The 42 Assessors & The Negative Confession
A little understood part of the Neophyte ceremony involves the Invisible Stations of the 42 Assessors, who related to the 42 parts of the Negative Confession attributed to Ma'at in the 125th Chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (used extensively for the Neophyte grade). There are many different versions of this Negative Confession, where the soul confesses what sins they have not committed, and their heart is then weighed against the feather of Ma'at, to be granted eternal life should they not be weighed down by sin, or be cast into the mouth of a waiting demon if they fail. Although it is nigh impossible for any of us to ever really be able to make such a Negative Confession with utmost honesty (for surely we err on one matter at the very least [for example, number 8]), it's an important principle to explore in terms of the 42 Assessors of the Neophyte Hall. The following translation is from E.A. Wallis Budge: The Negative Confession 1. Hail, Strider, coming forth fr...