Ma'at is a female Neter, and is described as the daughter of the Creator-God. She is often portrayed as a human woman with wings. Her symbol is that of an ostrich feather, and She is often shown wearing it atop Her head. In one hand, She holds the sceptre, and in the other hand, the ankh.

Along with several other Neters, (such as Shu and Tefnut), She is said to have come into existence at the time of creation when the Creator-God arose from the Nun.Concepts of Ma'at Ma'at did not exist until Creation rose up out of the Nun.

Simplistically, Ma'at represents balance, and order, and is represented by the white ostrich feather.

You can read more about Ma'at in her virtual temple.

The Concept of ma'at in Kemet

Ma'at is not only a Neter, but a concept. (In order avoid confusion between the Neter and the concepts, a lower case 'm' will denote the concept of ma'at and the upper case 'M' will denote the Neter, Ma'at.)

The Ancient Egyptians did not leave us with a clear concept of the term ma'at. It was a concept that seemed to be understood by all of the Ancient Egyptians, hence it seemed useless to write down something that was understood. However, it seems to be translated (albeit loosely) to:

right, truth, justice, balance,correctness, order

Although the Ancient Egyptians did not give us a clear definition is given of ma'at, they believed that ma'at could not be taught, but that only through living and constantly abiding by ma'at could they realize and fully understand ma'at. In essence, it is only through living ma'at, can one understand ma'at. (II)

The concept of ma'at is the foundation of all order in Creation; it is the basis for life--socially and spiritually. Everything within Nature is aligned by ma'at: the movement of the stars, the rotation of the planets, the growing cyles of plants, the lives of animals, the flowing of the rivers, and the changing of the seasons.

And everything is subject to ma'at, including the Neteru themselves.

In the First Time, ma'at was the prevailing force that kept isfet (chaos/disorder) in check. However, with the passing of the First Time, ma'at had to be constantly established and maintained, especially within human society; unfortunately, humans were prone to move towards isfet, which deteriorates ma'at.

The concept of ma'at affected the morality of the Ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptian texts (from the First Intermediate Period) instruct the people to keep ma'at, to do ma'at and to speak ma'at. If one were to consistently try to achieving ma'at, one was guaranteed a journey to the West. (II)

No on reaches the salutory West unless their heart is righteous by doing ma'at. -Petosiris

The concept of ma'at was just not about order in Creation, but was also tied to social order. In Kemet, it was one of the duties of the Pharoah to establish and maintain ma'at and keep isfret from arising. In other words, to maintain order within the society, within Kemet, and within all of Creation.

Because humans tend to stray towards isfet, social order is affected by isfet. Like order in Creation, social order needed to be constantly attuned and connected with ma'at.

Order (regardless of within the social structure or Creation) must be constantly re-established and actvely reaized time and time again. It is only through proper behavior and active engagement is that ma'at is obtained.

However, ma'at cannot be so rigid that it restricts all forms of behavior. The concept of ma'at is a free-flowing idea with certain guidelines, as shown in the Negative Confessions.

Isfet

The Ancient Egyptians did not believe that isfet could be completely obliterated. They understood that isfet would always exist, and that people would always be susceptible to isfet; isfet would exist as long as humans exist. Ma'at only seeks to balance out the destruction that isfet causes. They believed that evil, lies, injustice, and irrationality (elements of isfet) are only successful in the short-term, and "...if the end has come , Ma'at remains." (Ptah Hotep).

However, even the Ancient Egyptian did not view isfet in the same way that modern people view "evil." (Please see the essay "Good & Evil in Kemet".)

Responsibility for ma'at

Ma'at imposes obligations on all of the social classes; some more than others. Those who had higher social standings have a bigger responsibilities to ma'at and to those people who were below them. (The Pharoah had one of the biggest responsibilites to uphold and be ma'at.) People who had to constantly struggle to survive had less of a responsibility to uphold ma'at versus someone who had plenty.

Ma'at was something that extended beyond humans, beyond Kemet to include all of Creation. Hence everyone had a responsibility to uphold ma'at to the best of their ability.

Concepts of ma'at Today

In today's modern society, the knowledge of Ma'at is is being rediscovered. It is being revitalized and being lived. We are discovering what the Ancient Egyptians knew and what they practiced. The concepts of ma'at are easily applicable today as they were back in Ancient Egypt.

An individual bears responsibility for upholding ma'at, and the more responsiblity an individual bears for the general welfare (such as teachers and priests), the greater the responsibility to practice ma'at.

The concept of ma'at is a middle path that avoid extremes. It strives for equilibrium and balance, and does not mean to wipe out all social injustices or evils, but means to keep them in check and subdued. While ma'at remains, order is maintained.

A concept that comes closely to the concept of ma'at is karma. The concept of ma'at strives to balance out the forces of isfet, and to keep them at bay because that strive to constantly destroy the order of society and Creation.

The more ma'at you are, the less isfet can intrude intro your life, your society, and into all of Creation.