Afternoon Prayer VI

This prayer is put into the mouth of the deceased when he is standing in the Hall of Judgment watching the weighting of his heart in the Great Scales by Anubis and Thoth, in the presence of the Great Company of the gods and Osiris. He says:

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My heart, my mother.

My heart, my mother.

My heart, whereby I came into being.

Let none stand up to oppose me at my judgment.

May there be no opposition to me in the presence of the sovereign princes of Osiris.

May there be no parting of you from me in the presence of The Keeper Of The Balance.

You are my Ka (i.e. spiritual Double, or inner vital power), the dweller in my body, the god Khnemu who knitted me together and strengthened my limbs.

May you come forth into the place of happiness where we now go.

May the Shenit (i.e., the divine officers of the court of Osiris), who form the conditions of the lives of men, not cause my name to stink.

Let it be satisfactory unto us, and let the listening be satisfactory unto us, and let there be joy of heart unto us at the Weighing of Words (i.e. the Great Judgement).

Let not that which is false be uttered against me before the Great God [Osiris], the Lord of Amentet.

How great you shall be when you rise up again in triumph, having been declared as a speaker of the Truth!

~ the Egyptian Book of the Dead

[Art: Hall of Judgement at the weighing of the heart. Sheet 15 in the Papyrus of Ani (oldest known copy of The Book Of The Dead); British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 15. Date: 1250 B.C.

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