Also called the heart, the name, the shadow.
Their story
Besides the ba and ka, Egyptians named other parts of a person. The ib, the heart, was the seat of thought and memory and was weighed against Maat at judgement; Book of the Dead spell 30B asks the heart not to speak against its owner. The ren, the name, kept a person in existence as long as it was spoken, which is why names were carved on monuments and sometimes erased to destroy an enemy. The sheut, the shadow, was closely linked to the ba, and Book of the Dead spell 92 opens the tomb so that both may go out.
Best times to give to them
- the Wag festival
- birthdays of the dead
What they like being given
- water
- bread
- saying a name aloud
- incense
How to honour them
- Speak the names of your beloved dead, since to say a name was to keep a person alive.
- Keep a simple heart amulet as a reminder to live with a clear conscience.
How they can help you
- remembrance
- conscience
- understanding Egyptian ideas of the self
Symbols
- heart amulet
- cartouche
- black shadow figure
These are concepts rather than deities.
Sources
- Book of the Dead, Spells 30B and 92
- Taylor, Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt
More Egyptian beings
- Imhotep Djoser's architect, later worshipped as a god
- Amenhotep son of Hapu The wise official who became a healer saint
- The Ba The part of the self that moves freely
- The Ka The life force that receives offerings
- The Akhekh The winged griffin of the desert
- The Set Animal The mysterious beast of Set
- The Apis Bull The sacred bull of Memphis
- The Mnevis Bull The sacred bull of Heliopolis