In Ancient Egyptian culture and mythology Ma’at was the goddess of truth, justice, balance and harmony. She was often depicted with an ostrich feather, either on her hands or on her head. Ma’at amulets were worn by the living and by the mummies, as a guarantee of a successful judgment of the dead in the afterlife. It was against Ma’at’s ostrich feather that the heart was weighed to ascertain its owner’s worthiness to enter the Aaru, the Egyptian equivalent of Paradise.
To discover more about the Egyptian ceremony of the ‘Weighting of the Heart’, please visit our relevant blog post: The Egyptian Ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart.