#akh-ba-ka

[massiveluxuryoverdose]

Messika Paris

Akh-Ba-Ka Collection ‘Beyond the Light’

© Chris Colls

[ohcyrus]

Oh, Mighty Isis!

Let's talk about Queen Aset--poor woman. Right, I know incest probably was popular Before Christ in Egypt, what with them customarily slaying and eating each other, but something in my gut tells me Osiris wasn't such a stand-up gent. Set certainly wasn't, but imagine that kind of pressure from your brother, the King--I mean, I'd certainly be afraid not to marry him. Anyway, you elope with your brother, and you can't even confide in your other brother about it because he's mad you ain't fuckin' him, dawg. God fucking shit. I would imagine, that when Set went and diced Osiris into a fourteen-piece McNugget meal (Dick on the Nile), the Queen wouldn't be able to help but feel responsible, twisted as the human mind is. I imagine she'd go mad with grief, especially after doing what a woman is asked of, cleaning up the boys' mess and, you know, reassembling her brother-lover along the way. I also imagine that Horus (somehow worse than the name Isis), being a product of incest, would look something like Sloth from The Goonies, with a bird's head and everything. Like the hawk he was, he tracked and killed his Uncle Dahmer, but where does that leave our Great Mother Isis? Sadly, she took pity on her brother during his battle with her son, causing her buckled baby boy to lop her head off. I feel like our Great Mother is forever embedded in the sands of her brothers' and son's sins, where not a single thing that comes to her will ever feel like her own. That's no way to live and, luckily, the Egyptians didn't care much to anyway. If I had to guess, Isis is probably frozen by her false guilt in a nasty pattern: birthing herself into the bodies of those who are worthy; those with an unwavering will and taste for the Old Flesh. Yes, Isis is most definitely cohabitating with some deviant right now, the Akh to their Ka and Ba, whispering secrets of a life before life, guiding them to the particular extremities of fourteen unlucky souls, to bring her King back into the world--our world--of flesh and blood. To free herself of his suffocating, watchful eye or to just keep her mind occupied, I'm not sure. But I'd guess it's simply out of love, and that's the evil in it: even a Martyr to the worst destruction it brings, even a Goddess of Healing and Magic, cannot break its hold. Man. So is love, and so is life--at least it's no longer custom (or socially acceptable) for the rich to go fishing for poor children from their bedroom windows.

[junkmixart]

The Ancient Egyptians believed the soul had three parts, the Ka, the Ba, and the Akh. The Ba was essentially a person’s double, a life force, and at death it was separated from the body. I thought it would be cool if the Ba birds were dead members of the EN9 (Khenti's archeology agency) who work as messenger birds or eyes from the skies! 🐦

LINKTREE

[avengersasssemble]

Ok but the Ba Fragments being the thing inserted into Cyno/Sethos is so wild to me bc irl "ba" was the Egyptian term for the facet of the soul that 1) tended to represented one's personality and 2) could move between the afterlife and the living world. This raises the following questions:

1) is Cyno Like That because of Hermanubis and

2) How the fuck did Hermanubis remove their personality to divide up amongst the Tighnarians?? And did they just straight up kick it after separating their soul? Or are we just going to say "lol king deshret tech" and suspend disbelief

Also does this mean Hermanubis' ka (or the portion of the soul that roughly means the breath of life, or what makes a person alive) is in the afterlife by itself? So Hermanubis will never reach enlightenment/ Akh because Cyno has his ba?

Where are my egyptology majors. Did the egyptian thoughts about the afterlife regarding the ka/ba change during the hellenistic period (Hermanubis was a real god created as a fusion of Hermes/Anubis when Greek and Egyptian cultures began to seep into eachother)???

I have quastions....

[cinderflower]

I don't know if this has been talked about elsewhere but while writing Field of Reeds, I've found there's a very interesting amount of mythology and symbolism that ties in between Malenia, Miquella, and ancient Egyptian mythology. I think the concept of different soul parts (ba, ka, akh) is particularly insightful into a potential way to interpret how bodies and souls are referenced in Elden Ring.

One reason I think this may have served as at least some of the inspiration is the relationship between Elden Ring lore and real life mythology, specifically the Golden Order ties to Roman (and greek, irish, norse) mythology but also how those were influenced by ancient egyptian mythology. Miquella's character in particular seems to reflect on the past state of the world pre-Golden Order for inspiration on how to move forward in the future, similar to how the romans looked to ancient egypt in the past.

List of topics:

The Lotus | Trina & Miquella Lilies

Scorpions and Selket | Malenia, Goddess of Rot

Waterfowl, Nekhbet, and the Bennu Bird | Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Shed, Protective Child God | Miquella the Unalloyed

Death and the Soul | Godwyn, Trina, Dreams, and Spirits

The Acacia Tree | The Erdtree & Haligtree

Horus | Miquella the Kind

Hathor | Marika the Eternal

A few disclaimers: There is a vast amount of information on the mythology and there are a lot of contradictions and hotly debated topics within it and I'm no expert, so these will be mostly very surface level comparisons I think may have been used for inspiration, this is not intended to be a declarative comparison. I'll try to keep my sourcing consistent and most references will link back to a single source which compiled a lot of the references together. I did cross-reference these with other sources and will try to call out these additional sources as well as any contradicting opinions where applicable for additional perspective/context.

The Lotus | Trina & Miquella Lilies

Contrary to the name, the flowers referred to as "lotus" are actually two variations of water lilies, a blue and a white variant: Blue Egyptian Water Lily (Nymphaea caerulea) & White Egyptian Water Lily (Nymphaea lotus).

As you can imagine, this immediately caught my interest considering we have two variations of lilies in Elden Ring, Trina's lily (blue/purple) and Miquella's lily (unalloyed gold).

Unalloyed gold is representative of a pure gold and white is often the symbol of purity and that's no different here; additionally, at times white was even used interchangeably with yellow. Meanwhile for blue, you have the common themes of water and rebirth it's associated with but it was also commonly used in funerals. We know that water and this particular blue/purple hue in the game is associated with both dreams and death.

