Hall of Maat and Mystical Death

The Hall of Maat

The Hall of Maat is mentioned frequently in the Egyptian ‘Book of the Dead’ and appears illustrated in many of the book’s vignettes. The ‘Book of the Dead’ is actually the name that modern researchers gave to a collection of papyri, found in many burial chambers, that was originally given the name by the Egyptians “spell for coming forth by day”. The ‘Book of the Dead’ contains, spells, incantations and instructions for the dead to pass safely into the after world and dwell in the Tuat (heavens) with Osiris.

The hall of Maat also called the hall of double Maat, as it is the hall of truth and justice is the place where the 42 Assessors or Lords of Maat reside and is where the deceased comes to face to face with judgement. There the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of the Goddess Maat, which represents truth. In some papyri it is the Goddess Maat the Goddess of truth and justice that weighs the heart of the deceased, and in some others it is Anubis the chief Assessor of Maat that weighs the heart.

According to the Gnostic teachings there are two types of death, that of the physical death and that of the psychological or mystical death. The Egyptian book of the dead can be seen in two ways, as a guide for the deceased – the person whose physical body has died or a guide for the person who is dying within themselves mystically or psychologically.

Mystical Death

It is worthwhile at this point to clarify what is meant by the psychological or mystical death. In Gnosis and in many different expressions of spiritual knowledge there has always been the teaching that the human being is divided, that within dwells both many errors or defects and something divine. The errors or defects were called the ‘Red Demons of Seth’ by the ancient Egyptians and in this day and age we refer to them as psychological aggregates or egos or “I’s”. The human being has many of these psychological “I’s” or egos that really are the cause of our pain and are the personification of our errors. If indeed we want to arrive at true liberation or enlightenment we need to dissolve the egos we have by first observing them and comprehending them. That process of dissolving our egos such as anger, envy, lust, Pride, laziness, gluttony etc. is what is called mystical death. It is something that any enlightened person has had to pass through. Jesus, Buddha, Hermes Trismegistus, Krishna etc. were all mystically dead, in other words they had all died to their vices, contradictions, desires, fantasies, ill will etc. etc.  

The Deceased Soul Enters the Hall of Maat

Gnosis teaches that once a person dies physically the essence or soul of the deceased after 3 days of a certain type of retrospection, appears before Anubis and the 42 assessors of Maat in the Hall of Maat. In the Gnosis teachings the Hall of Maat is referred to as the Palace of Cosmic Justice and the 42 assessors of Maat as the judges of the Divine law. After death in the hall of Maat the essence or soul is judged on the life just lived and the destiny of the soul is determined.

Three Possibilities After Physical Death

There are according to Gnosis three possibilities for the destiny of the soul after physical death. They are: to return once again to a womb and live another life on earth, or to remain in the superior dimensions of nature for sometime as a reward for the merit earned through good works done in life and then later to return to earth to live once again a human life or to be sent into an involutive or devolutive process in the bowels of the earth. This last option is referenced in the book of the dead in many of the weighing of the heart scenes, where the monster Ammit is waiting to devour the heart of the deceased, if the heart is found heavier than the feather meaning that the principles of the 42 assessors of Maat were not upheld.

In the sense of the mystical death that may well be arrived at a time before the physical death, the confessions of Nebseni are very relevant. To prove that the candidate or initiate is in fact mystically dead the initiate enters the hall of Maat or the tribunal of cosmic justice and faces each of the 42 judges and recites to each one the negative confession that pertains to them. See the back of this handout for a list of all the negative confessions, taken from the papyrus of Nebseni.

The esoteric Gnostic doctrine affirms that indeed the Hall of Maat is not a myth but rather a reality. Obviously if it existed physically the it would have found it by now, but it’s existence is to be found internally, in the superior dimensions of nature.  Gnosis says specifically in the Astral world.

In Conclusion

So, the following point and that of the mystical death are the most important points of this whole series of talks. That of the mystical death is really fundamental if we no longer want to suffer and if we truly want enlightenment and want to pay all of our karmic debts. The second point is to say that we are all under the law of karma or the law of cause and effect. Meaning that we have karmic debts where by the suffering we have caused in the past has to be repaid and the precise reason why we are suffering now, perhaps inexplicably is because of karma. Our karmic debts are repaid with good works and voluntary work dedicated to the dissolution of the ego that in the first place caused the error and therefore the debt.

