Awakening Osiris

A beautiful and engaging rendering of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Western spirituality. Until now, the available translations have treated these writings as historical curiosities that have little relevance to our contemporary situations. This new version, made from the hieroglyphs, approaches the Book of the Dead as a profound spiritual text capable of speaking to us today. These writings suggest that the divine realm and the human realm are not altogether separate — they remind us that the natural world, and the substance of our lives, is fashioned from the stuff of the gods. Devoted like an Egyptian scribe to the principle of 'effective utterance,' Normandi Ellis has produced a prose translation that reads like pure, diaphanous verse.

This edition replaces the previous edition (ISBN 978-0933999749) and contains a new introduction and study guide by the author.

'Normandi Ellis is a genius. Her years of study of the ancient Egyptian language, her deep understanding of the spiritual message of the ancient Egyptian texts, and her exceptional gifts as a poet combine to make Awakening Osiris the best and most beautiful interpretation ever offered of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead—which, of course, celebrates not death but life with all its joys and all its mysteries.' — Graham Hancock, bestselling author of Fingerprints of the Gods and Visionary

'I have read Awakening Osiris more than any other book in my extensive library — ever. Normandi's interpretation of The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an utterly unique combination of scholarship and poetry. It presents this most important work of Western spirituality in a gorgeously accessible way. Awakening Osiris is a perennial, a classic in the combined realm of Egyptology, spirituality and pure literary achievement.' — Kathleen McGowan, New York Times bestselling author The Expected One

'Awakening Osiris is not only a translation and a book of Egyptian religion, but also a spiritual work that will serve many Pagans as a prayer book of sorts, a book of meditations, something not to be read and left on the shelf, but to return to repeatedly.' — Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of Spirits

'Awakening Osiris has been my companion for the greater part of my life, always returning me to the wholesome, healthy and holy. It makes sense of living and dying. Normandi Ellis’s understanding of the many nuances of the Book of the Dead breathes life into the words, making ancient Egypt live again, while never losing touch with the present. ' — Tamra Lucid, author of Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

'Not a translation, a reinvention, in itself a great work of poetic art; from devoted study and long immersion in the writing of ancient Egypt arose this celebration of life and illumination of death, filled with beautiful appreciations of the details of love and living. Read Awakening Osiris to someone you love.'  — Ronnie Pontiac, author of American Metaphysical Religion

'Anyone reading this work cannot help but be moved by it.  It comes as close to an appreciation of the themes of the soul's journey portrayed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead as any modern interpretation has, and with a poetry unmatched anywhere in the literature thus far.' – KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt