Sunday, February 12, 2012

Principles of Ma'at




























































Here followeth the modern 42 principles, the Negative confessions and 3 laws of Ma'at.
42 Principles of Maat

1. I have not committed sin. 2. I have not committed robbery with violence. 3. I have not stolen. 4. I have not slain men and women. 5. I have not stolen grain. 6. I have not purloined offerings. 7. I have not stolen the property of God. 8. I have not uttered lies. 9. I have not carried away food. 10.I have not uttered curses. 11. I have not committed adultery, I have not lain with men. 12. I have made none to weep. 13.I have not eaten the heart. 14. I have not attacked any man. 15. I am not a man of deceit. 16. I have not stolen cultivated land. 17. I have not been an eavesdropper. 18. I have not slandered. 19. I have not been angry without just cause. 20. I have not debauched the wife of any man. 21. I have not debauched the wife of any man. 22. I have not polluted myself. 23. I have terrorized none. 24. I have not transgressed the law. 25. I have not been wroth. 26. I have not shut my ears to the words of truth. 27. I have not blasphemed. 28. I am not a man of violence. 29. I have not been a stirrer up of strife. 30. I have not acted with undue haste. 31. I have not pried into matters. 32. I have not multiplied my words in speaking. 33. I have wronged none, I have done no evil. 34. I have not worked witchcraft against the king. 35. I have never stopped the flow of water. 36. I have never raised my voice. 37. I have not cursed God. 38. I have not acted with arrogance. 39. I have not stolen the bread of the gods. 40. I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead. 41. I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my city. 42. I have not slain the cattle belonging to the god

Negative confessions in full.

Hail, Usekh-nemmt, who comest forth from Anu, I have not committed sin. Hail, Hept-khet, who comest forth from Kher-aha, I have not committed robbery with violence. Hail, Fenti, who comest forth from Khemenu, I have not stolen. Hail, Am-khaibit, who comest forth from Qernet, I have not slain men and women. Hail, Neha-her, who comest forth from Rasta, I have not stolen grain. Hail, Ruruti, who comest forth from heaven, I have not purloined offerings. Hail, Arfi-em-khet, who comest forth from Suat, I have not stolen the property of God. Hail, Neba, who comest and goest, I have not uttered lies. Hail, Set-qesu, who comest forth from Hensu, I have not carried away food. Hail, Utu-nesert, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have not uttered curses. Hail, Qerrti, who comest forth from Amentet, I have not committed adultery, I have not lain with men. Hail, Her-f-ha-f, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have made none to weep. Hail, Basti, who comest forth from Bast, I have not eaten the heart. Hail, Ta-retiu, who comest forth from the night, I have not attacked any man. Hail, Unem-snef, who comest forth from the execution chamber, I am not a man of deceit. Hail, Unem-besek, who comest forth from Mabit, I have not stolen cultivated land. Hail, Neb-Maat, who comest forth from Maati, I have not been an eavesdropper. Hail, Tenemiu, who comest forth from Bast, I have not slandered. Hail, Sertiu, who comest forth from Anu, I have not been angry without just cause. Hail, Tutu, who comest forth from Ati, I have not debauched the wife of any man. Hail, Uamenti, who comest forth from the Khebt chamber, I have not debauched the wife of any man. Hail, Maa-antuf, who comest forth from Per-Menu, I have not polluted myself. Hail, Her-uru, who comest forth from Nehatu, I have terrorized none. Hail, Khemiu, who comest forth from Kaui, I have not transgressed the law. Hail, Shet-kheru, who comest forth from Urit, I have not been wroth. Hail, Nekhenu, who comest forth from Heqat, I have not shut my ears to the words of truth. Hail, Kenemti, who comest forth from Kenmet, I have not blasphemed. Hail, An-hetep-f, who comest forth from Sau, I am not a man of violence. Hail, Sera-kheru, who comest forth from Unaset, I have not been a stirrer up of strife. Hail, Neb-heru, who comest forth from Netchfet, I have not acted with undue haste. Hail, Sekhriu, who comest forth from Uten, I have not pried into matters. Hail, Neb-abui, who comest forth from Sauti, I have not multiplied my words in speaking. Hail, Nefer-Tem, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have wronged none, I have done no evil. Hail, Tem-Sepu, who comest forth from Tetu, I have not worked witchcraft against the king. Hail, Ari-em-ab-f, who comest forth from Tebu, I have never stopped the flow of water. Hail, Ahi, who comest forth from Nu, I have never raised my voice. Hail, Uatch-rekhit, who comest forth from Sau, I have not cursed God. Hail, Neheb-ka, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have not acted with arrogance. Hail, Neheb-nefert, who comest forth from thy cavern, I have not stolen the bread of the gods. Hail, Tcheser-tep, who comest forth from the shrine, I have not carried away the khenfu cakes from the Spirits of the dead. Hail, An-af, who comest forth from Maati, I have not snatched away the bread of the child, nor treated with contempt the god of my city. Hail, Hetch-abhu, who comest forth from Ta-she, I have not slain the cattle belonging to the go

Writings on the laws of Ma'at.
Author: Rahotep
Ancient Egytian Temple School (SA)
This lesson about Ma'at was an extremely important one and that is why I am sharing it on this page.
















