The Egyptians did place great importance upon the preservation of the body, it is true. However the idea that if the body were not preserved or were later damaged or destroyed the Soul would loose its afterlife does not appear to have been how the Egyptians actually looked at the matter. 

Rather, the preserved body acted as a kind of key, an anchor the Soul of the deceased which allowed it to interact with the world of the living as an Ancestor Spirit rather than simply moving away from its old identity.

Above: The “Khat"


The preservation of the body itself was looked at as the ideal for this purpose, but other alternatives existed –notably images of the deceased, which played the same role. 

So long as an image of the deceased remained, or even the deceased written name, they could still manifest through it. This belief that a Spirit could manifest through an image is one reason why so many ancient images were destroyed by early Christians.

The term Sahu seems to have referred to the energetic body. Where the Khat was recognized as dead and subject to decay, the Sahu was manifest in the spiritual realms and continued to flourish after death.

The Khaibit, also termed Sheut, is described as the “shadow” of the deceased and was depicted the same way –as a black figure resembling a shadow. What Egyptians believed about the Khaibit is equally shadowy, but it is assumed that it was similar to the Hebrew Qlipphoth or the Roman Umbra –a kind of emotional remnant or impression of the deceased which was essentially reactive in nature.

The Ren was the name –by which is meant the persona of the deceased. Like the Khat, the preservation of the Ren was considered extremely important. It was believed that the identity of the Soul would remain intact as long as the Ren was remembered.

Above: The “Khaibit”