The lotus was also associated with alcoholic intoxication, and it was used as a recreational drug when soaked in wine; the roots and blossoms contain narcotic substances which are soluble in alcohol. It was also used in medicine (the juice has a mild sedative effect).

This last point is interesting in the context specifically of Trina's lilies and works well with my own interpretation of Trina's lilies being used as a sedative which I actually wrote even before stumbling across this fact.

The lotus was a symbol for life: at the very beginning of creation a lotus flower containing the god Ra was the first thing to emerge from the primordial waters. The lotus was strongly associated with the sun, as the flower retreats beneath the water at night and rises again each day at dawn like the sun-god.

As with many symbols of fertility, the lotus was also symbolic of rebirth after death. This again ties in well with the original concept of Miquella/Malenia being Abundance/Decay representing the cycle of death and rebirth.

The Egyptians looked forward to their souls coming to life "like a lotus reopening," and the Book of the Dead has a spell to allow the deceased to transform into one of these flowers. Faience models of lotus buds were sometimes placed in tombs. In many tomb scenes, the deceased is shown with a lotus flower held to his nose in order to breathe in the divine perfume.

Lotus Sources [x][x][x]

Scorpions and Selket | Malenia, Goddess of Rot

Like the lotus/lilies there were two common types of scorpions: a venomous land scorpion and a harmless water scorpion. As such, the scorpion had a dual purpose and could be seen as either friend or foe depending on the context much like how we see the scarlet rot both harms and strengthens Malenia. We also know the Rot God under the lake is at least in part scorpion in nature and thus this is best represented in Selket, the Scorpion Goddess, who is seen as benevolent and is often represented by the harmless water scorpion.

[Continued under the read more]

Scorpions were greatly feared and scorpion stings were one of the main hazards of everyday Egyptian life. Scorpions were described as “A very small thing, a sister of the snake, a sister of Apophis*, sitting at a crossroads, lying in wait for someone who goes in the night . . .”

I believe the scorpion sting serves as an apt representation of the way scarlet rot manifests and which I suspect is clearly intended with the blade crafted from the scorpion stinger of the Rot God sealed beneath the lake of rot.

[* I think there's an interesting parallel between Apophis and the God Devouring Serpent and Rykard but this is already too long, so here's a link about Apophis [x]]

Meaning of Selket: “She Who Causes to Breathe.” Selket's name refers to her power over scorpions, as those who have been stung tend to breathe too fast and too shallow because of the venom.

Another great description which ties in with the Scarlet Rot as it's shown in Elden Ring, specifically through the state of Millicent when we first come across her: slumped against a wall and breathing shallowly because in her words, "My flesh writhes with scarlet rot."

Selket was depicted with a scorpion above her head, as a scorpion, or as a scorpion with a woman's torso. She often had green skin, a reference to her help with regeneration in the Duat. 

The last note here caught my attention knowing that Malenia's Great Rune which is covered in Scarlet Rot is what grants her the ability of regeneration. The specific callout of "in the Duat" is also of interest since the Duat is the underworld, meaning she regenerates in death (decay).

Historically, the scorpion was regarded as a symbol of motherhood in many areas, as female scorpions carry their young on their backs. The protective goddess Selket, who guarded the coffin of the deceased, was often pictured as a scorpion. An ancient Egyptian proverb states: “I love the scorpion, yet I know its venomous sting.”

This last passage I find summarizes Malenia's relationship with Rot and Decay fairly succinctly and ties in well with how I've always interpreted rot as the force of decay seeking to reestablish the proper life cycle into the Lands Between which had been forced into a state of stagnation from the removal of Destined Death. But because of the rejection of this rot and decay aspect, Malenia suffers the consequences, the venomous sting of the scorpion rather than the benevolence of it. This cascades down to her "children" as well where rather than accepting the rot and motherhood, she rejects both it and her "children" alike. This is actually very well contrasted by Romina in the DLC who finds strength when she embraces the rot and accepts the role of motherhood to those rejected by Malenia.

And, lastly, the visual of Selket guarding the coffin of the deceased is a striking visual comparison with Malenia in the roots of the Haligtree guarding Miquella's cocoon (his coffin) before it had been taken.

Scorpion and Selket Sources [x][x]

Waterfowl, Nekhbet, and the Bennu Bird | Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Another common concept seen in many religions is the association of birds as either representations of spirits passing or guiding them to the afterlife. While Malenia's title of Valkyrie is obviously a clear call to the norse mythology, there are once again roots of this concept that can be found in the Waterfowl, specifically the Heron and the phoenix variation of the Heron, the Bennu Bird. There's also the Vulture Goddess, Nekhbet, who serves as a protector of the dead/underworld.

A passage from the Book of Ani says that the first gate of the Duat was guarded by the Vulture Goddess, whose “tearing beak” could admit the dead to the place whence they rose again. Amulets of vultures were buried with the dead, especially royalty. Egypt’s oldest oracle was the shrine of Nekhbet at Nekhen (modern Al-Kab), the original “necropolis” or city of the dead. [...] Nekhbet was described as “she whose wings are open, whose breasts are pendulous.” She was usually depicted as a vulture hovering with her wings spread, clutching an ankh or the Shen Ring in her talons. When pictured as a vulture, Nekhbet's colors are rarely true-to-life - instead she is symbolically red, blue, green, black, and white, the colors of life, the sky, regeneration, and holiness.

I've always found the reference of Malenia as a Valkyrie interesting because purely in the base game, she doesn't have any role actively acting as a guide of the dead. Rather, her role is as a protector, an undefeated champion and Miquella's blade - a role she obtains after studying with the mentor who led her to learn the "waterfowl dance" and gave her "wings of unparalleled strength". The main relation she has to death is to those she defeated in battle or inflicted with the Scarlet Rot, and her place in the roots of the Haligtree next to Miquella's cocoon.

