my city.
42. I have not slayed the cattle belonging to the god.

It is interesting to read
this code of conduct
which precedes
the 12 Commandments
of Moses
by over a thousand years,
and to see which values
we maintain
as important guides
in our lives today...




I like # 26

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