Editing Ammit (section)

=== Weighing of the heart ===
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[[File:The Weighing of the Heart.svg|thumb|left|300px|Judgment of the Soul based from the [[Papyrus]] of Ani. Shows heart being weighed on the scale of [[Maat]] against the [[feather of truth]], by the [[jackal]]-headed [[Anubis]]. Ammit stands ready to eat the heart if it fails the test. The [[ibis]]-headed [[Thoth]], [[scribe]] of the [[gods]], records the result.]]
The ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' was a collection of [[Ancient Egyptian funerary texts|funerary texts]] used to guide the dead to [[Duat]], the Egyptian [[underworld]]. The process of the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs#Judgment of the dead|Judgment of the Dead]] was described in [[List of Book of the Dead spells#125-6: Judgement|Chapter 125]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Lichtheim |first=Miriam |author-link=Miriam Lichtheim |title=Ancient Egyptian literature : a book of readings. Volume II, The New Kingdom |date=April 3, 2006 |publisher=University of California Press |others=Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert |isbn=978-0-520-93306-4 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, CA |pages=132–139 |oclc=778435126}}</ref><ref name="snape" /> The ruler of Duat, [[Osiris]], presided over judgment. [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] depictions of this scene occurred at the Hall of the Two Truths (or Two ''Maats''). {{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|With Osiris accompanied Isis and Nephthys and the Sons of Horus. In later times, its judgment was presided by Ra.<ref name="taylor2001"/>}}<ref name="taylor2001"/>{{sfnp|Von Dassow|2008|p=155}} [[Anubis]], the Guardian of the Scales, conducted the dead towards the weighing scale.{{Refn|Group="lower-alpha"|Lay literature sees fit to say that Anubis drops the heart on the scale, but scholarship stops at stating that Anubis drags the person to the scale, and also attending to the pan and [[plumb bob]] of the scale in the weighing process (e.g. Budge,<ref name="budge1934"/> Taylor here.<ref name="taylor2001"/>)}} Ammit would be situated near the scale, awaiting the results. While [[Thoth]], the god of hieroglyphs and judgment, would record the results.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aronin |first=Rachel |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dqv7 |title=Current Research in Egyptology 2007: Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference |collaboration=Meg Gundlach |publisher=Oxbow Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84217-329-9 |editor-last=Griffin |editor-first=Kenneth |volume=8 |location=Oxford |pages=8, 10–11 |chapter=Divine Determinatives in the Papyrus of Ani |doi=10.2307/j.ctvh1dqv7.5 |jstor=j.ctvh1dqv7.5 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh1dqv7.5}}</ref> The [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ib (heart)|heart]] of the deceased was weighed against the [[Maat#Weighing of the Heart|feather of Ma'at]],{{efn|Often illustrated as an ostrich feather (the feather was often pictured in Ma'at's headdress).}} the goddess of truth.<ref name="taylor2001"/>{{sfnp|Von Dassow|2008|p=155}}<ref name="budge1934"/> The feather of Ma'at symbolized the balance, and truthfulness needed to be present during one's lifetime. The heart or ''[[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ib (heart)|Ib]]'', represented the individual's soul and was the key to traveling to [[Aaru]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Ville |first=Jacques |date=Fall 2011 |title=Mythology and the Images of Justice |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/lal.2011.23.3.324 |journal=Law and Literature |publisher=Taylor & Francis, Ltd. |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=336–337 |doi=10.1525/lal.2011.23.3.324 |jstor=10.1525/lal.2011.23.3.324 |hdl=10566/288 |s2cid=220308728 |issn=1535-685X |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In [[List of Book of the Dead spells#125-6: Judgement|Chapter 125]] of the ''[[Book of the Dead]]'', the deceased is given a series of declarations to recite at the Judgment of the Dead. ''The Declaration of Innocence'' was a list of 42 sins the deceased was innocent of committing. ''The Declaration to the Forty-two Gods'' and ''The Address to the Gods'' were recited directly to the [[Ancient Egyptian deities|gods]], proclaiming the deceased's purity and loyalty.<ref name=":3" />

 After the declarations are recited, their heart is weighed. If the [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ib (heart)|heart]] weighed less than the feather of Ma'at, the deceased was ruled to be pure. [[Thoth]] recorded the result and Osiris would allow the deceased to continue their voyage toward [[Aaru]] and [[immortality]]. If the heart was heavier than the feather of Ma'at, the deceased was deemed impure. Ammit would devour their heart, leaving the deceased without a soul. [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|Ancient Egyptians]] believed the [[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul|soul]] would become restless forever, dying a second death. Instead of living in Aaru, the soulless individual would be stuck in [[Duat]].<ref name="snape" /><ref name="taylor2019" /><ref name=":2" />
[[File:Temple of Deir el-Medina 21.JPG|thumb|Wall carving of Ammit on a pedestal in a scene depicting the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs#Judgment of the dead|Judgment of the Dead]] from the [[Hathor#Temples in Egypt|Temple of Hathor]] in [[Deir el-Medina]]]]
Ammit is often depicted sitting in a crouched position near the scale, ready to eat the heart.<ref name="taylor2019" />{{sfnp|Von Dassow|2008|p=155}} Ancient Egyptians were buried with a copy of the ''Book of the Dead'', guaranteeing they would be successful at the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|Judgment of the Dead]]. Thus, Ammit was left hungry without any hearts to eat, and the consecrated dead was then able to bypass the [[Lake of fire|Lake of Fire]], featured in [[List of Book of the Dead spells#125-6: Judgement|Chapter 126]] of the ''Book of the Dead''.<ref name="snape" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Janes |first=Regina M. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/jane18570 |title=Inventing Afterlives: The Stories We Tell Ourselves About Life After Death |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-231-18570-7 |location=New York |pages=40–42 |chapter=Impermanent Eternities: Egypt, Sumer, and Babylon, Ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome |doi=10.7312/jane18570 |jstor=10.7312/jane18570 |s2cid=166143164 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/jane18570.5}}</ref>