Bas

/bɑ/ noun

Definition

In ancient Egyptian religion, the soul or spiritual essence of a person, often depicted as a bird with a human head. One component of the Egyptian concept of the afterlife.

Etymology

From ancient Egyptian ba, representing the personality and individual characteristics that survive after death. The concept was central to Egyptian funerary practices and beliefs about the afterlife journey.

Kelly Says

The ba was thought to leave the body at death and travel freely between the earthly and divine realms, which is why Egyptian tombs often had small openings called 'ba doors' to allow the soul to come and go as it pleased!

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