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The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) · 150 of 357 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 18 (part 9)

"(37) O ye who open the way and lay open the paths to perfected souls in the Hall of (38) Osiris, open ye the way and lay open the paths (39) to the soul of Osiris, the scribe and steward of all the divine offerings, Ani (40) [who is triumphant] with you. May he enter in with a bold heart and may he come forth in peace from the house of Osiris. May he not (41) be rejected, may he not be turned back, may he enter in [as he] pleaseth, may he come forth [as he] (42) desireth, and may he be victorious. May his bidding be done in the house of Osiris; may he (43) walk, and may he speak with you, and may he be a glorified soul along with you. He hath not been found wanting (44) there, and the Balance is rid of [his] trial." Appendix : After the First Chapter M. Naville has printed in his Todtenbuch the text of a composition which also refers to the funeral, and which he has designated Chapter 1 B . It is entitled "Chapter of making the [1. The day of the festival of Seker was celebrated in the various sanctuaries of Egypt at dawn, "at the moment when the sun casts its golden rays upon the earth." The hennu boat was drawn round the sanctuary (see Lanzone, Dizionario , pp. 1117-1119.). The Serapeum was called Pa-hennu . 2. M. Pierret renders, "Je reçois l'office de laboureur," but the variants given by M. Naville show that some digging instrument is intended. 3 I.e. , Het-suten-henen , the Heracleopolis Magna of the Greeks, the ### of the Copts, and ### of the Arabs. See Brugsch, Dict. Géog. , p. 601. 4. British Museum papyrus No. 9901 adds, "in the Temple of Osiris." 5. I.e. , in the Hall of Double Truth. 6. For a translation of the remainder of the chapter according to the Saïtic recension, see Pierret, Le Livre des Morts , pp. 7, 8.] mummy to go into the underworld on the day of the funeral." The text is, however, mutilated in places; and the following version has been made by the help of the two copies of the text published by Pleyte, Chapitres Supplémentaires au Livre des Morts , p. 182 ff.; and by Birch, Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch. , 1885, p. 84 f. [Chapter I B .] " Homage to thee, O thou who livest in Set-Sert of Amenta. Osiris the scribe Nekht-Amen, triumphant, knoweth thy name. Deliver thou him from the worms which are in Re-stau, and which feed upon the bodies of men and drink their blood. Osiris, the favoured one of his divine city, the royal scribe Nekht-Amen, triumphant, is known unto you [ye worms] and he knoweth your names. This is the first bidding of Osiris, the Lord of All, who hath completed all his hidden works: 'Give thou breath [unto them] who fear those who are in the Bight of the Stream of Amenta.' He hath ordered the plans of . . . . . . . . . . . His throne is placed within the darkness, and there is given unto him glory in Re-stau.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] Divine beings are described with human actions such as walking, speaking, and possessing a house.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

[auto] The passage is a spell from the Book of the Dead explicitly designed to guide the deceased soul through the Hall of Osiris and past judgment.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

[auto] Osiris is addressed as an active, responsive deity with whom the soul may speak and walk.

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Maat Cosmic Ordercosmology

The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike.

[auto] References to the 'Balance' trial and the 'Hall of Double Truth' directly invoke the Egyptian principle of Maat (truth and balance).

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] The prayer requests that the soul be 'a glorified soul along with you,' indicating a desire for communion with the divine.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The text consists largely of petitions and homages ('Homage to thee', 'May he enter in') addressed to divine beings.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

[auto] The text addresses beings who 'open the way' and 'lay open the paths,' requesting guided passage for the soul through the afterlife.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

Entering the house of Osiris represents a return to the divine order and origin for the deceased.

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Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

[auto] The reference to the 'Balance' being rid of trial implies the necessity of moral and spiritual purity for acceptance in the divine realm.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

[auto] The invocation of specific divine names like Osiris and the identity of Ani functions as a magical formula for efficacy.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

[auto] The soul seeks to enter the Hall of Osiris and become a glorified soul, representing an upward movement toward the divine.

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Related passages · 14 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1a
“131 CHAPTER V Concerning ” Existence “ and also concerning ” Exemplars .” I. Now must we proceed to the Name of “Being” which is truly applied by the Divine Science to Him that truly Is. But this much we must say, that it is not the purpo…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i
“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”
Shared concept: Mystical Union — The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 38 (part 2)
“The attempt to propitiate the Deity by means of prayers, sacrifices and abstinence, and thus to obtain the Divine assistance for the successful consummation of hideous offences and preposterous or impossible undertakings, is, of course, mad…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter III
“According to another order, however, he arranges the God Emeph prior to, and as the leader of, the celestial Gods. And he says that this God is an intellect, itself intellectually perceiving itself, and converting intellections to itself. B…”
Shared concept: Maat Cosmic Order — The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter I-b
“They are useful and necessary up to a point, but the Truth lies beyond them and is to be apprehended to a supernatural manner by what later writers call “infused” contemplation. The sum of the whole matter is that God is incomprehensible.…”
Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 3)
“This other will is the sensitivity and conceivability of the primordial will, by means of which that which is nothing finds itself to be something. By so doing the inconceivable causeless will issues by means of that which it has eternally…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-m
“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Hymn LVI. THE TERRESTRIAL HERMES
“LVI. TO THE TERRESTRIAL HERMES. The FUMIGATION from STORAX. HERMES I call, whom Fate decrees to dwell In the dire path which leads to deepest hell O Bacchic Hermes, progeny divine Of Dionysius, parent of the vine, p. 189 And of celestial Ve…”
Shared concept: Psychopomp Journey — Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity-g
“At the first gate the great crown is removed from her head, at the second gate the earrings from her ears, at the third gate the necklace from her neck, at the fourth gate the ornaments from her breast, at the fifth gate the girdle from her…”
Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter I-a
“Wheat is the Divine Gloom. T rinty, which exceedeth all Being, Deity, and Goodness! 514 514 Lit. “Super-Essential, Supra-Divine, Super-Excellent.” Thou that instructeth Christians in Thy heavenly wisdom! Guide us to that topmost height…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)
platonism|Plato: Phaedrus|Section 1r
“But he whose initiation is recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world, is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs throug…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 13: The Discourse of Hermes to Tat|Section 1a
“The Secret Sermon on the Mountain <This dialogue is in many ways the culmination of the whole Corpus, summing up the theory of the Hermetic system at the same time as it provides an intriguing glimpse at the practice. The focus of the dial…”
Shared concept: Prayer — Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 67
“Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite)|Page 38 (part 1)
“Click to view DEVIL FROM HEARNE'S PRINT OF THE "DESCENT INTO HELL." Engraved by Michael Burghers , c. 1676. CHAPTER I The Preparation of the Operator § 1. Concerning the Love of God THE rites of so-called Transcendental Magic are, ex hyp…”
Shared concept: Ritual Purity — The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine. (derived)