The Goddess Ma’at and the Laws of establishing and maintaining Ma’at
The word Ma’at is both a Divine principle and Face (Neteret) as well as a concept.
As a goddess Ma’at represents: The Neteret of Truth, justice and integrity, Order, Harmony, Balance and Truth.
Her name means : “That which is Straight”
As a concept Ma’at is Cosmic Harmony governing the laws of the universe such as Gravity, the rise and fall of tides, the planetary movements and all the laws of Nature etc.
“Ma’at was with Ra from the beginning” -
This Means that when Ra created the Universe, Ra created it on a foundation of Ma’at.
Ma’at is the most important and central concept in Egyptian Heka and all of the Egyptian Mysteries.
The Symbols for Ma’at include: the Feather and the Balance and the mathematical ‘=’ sign.
The 3 laws of Ma’at – see diagram below - should be carefully studied and applied in your life in order to establish Ma’at. It teaches you how to maintain Ma’at (harmony, peace, order and balance) in all aspects of your life. It is also very useful for when you are experiencing Chaos (In this case simply apply law 3 in order to re-establish Ma’at (order))
In ancient Egypt many temple rituals were conducted everyday to ensure the establishment of Ma’at. The Pharaoh was responsible for upholding Ma’at.
It was well know in ancient Egypt as is today, that the following laws of the universe held true:
Everything comes from Chaos (The Great NUN)
Everything Returns to Chaos (If not maintained)
There is Chaos in Order (Ma’at)
There is Ma’at (Order) in Chaos.
In the diagram below and for ease of reference, I have used the + sign to represent Ma’at (Order and Balance) and the – sign to Represent Chaos and Disorder.
From this diagram it becomes clear that in order to balance chaos, more chaos is added at the opposite end of the scale: Law 3.
If you have any questions regarding these 3 laws please email me.
The Laws of Ma’at is 3 since there are 2 sides to any situation and then there is the 3rd side representing the final outcome or “Truth”.
The number on the “Tree of Life” for Ma’at is 3 – the sphere of the Planet Saturn which represents the Egyptian god Name At pronounced Aaht.
It is also the sphere of the Divine mother of which Ma or Mut (the Egyptian word for Mother) is a seed sound. Thus Ma’at can also be interpreted as the Great Mother Divine. 3 also corresponds to the triangle and as such is a great symbol of Synthesis. An example of Synthesis is Osiris, Isis, Horus. Mother, Father, and Offspring.
The symbol symbolise a stable and balanced form when resting on its base with the point or apex uppermost. It also teaches us that when we combine two opposite forces or products, a third force or product is the result that contains elements of both products used in the final synthesis of the combined forces/products.
Remember this principle well, for the laws of Ma’at being 3 in number is all about synthesis and balance, creating order from chaos or maintaining order.
The 3 laws portrayed below can easily be understood in the following manner:
Law 1.
When you or any situation or energy matrix is in Balance (Ma’at) (symbolised as a ‘+’ on the left side of the scales) all that is needed for Ma’at to continue is to maintain the balance.

Law 2.
When you or any situation or energy matrix is in balance and then destabilised by a chaotic or negative force/situation or energy matrix
Symbolised by the ‘-‘ (Minus) sign on the left side of the scales, Ma’at can be re-established by applying Law 3.

Law 3.
By applying a negative energy/force or situation equal to that, which destabilised the scales of Ma’at resulting in Chaos, Ma’at (peace/balance/order) can be re-established. This law states that chaos is balanced with chaos.
Law 3 is the least understood and the most incorrectly applied law
of the 3 laws of Ma’at, in that it is human tendency to think that by adding more positive energy to a negative situation, something good can come out of it! Only Chaos can balance Chaos to result in the re- establishing of Ma’at.

It is for this very reason why the Neter Sutekh (Seth) is standing at the front of the barque of Ra in his night voyage through the underworld in order to harpoon and slay the forces of Isfet (evil) as symbolised by the serpent Apep. It is also for this very reason that Set is not evil at all but a very negative force and function. Sutekh is also known as the “Red god of Thunder that destroys illusion”, for unless we see through our own illusions and mistakes as represented in the application of Law 3, we can never learn how to achieve the Ma’at we so deservingly strive for. In the Mythology (symbolism to deeper hidden occult truths), The sun rises as Khepera reborn only after Seth slays Apep – by applying Law 3!












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