The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 45 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge
Chapter 8 (part 3)
AFU-RA), twelve goddesses, who open the gates in the earth, twelve goddesses, who guide the god, and nine gods, "who praise Ra" (vol.
i., pp.
9-11).
So soon as AFU-RA has entered this DIVISION (ARRIT) he calls upon the gods to let him proceed, and he asks for light and guidance from them; he bids one set of apes to open the doors to him, and the other to welcome him.
As he is provided not only with the word of power, but has also the knowledge how to utter it, the gods straightway bid him enter the place where OSIRIS p.
108 [paragraph continues] KHENTI-AMENTI dwells.
The serpent goddesses sing hymns to him, and they lighten the darkness by pouring out fire from their mouths, the god takes possession of the grain which is in NET-RA, his word has its due effect upon every one, and the punishments which he adjudges to the condemned are carried out duly.
As for the dead who are in this DIVISION they do not journey on with the god, but they are left behind (vol.
i., p.
8), and when they see him pass through the fortified gate which guards the entrance to the SECOND DIVISION "they wail" (vol.
i., p.
20).
The texts say nothing about the actual condition of the dead whom AFU-RA leaves behind him, and nothing of the place, or places, whence they came; we can only assume that they are those who for some reason or other have failed to obtain a seat in the BOAT of the god.
They must not be confounded with the gods and goddesses and apes who are in attendance upon AFU-RA, for these are, in reality, officers of the Division whose duty it is to escort him to the Gate of the Second Division, and then to return to their places to await his return the following evening.
In return for their services they receive food and drink by the command of the god.
As the Boat of AFU-RA was assumed by the priests of Amen-Ra to begin its journey through the Tuat at Thebes, and as we are expressly told that the god was obliged to pass over a space of 120 or 220 atru , or leagues, before he came to the dwellers in the Tuat, it is probable that the first p.
109 group of dead are those who entered the Tuat through the opening in the mountains behind Abydos, which was called the "GAP." The oldest god of the dead of Abydos was KHENTI-AMENTI, i.e., Governor of Amenti, AMENTI, i.e., the "hidden" land, being a name for the Underworld, or Other World," in general.
This being so, it is clear that when AFU-RA came to the end of the FIRST DIVISION of the Tuat he arrived at the beginning of the dominions of KHENTI-AMENTI, whose attributes became absorbed subsequently into those of OSIRIS.
In the BOOK OF GATES the FIRST DIVISION is depicted in a different manner.
The BOAT OF THE SUN is seen passing through the mountain of the horizon, which is divided into two parts; the god appears in the form of a beetle within a disk, which is surrounded by a serpent with voluminous folds.
The only gods with him in the boat are SA and HEKA, here the personifications of the intelligence and the word of power.
The duty of SA is to make all plans for the god's journey, and HEKA will utter the words of power which will enable him to overcome all opposition.
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
The Sun-god transforms from a fiery disk into the form of Osiris (AFU) to navigate the underworld.
The Egyptian principle of truth, balance, and right order underlying both the cosmos and human conduct; the parallel to Zoroastrian asha and Greek dike.
The structured journey through the Tuat reflects the Egyptian principle of cosmic order and right conduct.
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The text states those who wish to become what Osiris became must enter the Tuat as dead bodies with his attributes.
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
Magical formulae are recited by gods to ensure the successful performance of the journey through the divine realm.