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The Egyptian Heaven and Hell · 93 of 96 · tr. E.A. Wallis Budge

Chapter 29 (part 2)

The mummified form in which the dead Sun-god travelled through the Tuat is now useless, and we see it cast aside and lying against the wall which divides the Tuat from this world; that there shall be no doubt about this it is described by the words "Image (or, form) Of AF." Turning now to the beings who are on the right and left of the path of the god, we see in the upper register twelve goddesses, each of whom bears on her shoulders a serpent which produces light by belching fire from its mouth (vol. i., pp. 265, 266); these drive away APEP, and frighten the beings of darkness by their fires. Next to these are twelve gods who sing praises at dawn to the god, whom they assert to be "self-begotten" and the author of his own being, and they rejoice because at his new birth his soul will be in heaven, and his body on earth. These gods are indeed spirits of the East, and they are declared to have jurisdiction over the gods of the "land of the turquoise," i.e., Sinai. In the lower register we have a company of twenty-three gods (vol. i., pp. 271-274) who stand in the sky ready to receive Ra when he appears, and to praise him; some of them drive APEP to "the p. 195 back of the sky," some support the Great Disk in the sky, and the duty of one of them, who is called SENMEKHEF and appears in the form of a serpent, is to burn up the enemies of Ra at dawn. Thus the Sun-god passed out of the Tuat even as he entered it, with praises, and as he did so he bade farewell to Osiris, the Lord of the Tuat, under one of whose forms he had completed successfully his journey, in these words:--"Life to thee, O thou who art over the darkness! Life [to thee]! in all thy majesty. Life to thee! O KHENTI-A-AMENTET-OSIRIS, who art over the beings of Amentet. Life to thee! Life to thee O thou who art over the Tuat. The winds of Ra are in thy nostrils, and the nourishment of Khepera is with thee. Thou livest, and ye live. Hail to Osiris, the lord of the living, that is to say, of the gods who are with Osiris, and who came into being with him the first time." Eastern Vestibule of the Tuat According to the Book of Gates
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] Divine beings are described with human or animal forms, holding standards, hands, and disks within the narrative.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The text highlights the ongoing struggle between the order of the gods and the chaotic force represented by the fettered serpent Apep.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The text mentions the god appearing in the sky and references the Antechamber of the World of Light in the chapter header.

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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 passage references the punishment of enemies and the damned, contrasting this kingdom with others where such judgment occurs.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

[auto] The passage describes the Book of Gates, a primary text designed to guide the deceased through the specific divisions of the underworld.

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Living Godtheology

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

[auto] Deities are portrayed as active, dynamic agents who enter divisions, tow others, and prepare to attack enemies.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The text explicitly mentions invoking spirits and singing hymns to praise the god.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

[auto] The god is depicted being towed by other deities and guarded by forms, illustrating a guided passage through afterlife realms.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

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

The narrative follows the progression from the Fourth Tuat up to the appearance in the sky of this world.

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