Egypt has had many rulers and many time periods. The ancient Egyptians believed that the universe was Egyptian order and rational. The rising and setting of the sun, the flooding of the Nile and the predictable course of the stars in the sky reassured them that there was a permanence to existence which was central to the nature of all things. However, the forces of chaos were always present and threatened the balance of Ma´at.

The laws were based on a common-sense view of right and wrong. Each Egyptian´s soul was judged in the Hall of Ma´at (depicted in the book of the dead and book five of the book of gates) when they died. Their heart (conscience) was weighed against the feather of Ma´at (an ostrich feather) on scales which represented balance and justice.

We know that important Egyptian temples employed a large number of priests and servants who performed a wide variety of tasks. Theoretically, only the king, who was the only living person in Egypt considered to have the status of nature, could officiate in the cult before the gods. It was he who was considered to be the high priest of all the gods and goddesses of Egypt.

Head of Ancient Egyptian Government

The type of government in ancient Egypt was a theocracy. The pharaoh was the head of ancient Egyptian government. People believed him to be a living god. His Vizier is second in command and controls everything the Pharaoh cannot. The Pharaoh establishes the laws and the Vizier helps him.

The government structure of ancient Egypt involved other officials, including viziers, army commanders, chief treasurers, the minister of public works, and tax collectors, all of whom answered directly to the pharaoh.

Throughout all of Nature there is an inherent Egyptian Order; a pattern of movement and dance that governs the very functioning of all that is. On a sublime level, the Ancient Egyptians were very much aware of this. The Goddess Ma’at is the personification of cosmic order, truth, justice, rightness.

Truth, integrity, honesty, goodness, and balance bring one closer to the spiritual essence that is all pervasive in the Universe. There is nothing more sacred or important to the practitioner of Ancient Egyptian religion. The cosmic order that is Ma’at connects everything in the ageless dance of beauty and motion giving meaning to existence on all levels.

Security of life and property and the continuity of law and government rested almost entirely on the prestige of the Pharaoh, maintained by the schools and the church. This mingling of religion and government is probably what kept Egypt so powerful and centralized during its high points.