The Bennu bird was the mythological phoenix of ancient Egypt. It was associated with the rising of the Nile, resurrection, and the sun. The sacred Bennu bird was thought to be a heron, and [...] were thought to lead the spirits of the dead through the dangers of the Duat.

The context is more interesting, in my opinion, when considering her as trying to be a guide through the underworld - specifically for Miquella. She knows her brother's plan to divest himself of his body and be resurrected (regardless of if you're considering base game lore or SotE lore) as she states clearly she "awaited his return". It's also clear that those who served Miquella knew he had also "died" in some capacity, killing themselves in flashes of light in the hopes to "guide his return". Personally, I think this was a missed opportunity to have her take on this role in Miquella's plot directly but that's neither here nor there.

The Hymn of the Bennu says: “I am a blue heron, pure as bone. I know the stirrings of the Nile, the source where water rises overlapped by trees, where ibises dip and wade, where the fish are plentiful. I fly beneath an arch of trees straight into the eye of heaven. I make a long journey amid mud houses, singing. I know the cool mind of the sky and the hot mysteries of earth. I am a blue heron, the messenger, a reborn and dying god. By day I exist because I exist. By night I sail above the river, a single star wise in the darkness.”

Likely incidental but another fun coincidence is that it is specifically a blue heron and Malenia has the association with the blue dancer charm and her mentor's blue robes. There's also obviously the water imagery, flowing water never rotting, but also water again being representative of death and rebirth, specifically associated with the phoenix in this case. We know for Malenia to reach her state as the Goddess of Rot, she has to die and bloom three times.

The Hymn of the Phoenix says: “I flew straight out of heaven, a mad bird full of secrets. I came into being as I came into being. I grew as I grew. I changed as I changed. My mind is fire, my soul is fire. I am the seed of every god, beautiful as evening, hard as light. I am the last four days of yesterday, four screams from the edges of the earth – beauty, terror, truth, madness – the phoenix on his pyre. I will live forever in the fire spun from my own wings. I destroy and create myself like the sun that rises burning from the East and dies burning in the West. To know the fire, I become the fire. I am power. I am light. I am forever. This is my deliverance. I am the fire that burns you, that burns in you. To live is to die a thousand deaths, but there is only one fire, one eternity.”

I don't really have anything profound here other than I love the visuals of this passage in relation to how they might reflect on Malenia's character. Malenia upon blooming in the scarlet aeonia is strikingly reminiscent of a phoenix being reborn from the flames, but there's also the interesting role fire plays in regards to rot, supposedly being able to burn it away to hold it at bay. In a sense by rejecting rot and embracing it only when the situation is desperate enough, she is continually welcoming her own repeated decay and rebirth. But perhaps this duality is intentional, if we consider the following passage:

Trapping waterfowl in a net is a common tomb scene since the Old Kingdom, although the representation of bird-trapping in a hexagonal net occurs already on an item found in a 1st Dynasty tomb. The scene is said to entail two aspects: one positive, related to the duck as a symbol of fertility linked to rebirth, and one negative, the birds as enemies of the dead, necessitating their being trapped to re-establish order in the cosmos. The birds, as a collective sign, refer to two contrary meanings by condensation.

I think where I ultimately fall in tying these three concepts together is Malenia's own fractured sense of purpose. I think her rot affliction and influence of the Rot God can be seen in some aspects of the Bennu Bird, her desire to be helpful and to achieve a better world can be represented by the Waterfowl/Heron, but the role she ultimately serves is as a protector of the dead (Miquella's cocoon) and represented in Nekhbet.

Heron, Nekhbet, and Bennu Bird Sources [x][x][x][x]

Shed, Protective Child God | Miquella the Unalloyed

Which deity better to compare to Miquella the Unalloyed than Shed, the child god, a deity who also has ties to the god Horus which I'll be discussing below in relation to Miquella the Kind.

Shed was pictured as a young man with a child’s Sidelock of Youth, wearing a kilt and an aegis, with a quiver of arrows across his back, riding in a chariot pulled by griffins. 

We can largely see this exact imagery in the picture above and I found these interesting for a few notable reasons. The foremost is in his hunt of creatures, specifically snakes and scorpions as depicted above. We know from the earlier analysis there's the connection between Malenia's rot and the scorpion form of the Rot God - a nice parallel to Miquella fighting against her rot. There's also the bow and arrow, since it's strongly implied that Miquella invented both the pulley bow and crossbow, this also ties in well. But most curiously was the reference to griffins, given the only place in the entire game I can recall seeing griffin motifs is in the Haligtree. (Feel free to correct me if there's more elsewhere!)

Sure that may just be a Berserk reference, but that's so boring in comparison.

A protective god, Shed was pictured on many plaques and pendants. He was believed to guard against illnesses and wild beasts, and made sacred weapons of war. 

Unlike the strong implication that Miquella made the pulley bow, we do know for a fact that he made the Hand of Malenia, which is inscribed with an incantation of Unalloyed Gold to make it resistant to rot, aka a sacred weapon of war.

Shed was often shown grasping serpents and other dangerous animals, and standing on the back of one or more crocodiles, to indicate that he had power over them. In some instances Shed was pictured as a mongoose.

Despite being a child god, Shed is clearly depicted as having power over the most dangerous creatures, not unlike how Miquella is referred to as the "most powerful" and "fearsome" Empyrean, and we can see this power through his charm ability and how he makes docile those who would otherwise prove to be a threat.

Over time, Shed was absorbed into the god Horus, as “Horus the Child.”

As we know, Miquella the Unalloyed eventually becomes Miquella the Kind which I'll get to soon, but first let's talk about the body, death, and souls.

Shed Sources [x]

Death and the Soul | Godwyn, Trina, Dreams, and Spirits

Rather than the concept of a single body and a single soul like much theology that came after, there's different facets of the soul that ultimately came to represent a person and each plays a different role in a person's life both while they are alive and after death. Understanding the nuance of each I think helps shed an interesting perspective on the Trina and Miquella situation in particular.

