(Please read from the start)
“The spells, or utterances, of the Pyramid Texts were primarily concerned with enabling the transformation of the deceased into an Akh (where those judged worthy could mix with the gods).[23] The spells of the Pyramid Texts are divided into two broad categories: Sacerdotal texts and Personal texts”.
>> Makes me wonder how many of these spells for the Akh are used nowadays by the bloodlines?
“The sacerdotal texts are ritual in nature, and were conducted by the lector priest addressing the deceased in the second person.[25] They consist of offering spells,[26] short spells recited in the presentation of an offering,[27] and recitations which are predominantly instructional.[28] These texts appear in the Offering and Insignia Rituals, the Resurrection Ritual, and in the four pyramids containing the Morning Ritual.[25][29] The writing in these texts indicates that they originated around the time of the Second and Third Dynasties.
The remaining texts are personal, and are broadly concerned with guiding the spirit out of the tomb, and into new life.[27] They consist of provisioning, transition, and apotropaic – or protective[29] – texts.[30] The provisioning texts deal with the deceased taking command of his own food-supply, and demanding nourishment from the gods.[31] One example of these texts is the king's response in Unas' pyramid.[31][32] The transition texts – otherwise known as the Sakhu or Glorifications[29] – are predominantly about the transformation of the deceased into an Akh,[29] and their ascent, mirroring the motion of the gods, into the sky.[33] These texts form the largest part of the corpus, and are dominated by the youngest texts composed in the Fifth and possibly Sixth Dynasties.[29] Apotropaic texts consist of short protective spells for warding off threats to the body and tomb.[34][35][29] Due to the archaic style of writing these texts are considered to be the oldest,[29] and are the most difficult to interpret”.
>> It’s very interesting how the part about “the gods going into the sky” is identical to how the gods ran away from the deluge, going into the heaven in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
“These utterances were meant to be chanted by those who were reciting them. They contained many verbs such as "fly" and "leap" depicting the actions taken by the Pharaohs to get to the afterlife.[36] The spells delineate all of the ways the pharaoh could travel, including the use of ramps, stairs, ladders, and most importantly flying. The spells could also be used to call the gods to help, even threatening them if they did not comply”.
>> “Flying”! Very interesting.
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