Aj (mythology)

Aj represented as an ibis.

Aj in hieroglyphic

Aj (Akh) (represented in hieroglyphs as a bald ibis, and forms at the same time the root of the meaning "be beneficent") was one of the elements of the human being for the ancient Egyptians, although its meaning varied throughout the history of Egyptian mythology.

It was a spiritual force of a supernatural nature. The Aj belonged to heaven, in duality with the human body, which belonged to the earth. In the Old Kingdom, the deceased king was performed the rite "Saj" to transfigure him and make him the spirit of Aj.

In general, to reach Aj, after death, magical ceremonies should be performed with rituals and reading selected passages from the ancient Texts of the Pyramids, the Coffins and the Book of the Dead.

The evolution of the representations of the Aj allow us to follow the disappearance of the hermit ibis in Egypt.

Beliefs

In the beginning, it was the unalterable unification of Ka and Ba, the other components of the spirit in Egyptian mythology, that created the union after the death of the physical body. In this sense he was like a kind of "ghost."

After this, it became part of the Aj-Aj, the Aj set of other people, gods, and animals. With this approach, it was what the person would look like when they met the gods in the underworld, the Duat, being immortal and unchangeable.

Later, the Ka was considered to be the change into the Aj and Ba after death, as opposed to uniting with the Ba to become Aj. Within this belief, the Aj remained for a certain time in the underworld before returning and being reincarnated as Ka, with a new Ba.

The separation of Aj and Ba and the union of Ka and Ba were achieved after death through funerary texts and spells, with the aim of bringing strength. Once this was accomplished, it was certain that such an individual would not "die a second time," a death that would spell the end of existence.

Finally, the Aj had a meaning of intermediary spirits or demons between human beings and the gods.

For the ancient Egyptians the components of the human spirit were: Ib, Ka, Ba, Aj, Ren and Sheut.