Egypt Legends

The Magician's Journey to the Underworld, The Duat

Se-Osiris, Egypt's Greatest Magician, Travels to the Land of the Dead

Se-Osiris, Egypt's greatest magician, and his father Setna saw two funeral processions pass by. One was the funeral of a poor man with only his family to mourn him. The other was the long funeral procession of a rich man which sparkled with the gold of the coffin and the ornaments of the mourners.

Setna began to praise the beauty of the stately procession, but his son commented that the funeral of the poor man was more worthy.

"Why?" asked Setna.

"Because," replied Se-Osiris, "the poor man will most likely be judged favorably in the Judgement Hall of Osiris, but the rich man is sure to have a heavy burden of evil on his heart. The rich man's heart will probably tip the scale when it is weighed against the feather of Maat."

"Is not the wealth of the man, proof of his status and his good works for the Pharaoh?"

"Perhaps, but his status here will do nothing to save him in the Hall of Judgement. However, if you doubt me, we can see the outcome for this wealthy man, for I know the words of power to open the gates of the Duat. I can tranform you and me into our Ba form, and we can fly beside this man as he journeys through the Duat to the Hall of Judgement."

Setna feared that this magic was too dangerous. What if they could not return, once they entered the Duat. Therefore, he followed his son into the Temple of Osiris with fear.

As Ramesses' son and grandson, none barred them from the sanctuary. Once inside, Se-Osiris drew a magic circle around the alter and the statue of Osiris and motioned his father to step inside with him. He threw a magic powder into the flames on the alter and spoke the magic word of power. The Temple rocked as if an earthquake had struck and the flames on the alter leapt to the ceiling and then died down.

In the darkness, Setna saw two glowing forms standing beside Osiris, each with a flame tongue hovering over his head. It was his own Ka and the Ka of Se-Osiris, and the flame of their souls hovered over their body doubles. In the shadows he saw two bodies lying still. And he recognized himself and his son.

"Come, Father,"Said Se-Osiris,"for we must complete our journey before the sun rises again, or we will dwell in Duat forever."

"Lead the way," he said, as he floated upward on the smoke of the alter fire, following his son.

The souls of father and son sped across the western landscape at supernatural speed until they flew through the gap in the western mountains of Abydos into the First Region of the Night. There the glorious Mesektet Boat of Ra was waiting to gather all the souls of the dead of that day.

The boat sparkled with gold and precious jewels. Gods walked along the banks of the River of Death, pulling the Boat of Ra toward the open gates of the Duat. Six serpents were curled on either side of the gate and they hissed as the Boat with it's souls traveled by. The Ba's of Setna and Se-Osiris floated after it.

The door to the Second Region of the Night was guarded by fire breathing serpents and had many sharp spear points afixed to the top so that none could climb back. And the souls of the dead in the Boat chanted the proscribed words and the door opened to reveal the Kingdom of Ra where the old gods dwelt, but the souls could only marvel at the sights along the banks because they must travel on into Amenti, the Third Region, where Osiris sat in the Hall of Judgement.

The doors to the Third Region were terrible because their pivots were seated in the eye sockets of two men who had done much evil while on the earth.

Continued....

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