← Home
The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 19 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 5 (part 2)

From another place in the same papyrus, 1 and from other papyri, we learn that the "Secret Gates of the House of Osiris in Sekhet-Aaru" were twenty-one in number; the Chapter (CXLVI.) gives the name of each Gate, and also that of each Gatekeeper up to No. X., thus:-- I. Gate . NEBT-SETAU-QAT-SEBT-HERT-NEBT-KHEBKHEBT-SERT-METU-KHESEFET-NESHENIU-NEHEMET-UAI-EN-I-UAU. p. 32 Gatekeeper . NERI. II. Gate . NEBT-PET-HENT-TAUI-NESBIT-NEBT-TEMEMU-TENT-BU-NEBU. Gatekeeper . MES-PEH. (or, MES-PTAH). Click to view Gate I . Click to view Gate II . III. Gate . NEBT-KHAUT-AAT-AABET-SENETCHEMET-NETER-NEB-AM-S-HRU-KHENT-ER-ABTU. Gatekeeper . ERTAT-SEBANQA. IV. Gate . SEKHEMET-TESU-HENT-TAUI-HETCHET-KHEFTI-NU-URT-AB-ARIT-SARU-SHUT-EM-AU. Gatekeeper . NEKAU. p. 33 Click to view Gate III . Click to view Gate IV . V. Gate . NEBT-REKHU-RESHT-TEBHET-TATU-AN-AQ-ERES-UN-TEP-F. Gatekeeper . HENTI-REQU. Click to view Gate V . Click to view Gate VI . p. 34 VI. Gate . NEBT-SENKET-AAT-HEMHEMET-AN-REKH-TU-QA-S-ER-USEKH-S-AN-QEMTU-QET-S-EM-SHAA-AU-HEFU-HER-S-AN-REKH-TENNU-MES-EN-THU-KHER-HAT-URTU-AB. Gatekeeper . SMAMTI. Click to view Gate VII . Click to view Gate VIII . VII. Gate . AKKIT-HEBSET-BAK-AAKEBIT-MERT-SEHAP-KHAT. Gatekeeper . AKENTI. VIII. Gate . REKHET-BESU-AKHMET-TCHAFU-SEPT-PAU-KHAT-TET-SMAM-AN-NETCHNETCH-ATET-SESH-HER-S-EN-SENT-NAH-S. Gatekeeper . KHU-TCHET-F. p. 35 IX. Gate . AMT-HAT-NEBT-USER-HERT-AB-MESTET-NEB-S-KHEMT-SHAA-. . . .-EM-SHEN-S-SATU-EM-UATCHET-QEMA-THESET-BES-HEBSET-BAK-FEQAT-NEB-S-RA-NEB. Gatekeeper . TCHESEF. Click to view Gate IX . Click to view Gate X . X. Gate . QAT-KHERU-NEHESET-TENATU-SEBHET-ER-QA-EN-KHERU-S-NERT-NEBT-SHEFSHEFT-AN-TER-S-NETET-EM-KHENNU-S. Gatekeeper . SEKHEN-UR. XI. Gate . NEMT-TESU-UBTET-SEBAU-HENT-ENT-SEBKHET-NEBT-ARU-NES-AHEHI-HRU-EN-ANKHEKH. 1 p. 36 XII. Gate .
§ Ask Guru about this passage →
Themes
Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The designation of the gates as 'Secret' points to the concealed nature of the divine pathways.

All passages →
Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

[auto] The passage is an excerpt from a papyrus detailing the specific gates and gatekeepers required to navigate the afterlife journey to Sekhet-Aaru.

All passages →
Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

Possession of the specific names and knowledge of the gates is required for successful passage, functioning as salvific knowledge.

All passages →
Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The gates are explicitly described as 'Secret,' implying esoteric knowledge reserved for those who can access the afterlife.

All passages →
Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The passage emphasizes the specific number of gates (twenty-one) and their sequential ordering from I to XII.

All passages →
Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

It describes the guided passage of the soul through specific afterlife realms guarded by named entities.

All passages →
Sacred Namestheology

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

[auto] The text primarily consists of the cryptic, powerful names of gates and gatekeepers, which are essential for access in Egyptian magical-religious practice.

All passages →
Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

The progression through the gates represents a staged journey toward the divine realm of Osiris.

All passages →
Related passages · 4 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1g
“Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge. 203 203 Even the Differentiations finally lead us up into the Undifferenced Godhead Where they transcend themselves.…”
Shared concept: Divine Hiddenness — The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Mysteries and Their Emissaries-a
“DID that divine knowledge which constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the destruction of their temples? Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (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)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 18 (part 6)
“Starting from this, it becomes easy to understand how nature herself could have taught primeval mankind, even without the help of its divine instructors, the first principles of a numerical and geometrical symbol language.* Hence one finds…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)