"To
the visionary, effect precedes its cause.
And the facade of coincidence appears in factions/fractions, as the Whole is a
pattern of Omnipotence,
incomprehensible in its Totality."
Maát
is ethical principles that govern the Kosmos, galaxies, universe and the
world(s) collectively embracing the values of truth, justice, harmony,
balance, cosmological order, reciprocity, charity and propriety.
Personified
as a goddess, Maát is depicted as a woman wearing an ostrich feather on her
head, a symbol of the principles she represents. Controlling the movement of
the stars and the seasonal flooding of the Nile River, Maát also had codes of
tradition and customs. For all Khemetans (Egyptians) to live in a happy,
prosperous and peaceful environment, they had to live within the order
established by Maát. The Shekem/Sheket (vehicle through which the Most High
makes their wishes known and realized/pharaoh), as absolute ruler, was the
individual most responsible to manifest in life, through all his actions, the
entire concept of Maát. Deviation from the tenets of Maát could prove
disastrous for the Sheket/Shekem (priest/priestess/pharaoh).
Maát
was central to funerary practices in which if the deceased had been found to
not have followed the concept of Maát during his life (if he had lied or
cheated or killed or done anything against Maát) his heart was devoured by a
demon (she was called Ammut
-- Devouress of the Dead) and he died the final death. If the heart
weighed the same as Maát, the deceased was allowed to go on to the afterlife.
The heart of a person was considered the center of intellect and memory.
NOTE:
This
symbolic weighing of the heart against the feather of truth (Maát) was
performed to established the righteousness of the deceased. The scale of Maát
was balanced after the recitation of the 42 Declarations of Innocence or
Admonitions of Maát from the tomb of a Nubian. Book of Coming Forth by Day
and by Night (Book of the Dead of Maiherperi):
This
is to said before the Forty-two goddesses on reaching the Hall of the Two
Truths so as to purge (name) of any transgressions (sins) committed and to
see the face of every goddess:
The
Judgment of the Dead
The
Declaration of Innocence
Hail
to you, great Most High of the Two Truths!
i
have come to you, my Goddess,
i
was brought to see your beauty.
i
know you, i know the names of the forty-two goddesses,
Who
are with you in the Hall of the Two Truths,
Who
live by warding off evildoers,
Who
drink of their blood,
On
that day of judging characters before Wennofer.
Lo,
your name is "She-of-Two-Daughters,"
(And)
"He-of-Maat's-Two-Eyes."
Lo,
i come before you,
Bringing
Ma'at to you,
Having
repelled evil for you.
42
Declarations of Innocence or Admonitions of Maát
1.
i have not committed transgression (sin).
2.
i have not committed robbery with violence.
3.
i have not stolen.
4.
i have not slain men and females (women).
5.
i have not stolen grain.
6.
i have not purloined offerings.
7.
i have not stolen the property of the Goddess/God.
8.
i have not uttered lies.
9.
i have not carried away food.
10.
i have not uttered curses.
11.
i have not committed adultery, i have not lain with men.
12.
i have made none to weep.
13.
i have not eaten the heart.
14.
i have not attacked any female (woman)/man.
15.
i am not a man of deceit.
16.
i have not stolen cultivated land.
17.
i have not been an eavesdropper.
18.
i have not slandered [no female (woman)/man].
19.
i have not been angry without just cause.
20.
i have not debauched the wife/husband of any female (woman)/man.
21.
i have not debauched the wife of [any] man.
22.
i have not polluted myself.
23.
i have terrorized none.
24.
i have not transgressed [the law].
25.
i have not been wroth.
26.
i have not shut my ears to the words of truth.
27.
i have not blasphemed.
28.
i am not a man of violence.
29.
i have not been a stirrer up of strife.
30.
i have not acted with undue haste.
31.
i have not pried into matters.
32.
i have not multiplied my words in speaking.
33.
i have wronged none, i have done no evil.
34.
i have not worked witchcraft against the king.
35.
i have never stopped [the flow of] water.
36.
i have never raised my voice.
37.
i have not cursed the Goddesses/God.
38.
i have not acted with arrogance.
39.
i have not stolen the bread of the goddesses/gods.
40.
i have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead.
41.
i have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the
god of my city.
42.
i have not slain the cattle belonging to the goddess/god.
The
Declaration to the Forty-two Goddesses
O
Wide-of-stride who comes from On: i have not done evil.
O
Flame-grasper who comes from Kheraha: i have not robbed.
O
Long-nosed who comes from Khbmun: i have not coveted.
O
Shadow-eater who comes from the cave: i have not stolen.
O
Savage-faced who comes from Rostau: i have not killed people.
O
Lion-Twins who come from heaven: i have not trimmed the measure.
O
Flint-eyed who comes from Khem: i have not cheated.
O
Fiery-one who comes backward: i have not stolen a goddess'/god's property.
O
Bone-smasher who comes from Hnes: i have not told lies.
O
Flame-thrower who comes from Memphis: i have not seized food.
O
Cave-dweller who comes from the west: i have not sulked.
O
White-toothed who comes from Lakeland: i have not trespassed.
O
Blood-eater who comes from slaughterplace: i have not slain sacred cattle.
O
Entrall-eater who comes from the tribunal: i have not extorted.
O
Lord of Ma'at who comes from Maaty: i have not stolen bread rations.
O
Wanderer who comes from Bubastis: i have not spied.
O
Pale-one who comes from On: i have not prattled.
O
Villain who comes from Anjdty: i have contended only for my goods.
O
Fiend who comes from slaughterhouse: i have not committed adultery.
O
Examiner who comes from Min's temple: i have not defiled myself.
O
Chief of the nobles who comes from Imu: i have not caused fear.
O
Wrecker who comes from Huy: i have not trespassed.
O
Disturber who comes from the sanctuary: i have not been violent.
O
Child who comes from the nome of On: i have not been deaf to Ma'at.
O
Foreteller who comes from Wensi: i have not quarreled.
O
Bastet who comes from the shrine: i have not winked.
O
Backward-faced who comes from the pit: i have not copulated with a boy.
O
Flame-footed who comes from the dusk: i have not been false.
O
Dark-one who comes from darkness: i have not reviled.
O
Peace-bringer who comes from Sais: i have not been aggressive.
O
Many-faced who comes from Djefet: i have not had a hasty heart.
O
Accuser who comes from Utjen: i have not attacked and reviled a god.
O
Horned-one who comes from Siut: i have not made many words.
O
Nefertem who comes from Memphis: i have not sinned, i have not done wrong.
O
Timeless-one who comes from Djedu: i have not made trouble.
O
Willful-one who comes from Tjebu: i have not waded in water.
O
Flowing-one who comes from Nun: i have not raised my voice.
O
Commander of people who comes from his shrine: i have not cursed a god.
O
Benefactor who comes from Huy: i have not been boastful.
O
Nehebkau who comes from the city: i have not been haughty.
O
High-of-head who comes from the cave: i have not wanted more than i had.
O
Captor who comes from the graveyard: i have not cursed the goddess/god in my town.
OVERVIEW:
The
Devotees (students) aim in ancient Kemet (Egypt) was for a person to
become "One with the Goddess." The path to the development of
goddess-like qualities was through the development of virtues. These
virtues were sought by the Kemites (Egyptians) to become one with Maát
(the kosmic order).
Control
of thoughts;
Control
of actions;
Devotion
of purpose;
Have
faith in the ability of your teacher to teach you the truth;
Have
faith in yourself to assimilate the truth;
Have
faith in yourself to wield the truth;
Be
free from resentment under the experience of persecution;
Be
free from resentment under the experience of wrong;
Cultivate
the ability to distinguish between right and wrong; and
Cultivate
the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal
Words of Power: spiritual: shring;
planetary: aung, grang, gring, graung.
Spiritual Direction: southeast;
Mundane direction: west
Traits: Just, equlibrated, wholistic,
generous, sharing, optimistic, liberal, magnanimous, moral sense, striving for
advancement and wealth in a positive socialistic/communalistic,
non-capitalistic way; spiritual, fortunate, law abiding, fair, charitable,
deferring to Elders, no trafficking with evil, grateful, prudent, faithful,
loving, spiritual advancement, synthesis - gaining insight into things by
unifying them through the use of abstract analogies; hence well fitted for
philosophical, and theoretical scientific, spiritual pursuits. Divine law and
order.
Appearance: A melaninated female/woman
wearing a crown surmounted by a huge ostrich feather. Her totem symbol is a
stone platform or foundation, representing the stable base on which order is
built.
Description: Ma'at was the
personification of the fundamental order of the universe, without which all of
creation would perish. The primary duty of the Shekem (pharaoh) was to uphold
this order by maintaining the law and administering justice. To reflect this,
many pharaohs took the title "Beloved of Ma'at," emphasizing their
focus on justice and truth.
At any event in which something
would be judged, Ma'at was said to be present, and her name would be invoked
so that the judge involved would rule correctly and impartially. In the
underworld, the heart of the deceased was weighed by Anubis
against Ma'at's feather. If the heart was heavy with wicked deeds, it would
outweigh the feather, and the soul would be fed to Ammit.
But if the scales were balanced, indicating that the deceased was a just and
honorable person in life, he would be welcomed by Ausar (Osiris)
into the Blessed Land. Maat's presence in all worlds was universal, and all
the goddesses/gods deferred to her.
Worship: Worshipped and revered
widely throughout all of Khemet (Egypt). Even the gods are shown praising
Ma'at.
42
Declarations of Innocence or Admonitions of Maát
