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The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 21 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 5 (part 4)

38 In addition to the Seven Arits, and the Ten, Fourteen, or Twenty-one Gates (according to the manuscript authority followed), the Sekhet-Hetepet possessed Fourteen or Fifteen Aats, or Regions, each of which was presided over by a god. Their names, as given in the Papyrus of Nu, 1 are as follows:-- Aat I. AMENTET wherein a man lived on cakes and ale; its god was AMSU-QET, or MENU-QET. Aat II. SEKHET-AARU. Its walls are of iron. The wheat here is five cubits high, the barley Click to view Aat I . Click to view Aat II . is seven cubits high, and the Spirits who reap them are nine cubits high. The god of this Aat is RA-HERUKHUTI. Aat III. AATENKHU. Its god was OSIRIS or RA. Aat IV. TUI-QAUI-AAUI. Its god was SATI-TEMUI. Aat V. AATENKHU. The Spirits here live upon the inert and feeble. Its god was probably OSIRIS. p. 39 Click to view Aat III . Click to view Aat IV . Click to view Aat V . Aat VI. AMMEHET, which is presided over either by SEKHER-AT or SEKHER-REMUS. This was sacred to the gods, the Spirits could not find it out, and it was accursed for the dead. Aat VII. ASES, a region of burning, fiery flame, wherein the serpent REREK lives. Aat VIII. HA-HETEP, a region containing roaring torrents of water, and ruled over by a god called QA-HA-HETEP. A variant gives the name of this Aat as HA-SERT, and that of its god as FA-PET. Click to view Aat VI . Click to view Aat VII . Click to view Aat VIII . p. 40 Click to view Aat IX . Click to view Aat X . Aat IX. AKESI, a region which is unknown even to the gods; its god was MAA-THETEF, and its only inhabitant is the "god who dwelleth in his egg." Aat X. NUT-ENT-QAHU, i.e., the city of Qahu. It was also known by the name APT-ENT-QAHU. The gods of this region appear to have been NAU, KAPET, and NEHEB-KAU. Aat XI. ATU, the god of which was SEPT (Sothis). Aat XII. UNT, the god of which was HETEMET-BAIU; also called ASTCHETET-EM-AMENT. Click to view Aat XI . Click to view Aat XII . p. 41 Aat XIII. UART-ENT-MU: its deity was the hippopotamus-god called HEBT-RE-F. Aat XIV. The mountainous region of KHER-AHA, the god of which was HAP, the Nile. A brief examination of this list of Aats, or Regions, suggests that the divisions of Sekhet-hetepet given in it are arranged in order from south to north, for it is well known that Amentet, the first Aat, was entered from the neighbourbood of Thebes, and that the last-mentioned Aat, i.e., Kher-aha, represents a region quite Click to view Aat XIII . Click to view Aat XIV .
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Themes
Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The arrangement of afterlife regions is noted to follow a geographical order from south to north, mirroring earthly locations like Thebes.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

Aat IX is described as a region unknown even to the gods, indicating a realm of concealment.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

The text mentions regions that are accursed for the dead or contain burning flame, implying differentiated fates based on judgment.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

[auto] The passage explicitly details gates and sections of the afterlife from the Book of the Dead, serving as a guide for the deceased.

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Living Godtheology

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

The text describes gods actively presiding over and ruling specific regions of the afterlife.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

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

[auto] The text specifies structural numbers such as 'seven sections' and 'three attendants' governing the afterlife geography.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

[auto] The description of gates with attendants implies a guided passage through the realms of the dead.

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Sacred Namestheology

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

[auto] The text consists primarily of transliterated divine or gate names believed to hold power for passage in the Egyptian tradition.

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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] Passing through multiple gates to reach the 'land of the blessed' represents a staged journey through heavenly realms.

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