There are 5 main parts I will be focusing on: Khat (Khet), Ka, Ba, Akh, and Ab (Ib)

Khat (Khet) - The Body

Also called Khet, Khat was the physical body of the deceased, or mummy. On the day of a funeral, special prayers were recited over the mummy to aid in its transformation into a spiritual body, Akh, that could rise to heaven to dwell with the gods. The outer coffin often had a pair of eyes and a false door. This was so that deceased could "see" out, and their Ka (another part of the soul) could come and go.*

The physical body is the easiest, but we can also see in the description related to the coffin that the body still has a role to play in relation to the other parts of the soul, specifically the Ka. This is something to keep in mind when thinking about specifically Miquella's cocoon husk, Ranni's dead body, and Godwyn's soulless body.

[* Note: There is a heated debate in the community with regards to the specific role of the ka being able to return to the body and which resides in the Field of Reeds]

Ka - The Life Force

The hieroglyph for the Ka is two arms raised as if mirroring each other. The Ka is perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to describe, for there is no modern translation for this word. Essentially it appears to mean "double" as well as "vital force" and is a clear reference to a part of the individual that transcends the death of the physical body. Egyptologist Richard Wilkinson explains that "in all periods it is used as a term for the creative and sustaining power of life."

This concept of the Ka representing the part of the soul linked to the body I believe ties in well with the concept of multiple deaths that characters in Elden Ring can experience. Now we know when any of the Remembrance bosses die, they're hewn into the Erdtree, taking their shape.

The Ka was something handed down from one's parents, grandparents, and ancestors, like spiritual DNA, traceable in the very remote past to a creator god by way of lesser deities. The Ka was not only one's double but also a guide and protector, imbued with the spark of the divine. According to pictures drawn during the 18th Dynasty, the Ka came into being when a person was born, often depicted as a twin or double, but, unlike the body it belonged to, it was immortal provided it received nourishment.

We see here that it is also believed that under certain circumstances a Ka can be potentially immortal.

The gods themselves were felt to possess a Ka. Egyptologist Dimitri Meeks explains that the vital force that the ancients ascribed to the Ka acts in such a way as to give each deity the ability to take creative form infinitely. Because of this ability, it was this essence, the energy of the deity's Ka, which was felt to temporally inhabit statues and other magical images during ritual, or sacred animals.

In essence, a Ka can vary in shape (when associated with a deity) and is closely bound to the body. It is also able to be imbued in statues or other images - think puppets, or dolls in Ranni's case. Essentially as long as there is something in the realm of the living for Ka to inherit, it can continue to exist in some regard.

The Ka of the pharaoh was thought to be the collective life force of all his subjects - crucial to their well-being, indeed to their very existence. The term "By the Ka of the pharaoh" meant "by the good grace of the pharaoh."

This gives and interesting twist to the concept of the Erdtree which we know is used to facilitate life and rebirth in the Lands Between by returning the bodies of those who perished to it, as well as giving a unique perspective on the concept of grace since only those granted grace by Marika technically "belong" in the Lands Between.

Dying was referred to as "going to one's Ka." Upon the body's demise the Ka rejoined its divine origin, but always remained in close proximity of the body.

One way to potentially conceptualize the Ka is any manifestation of the soul or spirit of the deceased that remains in the land of living rather than the underworld: Spirit Ashes, Puppets, Ranni's Doll(s), Sellen's Primal Glintstone, etc. In Godwyn's case, this implies that his body (Khat) may live, this part of his soul (Ka) was killed and Ranni's was the inverse which is how she's able to continue living.

Ba - The Ego

The personality or alter ego of the deceased. The Ba was said to be able to fly from place to place during the day and is often shown hovering over the mummy or resting on a shrine. Migratory birds were regarded as nations of the Ba, flying freely between tomb and underworld. Supposedly the Ba could assume any form it chose, and the Book of the Dead has many spells to assist the Ba in its transformation. Some of the most common transformations of the Ba were into rams, a lotus, and other birds such as swallows.

Now of course, I read this and immediately thought of Trina, and while I don't think the concept of the Ba in how it functions here is a one to one for the manifestation of Trina, I believe it provides a very unique framework for how to conceptualize her existence. SotE made it abundantly clear that there is a very clear overlap between sleep/dreams and death and if we take the freedom of movement the Ba has literally this makes sense. In the context of Miquella and Trina, this makes Trina an aspect of Miquella that is able to traverse the underworld, able to walk death.

Though the Ba seems to have been essentially nonphysical, it nevertheless could be viewed as a separate physical mode of existence for its owner, even prior to death. Hence, the sun was the Ba of Ra, the wind was the Ba of Shu, water was the Ba of Nun, and crocodiles were the Bas of Sobek. Deities often had multiple Bas - Ra was thought to have seven Bas, and it was claimed that Amun had ten Bas.

It's the line "even prior to death" that caught my attention and I think this mostly applies to Miquella and Trina but could also be applied to Marika and Radagon - though I believe the alchemy concept suits them better. If a Ba is a form of the soul that can exist prior to death and manifest in some way, traversing to the underworld, well that sure does sound like Trina doesn't it?

Every evening the Ba returned to the body, reuniting with it and thus ensuring the body's continued existence in Sehet Aaru (the Field of Reeds). The body had to be recognizable to the Ba, hence the careful mummification and elaborate mummy masks.

Revisiting the concept of Godwyn again, we know without his soul and with the Rune of Death corrupting his body, it begins to mutate and transform. It provides an interesting explanation for why the eclipse ritual may not have worked even if the eclipse did come to pass: his body in its mutated state, spread far and wide across the lands between is no longer recognizable. He cannot come back to life because of how his body was desecrated. It also provides an explanation for why Ranni was able to continue living: we find her body, still reflecting her form, at the top of her Divine Tower.

The ram was the animal symbolic of the Ba, a major aspect of the Egyptian notion of the soul; the Egyptian word for “ram” was “ba.”

Now this is purely a parallel I purely enjoyed thinking about when considering the Ancestor Spirits and specifically the concept of Torrent being a juvenile Ancestor Spirit.