We also want to say with this talk that our karma is managed by divinities (Anubis and the 42 Assessors of Maat) so we can using the right practices (of which Gnosis teaches) negotiate our karmic debts and if we know how to project ourselves into the Astral dimension or plane (Gnosis also teaches the methods to do this) we can learn about our karma and even negotiate it face to face in the Hall of Maat.

The 42 Negative Confessions

(From the Papyrus of Nebseni, British Museum No. 9, 900, sheet 30)

1.)            Hail, Usekh-nemmt, who comest forth from Anu, I have not committed sin.

2.)            Hail, Hept-Shet, who comest forth from Kher-aha, I have not robbed with violence.

3.)            Hail, Fenti, who comest forth from Khemenu, I have done no violence.

4.)            Hail, Am-khaibitu, who comest forth from Qerrt, I have not stolen.

5.)            Hail, Neha-hau, who comest forth from Rasta, I have not slain men.

6.)            Hail, Ruruti, who comest forth from heaven, I have not made light the bushel.

7.)            Hail, Arti-f-em-tes, who comest forth from Sekhem, I have not acted deceitfully.

8.)            Hail, Neba, who comest and goest, I have not stolen the property of the god.

9.)            Hail, Set-qesu, who comest forth from Hensu, I have not told lies.

10.)         Hail, Uatch-nesert, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have not carried away food.

11.)         Hail, Qerti, who comest forth from Amenti, I have not uttered evil words.

12.)         Hail, Hetch-abhu, who comest from Ta-she, I have attacked no man.

13.)         Hail, Unem-snef, who comest forth from the execution chamber, I have not salin a bull which was the property of the god.

14.)         Hail, Unem-besku, who comest [forth from the Mabet chamber], I have not acted deceitfully.

15.)         Hail, Neb-maat, who comest forth from Maati, I have not pillaged the lands which have been ploughed.

16.)         Hail, Thenemi, who comest forth from Bast, I have never pried into matters [to make mischief].

17.)         Hail, Aati, who comest forth from Anu, I have not set my mouth in motion.

18.)         Hail, Tutuf, who comest from from A, I have not been wroth except with reason.

19.)         Hail, Uamemti, who comest forth from the execution chamber, I have not debauched the wife of a man.

20.)         Hail, Maa-anuf, who comest forth from Per-Menu, I ahve not polluted myself.

21.)         Hail, Heri-uru, who comest forth from [Nehatu], I have terrorized no man.

22.)         Hail, Khemi, who comest forth from Ahaui, I have not made attacks.

23.)         Hail, Shet-kheru, who comest forth from Uri, I have not been a man of anger.

24.)         Hail, Nekhem, who comest forth from Heq-at, I have not turned a deaf ear to the words of truth.

25.)         Hail, Ser-Kheru, who comest forth from Unes, I have not stirred up strife.

26.)         Hail, Basti, who comest forth from Shetait, I have made none to weep.

27.)         Hail, Her-f-ha-f, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have not committed acts of sexual impurity, or lain with men.

28.)         Hail, Ta-ret, who comest forth from Akhkhu, I have not eaten my heart.

29.)         Hail, Kenmti, who comest forth from Kenmet, I have cursed no man.

30.)         Hail, An-hetep-f, who comest forth from Sau, I have not acted in a violent or oppressive manner.

31.)         Hail, Neb-heru, who comest forth from Tchefet, I have not acted [or judged] hastily.

32.)         Hail, Serekhi, who comest forth from Unth, I have not.... my hair, I have not harmed the god.

33.)         Hail, Neb-abui, who comest forth from Sauti, I have not multiplied my speech overmuch.

34.)         Hail, Nefer-Tem, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have not acted with deciet, I have not worked wickedness.

35.)         Hail, Tem-Sep, who comest forth from Tetu, I have not done things to effect the cursing of [the king].

36.)         Hail, Ari-em-ab-f, who comest forth from Tebti, I have not stopped the flow of water.

37.)         Hail, Ahi-mu, who comest forth from Nu, I have not raised my voice.

38.)         Hail, Utu-rekhit, who comest forth from thy house, I have not cursed God.

39.)         Hail, Neheb-Nefert, who comest forth from the Lake of Nefer, I have not acted with insufferable insolence.

40.)         Hail, Neheb-kau, who comest forth from [thy] city, I have not sought to make myself unduly distinguished.

41.)         Hail, Tcheser-tep, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have not increased my wealth except through such things are [justly] my own possessions.

42.)         Hail, An-a-f, who comest forth from Auker, I have not scorned [or treated with contempt] the god of my town.