31/08/2024
The Ba is the Ancient Egyptian concept of the part of the soul which has the potential to attain divine enlightenment. It is that which can become an Akh - the blessed dead, which can also be defined as the part of the soul which is divine in nature and can be thought of as a fragment of the Gods. This can also be called the “divine intellect”. Each one of us has this part within, and many Egyptian texts – from funerary papyri to esoteric temple doctrine – highlight the importance of nurturing this aspect of our soul.
One of the greatest dangers to the Ba right after death is worldly attachment. Should the Ba become overtly attached to its shadow (the worldly aspect of the soul, an example of which is the Ego) the Ba will be effectively shackled to the material world unless it leaves all that it knew behind and instead chooses to fully journey within the Duat and all of its challenges. Indeed, such attachments can be considered detrimental to enlightenment and improvement in many spiritual traditions, but in Egypt especially the unenlightened would likely suffer endlessly should they refuse to change. This is expressed in many texts, in many ways - from the wilfully ignorant's limbs being burned to the Gods themselves burning them alive entirely.
This has a dual meaning - it both represents the suffering of ignorance and the misunderstanding of purification by the uninitiated. That which purifies the soul, such as fire, is like clean water to the pure man and is like death to the ignorant man. A good highlight from Egyptian funerary texts would be the blessed dead drinking water in the Duat and being refreshed, whilst the ignorant and uninitiated drink the same water and burn their lips and throats with it (which is like fire to those that are impure).
This choice that the Ba must make, however, is not an easy one to make. Should the traveller be ill-prepared for the journey into the Duat, it is likely for him to become swayed by demons*, which can be recognized by their head being backwards, their walking upside-down, the consumption of excrement and “reeking”. The journey through the Duat and towards the company of the Gods is long and very dangerous. As many texts suggest, in order to be succesful in the journey, you must be effective of Magic and Speech (Heka, which can be alikened to the divine power of creation). Some texts even mention many uninitiated souls becoming confused and eating their own excrement – highlighting the fact that confusion and unknowing can lead to "isfet" (closest translation being "evil" or "chaos" in this context). These confused dead eventually become demons themselves, who cause pain to the living and work against the Gods. They are incomplete and confused, so they work against that which is complete and good.
Successful initiation is a matter of the soul finally choosing to disregard the familiar and to plunge into the unknown but only if one has the appropriate knowledge. In some texts, this journey towards knowing is alikened to the reassembling of the God Osiris. Indeed, the Divine Ferryman even asks the dead if he is whole, if he has put himself back together. Many Book of the Dead spells are also aimed at gaining the Knowledge of the Divine by taking the likeness of various deities. Should the Ba be successful in its journey, the Gods will initiate him and aid him – which involves ascending to the field of Reeds where the Akh shall dwell with the Gods. This takes many forms – from the dead becoming Osiris (the Sun God in the Underworld) to deterring Evil (Apep) from causing harm to the Sun God along with all of the Solar Barque’s Gods/Guardians. Effectively, your soul returns to its presiding deity, which in turn returns it to the Creator (Amun-Ra) by virtue of all the Gods being various aspects of the same deity.
*I’m using the term “demon” for the sake of simplicity. It is important to note that in Egyptian theology not all demons are negative. All "demon" really refers to is mostly lower spirits in said theology. The modern interpretation of these entities is far too one-sided, in my opinion. Indeed, it has its roots in Christianity taking a pagan term (“daemon”, meant to be akin to soul or even guardian spirit depending on context) and transforming it into something entirely negative for little reason other than its own bias. Some examples of demons that are beneficial to the dead would be entities like Nehebkau. Some even aid the Gods in the initiation of the dead and test them, such as the Divine Ferryman, which shows the marked signs of an Egyptian demon (mainly, his head being backwards).
