Ani’s life after death – 3: Declaration of innocence and weighing the heart

The royal scribe Ani would need to overcome a multitude of obstacles and tests to navigate successfully through the Duat or Underworld, to gain a place as a blessed spirit (akh) in the Field of Reeds and to ride with the sun god. To succeed, he would have to invoke a range of magic spells. In a number of chapters in his Book of the Dead, Ani asks to be transformed into various creatures, such as a snake, a crocodile, a benu-bird, a swallow, a golden falcon, and a divine falcon (all shown in beautiful detail in Plates 25 to 28). Most of these have some identification with creation on the primordial mound: for instance, the benu-bird is associated with Atum, the creator god. He must also be