The Ancient Egyptians’ complex beliefs of life, death and afterlife evolved over thousands of years. Life was only one part of an eternal journey and didn’t end in death, but in an eternal joy. One was born by the goodwill of the Seven Hathors, who decreed ones’ fate after birth. 
The soul was to live a life as good a as it could in the body it had been given for a time, so when death came, it would transition to another realm where, if one was deemed good by the gods, one would live eternally in a paradise known as The Field of Reeds.
The Field of Reeds, known to the Egyptians as A'aru, was a mirror image of one's life on earth, so the aim of every ancient Egyptian was to make that life worth living eternally.
The board game of Senet was very popular and represented one's journey in life to eternity.
The board game of Senet was very popular and represented one's journey in life to eternity.
The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with life and tried living it exuberantly. Egyptian festivals encouraged living life to its fullest and appreciating the moments one had with family and friends. Egyptians were grateful for the life they were given and everything in it.
Gods were considered friends and patrons. Hathor was present in festivals, weddings and funerals. She opened the door to the afterlife. Selket, Nephthys and Qebhet guided the newly arrived soul in the afterlife. Anubis, Thoth and Osiris judged, rewarded or punished the soul.
Egyptians had protocols for burials and funerary rituals to ensure one’s existence in the afterlife. Mummification transformed the corpse into a new body, needed for the soul to rise again. Spells, images on tomb walls and amulets were provided to remind the soul of its journey.
The soul would make its way toward the Hall of Truth, where it waited in line with others for judgment. The soul had to make the Negative Confessions, a list of 42 sins against ones’ self, others, or the gods (I had not ...) in front of Osiris, Thoth, Anubis, and the 42 Judges.
After the Negative Confessions were made, Osiris, Thoth, Anubis, and the 42 Judges would confer. If the confessions were found acceptable then the soul would present its heart to Osiris who weighed it in the golden scales against the white feather of truth (Ma’at’s feather).
If the heart was found to be lighter than the feather, one moved on to the Lily Lake, but if the heart was heavier, it was thrown to the floor where it was eaten by Ammut, the devourer of the dead, this was known as the Great Death, which was non-existence. There was no hell.
Non-existence was a worser fate than any eternal damnation. At the shore of Lily Lake, the soul met the Divine Ferryman, Hraf-hef. The soul would have to be courteous to Hraf-hef, despite the unkind or cruel remarks he made, and show one's self worthy of continuing the journey.
The soul was brought across the waters to the Field of Reeds where the soul was given back everything which had lost. Ones’ best friend, spouse, parents, children and pets; here the souls would live forever in paradise and never have to part again. S. Ikram, M. Bunson, J. Marc
