The Egyptian Book of the Dead as a Guide to the Last Journey

Pagan theology is a complex of beliefs truly grandiose, because it developed much longer than the entire Christian civilization. It would be erroneous to consider that pagan religions placed at the heart of the rituals of worship only to appease the great forces of nature and to avoid the wrath of the gods in this earthly life. Since then, as a person began to realize himself as a creature inevitably mortal, all religious thought inevitably touched the issue of the other world's life, that which awaits them after death. The concept of the soul, which separates from the body with the last breath, arose a long time ago, and reflections on what awaits this soul in another world invisible to the earthly eye, gave birth to numerous books of the dead.

The esoteric teachings of ancient people extrapolated to the region of the invisible laws of the living world. And if success and prosperity here largely depends on knowledge and its correct application, then, beyond the grave, harm can be avoided and prosperity can also be achieved with the help of knowledge. For example, a person, having mastered the necessary skills to handle fire, can put him at the service of his needs and avoid fires, and after death, knowing the necessary information, one can avoid the harm of evil deities, enlist the support of the good and eventually come to a certain A quiet harbor in which you can thrive forever. A man could not reconcile himself to the finitude of death, he sought immortality, creating ancient books of magic.

Over the centuries, the development of the philosophy of funeral rites has created a special cult in the civilization of Ancient Egypt. Were written sacred texts, generalized knowledge of the cosmos, the universe, visible and invisible. These two worlds were inextricably bound by secret threads, led only to the priests. The first known in the history of the Egyptian book of the dead are the so-called "Pyramid Texts", carved on the walls of the tomb of Unas (about 2400 years BC). This religious text reflects the astral connection of the pharaoh, standing on the top of the "pyramid" of his people, with the world of the gods. Pharaoh here acts as a primate before the supreme forces for his subjects.

With the further development of theology, the salvation of the soul becomes an individual affair of everyone. The Egyptian book of the dead is reflected in numerous similar texts, for example, in the "Books of the Duat" or "Texts of the sarcophagi." Also, people's ideas about the human soul became more complicated. Ancient beliefs have ceased to be naive: the soul did not live in a tomb, tied to its body, the spirit of the Ka person rushed up into the great light. On his way rose evil demons, but the goddess Isis, full of compassion for humanity, took him under her wings, passed on to the wise god Anubis, who accompanied the soul with all the winding corridors of the underworld to the very court of the just court of Osiris.

In fact, the Egyptian book of the dead is literally called the "Book of Exit to the Light of the Day." Thus, it is dedicated not to the deceased, but to the truly living. "Death appears as a cure for the disease, as an outlet to the sun after a long imprisonment." To overcome death, to escape from the clutches of evil demons towards eternal life is the true purpose of these sacred texts. It was for this purpose that a collection of 180 hymns and spell texts was placed in the tomb of the deceased. The greatest salvation theology was received in the XVIII dynasty: in various burial places of Thebes archaeologists discovered a lot of papyri decorated with the subtlest pictures with burial scenes, travels of the soul through the "Gallery of the Night" and the court of Osiris.

Both the Thebian and the Sayitic Egyptian book of the dead narrate how Anubis and the soul go west from Abydos, to the mountain supporting the sky. Then, having overcome this highest mountain range, they descend on Hefri's boat along the river of the underworld to the Gallery of the Night. The serpent Apophis and other evil spirits are trying to capture the soul: baboons, snakes, dragons, terrible reptiles try to sow fear and confuse it, but the soul that knows the spells by heart passes through these tests.

But that's not all: the Seven Gates and Ten Pilots are waiting ahead. All gates are guarded by their guardian, magician and inquiring god. You need to know the secret names of each to open them for eternity. The utterance of these names, as well as the spell "Open the door for me, be my guide," makes the astral beings serve the soul. On the court of Osiris, there is a "weighing of the heart". The soul must justify itself and prove that it did not cause anyone evil and oppression: "I gave bread to the hungry ... I gave the sufferer food ...".