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MA'AT

Role: Goddess of law, truth, and order

Appearance: Woman with an ostrich feather on her head

Relations with other gods: wife of Thoth

 

The goddess Ma'at is a personification of the ideas of law, truth, and order. In fact, the word "ma'at" described the state of worldwide balance and order.

Ma'at had a role in the judgement of the dead. In "The Hall of Ma'at" the heart of the deceased was weighed against Ma'at's "feather of truth." If the heart was free of guilt and sin, it would be lighter and the sould would get to pass on to Osiris. But if the heart was heavy with sin, it is thrown to Ammut, who gobbles it up, denying the spirit an afterlife and causing it to cease to exist.

 

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