What is the name of the feather used to weigh hearts in the afterlife?
Answer
Feather of Ma'at
Answer
Feather of Ma'at
What is the name of the feather used to weigh hearts in the afterlife? It is the Feather of Ma'at.
The Feather of Ma'at symbolized truth, justice, balance, and cosmic order in ancient Egyptian belief. During the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, a deceased person’s heart was placed on one side of a scale and the feather on the other. The heart represented the person’s character and deeds, while the feather represented the standard of Ma'at.
The ceremony took place in the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, often in the Hall of Two Truths. Anubis is commonly shown supervising the scales, while Thoth records the result. If the heart was judged worthy—traditionally lighter than or equal to the feather—the deceased could continue toward Aaru, the blessed afterlife.
A heart that failed the test was devoured by Ammit, a composite creature with crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus features. The feather is sometimes called simply “the feather of Maat,” and the spelling Ma'at or Maat varies in English. It is not the Feather of Shu: Shu could also wear an ostrich feather, but the judgment ritual specifically invokes Ma'at’s feather.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026