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Journeying to the Underworld: A Brief Oveview
Death, in Ancient Egypt, was not considered to be the finale of one’s life, but the beginning of a new chapter. Death was a rite of passage, an essential journey that would eternalize one’s existence.
Transmission to the underworld required a series of carefully mandated rituals; the elaborateness of these varying based on the social position of the individual in mind. In addition, in order to maintain the separation and integrity of both worlds, there were certain rules that the souls of the deceased were required to follow. Here, we’ve given a brief outline of what the journey to the afterlife would entail: traditionally entail:
Step 1:
Consultation of scripture
An essential possession for one’s journey was the Book of the Dead. This book would be comprised of a series of “spells” accompanied by exquisite illustrations, and would customarily be inscribed on papyrus, on one’s coffin, or the walls of one’s tomb. The text contained in the book was essentially considered to have supernatural effects, and the specific positioning of these texts in one’s tomb or sarcophagus was intentional, thought to provide supernatural protection for the mummy inside.
Step 2: Mummification
Bodily preservation was of the utmost importance, for without the body, the soul would have no place to return (the movement of the soul is explained below).
Step 3:
“Opening
of the Mouth”
This ritual, performed by a priest, would enable the deceased to breath, a humanistic function of the body that was still necessary in the afterlife.
If properly carried out, these basic spells and rituals would grant a being access to the underworld. Additional spells would often be recited to enable the individual to function more comfortably, or offer them additional protection. Once the journey is complete, the soul (ba) was free to separate from the body and roam the human world, seek out Osiris, or sail the skies in the boat of the god Ra. However, in correlation with the cycles of nature, the soul must return to the body at nightfall, only to emerge with the rising sun.