Kemetic: the 42 Negative Confessions...

[Meritsekhmet]

Hey, I have a question.

First- do you fellow Kemetics and Tamerans follow what is in "The Book of Coming Forth by Day/Book of the Dead" such as the 42 Negative Confessions?

Secondly, how are they to be applied in modern times? Because truefully a lot of them are outdated or cannot possible be stoped.

Here is the list:

1. I have not done inequity.
2. I have not robbed with violence.
3. I have not done violence to any man.
4. I have not committed theft.
5. I have slain neither man nor woman.
6. I have not made light the bushel.
7. I have not acted deceitfully.
8. I have not purloined the things which belong to God.
9. I have not uttered falsehood.
10. I have not carried off goods by force.
11. I have not uttered vile (or evil) words.
12. I have not carried off food by force.
13. I have not acted deceitfully.
14. I have not lost my temper and become angry.
15. I have invaded no man's land.
16. I have not slaughtered animals which are the possessions of God.
17. I have not laid to waste the lands which have been ploughed.
18. I have not pried into matters to make mischief.
19. I have not set my mouth in motion against any man.
20. I have not given way to wrath without due cause.
21. I have not committed fornication, and I have not committed sodomy.
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have not lain with the wife of a man.
24. I have not made any man to be afraid.
25. I have not made my speech to burn with anger.
26. I have not made myself deaf unto the words of right and truth.
27. I have not made another person weep.
28. I have not uttered blasphemies.
29. I have not acted with violence.
30. I have not acted without due consideration.
31. I have not pierced my skin and I have not taken vengeance on the god.
32. I have not multiplied my speech beyond what should be said.
33. I have not committed fraud, and I have not looked upon evil.
34. I have never uttered curses against the king.
35. I have not fouled running water.
36. I have not exalted my speech.
37. I have not uttered curses against God.
38. I have not behaved with insolence.
39. I have not been guilty of favoritism.
40. I have not increased my wealth except by means of such things as my own possessions.
41. I have not uttered curses against that which belongeth to God and is with me.
42. I have not thought scorn of the god or the city.


*
If this is what which we get judged by, they I am guilty of many. I have spoken in anger and such without cause and with...I have sole (when I was really young and not thinking right) and I have lied and been decietful (everyone has)...so I think nowdays these things are not really appliable and are unaviodable.
And also- number 21 (I have not committed fornication, and I have not committed sodomy.) I have seen a translation which says "homosexuality"...I think this sounldn't be considered negative...I mean, I believe everyone has a choice, and its not negative or a sin...its just who they are.

I know Kemetic Orthodox follows a lot of what is in the Book, I dont know if they follow this , or if modern Kemetics do (along with the Afterlife beliefs)...if if they do- what is one to do about these?

[Rain Gnosis]

Ma'at is more than right action or right process.... even the word "right" in English has as many meanings as does "justice," and not all of them good. I am left with a word I cannot explain to you in the language I must use to explain it, and so we have a limitation. We will do our best to come to some understanding of what Ma'at is, even if we cannot agree on how best to term it in our native tongue.

First of all, Ma'at is a process and not an event. Ma'at happens; it is not simply a monolithic yardstick for behavior, such as the Ten Commandments of Christianity. While there have been some useful comparisons of the 42 "negative confessions" one is asked to say in the judgment halls of the Kemetic Orthodox afterlife to the Ten Commandments (such as in Karenga's The Declaration of Innocence), it is not a one-to-one comparison where Kemetics feel a need to tack on 32 more prohibitions than the Jews. The important part of the judgment of the dead, actually, is not the negative confession, but what comes afterward: the weighing of the heart (the central essence of a person, not the actual beating red muscle in one's chest) against Ma'at.

Letters from the Nisut, House of Netjer (http://www.kemet.org/letters/shomu0899.html)


They are referred to as the "Negative Confessions" or the "42 Laws," yet they are really neither.

What each of the 42 lines consists of is a prayer and a purification. Beginning with the invocation of a local god for each of the 42 provinces of Kemet, and ending with a recitation of a thing which a person did not do (as opposed to reciting what a person did do, an interesting declaration of innocence rather than of guilt in itself), the 42 lines were actually priestly requirements, from a list of things that priests in life were required to perform (or in this case not) perform, immediately before serving before Netjer in a temple.

As the deceased is about to enter the presence of Wesir, it makes sense that he or she must be "purified" in the same way as a priest and prove it to "the 42 assessors," symbolic of the entire land and people of Kemet.

This being said, the 42 purifications also give us some idea of what the people of Kemet considered appropriate behavior, and even the living person who is not a priest cannot help but benefit from that study.

May 10th, 2004: Daily Devotions, House of Netjer (http://daily.kemet.org/archives/archive-052004.html)

In short, the 42 Negative Confessions are statements of principles for the everyday Kemetic to keep in mind and strive to achieve - not hard and fast rules that must absolutely be followed at all times by everyone.

[aftershocked]

I personally think that these are suggestions to be considered rather than 'You yelled, your Am-mit chow' type deals ;) I think that yes, some of them are outdated, but many can still be applied. I think Netjer understands that time and culture change, and that some of these things are now harder to follow than they were in Kemet..

And personally, I believe that the gods are accepting of homosexuality. Heck,they chose me didn't they? :cool:

[Meritsekhmet]

Oh, thanks Rain, that clears that up. I already knew about Ma'at- as a concept and Goddess (one of my favorites too ;)) Good to know that these are not strict rules - that is what I was confused about.

[Rain Gnosis]

Yeah, I can totally understand that, I was confused about it to when I started getting into Kemeticism.

