By the Gods!

Ma’at

Ma’at (also Maat or Mayet) is the Egyptian concept of truth, balance, and justice; it is personified by the goddess of these things, also called Ma’at. She is depicted as a young woman typically wearing an ostrich feather on her head, and ocassionally has a set of wings attached to either arm.

It is said that at the very moment of creation, the primordial waters from which all things arose spoke to Ra. They told him to “breathe ma’at” so that his “heart may live”. And so, Ma’at existed, and is credited with bringing order to the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Pretty nifty!

She also had a big part to play in the Egyptian afterlife. In the underworld, Duat, the dead’s souls were judged as to whether they were worthy enough to enter Aaru, the “heavenly paradise” ruled by Osiris. This judgement was carried out by Anubis, who weighed the dead person’s heart on the scale of Ma’at against the Shu feather of Ma’at. If the person’s heart was lighter than Ma’at’s feather, they could go party with Osiris; if it was heavier, they were unworthy of entering Aaru. Their heart would then be devoured by Ammit, a female demon who was a lion/hippopotamus/crocodile composite, and whose titles included “Devourer,” “Bone Eater,” and “Eater of Hearts.” They would then be condemmed to live in the underworld, Duat, forever. Feels bad, man.