To Ancient Egyptians, the mummy signified hope. If the physical part of a person could be preserved, Ancient Egyptians hoped the spiritual part could be as well. The mummy embodied the philosophy of Ancient Egypt. Life after death was viewed as "possible". The natural preservation of the physical body in the desert led Egyptians to believe that through mummification it was possible to survive death. Artificial preservation replaced natural preservation.
Egyptians believed that the physical form was only one part of what made a person. The spirit or ka and personality or ba (human headed person in artistic rendering). In death, these three elements split apart. They could be reunited as "ank" - the glorified being of light - if the Ka and Ba could recognized the individual (the physical preservation of the body through mummification.) Through spiritual and ritual performance, the Ka and Ba could be reunited. This was a symbol of Osiris who resurrected and the sun as Osiris that was reborn each day. The sun proceeded through the underworld, overcoming dangers and was rejuvenated at the dawn. This is the essence of the cosmic mummy of Osiris associated with the sun coming back to life each day. Through this symbol of the sun and Osiris, Ancient Egyptians believed there was hope for a better life after death. The metaphor for the rebirth of Re and Osiris was the Egyptian fight for immortality.
The mummified body and even statues of the likeness of a person (and in the final analysis even the name of a person) could be sufficient for the Ank to occur. The need for magical spells was significant to help the individual into the afterlife. Hieroglyphs are the "sacred writing" that conveyed important information. This writing was the gift of the gods and could transcend life and death and was the medium to communicate with the gods themselves. The essential journey to the other side was the course the pharaoh took to aid his people as a god. Burial in the "eternal house" was a symbol of mythological mound from which all things came about. All of this was essential for Egypt to continue. The building of the "eternal house" was a sign not of death but of continuity. In death the pharaoh became a god and the next pharaoh became a son-of-a-god. This linkage was to serve Egyptians as a whole.
The last hieroglyphs were written in the fourth century A.D. at Philae. They were a system of writing using recognizable forms from nature. They used the physical things that humans experienced. Their pronunciation is a mystery for there are no known vowels for hieroglyphs. Their functionality was to help the dead on a journey into the unknown of the other side. They could be written from right to left, or left to right, vertically or horizontally. They could be written on a grand scale for emphasis. It is believed that 90 to 99% of all Egyptians could not read hieroglyphs. They were the language of the gods and the class of Egyptians who closely were related to those gods. Hieroglyphs were the gift of Toth - the god of writing (often shown with a palette in hand.)
The word was a deed. Hieroglyphs were not only a language but were life themselves. Animals drawn as symbols could come alive. Just as drawings of oversized things the Egyptians wanted in the afterlife, words were alive in that other world. To take your family cat along with you in the other world, you simply needed to drawn the image on the walls of your tomb. The afterlife was to be a better world and you could expected everything from this world to be there. If one was to pertetuate ones self, hieroglyphs could help ensure that you knew what to do on the journey to the other side and could have what you desire when you got there. Writing was so important that by putting your name on your tomb or coffin, you would be recognized. The name, as an example of how real words were, was an image of the individual. If you say someone's name, you think of that individual. Therefore, the name must possess something of that person and have a power recognizable by the Ka or Ba.
The basic form of writing in Ancient Egypt was hieratic. Its origins can be traced to over 3100 B.C. It is a simpler form of writing. Very few people were literate even in this form of writing however. Many of those who could write hieratic probably could not comprehend hieroglyphs. It is common for mistakes to be found in hieroglyphs.
There was a distinct team work needed to write hieroglyphs. They began as hieratic symbols, were converted to rough hieroglyphs, corrected, sculptured, checked again for mistakes, and finally painted for color. A team worked as specialists to create these "writings of the gods".
Old Kingdom texts were reserved for the pharoahs. They were a guide for the king's journey to the afterlife. By 2000 B.C. in the Middle Kingdom, spells appear on coffins of the wealthy. This reflects a personalization process that continues through the period five hundred years later when the Book of the Dead begins to appear. The Book of the Dead is around 200 spells that are the guide to the journey into the other world. Egyptians by this time spent a great deal of their lives preparing for the afterlife. Living forever was the goal. The afterlife was much longer after all than this life of today. You had to be prepared. The Book of the Dead was the guide; there were maps (nether world guides) that could also help you. These were the manual for the secrets to the journey to the other side. To Egyptians, this trip was a mystery that could be a nightmare. There was no other alternative if you failed this trip. You either had eternal life or were extinct, eaten by the "eater" a mythical beast of part lion, crocodile, and hippopotamus.
The individual had to pass a series of tests along this journey. Death was less frightening if you knew more what to expect. The Book of the Dead and the Nether world guides served to help ensure a safe passage. Yet you must pass the 12 gates, a series of questions asked by serpents. You had to move through a horrid world toward a final judgment. Everything led to a final step - the judgment hall. Here, you were held accountable for your life. You must answer to the tribunal of 42 gods with a declaration of innocence or negative confession. They your heart was weighed against a feather. Your worldly actions were judged and your words were heard by the Keeper of the Balance. If you passed this judgment, you were transported by Horus to Osiris. In passing to the other world, you would realize the worth of the effort.
In the New Kingdom, the afterworld was an ideal world for anyone who could pass through the journey successfully. Everyone was equal in that world. Life was idealized with abundance. It was an improved version of this life. It was a sense of hope for everyone as a land of plenty and a place to exist eternally.
Egyptians were not preoccupied by death or longed for life. They ventured to overcome death with hope; they sought to overcome the fear of death with hope. They packed everything in preparation for every contingency. They were going to a place they had never gone before and it was only logical to take along whatever you might think was needed. This meant you could take along you perfumes or your pillow for that matter.