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The Goddess Ma’at and the Laws of establishing and maintaining Ma’at
– Copyright © Rahotep 2000 - 2012

The word Ma’at is both a Divine principle and Face (Neteret) as

well as a concept.

As a goddess Ma’at represents: The Neteret of Truth, justice

and integrity, Order, Harmony, Balance and Truth.
Her name means : “That which is Straight”

As a concept Ma’at is Cosmic Harmony governing the laws of

the universe such as Gravity, the rise and fall of tides, the
planetary movements and all the laws of Nature etc.

“Ma’at was with Ra from the beginning” -

This Means that when Ra created the Universe, Ra created it
on a foundation of Ma’at.

Ma’at is the most important and central concept in Egyptian Heka and all of
the Egyptian Mysteries.

The Symbols for Ma’at include: the Feather and the Balance and the
mathematical ‘=’ sign.

The 3 laws of Ma’at – see diagram below - should be carefully studied and
applied in your life in order to establish Ma’at. It teaches you how to maintain
Ma’at (harmony, peace, order and balance) in all aspects of your life. It is also
very useful for when you are experiencing Chaos (In this case simply apply
law 3 in order to re-establish Ma’at (order))

In ancient Egypt many temple rituals were conducted everyday to ensure the
establishment of Ma’at. The Pharaoh was responsible for upholding Ma’at.

It was well know in ancient Egypt as is today, that the following laws of the
universe held true:
1. Everything comes from Chaos (The Great NUN)
2. Everything Returns to Chaos (If not maintained)
3. There is Chaos in Order (Ma’at)
4. There is Ma’at (Order) in Chaos.

In the diagram below and for ease of reference, I have used the + sign to
represent Ma’at (Order and Balance) and the – sign to Represent Chaos
and Disorder.

From this diagram it becomes clear that in order to balance chaos, more
chaos is added at the opposite end of the scale: Law 3.

If you have any questions regarding these 3 laws please email me.
The Laws of Ma’at is 3 since there are 2 sides to any situation and then
there is the 3rd side representing the final outcome or “Truth”.

The number on the “Tree of Life” for Ma’at is 3 – the sphere of the Planet
Saturn which represents the Egyptian god Name At pronounced Aaht.
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It is also the sphere of the Divine mother of which Ma or Mut (the Egyptian
word for Mother) is a seed sound. Thus Ma’at can also be interpreted as
the Great Mother Divine. 3 also corresponds to the
triangle and as such is a great symbol of
Synthesis.

An example of Synthesis is Osiris, Isis, Horus.

Mother, Father, and Offspring. – See picture on the left

The symbol symbolise a stable and balanced form

when resting on its base with the point or apex
Horus, Osiris, Isis uppermost. It also teaches us that when we
combine two opposite forces or products, a third force or product is the
result that contains elements of both products used in the final synthesis of
the combined forces/products.

Remember this principle well, for the laws of Ma’at being 3 in number is all
about synthesis and balance, creating order from chaos or maintaining
order.

The 3 laws portrayed below can easily be understood in the following

manner:
Law 1.
When you or any situation or energy matrix is in Balance (Ma’at)
(symbolised as a ‘+’ on the left side of the scales) all that is needed for
Ma’at to continue is to maintain the balance.

Law 2.
When you or any situation or energy matrix is in balance and then
destabilised by a chaotic or negative force/situation or energy matrix
Symbolised by the ‘-‘ (Minus) sign on the left side of the scales, Ma’at
can be re-established by applying Law 3.

Law 3.
By applying a negative energy/force or situation equal to that, which
destabilised the scales of Ma’at resulting in Chaos, Ma’at
(peace/balance/order) can be re-established. This law states that
chaos is balanced with chaos.
Law 3 is the least understood and the most incorrectly applied law
of the 3 laws of Ma’at, in that it is human tendency to think that by
adding more positive energy to a negative situation, something good
can come out of it! Only Chaos can balance Chaos to result in the re-
establishing of Ma’at.

It is for this very reason why the Neter Sutekh (Seth) is standing at the
front of the barque of Ra in his night voyage through the underworld in
order to harpoon and slay the forces of Isfet (evil) as symbolised by the
serpent Apep. It is also for this very reason that Set is not evil at all but
a very negative force and function. Sutekh is also known as the “Red
god of Thunder that destroys illusion”, for unless we see through our
own illusions and mistakes as represented in the application of Law 3,
we can never learn how to achieve the Ma’at we so deservingly strive
for. In the Mythology (symbolism to deeper hidden occult truths), The
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sun rises as Khepera reborn only after Seth slays Apep – by applying
Law 3!

The 3 LAWS of MA’AT states that:

Law 1: + and + = +
Law 2: - and + = -
The Principles for Balancing
Law 3: - and - = + The Scales of Ma’at

Law 1: + and + = Ma’at

+ +

The Scales balance

Law 2: - and + = Chaos

- +

The Scales balance

Law 3: - and - = Ma’at

- -

The Scales balance