Calling Back the Ba of Osiris says: “My Ba is a restless bird that leaves to seek itself. For the falcon who breaks the confines of the shell, even the sky it not enough eternity. He may be tossed by storms of whirling sand or ride a hot wind above dunes. Far from here his voice may ring though the forests from the branches of a fruit tree. By the Nile he may wait silent among the reeds, fish spawning as he sleeps, his head tucked in his wing. Burn saffron; remember my prayers. The smoke of incense will bring him home. Though far and sailing, my Ba comes back to me. In his copper beak he carries my thoughts. On his back my starry dreams fly over mountains, over seas, over villages. Above the grape arbor it is I sailing with the falcon, triumphant. Perhaps now he hovers near, flurry of dark wings beating the door; or he follows the rivers and canals of gods, leading them through mountains; or he binds the souls to the rags of mummies, filling dry hands with perfume. Old ones grasp their scepters and rise barefoot in the burning sand. Perhaps he twitters above boats with their cargoes of amethyst, sailing home. Ah, my Ba's a restless bird. On dark wings he flies from yesterday, love in his throat, the warmth of light among his feathers, the risen sun in his hard, amber eye. If you see him, send him home to me. The heart is uncertain country."

Nothing profound here, again, I just really love the way this passage presents the concept of the Ba.

Akh - The Enlightened Spirit

The Akh was the immortal, transformed self, which was a magical union of the Ba and Ka. Strudwick writes, "once the Akh had been created by this union, it survived as an 'enlightened spirit,' enduring and unchanged for eternity." [...] The Akh could return to earth, however, and it was an aspect of the Akh which would come back as a ghost to haunt the living if some wrong had been done, or would return in dreams to help someone they cared for. Letters and offerings were left at the deceased's tomb in hopes that the Akh would watch over those still on earth.

No image for this one, but I believe the Akh represents the process of ascension well, though in Miquella's case it would imply he has achieved a bastardized form of ascension given that rather than joining his Ka and Ba, he discarded (at least one) of his Ba: Trina. Perhaps some form of it was achieved through the chopping and mashing up of the souls of his family, especially if we think back to the concept of a Pharaoh's Ka encompassing all it's subjects - in this case, all of Marika's childen could be considered part of her Ka.

The Egyptians thought the Akh was a radiant light, something like a star. The Pyramid Texts tell us that when a man dies, his Akh goes to the stars to dwell with the gods - "the Akh belongs to heaven, the corpse to earth."

I love the idea of a version of godhood or ascension being represented by the stars given we know in Elden Ring, the stars are also represent primordial life just like the Crucible.

Ab (Ib) - The Heart

The most important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the Ab, or heart. The Ab was believed to be a drop from the heart of the mother of the child at conception. The heart was thought to be the source of good and evil within a person, the moral awareness and center of thought that could leave the body at will. [...] To the ancient Egyptians, it was the heart and not the brain that was the seat of emotion and thought, and was the key to the afterlife. To lose one's heart was a terrible fate, and to prevent such a calamity no less than seven chapters of the Book of the Dead were dedicated to help prevent this from happening.

This summarizes the tragedy of Miquella's ascension through discarding his love in the form of Trina better than I could. I'll leave you with one final passage I adore when thinking about the tragedy of the heart:

A spell called Giving the Heart to Osiris says: “My heart sleeps. My heart dreams. Give me a mouth. I want to talk. Give me my legs and I'll rise. Give me my hands and arms and I'll fight. I'll crush the skull of the snake. Open my blind eyes, straighten my bent feet. I know my heart. It stirs within me. It throbs in my right hand. Blood quickens beneath my skin. Give me my heart. Let it pump again life's power in me, infuse my hands and feet with spirit. Give me my heart. Let me rise and walk. I am quickened. No more sleep. No more dreams. No more death."

Death and Soul Sources [x][x][x]

The Acacia Tree | The Erdtree & Haligtree

Another botanical reference that is common to a lot of religions is the concept of a Tree of Life, in ancient Egypt this is referenced by the Acacia Tree.

Sometimes called the "Tree of Life" in Egyptian mythology, the first gods were said to have been born under the sacred acacia tree of the goddess Hathor, and Horus was also said to have emerged from it.

I think there's some very interesting parallels as well between Hathor and Marika as well as Horus and ascended!Miquella which I'll get into below.

According to myths, the acacia protected the body of Osiris, and the acacia was known as Nht Hnmt Ntr ("The Tree That Encloses the God.")

Again, another interesting parallel to the function of both the Erdtree and Haligtree in how they are presented in Elden Ring. The Erdtree houses the form of Marika/Radagon while the Haligtree - designed to be a replacement to the Erdtree - which housed Miquella's cocoon at one point and is actively where Malenia is when she ascends to her "Goddess of Rot" form.

Acacia Sources [x][x]

Horus | Miquella the Kind

While not a perfect parallel, I think in relation to Shed who later becomes the precursor to Horus as "Horus the Child", looking at the deity Horus in relation to specifically ascended Miquella can provide a unique perspective.

Egyptian texts paint a dazzling picture of Horus: "when he opens his eyes he fills the universe with light, but when he shuts them darkness comes into being." When the Osiris myth became popular, Horus became the patron of young men and was often described as the perfect example of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man. Weak as a child, Horus was nurtured by his mother Isis and grew into manhood. Mythologically, the sun and the moon represented the two eyes of Horus. 

Perhaps not the most insightful, but interesting with the knowledge that Miquella's eyes hold eclipses in them, representative of his goal to bring the state of Godwyn to one where he could provide him a true death.

Early hospitals at Alexandria were under the protection of Horus - Horus was thought to have become a doctor on account of the many illnesses he suffered as a child. Consequently, the Eye of Horus amulet was thought to have healing powers, and to ward off the evil eye and protect against all sorts of illnesses.

We know that Miquella cast so much aside in his effort to heal Malenia, and I still firmly believe was one of his primary goals and reasons for seeking ascension. So while not his own illnesses he suffered as a child, it would thematically still fit.

