The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 47 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge
Chapter 9 (part 1)
p.
111 CHAPTER VI.
SECOND DIVISION OF THE TUAT.
I.
THE KINGDOM OF KHENTI-AMENTI-OSIRIS ACCORDING TO THE BOOK AM-TUAT.
THE god AFU-Ra now enters the region URNES which derives its name from that of the river flowing through it; it is 309, or 480 atru or leagues in length, and 120 wide.
URNES is a portion of the dominions of OSIRIS-KHENTI-AMENTI, the great god of Abydos, and it, no doubt, formed a section of the SEKHET-HETEPET according to the old theology of Egypt.
The Boat Of AFU-Ra is now under the direction of the goddess of the second hour of the night, SHESAT-MAKET-NEB-S, and the uraei of Isis and Nephthys have been added to its crew.
Immediately in front of it are four boats, which move by themselves; the first contains the full moon, of which Osiris was a form, the second the emblem of a deity of harvest, the third the symbols of another agricultural deity, and the fourth the Grain-god personified.
All four boats contain either forms or symbols of Osiris, in his different aspects, as the god of ploughing, sowing, and reaping, and of the p.
112 grain from the time when it germinates to the season of harvest.
When AFU-RA has come into URNES, he addresses the gods of the region, who are called "BAIU-TUATIU," and tells them to open their doors so that they may receive air, and fresh food, and fresh water, in return for the deeds of valour which they have done on behalf of AFU-RA.
It seems that at one portion of this Division the followers of Osiris and RA had to do battle against Apep and his friends, and that in return for their services the god gave them places here in which to dwell, with an abundance of wheat and barley, etc.
The gods in reply welcome AFU-RA, and beg him to dissipate the darkness in Amenti, and to slay the serpents HAU and NEHA-HRA (vol.
i., p.
40); they promise that those who guide his boat shall destroy APEP, that Osiris shall come to meet him and shall avenge him, and that he shall rest in Ament, and shall appear in the East the following morning under the form of KHEPERA.
After this speech they lead AFU-RA into a state of peace in SEKHET-EN-PERTIU, the "Field of the Gods of grain," wherein are the boats of the Grain-gods already described.
In this fair haven AM-RA rests, and every follower of Osiris hoped to follow his example.
If we consider for a moment the group of divine beings which stands on each bank of the river URNES it becomes evident that each god or goddess belongs to p.
113 the company of Osiris.
To the right of the boat stand six gods, who either hold or wear an ear of corn and are connected with the growth of the grain (vol.
i., p.
31), gods armed with knives, and connected with the harvest, gods of the seasons, each holding a notched palm-stick, the god of the year, the gods of SOTHIS and ORION (vol.
i., p.
32) Osiris-Unnefer, Akhabit, Anubis, the "Eater of the Ass," 1 etc.
To the left of the Boat are six deities, each with a phallus in the form of a knife, the double god HORUS-SET (Vol.
i., p.
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.
Twelve gods are mapped to the Twelve Hours of Day and Night, reflecting cosmic structure.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The gods of the Mountain are described as offspring of Ra who emerged from his eye.
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 references the Kingdom of Khenti-Amenti-Osiris and divisions of the Tuat, realms associated with post-mortem judgment.
[auto] The passage explicitly describes the journey through underworld divisions (ARRIT, SECOND DIVISION) and mentions the dead left behind, central to Egyptian afterlife texts.