OPENING OF THE MOUTH

The Spell for the Opening of the Mouth (Ancient Egyptian: Wep-r) is a collection of ritual texts and gestures designed to magically reanimate a mummy or statue. It was the crucial bridge between the world of the living and the dead, transforming an inert object into a living vessel capable of housing a spirit.

Ancient Name	Wep-r (Opening the Mouth)
Recipients	Mummies, Statues, Sarcophagi
Goal	Restoration of Senses (Sight, Speech, Breath)
Key Tool	The Adze (Mshtyw)

This ritual dates back to the Old Kingdom (Pyramid Texts) but reached its most elaborate form in the New Kingdom. By the 19th Dynasty, the ritual consisted of up to 75 separate scenes, involving purification, slaughtering of bulls, and specific incantations recited by the Lector Priest.

A mummy, though preserved, was useless if it could not function. The ritual aimed to:

• Open the Mouth: To allow the deceased to speak, eat, and drink.
• Open the Eyes: To see the sun god Ra.
• Open the Nose: To breathe the breath of life.
• Open the Ears: To hear the prayers of the living.

The ritual reenacts the resurrection of Osiris by his son Horus. The deceased plays the role of Osiris (the passive father), while the priest plays the role of Horus (the active son). By performing the rites, the priest symbolically defeats death just as Horus defeated Set to restore his father.

The ceremony was led by the Sem Priest, easily recognizable by his leopard-skin robe. The leopard skin symbolized the priest's ability to pass through the underworld safely. It took place at the entrance of the tomb ("The Place of Truth") immediately before the mummy was lowered into the burial shaft.

Specific tools were required for the magic to work:

Tool	Function	Symbolism
Adze	Touching lips	Creation/Carpentry of the Soul
Peseshkef	Fishtail knife	Cutting the umbilical cord (Rebirth)
Foreleg	Severed ox leg	Transfer of vital strength
Incense	Burning resin	Scent of the Gods

The spells were not just prayers; they were commands. One famous utterance declares: "My mouth is opened by Ptah, my mouth's bonds are loosed by my city-god. Thoth has come fully equipped with spells... Atum has repulsed the crocodile that is against me." The words created the reality of life.

Without the Opening of the Mouth, the soul would be trapped in a useless body, unable to consume the food offerings left by the family. It was the prerequisite for the Weighing of the Heart and entrance into the Field of Reeds. It was the difference between eternal sleep and eternal life.

This ritual wasn't just for mummies. It was also performed on cult statues in temples. A statue carved of stone was just stone until the Opening of the Mouth was performed. Afterward, it became a living vessel capable of hosting the spirit (Ka) of the god, allowing the deity to consume offerings and hear prayers.

The ritual closely mimics the actions performed on a newborn baby (clearing the mouth to breathe, cutting the cord). It frames death not as an end, but as a second birth. The tomb is the womb, the priest is the midwife, and the deceased is the newborn entering a wider world.

For Egyptologists, this ritual provides the clearest evidence of the Egyptian concept of the body as a necessary vehicle for the soul. It shows their profound optimism—that physical limitations like death could be overcome through the correct application of ritual technology.

Subject	Opening of the Mouth Ritual
Performer	Sem Priest (Leopard Skin)
Key Object	Meteoritic Iron Adze
Outcome	Restoration of Senses & Life
Core Concept	Death as Rebirth