Lastly, here's two other interesting passages:

The Speech of Horus says: “I am Horus, the Great Falcon. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. There is no god who has achieved what I have achieved. I am Horus, whom Isis bore and whose protection was made inside the egg. I am Horus, Son of Osiris.”

The Hymn of Horus says: "I come to the room where the sun rose. A falcon flies in and settles on my wrist. In his mouth hangs the skin of a snake. ‘I am Horus,’ he cries. ‘From the land of kings I come, riding through the hot winds on the back of a jackal. Where priests murmured in crumbling temples, I flew through their sacred fires dropping feathers. I come to shout the wisdom of air. I’ve come with a sycamore seed in my beak. By the river we’ll sow it and watch it grow through the years. You will die there, Osiris; and I will sit nine thousand years in the tree’s white branches, one eye on each horizon, waiting for your return. I am life rushing on, born from the egg of the world, born from the belly of a magic woman, born of my father’s dreams. I am the screech of wind, the rush of falcon wings, talons sharp as knives. I came after you. I stand before you. I am with you always. I am the power that dispels darkness. The seed laid into the void must grow. The candle’s only purpose is to shine in the darkness. Bread is meant to be ground to pulp in the teeth. The function of life is to have something to offer death. A man forgets, but his heart remembers – the love and the terror, the weeping, the beating of wings.'”

Horus Sources [x]

Hathor | Marika the Eternal

While I think Isis can be an interesting deity to consider for pre-God Marika, I find Hathor slightly more fitting for her ascended godhood.

Hathor is understood to be the deity who welcomes the worthy dead, offers them refreshments of food and drink, and leads the way into the blessed beyond. One of the desires of the deceased was to be in the following of Hathor - "I tread the stars and climb the sunbeams in the retinue of Hathor, I rise to the sky."

Despite the Land of Shadows canonically existing, I believe that's just another realm where death manifests while the Lands Between represents another, and in a sense could be considered something like "the blessed beyond" for those granted her grace. It also explains how those like the Tarnished could be cast out and only permitted back once she returned the vision of grace to them.

Hathor's attributes as a mother goddess were exalted - it was she who gave birth to gods, shaped animals and people, and brought greenery into existence. Hathor repelled the shadows and illuminated all creatures with her light. The inundation of the Nile happened on her command, and the winds drew near on her orders.

Quite a literal parallel to both her removal of Destined Death and sealing away of the Land of Shadow, also bringing light to the land in the form of the golden shine of the Erdtree.

In one Egyptian tale, Hathor was charged by Ra to punish humankind. So great was the slaughter that Ra feared people would be wiped out, and ordered the goddess to halt. But blood-mad, she ignored him. These two aspects of Hathor - violent and dangerous versus beautiful and joyful - reflected the Egyptian belief that women, as the Egyptologist Carolyn Graves-Brown puts it, "encompassed both extreme passions of fury and love."

I hadn't expected to find something like this when first reading about Hathor but obviously this is reminiscent to how Marika lead her genocidal wars.

Hathor Sources [x]

Conclusion

This is all I plan to cover but there's a lot more I could have such as Apophis; gold, silver, and ivory; hair, braids, knots, and power; and so much more. But this is already super long so I encourage anyone interested to take a stab at looking into it yourself if you're curious. If you made it to the end, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts!

[gemwolfz]

totals really good visual au and postcanon au, ba 𓅽 yami and akh 𓅜 atem, They are based on simplified versions of ancient egyptian conceptions of the soul but unfortunately i am not well versed enough to explain it personally. and total has not used tumblr in years so it can't explain either. I can throw you the wikipedia page for now also totals rudimentary explanation is somewhere in the live gem reaction tag

actually total offered to write its own explanation so that'll be under the cut along with its art hooray!!!

okay hi so basically:

ygo doesny seem to give a shit about how souls work in egyptian myth but. basically, it would be funny if yami was a ba while appearing to yugi (not while possessing him obv). hes comically small and unintimidating but still a force to be reckoned with. its pretty much just a visual au and im genuinely surprises no ones done it yet?

akh-atem is different, i havent watched dsod yet so maybe that would fuck with canon compliance but. if you dont know, an akh is a complete, elevated soul created by a special union between the ka and the ba. i dont believe everyone in egypt got this treatment (it was a very specific and lengthy process) but atem is a cool guy he deserves it. Mildly fucks with canon but i imagine some of the remaining tomb keepers perform the necessary rituals until the creation of his akh is complete.

though atem was already chilling in the afterlife as a ba, now hes like. one with the gods. a being of pure light with insane amounts of power that can travel between earth and the afterlife (bas can already do this but shhh). what is he going to do with this? probably pay the living he knew a visit. sometimes. domino city is a bit far from egypt and atem is really trying to relax now. still, he is watching over yugi in this state and trying to keep him safe even if yugi has no idea. he can also appear in dreams! and i think he can make himself known when he is visiting earth though 1. he is scary 2. he is selective so he doesnt ever do it unless he has to. i have a scenario in my head where yugi visits atems tomb and tries to give him something (cards maybe) abd then hes like. damn i miss him. and atem flies down from the heavens as bright as the sun and jyst shows up in front of yugi and is like HOLY SHIT YUGI HI and yugi is reasonably horrified at first. luckily being a powerful ascended spirit doesnt change your personality

INFO on the akh design in question:

- i had to make my own buuut it resembles an ibis (has a human head of his likeness too). However akhs can take any form they desire. atem can look like his old self if he wants. you just csnt really fly around like that ykno

- usually, only his two Main Eyes arw open. his forehead eye opens if hes doing some scary magical spirit shit (his other two will be closed).

