Aaru is paradise. Reed fields stretch to the endless horizon. The word "aaru" means papyrus, the life-giving plant of the Nile. In the heavenly land of Aaru, people work and play and exist much as they do in the mortal world, but they're surrounded by abundance.
Read: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
The fertile Aaru is said to be the ka of the Nile Delta. The ka is the life essence, which exists in all living things. In humans, ka is part of the whole of the soul.
Ancient Egyptians believe the soul is in the heart. There are eight parts to the soul, associated either with physical or spiritual body. They are:
Collectively, assuming the deceased has successfully completed the transition to the Afterlife, the spirits or aspects are called Akh.
When a mortal dies and is entombed, the Jackal-headed God Anubis comes to get the person. A funerary deity, Anubis lifts great monarchs up through their pyramids to the skies. Other mortals may have to find their own way. It's all part of the Underworld challenge.
The first stop is Duat, the land of the Dead. Here, Anubis weighs the heart of the deceased against a feather of Ma'at (Maat), Goddess of Justice. She's depicted as a winged woman. The deceased is given 42 prayers and 42 incantations to recite.
Ma'at is easily confused with another winged Egyptian female deity, Wadjet the Winged Snake Goddess. Wadjet usually appears as a hooded cobra with wings. Maat has a feather pointing up from the back of her head.
If the heart weighs heavier than the feather, Thoth the Ibis-headed Scribe God notes this down. Ammit, the animal hybrid Underworld demon, gobbles up the heart with glee. The deceased is stuck in Duat for eternity. This is called "dying twice". It must be prevented.
If the heart is lighter than the feather, Thoth notes this down too, and gives the tablet to the deceased as proof of the person's light-heartedness. Anubis sends the deceased off along the treacherous path to the Afterlife.
Qualifying souls undergo a long journey and face many perils before finally reaching the gates of Aaru. There, the person must pass twenty-one goddess gates, each guarded by a god entity.
See also:
The exact number of gates varies. Descriptions include benevolent or hostile deities and ferocious evil demons. The guardians are:
1. Goddess Gate: Mistress of Trembling
God: Dreadful
2. Goddess Gate: Mistress of the Sky
God: Born of the Hindquarters
3. Goddess Gate: Mistress of the Altar
God: Cleanser
4. Goddess Gate: Powerful of Knives
God: Long-Horned Bull
See also:
5. Goddess Gate: Fiery One
God: Killer of Opponents
6. Goddess Gate: Mistress of Darkness
God: Destroyer
7. Goddess Gate: Veiler of the Weary One (Osiris)
God: Ikenti
8. Goddess Gate: Lighter of the Flames - Extinguisher of Heat
God: Protector of His Body
9. Goddess Gate: Foremost
God: Fowler
10. Goddess Gate: Piercing of Voice or High of Double Doors
God: Great Embracer
See also:
11. Goddess Gate: Ceaseless in Knifing - Scorcher of Rebels
God: Cook of His Braziers
12. Goddess Gate: Invoked by Her Two Lands (Upper & Lower Egypt)
God: Cat
13. Goddess Gate: She Above Whom Osiris Stretches His Arms
God: Destroyer of the Robber
14. Goddess Gate: Mistress of Anger - Dancing on Blood
God: Screecher
15. Goddess Gate: Great of Valor
God: Vigilant of Face
16. Goddess Gate: Dread
God: Clever in Bowing
See also:
17. Goddess Gate: Great on the Horizon
God: Spirit
18. Goddess Gate: Lover of Heat
God: Anointed
19. Goddess Gate: She Who Foretells Mornings Throughout Her Lifespan - Possessor of the writings of Thoth
God: nameless
20. Goddess Gate: Dweller Within the Cavern of Her Lord
God: nameless
21. Goddess Gate: Sharpener of Flint to Speak For Her
God: Giraffe - Memy
If the soul is able to pass through these gates, a boat awaits to row the lucky deceased across the water to the Field of Reeds. Aaru is in the east, where the Sun rises, symbolic of rebirth and beginnings.
See also:
The beautiful land comprises boundless fields of reeds, like those of the Nile Delta. Crops flourish and the oxen are happy to plow. For hunting and farming it's ideal. The prosperity of Aaru allows the dead to live for all eternity.
An island of reeds is one of the dwelling places of Osiris, God of the Dead. For the final event, the soul is presented to the God and welcomed into the Afterlife. After that, the person can live as desired, for the land has endless bounty.
See also:
Many of the Gods also live in Aaru. The worthy souls eat and drink and interact with them, which in the mortal world gives them the same status as Gods, with equivalent veneration.
See also: