The Waste

Book of the Dead

The book of the dead also known as an ancient survival guide. It is full of over 200 magical spells, instructions, and prayers to guide the deceased in the underworld. The book was first written on walls inside pyramids. Later on it was written on papyrus about 78 Ft. long.

The texts were also drawn or painted on coffins. In the 18th dynasty mummification was established and the texts were enclosed in the mummy’s tomb.

The Egyptians believed preserving the body would help the soul - without the body the soul had nowhere to rest and dwell. The book was like a personal cheat sheet. That was an advantage to them. The book was recorded by a royal scribe named Ani.

On the Egyptians way to the afterlife through the underworld, they were led by Anubis, the god of the dead. He would help them through the test and trials that would lay ahead of them. You may ask, “How is this related to the Book of the Dead?” Well this is related to the book of the dead because they were told all of this in the book of the dead in chapter 125.

After they passed all the tests and trials they were then led to the hall of two truths. There they would stand in front of Osiris and 43 other deities. Then they would name all the deities and make a negative confession. A negative confession is when you say you did something, but you never did it. An example of this would be saying “I stole my mother’s money, but then you were proven innocent,” that is one example. If the Egyptians were proven innocent then they would move on to the weighing of the heart.

The weighing of the heart was the most fearful trial to the Egyptians. They believed that if you had the chapter 125 of the book of the dead then you would pass the trial. The reason they weighed the heart was for two reasons, one it was the source of life, and two, it would show kindness and wickedness. They decided if your heart was heavy or light by weighing it comparing it to a feather. If your heart was...