Ebook: Becoming Osiris: The Ancient Egyptian Death Experience

In their well-known Book of the Dead, the ancient Egyptians left humanity a comprehensive understanding of the death experience and the afterlife. _Becoming Osiris_ is an accessible account of the initiatic stages of the immortalization process and the magical techniques necessary for the soul to achieve its ultimate objective as a solarized being. It presents an informative account of both the Ritual of Embalming, which transforms the deceased into a latent Osiris, and the Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth, which restores the faculties of the deceased. Though thousands of years old, these texts have an astounding contemporary relevance. Includes numerous illustrations from the rich field of Egyptian funeral art.ANCIENT EGYPT In the Book of the Dead the ancient Egyptians left humanity one of the most comprehensive views of the death experience and the afterlife. Without sacrificing any of the rich complexity of pharaonic thought, _Becoming Osiris_ provides a detailed examination of this major religious text, making it easily accessible to the modern reader. This is a thought provoking account of the numerous initiatory stages of the immortalization process and the magical self-defense techniques necessary for the soul to achieve its ultimate objective of becoming a luminous being. But the true significance of the ancient Egyptian view of death cannot be entirely comprehended without knowledge of the practices that preceded those described in the Book of the Dead. _Becoming Osiris_ gives an incisive account of both The Ritual of Embalming, which transforms the dead individual into a latent Osiris, and The Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth, which restores to the dead person his faculties. Though thousands of years old these texts have an astounding contemporary relevance. Filled with illustrations from the rich field of Egyptian funerary art, _Becoming Osiris_ is a fascinating look at the Osirian odyssey that was the ancient Egyptian death experience. STÉPHANE ROSSINI is a professional illustrator and the author of _Reading and Writing Hieroglyphs_. RUTH SCHUMANN-ANTELME is an Egyptologist, an emeritus researcher of the CNRS in France, and a professor at the School of the Louvre.;Intro; Title Page; Contents; Translator's Preface; Hymn to Osiris; 1. Ancient Egypt in Context; The Effect of Geography on Egyptian Thought; The Concept of the Eternal Return; The Ritual Integration of the Deceased and the Tomb in the Cycle of Everyday Life; The Constituent Elements of the Individual; The Texts and Rituals of Immortality; First Stage: The Embalming; 2. The Transformation of the Deceased into a Latent Osiris; The Preparation of the Body to Be Embalmed; The Intervention of the Deities; Second Stage: The Opening of the Mouth Ritual; 3. The Restoration of the Deceased's Faculties