The Egyptian Book Of The Dead

Ancient Egyptians imagined the afterlife as a kind of hazardous journey you had to make to get to paradise. Presented in a pocket format, Egyptian Book of the Dead is an ideal resource of esoteric wisdom for anyone interested in Ancient Egyptian notions of death and the path to the afterlife.

Ancient Egyptians imagined the afterlife as a kind of journey you had to make to get to paradise – but it was quite a hazardous journey so you would need help along the way. So spells and magic formulas written on papyrus were placed in coffins and burial chambers and believed to protect and aid the deceased in duat, or the underworld. These funerary texts were developed over many centuries into individualized collections known as the Book of the Dead. One of the best-known versions, the ‘Papyrus of Ani’, is featured here. Some 192 spells are known, although no single manuscript contains them all. The spells are designed to give the dead mystical knowledge in the afterlife, offer incantations to help preserve different parts of the deceased, and protect the dead from hostile forces. Some of the spells are to make sure you can control your own body after death. The ancient Egyptians believed that a person was made up of different elements: body, spirit, name, heart, all embodiments of a person, and they were afraid that these elements would disperse when you died. Presented in a pocket flexibound format with accompanying illustrations, Egyptian Book of the Dead is an ideal resource of esoteric wisdom for anyone interested in Ancient Egyptian notions of death and the path to the afterlife.

Introduction

From the Papyrus of Ani:

HYMN TO OSIRIS

A HYMN OF PRAISE TO RA WHEN HE RISETH IN THE EASTERN PART OF HEAVEN

HYMN TO OSIRIS UN-NEFER

THE CHAPTERS OF COMING FORTH BY DAY

TEXTS RELATING TO THE WEIGHING OF THE HEART OF ANI

THE SEVEN ARITS

THE PYLONS OF THE HOUSE OF OSIRIS

THE PRIESTS ANMUTEF AND SAMEREF

THE SOLAR LITANY

THE CHAPTER OF THE NEW MOON

THE NEGATIVE CONFESSION

ADDRESS TO THE GODS OF THE TUAT

THE CHAPTER OF REPULSING SLAUGHTER IN HENSU

THE TEXTS IN THE FUNERAL CHAMBER

Amber Books Ltd is an independent illustrated non-fiction publisher based in London, UK.

Pocket format book describing Ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife