The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 20 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge
Chapter 5 (part 3)
NAST-TAUI-SI-SEKSEKET-NEMMATU-EM-NEHEPU-QAHIT-NEBT-KHU-SETEMTH-KHERU-NEB-S.
XIII.
Gate .
STA-EN-ASAR-AAUI-F-HER-S-SEHETCHET-HAP-EM-AMENT-F.
XIV.
Gate .
NEBT-TENTEN-KHEBT-HER-TESHERU-ARU-NES-HAKER-HRU-EN-SETEMET-AU.
XV.
Gate .
BATI-TESHERU-QEMHUT-AARERT-PERT-EM-KERH-SENTCHERT-SEBA-HER-QABI-F-ERTAT-AAUI-S-EN-URTU-AB-EM-AT-F-ART-ITET-SHEM-S.
XVI.
Gate .
NERUTET-NEBT-AATET-KHAA-KHAU-EM-BA-EN-RETH-KHEBSU-MIT-EN-RETH-SERT-PER-QEMAMET-SHAT.
XVII.
Gate .
KHEBT-HER-SENF-AHBIT-NEBT-UAUIUAIT.
XVIII.
Gate .
MER-SETAU-AB-ABTU-MERER-S-SHAT-TEPU-AMKHIT-NEBT-AHA-UHSET-SEBAU-EM-MASHERU.
XIX.
Gate .
SERT-NEHEPU-EM-AHA-S-URSH-SHEMMET-NEBT-USERU-ANU-EN-TEHUTI-TCHESEF.
XX.
Gate .
AMT-KHEN-TEPEH-NEB-S-HEBS-REN-S-AMENT-QEMAMU-S-THETET-HATI-EN-AM-S.
XXI.
Gate .
TEM-SIA-ER-METUU-ARI-HEMEN-HAI-NEBAU-S.
From the above lists, and from copies of them which are found in the Papyrus of Ani, and other p.
37 finely illustrated Books of the Dead, it is quite clear that, according to one view, Sekhet-Aaru, the land of the blessed, was divided into seven sections, each of which was entered through a Gate having three attendants, and that, according to other traditions, it had sections varying in number from ten to twenty-one, for each of the Gates mentioned above must have been intended to protect a division.
It will be noted that the names of the Ten Gates are in reality long sentences, which make sense and can be translated, but there is little doubt that under the XVIIIth Dynasty these sentences were used as purely magical formulae, or words of power, which, provided the deceased knew how to pronounce them, there was no great need to understand.
In other words, it was not any goodness or virtue of his own which would enable him to pass through the Gates of Sekhet-Aaru, and disarm the opposition of their warders, but the knowledge of certain formulæ, or words of power, and magical names.
We are thus taken back to a very remote period by these ideas, and to a time when the conceptions as to the abode of the blessed were of a purely magical character; the addition of pictures to the formulae, or names, belongs to a later period, when it was thought right to strengthen them by illustrations.
The deceased, who not only possessed the secret name of a god or demon, but also a picture of him whereby he could easily recognize him when he met him, was doubly armed against danger.
p.
Themes
◇Funerary Navigationpraxis
Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.
[auto] The passage explicitly details gates and gatekeepers from papyri used to guide the deceased through the afterlife realms.
All passages →◇Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
[auto] The text specifies that there are twenty-one gates in total, indicating a structured numerical cosmology.
All passages →◇Psychopomp Journeycosmology
Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.
[auto] The text outlines a structured passage through multiple guarded gates within the afterlife domain of Osiris.
All passages →◇Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
[auto] The passage lists specific, complex names for each Gate and Gatekeeper, which hold power in Egyptian magical tradition.
All passages →◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
[auto] Passing through the sequential gates represents a staged progression through heavenly realms toward the Field of Reeds.
All passages →Related passages · 4 parallels
◆jewish_mysticism|The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha)|1f
“[The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are divided into three classes, the three mothers as they are called, AMSh; the seven duplex letters, BGDKPRTh, so called because they are sometimes tenues and sometimes aspirates, according to whether th…”
Both passages discuss mystical concepts related to gates or paths in the afterlife or divine realms. Passage A describes gates in the Egyptian underworld, each with magical names and formulas, while Passage B discusses the Hebrew alphabet and divine names related to mystical paths and judgments. Both emphasize the importance of secret knowledge or names for navigating these realms.
◆jewish_mysticism|The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation)|Chapter LXXXI
“LXXXI. The Heavenly Tablets and the Mission of Enoch . CHAPTER LXXXI. 1. And he said unto me: 'Observe, Enoch, these heavenly tablets, And read what is written thereon, And mark every individual fact.' p. 108 2 And I observed the heavenly t…”
Both passages describe a mystical journey through gates or tablets that contain divine knowledge or power. They share the theme of the afterlife and the importance of divine knowledge or righteousness for passage, but they come from different traditions.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter LXXIV — Of the Proportion, Correspondency, and Reduction of Letters to the Celestial Signs and Planets, According to Various Tongues, and a Table Thereof|Chapter LXXIV, Section 1b
“He, therefore, that will find them out, must by each joining together of the letters so long examine them, until the voice of God is manifest, and the framing of the most sacred letters be opened and discovered; for hence voices and words h…”
Both passages discuss the use of magical formulae or words of power. Passage A describes the use of magical names and sentences to pass through the gates of the afterlife, while Passage B discusses the efficacy of letters and words in magical works, particularly in the Hebrew tradition. Both highlight the importance of specific words or letters in achieving spiritual or magical goals.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|3. The Triangle Of Solomond
“Matthew, and in several Hebrew copies, as follows: “The sacred word MALKUTH substituted for KETHER, which is its kabalistic correspondent, and the equipoise of GEBURAH and CHESED, repeating itself in the circles of heavens called eons by th…”
Both passages discuss the use of magical formulae or words of power to navigate the afterlife or spiritual realms. Passage A describes the gates of Sekhet-Aaru requiring specific names and phrases, while Passage B discusses the Kabalistic and Gnostic use of sacred words and their power in spiritual contexts.