- his wing eyes only open if he is showing himself to someone (letting them be able to see him, making himself known), or threatening someone (im sure he has his reasons). each individual wing eye produces INSANE amounts of light and when all are open van give him the appearance of being a pure white glowing being. It will also burn your retinas right off. he is one with the sun after all

- atem is human in the afterlife. he only becomes a fucked up shadow bird if he needs to travel down and hang out on earth and stuff

[talonabraxas]

The Ancient Egyptians believed the soul had three parts,  the ka, the ba, and the akh.  The ka and ba were spiritual entities that everyone possessed, but the akh was an entity reserved for only the select few that were deserving of maat kheru. The Akh "Soul of Ancient Egypt" art by Talon Abraxas, Midjourney & P/S

[terivarhol]

Ka Statue of King Hor, detail, 1750BC (Cairo Museum, Egypt)

ka, in ancient Egyptian religion, with the ba and the akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The exact significance of the ka remains a matter of controversy, chiefly for lack of an Egyptian definition; the usual translation, “double,” is incorrect. Written by a hieroglyph of uplifted arms, it seemed originally to have designated the protecting divine spirit of a person. The ka survived the death of the body and could reside in a picture or statue of a person.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

[jurakan]

May I have a fun fact?

Today You Learned about how in Egyptian mythology, your soul has different parts! Like LEGO. Except with souls.

Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan lists five. I’ve seen up to nine. Here’s what Wiki has:

-Khet: this is your body.

-Sah: this is your spiritual body. The bit that walks around in the afterlife, presumably?

-Ren: your name! That’s kind of important to keeping all your soul bits together.

-Ba: your personality. This is what makes you unique! Also, it appears as this:

You can find these flying around the afterlife in the mythology expansion of Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

-Ka: your living essence. It’s what you don’t have anymore when you’re dead.

-Ib: your heart. They weigh this against the Feather of Truth to see if you get to the afterlife! If you don’t, it gets eaten. Sucks to suck!

-Shut: the shadow. That’s a piece of your soul, apparently. Who knew?

-Sekhem: power. Presumably what keeps your soul running in the afterlife?

-Akh: your intellect.

That’s a lot of soul pieces! You would think the afterlife was simpler, but the ancient Egyptians had a lot of rituals to make sure you kept track of all your soul bits and got the afterlife safely.

[aniphares]

зачитывала вопросы к английскому вслух:

- what is ka?

- what is akh?

- what is ba? вот из ба? вот изба ….

пора на каникулы…

[hesy-bes]

if the requests are still open, would you mind doing one for Anubis?

Anpu,

wrap my limbs tight.

Let know limb be left unbandaged.

For my khat must be prepared,

to sustain my ka and ba,

so that I may become akh.

O' Anpu,

Great Embalmer of the Gods,

preserve my heart so it may be weighed on the scales of judgment,

and may it be found light and true.

[madamlaydebug]

Why is the number 9 so important? The number has the secret name of God and is hidden in the principle. Let's go deeper.....

The three degrees in Masonry or the three great points in a triangle or the three great points in the Mir (Pyramid). The keys 1-9. For example, you have 5 odd numbers 1,3,5,7,9, and even numbers, 2,4,6,8. 5+4=9, and 1+3+5+7+9=25, and 2+4+6+8=20, now 20+25+45, and 4+5=9 again, and you are behind the NINE BALL. The Ball is the Orb which is 360 degrees, 3+6=9, and the cipher is naught and the 9 is aught, to become the first person single, the total being, called "I" for I is the 9th letter of the alphabet, 3 sets of 3 gives you 9.

1. Knowledge, Wisdom, overstanding.

2. Mental, spiritual, and physical

3. The doer, the knower, and the thinker.

Man is a trium being, and the number 1 and the letter "I" is one and the same. So the number 9 is expressed by 3 times 3, and you have reached the 9th hour and must give up the ghost belief, which is the Nine Ball.

What is this secret name that is hidden in this principle? Being behind the 9 Ball is the key. You have 9 Enneads and 9 is 3×3 or RE-ATUM-NUN. In them, you will find the sacred name. Let's go deeper.

You have nine principles that are:

1. Ka, this is the Spiritual YOU.

2. Khu, this is the Mental YOU.

3. Khatami, this is the BODY YOU.

1. Ba, this is the SOUL YOU.

2. Khaybet, this is the PLASMATIC YOU.

3. AKH, this is the ETHERIC YOU.

1. Hati, this is the PHYSICAL HEART OF YOURS.

2. Ab, this is the SPIRITUAL HEART OF YOURS.

3. Shekhar, this is the SPARK OF LIFE OF YOURS.

All of this was brought into the person as being twofold, or double. The two points of existence, are 1) birth and 2) death. 1) mind, 2) Spirit, 3) body. 1) air, 2) fire, 3) earth, 4) water, 2+3+4+=9 again. There was a name for you in birth called the little name, a d there was a name for your death, and the big name,or your scared name.

So what does all?of this means? In Ancient Tama-Re (Kemet or Egypt) for each Pharaoh to protect him/herself against demonic enchantments and utterance of spells, and words of power, at birth each being was given two names at the naming ceremony. The big name and the little name, or the true name and the good name. He kept his big name secret, and he became known by his little name. So should it be with each of you?

If someone masters your scared name they become your equal. Thus the doorway to the nine principles of you are opened up, and you become spellbound in this world and the next. (TW)

[convexicalcrow]

A Discussion Between A Pharaoh And His Ba

a/n: ba = eternal soul a.k.a cam accounts; ka = the current life/incarnation a.k.a the player; akh = a ka who has passed judgement and become one of the ancestors; the kingly ka = a soulspirit of Horus that each king bears and makes them half-divine.

-

The season was coming to a close, and weariness sunk into my bones. The kind of tiredness you can't shake, that eats away at you. My hands refused to build anymore; the very thought of finishing one last room was beyond them. I'd grown very used to feeling like this. The old man had always struggled a little, but this felt … different. Perhaps the Pharaoh's magic had exacerbated things, I don't know. All I know is that the sunset was closing in, and perhaps, there was a different fate waiting for me.

Did I want to know the answers? Well, probably not, but when you have a curious mind, that isn't really something you consider. So, perhaps against my better judgement, I took counsel with my ba, my eternal soul, sitting in the room I would never finish, seeking some resolution.

He looked like me in many ways, except for the much larger wings instead of arms, and the clawed bird feet. He carried scrolls under his wings, and he didn't speak so much as have words emanate and vibrate through the air into my mind. He looked at me with pity, though I would never quite understand why.

You fear death, were his first words. But why fear death when you will simply respawn? You are essentially immortal. Death means nothing but a temporary inconvenience. So why does your heart falter?, my ba said.

He was right, of course. Was it even death anymore? It never really felt like death. Just a large chunk of pain that faded fairly quickly after respawn. There were no penalties for it. You never stayed dead. But I'd come to understand death very differently this season. Perhaps it was the Pharoah's powers, or the presence of the Kingly Ka burning bright in my soul, I don't know. Certainly having all the old Kings on speed dial was a strange experience. I had only become Pharaoh for the theming of the pyramid base. I never expected to get the power and legitimacy that came with it. Those old kings spoke of so many things, and kept saying they'd be waiting for me once it was time for me to go West.

Me? Join the Kingly Ka? Hah! No way. Not me. I'm just some guy, I'm no king. And yet… The idea that the Pharaoh would die, no, the fact that he would whether I liked it or not? Yeah, it scared me. Permanent death is scary! No one ever just… died and never came back. We always come back. Which death would be my last? Would this be the last world I ever played on? Would this be the last time I saw my friends?

The time for this ka is coming to a close. A new ka is soon to be born, my ba said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

This ka will be judged. This ka will become an akh. The ba will manifest a new ka. The old man's time is over. The fountain of youth is calling, my ba said.

"I'm going to become someone else? Is that what you're saying? I'm not sure I like that idea," I said.

The old man was already someone else. He served you well, but his time is up. There is nothing further he can do for you, my ba said.

"Wait, so I spend all this time building the Great Pyramid and this is how I'm rewarded? I just become someone else? Nah, no way. You have no power to do that to me," I said.

And yet, here I am. I am eternal. Death does not touch me. I will see all the lifetimes you lead whether you are aware of me or not, my ba said. Death beckons to the old man. It's okay. You can stop now. Your weary body can rest, my ba said.

I didn't reply as I took in the scope of his words. I did feel very tired and old, that's for sure. But the idea of just becoming someone else scared me. I didn't like to not be in control of that. I already knew who I was pretty well by now. I didn't want to have to do that all over again in a new body.

You can fight it if you want, but you'll have no choice in the end. The West beckons. It's time. Make your peace and come into the arms of the gods. All Pharaohs die, and you are not an exception, my ba said.

"But where will I go when I die? Into the void? Will I just be trapped there? I don't know if I want to be trapped in the void!" I said.

Your heart will be weighed against the feather of Ma'at, and that will decide your fate. Could be tricky, we both know the evils you've done in the name of greed. Your hands are stained with blood. Let's hope you have done enough good to balance out the bad, my ba said.

The Vex hissed angrily at my ba's accusations, but he was right. If I was brutally honest, getting other Hermits to fight a war for us and then selling them the weapons in which to do so, was definitely not up there with a good thing to have done. The Vex, too, were hardly nice. That's when I realised I might be in some kind of trouble, and in my panic, returned to my consciousess, not wishing to hear my ba's counsel on that particular point.

I shouldn't have asked. I should have just remained ignorant. Let things pan out however they wanted to pan out. But now that I know, I feel helpless. Ba, please, spare me from the Lake of Fire. Heart, speak true and do not betray me! Gods, spare me from the jaws of Ammit!

Oh, I really shouldn't have asked. I have had no sleep for a week, too scared to go to bed in case I never wake up. But the season's winding down fast, there's not much time left. The sun sits just above the western horizon. And yet, I am paralysed with fear. I will put my affairs in order while I still can, but… I didn't build a tomb in this pyramid for nothing. The guardian I left in there may become my executioner. The old man will rest here for all eternity. Who knows who I will become? Only my ba knows that, and I'm not sure I want to know this time.

[itsmissing]

whats your favorite oc in terms of story? what about in terms of design?

ah, that's a tough question! i actually separate my ocs into two separate categories - the mage and wizard stuff being from their own more light fantasy-oriented world building space called Hapaxea, while my funny monster people exist in a universe called "Literally-This-World-But-There-Are-Monster-People-I-Guess" (working title).

because of that, i'll have to answer twice!

for the monster people, i'm kind of a little embarrassed cause i really only started caring about things like fleshing out personalities and characterization in the latter half of this year.

premise wise, i'm pretty fond of The Ex-Wives of Amun, which I conceived of as an underground punk band comprised of the three aspects of the soul (the ba, the ka, and the akh) in ancient egyptian belief systems + the very mummy the aspects came from. right now i've only got Henut the ba and Isfet the mummy designed, but i also think it'd be funny if one of the aspects had a falling out and started their own band.

design wise, i really like how my oc Jackie turned out. i think i blended the funny baseball + scary yokai aspects pretty well, and i really should get around to drawing her more.

as for the wizards, i think The Great Gastronome is the one that resonated with people on tumblr a lot, premise-wise, and i'd have to agree! they have a very self-contained concept that has p much all the elements that make a good wizard: ambition, narcissism, and a big funny hat.

as far as looks go, i'm a big fan of Lacrimosa, the Leech Lich! she started out as a silly inktober prompt from i think 2018, and i just updated her every year until this current iteration stuck. my only lament is that i'm finding her p hard to draw because of how non-standard her silhouette and anatomy are.

[cinderflower]

I think I'm actually going to work on making a post outlining my haligtree twins / ancient egypt influence theory because I genuinely don't know if anyone has brought it up before but I think its interesting if nothing else, and has some weight since we know romans took a lot of influence/inspiration from the mythos

I want to cover things like Malenia + scorpions, herons, and the bennu bird but also Miquella/Trina + lotus, soul parts (ba, ka, akh)

[highendhoney]

Naomi Campbell wearing Messika Beyond the Light Collection - AKH-BA-KA