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The House of Beauty

The Preparation of the Dead in Ancient Egypt

By Tom BakerPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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In this ancient hieroglyphic depiction, Anubis, the jackal-headed God of the Dead, prepares a body for its eternal trip through the afterlife.

In today's world, those who wish to grasp at a fleeting fantasy or chance of reanimation after succumbing to terminal illness can choose (if they have the financial wherewithal) to have their body cryogenically frozen; in hope that, at some future date, when science will have been able to cure whatever disease it was that killed them, they can be "reanimated," as in H.P. Lovecraft's classic story; to be rejoined to what will be, to them we must assume, a brave, if puzzling and troubling, future world.

At least, so goes the theory.

In ancient times, before the advent of technological wizardry, the dead, if they were of a superior caste or people of rank and privilege, were turned into the famous mummies, using a process thought to preserve the body for its voyage into the after life. The funerary practices could be elaborate if the right amount of wealth was present, featuring mud-caked mourners cavorting through the town, beating their chests in mock fury at the seemingly capricious nature of life and death.

Anubis, one imagines (the jackal-headed goddess of Death), went before them. At least in spirit.

A reenactment of the ritual "Killing of the God," Osiris (who was dismembered by his jealous, evil brother Set before his "resurrection" and rebirth as a Divinity by consort Isis, the mother of hawk-headed Horus) was a central piece of religious theater at these funerals cum festivals. (Horus is Aleister Crowley's "Divine Child" of the New Aeon, incidentally.)

Infamous occultist Aleister Crowley, declared the hawk-headed Egyptian deity Horus as the "Divine Child" of the New Aeon. Horus, was the son of Isis and Osiris, the latter being the "Dying and Rising God" of the famed Egyptian funerary rituals.

The mouth of a mummified corpse was opened by a priest, so that it could speak out in its defense. The body was thought to be an immaculate statue of itself, pictured to be so; an elaborate tomb, for the very wealthy and important, was thus prepared. Food and drink, toys and games, clothing, jewelry, and other accoutrements were left sealed inside, for the event of the dead man or woman's "resurrection." The Egyptian tablets comprising the famous Book of the Dead leave a detailed account of what a spirit will face during its final sojourn.

The mummification process is famous, and involved removing the brain with a hooked rod, removing of the vital organs: the liver, stomach, heart, and large and small intestines. These were then sealed into canopic jars, put into a miniature casket, and entombed with the deceased (whose corpse had been dried with the strange soil of Wadi Natrun). The body of the deceased, herbs and special spices sewn within it, was thus preserved eternally by the mysterious art of the ancient Egyptian morticians.

The deceased, their Ka, or, immortal, divine selfhood (i.e. "soul") would thus be called before the throne of Osiris, wherein their heart would be weighed against the "Feather of Ma'at," to see which was heavier. (The author is not altogether sure how one lost this particular contest, or what the consequence was if one lost. I believe the Book of the Dead suggested being torn apart by an ape-like demon, if he remembers correctly. Alternately, one supposes banishment to some sort of eternal Hell as the most likely prize.)

Ancient Egyptians believed that, after death, a soul journeyed to the throne room of Osiris, to stand in trembling terror before the god, and have his heart weighed in a scale against the "Feather of Ma'at." Here, Anubis, the jackal-headed Death God, is depicted as holding the sacred scale.

The place wherein the embalming and mummification process took place was referred to as "The House of Beauty."

If a man died through an attack or criminal misdeed, his body was treated with the utmost care. If the wife of an important man, a famous gent or powerful, celebrated figure, died, she was left undisturbed for a number of days. As her body was now overripe and crawling with vermin, it would be unappealing to embalmers; who, otherwise taken with the beauty and fame of such a woman, might be tempted to, well, violate the cadaver. If you take our meaning.

"House of Beauty," indeed.

In ancient Egypt, the place wherein the mumminfication process took place was called the "House of Beauty." Here we see one of the beautified results of that process.

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About the Creator

Tom Baker

Author of Haunted Indianapolis, Indiana Ghost Folklore, Midwest Maniacs, Midwest UFOs and Beyond, Scary Urban Legends, 50 Famous Fables and Folk Tales, and Notorious Crimes of the Upper Midwest.: http://tombakerbooks.weebly.com

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