Why does the Egyptian scale have a counterweight?

Notice the counterweight in Anubis' hand. Why the counterweight when the heart is weighed against the feather, the counterweight implies that different people will have different standards?

Sometimes the counterweight is represented by an ankh...

reply to post by FreeMason


Off hand I'm of the opinion it symbolizes actions while on earth and how they add to the balance.

But that's just my opinion.

Cheers!

Forget that. Anubis, that rat has his hand on the scale! No fair!

reply to post by FreeMason


Counterweight represents debunkers, weighing in against truth (the heart) b/c their argument is so light (feather.) LoL, I just made that up.

Anyway, it would seem that a feather is lighter than a heart, so to equalize the scale, you'd need extra weight to add the the feather? Am I missing something here...

I believe it has something do with with a ceremony they practiced called "weighing of the heart". Don't know much about it...so you will have to figure out what it meant or symbolized on your own.

Sorry.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Ol uncle anubis weighs the heart of the recently departed against the"feather of truth". A heart heavier than the feather would result in the unlucky guy or gal being eaten by a supernatural crocodile. I wonder why it didnt stand the test of time

Why does the Egyptian scale have a counterweight?
hmm for balance?

the jar has the heart of the person it is being weighed against ma'at to see if the person lived a truthful life as the heart does not lie i know this because i have done a course on Egyptology

reply to post by FreeMason


it looks like a plumb bob to me its to ensure the scales are true and will give a true reading.
if the scales are leaning to one side it could give a false reading .

reply to post by tom.farnhill


its the book of the dead its not about balance its judging if the dead lived a good life if not the heart is eaten by amut the person then exists as a ghost

new_here
reply to post by FreeMason

 

Counterweight represents debunkers, weighing in against truth (the heart) b/c their argument is so light (feather.) LoL, I just made that up.

You are a Natural Philosopher!

did no one learn about the book of the dead omg

IT IS ABOUT FINDING OUT IF THE PERSON LIVED A GOOD LIFE IF IT WEIGHED HEAVIER THEN MA'AT YOU LIVED A BAD LIFE YOU WHERE PUNISHED IF IT BALANCED WITH MA'AT YOU LIVED A GOOD LIFE THIS IS BASIC HISTORY PEOPLE

Because if the heart is heavier then the feather then anubis takes a couter weight to see how much weight is needed to counter the evil in your heart to be in balance with the feather again. It is the weight that represents how much evil is your heart.

I didn't research anything. I am just assuming that would be the idea.

reply to post by tom.farnhill

Pretty much

Anubis watched over the beam of the scale to see that it was in the proper position while Thoth recorded the result.

www.goldendawnpedia.com...

It was Anubis who saw that the beam of the great scale was in the proper position as he supervises the weighing of the heart of a deceased person against the feather of Maat. The god of knowledge,Thoth, records the results.

www.egyptartsite.com...


Note that the "counterweight" is not on the beam at all and thus does not affect the balance.

To me it looks like a quill and not a feather. And the counterweight looks like the new ATS smilies. The background text translates to: be careful what you post as your heart is being weighed against it.

reply to post by bitsforbytes


no you are so very wrong the person was being judged on life not how much evil in the heart to be balanced this is basic children classed history

The ancient Egyptians believed that, when they died, they would be judged on their behaviour during their lifetime before they could be granted a place in the Afterlife. This judgement ceremony was called "Weighing of the Heart" and was recorded in Chapter 125 of the funerar text known as the "Book of the Dead".

The ceremony was believed to have taken place before Osiris, the chief god of the dead and Afterlife, and a tribunal of 43 dieties. Standing before the tribunal the deceased was asked to name each of the divine judges and swear that he or she had not committed any offences, ranging from raising the voice to stealing. This was the "negative confession". If found innocent, the deceased was declared "true of voice" and allowed to proceed into the Afterlife.

he proceedings were recorded by Thoth, the scribe of the gods, and the deity of wisdom. Thoth was often dipicted as a human with an ibis head, writing on a scroll of papyrus. His other animal form, the baboon, was often depicted sitting on the pivot of the scales of justice.

The symbolic ritual that accompanied this ritual was the weighing of the heart of the deceased on a pair of enormous scales. It was weighed against the principle of truth and justice ( known as maat ) represented by a feather, the symbol of the goddess of truth, order and justice, Maat. If the heart balanced against the feather then the deceased would be granted a place in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru. If it was heavy with the weight of wrongdoings, the balance would sink and the heart would be grabbed and devoured by a terrifying beast that sat ready and waiting by the scales. This beast was Ammit, "the gobbler", a composite animal with the head of a crocodile, the front legs and body of lion or leopard, and the back legs of a hippopotamus.

The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the centre of thought, memory and emotion. It was thus associated with interlect and personality and was considered the most important organ in the body. It was deemed to be essential for rebirth into the Afterlife. Unlike the other internal organs, it was never removed and embalmed separately, because its presence in the body was crucial.

If the deceased was found to have done wrong and the heart weighed down the scales, he or she was not though to enter a place of tourment like hell, but to cease to exist at all. This idea would have terrified the ancient Egyptians. However, for those who could afford to include Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead in their tombs, it was almost guaranteed that they would pass successfully into the Afterlife. This is because the Egyptians believed in the magical qualities of the actual writings and illustrations in funerary texts. By depicting the heart balancing in the scales against the feather of Maat they ensured that would be the favourable outcome. The entire ceremony was, after all, symbolic.

Following the Weighing of the Heart, the organ was returned to its owner. To make quite sure that this did happen, Chapters 26-29 of the Book of the Dead were spells to ensure that the heart was returned and this it could never be removed again.
www.egyptian-scarabs.co.uk...

Divine Strake

new_here
reply to post by FreeMason

 

Counterweight represents debunkers, weighing in against truth (the heart) b/c their argument is so light (feather.) LoL, I just made that up.

You are a Natural Philosopher!

Haha...
Why thank you, kind sir (or ma'am!)
I live to think.

kezzy24
did no one learn about the book of the dead omg

IT IS ABOUT FINDING OUT IF THE PERSON LIVED A GOOD LIFE IF IT WEIGHED HEAVIER THEN MA'AT YOU LIVED A BAD LIFE YOU WHERE PUNISHED IF IT BALANCED WITH MA'AT YOU LIVED A GOOD LIFE THIS IS BASIC HISTORY PEOPLE

Yeah... that was established in the question itself. Nobody is confused by that. His question is about the counterweight in his right hand that looks like a plumb bob.

The process and event itself is well understood on ATS.