I am too.

I am new to the posting list, and I too can read some hieroglyphs, but there is nowhere (it seems) on the face of this planet where you can be taught them! All the people who I speak to are self-taught or go to University- I use Collier's and Manley's books- they seem quite good.

How did you guys teach yourself? Can you cope with all the complicated bits that you need to know in order to read more complex stelae and stuff?

P.S how do I add a picture to my name- Psusennes is a bit stupid without the cool silver mask of his.

Here's alittle info for ya .

Thanks a lot! That list should be useful to me. How are you on the hieroglyph front?

(P.S Psusennes I and Psusennes are the same person- long story)

A really great book is "Hieroglyphs Without the Mystery". I'm just getting into it, but it's really great and it's pretty easy to understand.

I am also extremely interested in Egypt and it's people but for completely different reason's. I have no desire to learn to write in Ancient script nor in it's interpretation. I read a book recommended to me on this site titled OM Seti. It was about a women that claimed to be a reincarnate during Seti I's reign. It is a very interesting read. She also made God's out of stone. She lived her day's in Abydo's and worked there until her death. Servant she was.

Can you elaborate on this person? I don't really understand what you mean? She claimed to be a reincarnation?

That seems kind of silly considering as far as I am aware the egyptians didn't believe in reincarnation- infact they spent millenia perfecting the art of preserving their bodies so that they didn't lose the only one they had!
(if you exclude their duplicate ka) Can you explain bel?

This book sounds quite interesting! I thought that I would just tell you what I thought that the body in the afterlife was comprised of, now that we have gone of on a tangent:

An Egyptian's ka was thought to be created at the same time as they were born (sculpted by Khnum from clay and tears). The physical body was regarded as the future container for that ka. The ka would then arrive at the mummified body and use the it as a body in the afterlife. The ka was essentially the life force that could re-control that same body whilst it was still mummified- for eternity. (A bit like in 'The Matrix'- when the people can be in two places at once, both in the Matrix and in their ships).

As well as the ka (which was primarily for controlling and awakening the mummified body in the afterlife, as well as determining physical features) there was also the ba (the bird with a human head). The ba was simmilar to the ka, but the ba gave the person in the afterlife the same personality (an non-physical attributes) as they had in their first life.

The ba and ka needed to be able to recognise their body before they could join together with it and so this is another reason why good preservation of the body was so important. when the ba and ka finally did manage this herculean task they formed the Akh, which was the final combination of: a) the dead mummified corpse
b) the ka (physical)
c) the ba (personality)

I am quite confused now- I think I have it right, but I may be wrong. Tell me what you think. (Interesting isn't it!?)

What I just read somewhere when I was looking for the 42 negative confessions was that the Egyptians did believe in reincarnation. But they did not want that. To them, reincarnation was a bad thing.

"The unperfected soul will be reborn again (reincarnated) in a new physical vehicle (body), in order to provide the soul an opportunity for further development on earth. This cycle of life/death/renewal continues until the soul is perfected, by fulfilling the 42 Negative Confessions, during his life on earth." - Egypt-tehuti-org