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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 1872215" data-attributes="member: 20323">The 9-Part Egyptian SoulI run an Egyptian-fantasy campaign and we use a traditional ancient Egyptian concept of containing a multi-part being. In the Egyptian school of thought, one person could have multiple afterlives, as each different portion of their being had its own existence after death (provided they survived judgment before Osiris). Also, remember that this multi-part soul is the product of a people who believed there was no guarantee they would actually reach the afterlife. Desctruction of their names, physical bodies, or statues made in their image could kill the corresponding parts of the soul! Spells, prayers, rituals, and expensive burials could help, but ultimately you weren't guaranteed heaven. If you did reach the Land of the West - heaven - you found it much the same as your current life, only better. the joys were amplified and the pains reduced.Yab/Ab/Ib (Heart) - Source of good and evil within a person; sort of a light and shadow nature both. The seat of moral awareness, and thought that could leave the body if a spiritualist had strong enough will (or if it was taken from you, i.e. losing the ability to see right from wrong). It was eaten by the demon Ammait if the deceased failed the judgment of the dead. If they passed, the heart went on to live with the gods after death.Akhu (Transfigured/Immortal Ancestor) - Also called "The Shining Ones." The radiant and shining self made up of intellect, deep intentions, and will of the deceased. After death, dwells in the Sahu to ascend to the heavens and live with the gods among the stars. Akhu came into being after the deceased was judged, and was created by a merging of the Ka and Ba. (So, if the devourer Ammait ate you or you were reincarnated, your Akhu didn't manifest)Ba (Manifestation) - A human-headed bird that represented a non-physical soul - all those qualities that make up our personality. Both gods and humans have a Ba. The Ba's main function is to make it possible for the deceased to leave his tomb and travel to the underworld. Like the Ka, the Ba requires food and drink in the form of offerings to stay alive. The Ba is able to take any form it chose. It has to reunite with the deceased every night in order to join with the Ka to become the Akhu (Immortal Ancestor).Khat (Physical Body) - The physical outward form that could decay after death. For the other parts to have a chance of life after death it had to be properly cared for after death via mummification (even simple non-expensive varieties were considered acceptable). IMC, the body really, really helps the soul after death (though it isn't 100% necessary), as proper rituals done on the body help the soul to breath, think, and experience the underworld and even the living world (which oftens seems strange at first to the recently dead.Ka (Sustaining Double) - An etheric double that lingers on in the tomb, inhabiting the body or a specially crafted ushabti statue. The Ka requires food and drink in the form of offerings to stay alive. Highly evolved spiritualists are able to move their ka independent of their body; this ability is usually restricted to people who have died or to sleeping people during their dreams. The Ka could manifest itself as a ghost even while the person was alive! It haunted those who wronged it, as a traditional western ghost would. The Ka represented the creative power in any being. Animals, plants, water, even stones had their own ka.Khaibit/Shwt (Shadow) - Staying near the Ba, the shadow ate funerary offerings. It was able to detach itself from the body and travel at will at great speed. Certain dark magic could steal it from you. The Khaibit represents your ability to leave a lasting impression on the world around you. Those without a shadow leave no lasting legacy and are quickly forgotten. It was said those who protected their shadow were in turn protected by it from the burning sun or from bad luck.Ren (True Name) - The magical part of a person that offered either empowerment or destruction. It was the perfect expression of the person/thing in question (everything had a true name). A newborn child had to receive a true name quickly, or its growth would be stunted. If the name was forgotten or obliterated, the person's soul could fade away, or (if still alive) they would fall to financial ruin. Alternately if someone learned your true name, they gained absolute power over you (thus nicknames were used in ancient Egypt). A well guarded name, however, offered great magic power to its bearer.Sahu (Spirit-form) - An incorruptible spiritual body that comes into being after the physical body dies. It appears from the body after the judgment of the dead is passed successfully. Living in the heavens, the sahu has all the mental and spiritual abilities of a living body. It is an imprint of the individual's "soul purpose" and was related to the idea of destiny. Those egyptians who believed in reincarnation maintained the Sahu carried the core of the individual into various incarnations.Sekhem (Life-force/Might) - The aggressive part of a person that provided healing and willpower. It was the connection between the mortal and the gods manifested in the shared breath. The breath was considered to be divine and continuously flowing. Its powers were those of transformation: it made darkness into light and  Though the breath stopped after death, it went on to live in heaven with the Akhu.NOTE: The Sekhem and Akhu were added by E.A. Wallis Budge, and may not have been part of the traditional Egyptian concept of the soul.Whew! And that was the short version. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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