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Ma’at

Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony, wisdom, morality, balance, and divine order

The goddess Ma’at is truth and justice herself, perfectly embodying these noble virtues. She was said to regulate various cycles and actions such as the cosmic bodies (planets, stars, moons), seasons, human behaviour, relationships, and the afterlife. It was this goddess who protected creation from isfet (chaos and injustice). Each god and human was believed to be duty-bound in preserving and defending Ma’at, with the Pharaoh perceived as her guardian. Without Ma’at, Nun (the primordial waters) would reclaim the Universe and purge all into chaos. 

Ma’at is the wife of Thoth (god of knowledge and wisdom) with whom she bore eight children known as the Ogdoad and a daughter named Seshat (goddess of knowledge, wisdom, writing, calculation, and sciences). Ma’at is most often depicted as a winged woman seated or standing, with her wings stretched out wide. Adorned upon her crown is an ostrich feather (a sacred symbol of hers) and she may rarely be shown to have an ostrich feather as a head. In one hand, Ma’at holds a sceptre while in the other, she holds an ankh, the symbol of life. Other times, Ma’at may be seen with a plinth atop her head, which may suggest that Ma'at was considered to be the foundation of Egyptian society.

Myths: At the beginning of all things, Ma’at is said to have been born by Amun-Ra (king of the gods) when he rose from the primordial waters of Nun. In the moment that Amun-Ra spoke the world into creation, Ma'at was born. Her essence filled creation with harmony and the ability to operate with good-will and wisdom. Thus, she brought order and peace from the nothingness of chaos, and created safety for all living beings. Her importance can further be seen in how Amun-Ra had stood upon her own pedestal in order to bring all of creation into being. As a daughter or “Eye” of Ra, Ma’at was thought to chart the course of the Sun god Ra during his voyage across the sky each day. During this voyage, Ma’at remains ever-present at the side of Ra, assisting him against the snake-god of evil, Apep, along with the help of the warrior god, Set. 

Judgement in Duat: Another role this goddess held was being a judge of the Underworld (Duat), within the Halls of Ma’at. When a soul was to be judged, one of her white feathers would be placed on the Scales of Truth, in order to see whether or not the person’s heart was full of evil or not. 

Upon reaching Duat, the deceased spirit would come before a council of fourty-two Judges (led by Osiris), and would have to recite the Negative Confessions where they must honestly claim to be free of guilt against certain crimes. After this, a feather of Ma’at and the heart of the spirit would be placed upon the golden scales of truth and weighed by Anubis- if the heart was heavier than Ma’at’s feather, it showed that the spirit had been evil during their life, and was then thrown to Ammit, the goddess of doom and retribution, who would devour them into unending torment. If the deceased was simply neutral, they would be sent into reincarnation until their karmic debt was paid off and they had learnt their lessons. If the spirit was found to be pure, they would be sent to the Field of Reeds, which is the realm of Paradise. 

Personal experiences: Ma’at is an extremely noble and virtuous goddess who values things such as compassion, courage, honour, wisdom, honesty, charity, knowledge, self-improvement, and the ability to accept responsibility for one’s actions. She is usually reserved and serious, though enjoys gentle music such as harp melodies. She also enjoys logic games such as senet and chess, as she values all sorts of mental actives and strategy. In her divine role, Ma’at presides over all the Judges of the Underworld and ensures that each spirit receives correct acts of justice. She does not punish the corrupt, as this is a task for vengeful deities such as Sekhmet, Nemesis, and Ammit, but she assists in swaying chaos into order and working against crimes. Ma’at is the patroness of judges and all those who seek to uphold justice and nobility. She may not be a judge herself, but is the Universal power that keeps all in balance and under moral guidance. 

Some of her Epithets:

Directress of the Underworld Justice

Lady of the Hall of Judgment

Lady of the Heavens

Queen of Earth

Ma’at the Beautiful

Perfect Measure

Right Order

Sustainer of the Sun

The Changeless

The Good Gift

The Undeviating

That which is True

Tracer of the Course of the Sun

Twofold Truth

The Measure of the Heart

Hello again!  This sounds like Jealousy is a Passion by Mayet ~pyf