Giorgina S. Paiella, Ph.D.

The Ancient Egyptian
Nine-Part Theory
of the Soul

Khet: The physical body that provides the link between one’s soul and life on earth. The physical form of the body is the vessel that allowed for a soul to be judged in the underworld. Because the state of the physical body was directly correlated to the quality of the afterlife, the body was preserved with utmost reverence. Funerary rights served to reanimate or “reawaken” the physical body to allow the spiritual body (sah) to function in the afterlife.

Sah: The spiritual representation of the physical body. This spiritual body is formed if the deceased was found worthy of the afterlife. A person was believed to be able to interact in the afterlife with other beings and entities through this spiritual body.

Ren: A name grants individualism and embodied meaning to a person. This name is central to survival and life after death, providing the necessary relationship that connects the physical body to its owner for continuous identity in the afterlife.

Ba: Comprised of all characteristics that make an individual person unique, the closest concept similar to ba is that of personality. This aspect of the human soul was often represented as a bird with a human head, symbolizing the mobility of the soul after death.

Ka: The concept of “vital essence” or “life force” is the distinguishing factor between a living and dead person. It was believed that Khnum created humans out of clay upon a potter’s wheel, and then placed them in their mothers’ wombs. This life force was believed to be “breathed into” a person at the moment of their birth by Heqet to grant them vitality and “aliveness.” Ka is sustained during earthly life through food and drink, which is the reason why these offerings were also presented to the dead for use in the afterlife.

Ib: The ib, or heart, was considered the most important part of the human soul, and the key to the afterlife. The ib was believed to be the seat of all intelligence, emotions, actions, and memory. The heart was carefully preserved and stored within the mummified body along with a heart scarab that allowed for judgment in the afterlife during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. If one’s heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, then it was eaten by Ammit, and the soul would become restless for eternity.

Sheut: An individual’s shadow or silhouette that is always present and believed to represent something of its owner.

Sekhem: The life force or “power” of the soul that exists in the afterlife after it successfully passes judgment.

Akh: Meaning “magically effective one,” the akh represents the transfiguration of the dead to become identified with light. The ultimate goal for the deceased was to attain this transformed and glorified state in the afterlife, and it was possible to achieve this state through proper funerary rites and offerings after death. An akh was animated by the union of the ba and the ka, and was believed to be an entity that could do either good or harm to the living.