Ancient Egypt is credited with having one of the most complex and beautiful
spiritual traditions of the ancient world. Ruled over by a powerful set of deities,
the Egyptians are often looked at as people who revered life but knew
it to be but a stepping stone to eternal paradise with the gods. But to get there,
they would first have to have their heart weighed by the god of the underworld, Anubis.
Join us in this video as we explore the depths of the mystery surrounding one of
Ancient Egypt's most prominent deities. Is it really possible that the Ancient
Egyptians knew the secret to obtain a pleasant experience in the afterlife? Could a peaceful
and loving existence on earth take us there, and just how did Anubis and Osiris judge one's
heart? Let's find out! The Creation Of Anubis
Anubis is one of the most mysterious yet best-known deities of Ancient Egypt. Often
portrayed as a man with the head of a jackal or simply a jackal itself;
he is always painted in black; a colour that represents life, regeneration,
and the soil of the Nile river. It’s thought Anubis is one of the oldest
deities and was worshipped as far back as the first dynasty some 5000 years ago.
While little surviving legends exist of his origin, in some texts, he’s portrayed as the
son of RA. Whereas in Coffin Texts, he’s said to have been the son of either the
cow goddess Hesat or the cat-headed Bastet. But the most likely origin is that Anubis was
the illegitimate son of Nepthys and Osiris and was later adopted by Osiris’ wife, Isis.
Anubis is a Greek rendition of the deity's Egyptian name, Anpu. The root
of the name is said to mean royal child. He has various other names throughout the texts,
including Lord of the Sacred Land or First of the Westerners. Both seem to point to Anubis
being a highly sacred deity in charge of the land where the gods originate
far to the west. Duties of Anubis
According to surviving legends, he was the first Egyptian God of the underworld
before being later replaced by Osiris. Anubis was also thought to have invented
the mummification process that would last for the entirety of Egyptian civilization.
In the Osiris myth, it is Anubis who helps Isis to embalm her deceased husband. It’s even
said that Anubis was gifted the organs of Osiris after the process as a gift,
further implying he was the patron deity of embalmers.
Anubis was also the proctor of graves and cemeteries, but his most important role was
that of guiding the deceased souls on a journey from the underworld to the afterlife. In Egyptian
beliefs, the spirit or soul of those who had recently passed would embark on a dangerous
journey to receive a final judgment from the gods. The Weighing Of The Heart
To reach what the Ancient Egyptians referred to as the paradise of the Fields of Reeds,
otherwise known as the land of the gods, they would first have to pass through a
trial held by a few deities that Anubis oversaw. As the deceased soul parted this
world and began their journey to the next, they would arrive at The Hall of Truth. It
was here that the sacred process of weighing the heart would take place.
When it came to the judgement of the deceased, their heart,
which the Egyptians believed to be the centre of memory and identity,
would be weighed against a feather. To the Egyptians, the feather represents the
concept of truth and order. Anubis would carefully supervise this ordeal and check
the balance to ensure that the person's heart was, in fact, the same weight as the feather.
The weighing of the feather was the most sacred part of the journey, but even if
they passed this test, a few more steps would soon follow. At a crucial point of the process,
Anubis would have to vouch for the deceased and ultimately play a significant role in
what would happen to their soul. To do so, he would invoke his canine nature.
In front of the council of gods, Anubis would first sniff the deceased,
and if they have the pleasant aroma of the gods, this would then suggest they belonged
to live among them. Anubis would then go on to ask the deceased a handful of questions,
and when they were answered, only then would they be permitted to pass into the land of the gods.
Many Egyptians had their own personal bible that prepared them for these trials and gave
them an advantage in the day of judgment. More details about these very curious processes in
the Egyptian culture can be found in our video : “Book of the Dead - the Bible of Ancient Egypt”
How One May Achieve A Light Heart
The Ancient Egyptian's religious belief system covered almost every
aspect of life and even provided a guide on achieving a light heart. First and foremost,
one maintained a light heart by embracing gratitude for all they had been given
in life and disregarding negative thoughts centred on what others had. To the Egyptians,
ingratitude was considered a heavy sin and would direct one down a dark path of selfishness.
Sin to the Egyptians was understood as thoughts and actions that went against
the sacred values of Ma’at. This ultimately led to a separation from others and the
gods themselves. The worst sin of all was covetousness, as it expressed an illicit
desire for the gifts possessed by another, which in itself led back to ingratitude.
The work known as the Instruction of Ptah-Hotep, one of the oldest of the Wisdom Texts of ancient
Egypt, expressly warns against covetousness, citing its dangers and consequences:
“Covetousness made the soul heavy with sin because it encouraged pettiness, jealousy,
self-pity and, especially, expressed ingratitude. These sins made impressions on the soul,
which weighed down the soul's "heart" and made it impossible for one to pass through
the Hall of Truth and find paradise. This was a major concern for the ancient Egyptians,
who understood that their life on earth was only one part of
a much longer and grander journey” The Soul, Sacred Texts, and Prayers
The Ancient Egyptians took their religious and spiritual beliefs seriously,
and the entire civilization believed in the teachings. All would agree on
the idea that an individual's soul was immortal and part of an eternal
being whose life on earth was but a part of a large and grander journey.
So this is why the Egyptians followed the rules of Ma’at, to ensure that when the
time came to pass over from this world to the next, the weighing of their heart would
allow them to proceed into the Field of Reeds. But after passing through the Hall of Truth,
the judgment of Anubis, and onwards to paradise, there was one final step.
The ancient Egyptians recognized that when the soul first awoke in the afterlife,
it would be disoriented and might not remember its life on earth, death, or what it was to do next.
In order to help the soul continue on its journey, artists and scribes would create paintings and
text related to one's life on the walls of one's tomb, now known as the Pyramid Texts,
which then developed into the Coffin Texts and the famous Egyptian Book of the Dead.
The Pyramid texts are the oldest religious works from ancient Egypt and among the oldest
in the world, being dated to around 2400 BCE. This collection of writings,
alongside its successors the Coffin Texts and The Egyptian Book of the Dead,
all serve the same purpose: to remind the soul of its life on earth,
comfort its distress and disorientation, and direct it on how to proceed in the afterlife.
Let us know what you think about today's video in the comments section. Do you think Anubis
could be based on a real figure who presides over the gates to the Egyptian afterlife? And
will we all have to weigh our hearts against a feather someday? Leave all your thoughts below.
As always, thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time.