Customer Reviews

Becoming Osiris: The Ancient Egyptian Death Experience

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The fact that one of the reviewers probably refers to a different book and by mistake assigned his/her review to this book does a great disservice to this remarkable work.

Only a superficial reader would assume that this book is a commentary of the "Book of the Dead". It is not. It is much more, and it is exactly what its title suggests : a review of the rituals used by the Egyptians to transform a dead person into an Osiris. The book therefore gives exactly what is lacking in many other books : a broad overview or the three main rituals of death used by the Egyptians : 1) Embalming, 2) Opening of the Mouth, 3) Methods of obtaining Immortality.

1) The book starts with the embalming of the corpse, the purpose of which is to transform the dead body into a statue. Although no complete text of the Ritual of Embalming is available, a detailed account is given of the complicated process at hand and of the reasons for it.

2) The book then describes the "Opening of the Mouth" ritual in much detail, and shows that it refers to the "Book of Statues" used to transform the mummy into a living statue.

3) As a last stage, the "Methods of obtaining Immortality" are described, with many references to the "Book of the Dead". The main chapters of this last section read : Return to the Universal Matrix, Teaching for Coming forth by Day, Magical Self-defense, Solarization of the Deceased, Magical Integration, The Vindicated explores the Cycle of the Beyond, Geography of the Beyond, Mystical Labyrinth and the Glorious Arrival.

There are numerous versions of the BoD. Most of them do cover the text in much detail, but unless one is proficient in the egyptian language and is knowledgable in egyptian myths, the true significance of the text remains extremely obscure. Not so in this book.
The text is very clear, factual, concise and to the point. Very Professional. The drawings are detailed and add much to the understanding. One can regret though that they are not available in color.

This is a good introduction book to the "Egyptian Book of the Dead". The book is somewhat like a commentary to the original text, and is a good source for those not aquatinted with the original. However the book does not cover the original text in great detail, and therefore falls a little short.

Anne Rice has mezmorized me once again with her captivating ability to write with such fine detail and with such thought provoking ways. I absolutely adore the way that she ties religion in with her story, she has me wondering in what I should beleive. Her Lestat is a witty, charismatic man, that steals the spotlight from any other character she has wrote about. I love all of her books, but by far this is my favorite. Take the time to read it, you will fall in love with it also!