house of life

Court of Amen 13

 

Square [13] is symbolised by the Ankh, cosmological ankle strap that
connects us with this world. Each great Aegyptian city had a place
called Per Ankh, House of Life. In addition to acting as a repository
for knowledge about the Gods; it was also used for religious
festivities and ceremonies, and for the practice of medicine and
magic. Khemites thought that recorded words and stories retained
`life' and should be perpetually preserved. 

The deceased player of Senate - who aspires to become Osiris
(Osirified) and thus live eternally - by landing on this House of Life was
said to have learned that magic formula by which this could be attained.
 

The first mentions of the Name of Isis /Aset are from the Pyramid Texts from the 5th
Dynasty.  In Utterance 4, the earliest place where her name appears, it says:

Utterance 4
Recitation by Nut:

"...O King, I have given to you your sister Isis, that she may lay hold of you
and give to you your heart for your body."

§ 210
Ascend and descend; descent with Nebt-Het, sink into darkness with the
Night-bark.
Ascend and descend; ascend with Aset, rise with the Day-bark.

Utt. 406
§ 707
Bring me the milk of Aset, the flood of Nebt-Het, the overspill of the lake, the
surge of the sea, life, prosperity, health, happiness, bread, beer...

Utt. 535
§1280-1
Thus said Aset and Nebt-Het: The 'screecher' comes, the kite comes, namely Aset
and Nebt-Het; they have come seeking their brother Wesir, seeking ther brother
the King.... Weep for your brother O Aset; weep for your brother, O Nebt-Het;
weep for your brother! Aset sits down with her hands on her head, Nebt-Het has
grasped the tips of her breasts because of her brother the King...
 

The Coffin Texts 

This is a collection of over thousand texts inscribed on coffins during the
Middle Kingdom, especially the 11th and 12th Dynasties. They were derived from
the Pyramid Texts and the purpose was to guarantee survival in the Afterlife.

In CT Spell 24 we get an idea of Aset´s role in the funerary context:

"...the arm of your foe is chopped off for you, the Two Kites, who are Isis and
Nephtys, scream for you, striking for you on two gongs in the presence of the
gods..."

The Book of Going forth By Day, or more popularly; the Book of the Dead,
appeared during the New Kingdom (foundcd by Ahmose I of Thebese.

BD Spell no: 142:4 can be read following, which gives us an idea of
the many epiteths that Aset was given:

"...Aset the great, Mother of the God; Aset the Divine, Aset the daughter of
Nut; Aset the Great of Magic; Aset the possessor of magical protection, Aset the
possessor of rolls; Aset who protected her Father, Aset the Ruler of rolls; Aset
in Asyut, Aset as ruler of (the city of) 'Shesmin', Aset in Bahbit (Iseum); Aset
in Pe, Aset in Dep, Aset in Coptos, Aset 'in charge of' Pe, Aset in Akhmim, Aset
in Abydos, Aset in King´s House; Aset in the Sky, Aset in the earth, Aset in the
southern (and northern) chapel (of Sais), Isis in the northern chapel (of Sais);
Asset in all her Manifestations, Aset in all her characters, Aset in all her
Aspects, Aset in (every) place where her Spirit desires to be;..."


( see T.G. Allen´s translations of the Book of Going Forth By Day)