The 42 Judges of the Maat Group The 42 judges of Maat were ancient Egyptian gods who presided over the judgment of the dead in the Hall of Truth under the command of Osiris the Ruler of the Underworld. They were associated with Maat, the goddess of truth, justice, and order, who was often depicted with an ostrich feather on her head. The feather was used as a symbol of Maat and a measure of the heart of the deceased in the legendary hall of Truth with the blessings of deities. The judgment of the dead was a process in which the soul of the deceased had to prove its innocence before Osiris and his court. The soul had to recite a negative confession, a list of 42 sins that it had not committed in life, corresponding to each of the 42 judges. The 42 is a reference to each of the pieces which Set cut down from the dead body of Osiris and then scattered across the Nile River. Each piece represents a judge who is under the cosmic wisdom of Maat. The judges had different names and origins, some representing regions of Egypt, others representing aspects of nature or morality. The soul also had to undergo a test of the heart, in which Anubis, the god of mummification and embalming, weighed the heart against the feather of Maat on a scale. If the heart was lighter than the feather, it meant that the soul was pure and truthful and could enter the paradise of the Field of Reeds, a perfect reflection of life on earth. If the heart was heavier than the feather, it meant that the soul was guilty and sinful and would be devoured by Ammit, a monstrous creature with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. The 42 judges of Maat played an important role in ancient Egyptian religion and morality, as they represented the ideals and values that every Egyptian had to follow in order to achieve eternal life. The negative confession was not only a ritual for the afterlife but also a guide for living a righteous life on earth.

The Gated Deities

The Gate Egyptian deities were a group of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses who guarded the gates of the underworld. They were associated with the twelve hours of the night and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each gate had a different name and was protected by three deities: one who faced the east, one who faced the west, and one who faced inward. The names and attributes of these deities varied according to different sources. The Gate deities played an important role in the journey of the deceased through the underworld. They were the key to the knowledge and purity of the soul by asking questions or demanding passwords. If the soul passed the test, it was allowed to proceed to the next gate. If not, it was devoured by Ammit, the Eater of Hearts. The minor gods acted as true guardians, their image was found across a number of great temples and tombs like Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and more plus mentioned in great detail across the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Gates, funerary texts that describe the appearance and names of these deities in detail which show the seven gates of the House of Osiris in the underworld and the 21 portals of the House of Osiris in the Field of Reeds.