The Judges of the Dead

At the conclusion of the Gnostic Mass, the priest turns and says to the people "There is no part of me that is not of the Gods." This is taken from Egyptian mythology: to pass through the hall of the dead, the dead person must deny 42 sins, each to a judge of the dead associated with that sin. Afterward, the dead person identifies bodily parts with various Gods. At the end of those denials and identifications, there is no part of the dead person's body that is not "of the Gods".

The denial of sins (the "negative confession") says:

  1. O Long-Strider who comes from Heliopolis, I have not done iniquity.
  2. O Embraced-by Fire who comes from Kher-aha, I have not robbed with violence.
  3. O Divine-Nose who comes from Khemenu, I have not done violence to another man.
  4. O Shade-Eater who comes from the caverns which produce the Nile, I have not stolen.
  5. O Neha-hau who comes from Re-stau, I have not killed man or woman.
  6. O double Lion God who comes from heaven, I have not lightened the bushel.
  7. O Flint-Eyes who comes from Sekhem, I have not acted deceitfully.
  8. O Flame who comes backwards, I have not stolen what belongs to the gods.
  9. O Bone-Crusher who comes from Heracleopolis, I have not lied.
  10. O Flame-Grower who comes from Memphis, I have not carried away food.
  11. O Qerti who comes from the west, I have not uttered evil words.
  12. O Shining-Tooth who comes from Ta-She, I have attacked no man.
  13. O Blood-Consumer who comes from the house of slaughter, I have not slaughtered sacred cattle.
  14. O Entrail-Consumer who comes from the mabet chamber, I have not cheated.
  15. O God of Maat who comes from the city of twin Maati, I have not laid waste lands which have been ploughed.
  16. O Backward-Walker who comes from Bubastis, I have not pried mischievously into others' affairs.
  17. O Aati who comes from Heliopolis, I have not foolishly set my mouth in motion against another man.
  18. O doubly evil who comes from Ati, I have not given way to wrath without cause.
  19. O serpent Amenti who comes from the house of slaughter, I have not defiled the wife of a man.
  20. O you who look at what is brought to you who comes from the Temple of Amsu, I have not polluted myself.
  21. O Chief of the Princes who comes from Nehatu, I have not terrified any man.
  22. O Destroyer who comes from the Lake of Kaui, I have not trespassed sacred grounds.
  23. O Speech-Orderer who comes from the Urit, I have not been angry.
  24. O Child who comes from the Lake of Heqat, I have not made myself deaf to Maat.
  25. O Disposer-of-Speech who comes from Unes, I have not stirred up strife.
  26. O Basti who comes from the Secret City, I have made no one to weep.
  27. O Backwards-Face who comes from the Dwelling, I have committed no acts of impurity nor have I had sexual intercourse with a man.
  28. O Leg-of-Fire who comes from the Akheku, I have not eaten my heart.
  29. O Kenemti who comes from Kenemet, I have not abused anyone.
  30. O Offering-Bringer who comes from Sais, I have not acted with violence.
  31. O Lord-of-Faces who comes from Tchefet, I have not judged hastily.
  32. O Giver-of-Knowledge who comes from Unth, I have not taken vengeance on a god.
  33. O Lord-of-Two-Horns who comes from Satiu, I have not spoken too much.
  34. O Nefer-Tem who comes from Memphis, I have not acted with deceit nor have I performed wickedness.
  35. O Tem-Sep who comes from Tattu, I have not cursed the king.
  36. O Heart-Laborer who comes from Tebti, I have not polluted the water.
  37. O Ahi-of-the-water who comes from Nu, I have not been haughty.
  38. O Man-Commander, who comes from Sau, I have not cursed the god.
  39. O Neheb-nefert who comes from the Lake of Nefer, I have not been insolent.
  40. O Neheb-kau who comes from your city, I have not sought distinctions.
  41. O Holy-Head who comes from your dwelling, I have not increased my wealth, except with such things as were mine.
  42. O Arm-Bringer who comes from the the Underworld, I have not scorned the god of my city.

The identification of body parts ("deification of members") says:

  1. The hair of the Osiris [Your Name Here], whose word is truth, is the hair of Nu.
  2. The face of the Osiris [YNH], whose word is truth, is the face of Ra.
  3. The eyes of ... are the eyes of Hathor.
  4. The ears of ... are the ears of Up-uatu.
  5. The lips of ... are the lips of Anpu.
  6. The teeth of ... are the teeth of Serqet.
  7. The cheeks of ... are the cheeks of Isis.
  8. The arms of ... are the arms of Ba-neb-Tetu.
  9. The neck of ... is the neck of Uatchit.
  10. The throat of ... is the throat of Mert.
  11. The breast of ... is the breast of the Lady of Sais.
  12. The backbone of ... is the backbone of Seth.
  13. The trunk of ... is the trunk of the Lords of Kher-aha.
  14. The flesh of ... is the flesh of Aa-shefit.
  15. The belly of ... is the belly of Sekhmet.
  16. The buttocks of ... are the buttocks of the Eye of Horus.
  17. The phallus of ... is the phallus of Osiris.
  18. The thighs of ... are the thighs of Nut
  19. The feet of ... are the feet of Ptah.
  20. The fingers of ... are the fingers of Saah.
  21. The toes of ... are the toes of the Living Uraei.

This text is from chapters of The Book of Coming Forth By Day, more commonly called The Book of the Dead. Our source is taken from the "Papyrus of Ani", the funerary scroll of the scribe Ani of Thebes, translated by E. A. Wallis Budge in 1895. (Well-to-do people would purchase scrolls of this text, and would pay scribes to insert their names into the blank spaces left in the scroll for that purpose.) There is variance in the way the "negative confession" is given; this is only one example.

"Sun-city", called "On" by the Egyptians. This was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt, capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome (an administrative district).

A city in middle Egypt, called Hermopolis by the Greeks. This was the center of worship of Thoth.

Truth, order, harmony, balance, justice, propriety, purity; personified as the goddess Maat, who wears an ostrich feather on her head as a symbol of what she represents

lost my temper

The capital of Lower Egypt of the ninth and tenth dynasties. The Egyptians called this Henen-nesut, Nen-nesu, or Hwt-nen-nesu, "house of the royal child."

Qerti are the caverns that are the source of the Nile in Egyptian thought

The region of maat

In Oakland CA, it is
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