The Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Judgement of Osiris: the Weighing of the Heart
For the ancient Egyptians, death was a journey with a guide. That guide was the spells inscribed on papyri that we today call the Book of the Dead.
Ezostylia Editorial Team · facts checked in sources · updated 31.10.2026
What is this book?
The Egyptians called it the 'Book of Coming Forth by Day'. It is a collection of roughly 200 spells, from which each deceased person received their own selection, written on papyrus and placed in the tomb. The practice flourished during the New Kingdom, from around 1550 BC, and grew out of the older Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts.
The Weighing of the Heart
The most celebrated scene is Spell 125. The deceased stands in the Hall of Two Truths before Osiris and 42 judges. They deliver the 'negative confession': I did not steal, I did not lie, I did not kill. Then Anubis places their heart on one side of the scales and on the other the feather of the goddess Maat, symbol of truth and cosmic order. The result is recorded by Thoth, god of writing.
If the heart was heavier than the feather, it was devoured by Ammit, a monster with the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. If the balance held true, the deceased passed on to the Field of Reeds, a blessed land resembling Egypt.
Why the body mattered so much
The souls ka and ba needed the body to return to it. Hence mummification, which according to Herodotus lasted 70 days. The brain was removed, the internal organs were dried in a salt called natron and placed in canopic jars, while the heart — the seat of thought and conscience — was usually left inside the body, as it had to undergo the judgement.
Echoes in our culture
The image of scales on which a person's deeds are weighed returned in mediaeval depictions of the Last Judgement, with the Archangel Michael. And the expression 'a heavy heart' sounds today like an echo of the Egyptian scales.
Read more
You will find all 30 topics in the section Mysteries of life and death.
Want to ask your own question? Ask Luna or draw a card of the day.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the Weighing of the Heart?
A scene from the Egyptian Book of the Dead: Anubis weighs the heart of the deceased on scales against the feather of the goddess Maat. A light heart meant eternal life; a heavy one was devoured by Ammit.
How long did embalming take in Egypt?
According to Herodotus, the entire mummification process took 70 days.