[argento_occhi]

i've always considered them more actual guidelines than actual rules. I've heard tell they were even considered guidelines in ancient egypt, that they were guidelines for a good life and not like the ten commandments, you know, stick to them or you're in trouble.

bright blessings,
argent

[aftershocked]

Ok, I have a question I've been looking for a way to word, and one of the confessions gives me an excellent opportunity.

#42: I have not thought scorn of the god of the city.

.. How would you apply that today? I mean, I live in a very Christian town.. but it was also built on an old Native American tribeland. Does this mean that it's alright that I respect and honor* those deities as well?

* It would do well to note that by honor, I don't mean worship. It's more of a respectful thing if anything. It's like the Native American spirits are elders of the town, but the Netjeru are family- so I have a closer relationship with them than with the spirits, but I still have a high level of respect for the spirits and their ways. That make sense?

I ask because lately, I've been getting visits from a 'presence'.. who recently came to me in a dream with the appearance of a native warrior, dressed in tribal clothing (My friend is of the local tribe, and I had the privlage of attending one of the drum circles, and his outfit was almost identical). He seemed peaceful, although he felt a little anxious and defensive, as if he was in danger. I wanted to help him(not that I really know what I can do), but paused because I was afraid the Netjeru might take offense. I'm getting a busy signal from my gods, so I figured it was a matter of personal opinion. And I stink at making decisions. Does anyone have any advice/suggestions?

[Tarbh Nathroch]

It’s a hard list to live by. Truthfully I never remember the whole list in my head and think of them as guide lines as well. I keep it simple, I just ask my self is what you’re doing building chaos or order, is it true to myself and how I wish to live? Remember it’s your heart that’s weighed, so in the end you judge your self.

[magicbabs]

Quote " I ask because lately, I've been getting visits from a 'presence'.. who recently came to me in a dream with the appearance of a native warrior, dressed in tribal clothing"

Wow, that is too cool. I have guides that some people can see that are warriors. What luck for you to be acknowledged by a spirit.

Quote:
He seemed peaceful, although he felt a little anxious and defensive, as if he was in danger.

Hey if you were a spirit and showed up in someones bedroom or house...looked around..you would be anxious too.

That is an honor to be visited. Take it as one. I would personally set outside a spirit plate with an offering to the warrior. It NEVER hurts to have a warrior spirit walking with you...

TOO COOL

Oh on my spirit plate - I chose a nice hand thrown pottery plate. I put tobacco (raw from a pouch or anything that is not or has not been a cigarette). I put a little coffee and corn meal with a big coffe bean coated in chocolate...My guides LOVE to be honored that way.

Good Luck ....
Babs

[magicbabs]

34. I have never uttered curses against the king.

The king being....The President or any President....

Humm well I am out..... she laughs....

[liliana]

I think it´s no problem to have contact to that spirit, if you don´t forget about your family.
And the 42. - Respect is surely okay and also the respect towards the people who worship them. I wouldn´t go to church because of such a rule, even though I love churches. Sometimes I find the deities in the pictures there. (Usually I see Isis very similar like Mary...)

[liliana]

Who wrote the 42 negative confessions? Does anyone know?

[Ahautenites]

Good question, Liliana (if you're even still here). The Negative Confessions are part of the Book of Coming Forth By Day (also known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead). The Book was a collection of spells and prayers needed by the person after they died so that they could make it into the afterlife. No one knows who wrote the Book or the Confessions. There are various versions of the Book, too. No one seems to have had a complete version of it. And sometimes it was a pay-by-the-spell deal. The more spells you wanted to take with you, the more you had to pay for them to write those spells for you.

As to the question of relevance of the Negative Confessions in modern Kemetic life.... well, I have a 23-page Word document that gives Hemet's translation and explanation, and it makes sense to me. Her version isn't outdated at all. I would like to share it here, but I think that would probably go against the House's copyright rules. It's listed twice in the Daily Devotions archives (which is where I got it in the first place), though, so if you dig a bit, you'll find it explained one purification each day.

[Ishtara]

Just wanted to add that I loved reading the interpretations of the 42 Negative Confessions in the Daily Devotions. A few months ago, I went through the whole archives and, while many were quite inspiring, the series about the Negative Confessions definitely stood out for me :)

[Sekhmet Soul30]

I think why the 42 Negative Confessions are hard to live by is because the ancients had this hammered into them and also they feared the divine, they feared being eaten by 'the gobbler of souls,' which if you have ever seen pictures of him in the Book of the Dead he's one scary thing. We have developed this belief that the divine is so far away that we don't need to worry about things just as long as we go to Church on Sunday then we're fine.

WHAT A LOAD OF CROCK! If we followed Ma'at and the rules we wouldn't have to worry about where we're going when we die. The 42 Negative Confessions, people believe, were what inspired the ten commandments and probably some of what the Hebrew God didn't want his people doing. If that's the case then the confessions are divine.

[Phoenix_Falls]

I think why the 42 Negative Confessions are hard to live by is because the ancients had this hammered into them and also they feared the divine, they feared being eaten by 'the gobbler of souls,' which if you have ever seen pictures of him in the Book of the Dead he's one scary thing. We have developed this belief that the divine is so far away that we don't need to worry about things just as long as we go to Church on Sunday then we're fine.

WHAT A LOAD OF CROCK! If we followed Ma'at and the rules we wouldn't have to worry about where we're going when we die. The 42 Negative Confessions, people believe, were what inspired the ten commandments and probably some of what the Hebrew God didn't want his people doing. If that's the case then the confessions are divine.

Just as an aside, Ammit/Ammut "the Devourer of Souls" is a she, not a he =)

[Sekhmet Soul30]

I didn't know that, thanks for telling me Phoenix_Falls. You learn something new everyday, which is what I love about this religion.:thumbsup: