Question

Did ancient egypt believe in reincarnation

Answer 1

Yes... I guess that's why mummies were preserved...

Answer 2

This question is rather like asking if Americans believe in reincarnation, or if Chinese believe in reincarnation. There are a lot of people to consider, and in particular with ancient Egyptian society, it had a long and varied history. However, from my perspective, the short answer is, yes.As with all societies thru history, the more educated someone is (formally or otherwise), the more likely they have some understanding or appreciation of philosophical or spiritual matters. There is little time for reflecting on the nature of consciousness if you are struggling to survive, or fighting battles, or building monuments. Ancient Egypt was fairly prosperous and peaceful, so the citizenry had time to pursue luxuries like art, science and spiritual matters, as they existed in their culture at that time.In general terms the priestly class and those who studied spiritual matters in Egypt very likely did understand that the soul, or Ba, does survive death of the physical body. And, at least among those who had access to the higher knowledge or secret teachings, reincarnation was understood as being a mechanism thru which the soul or consciousness of an individual can learn and grow over a succession of lifetimes. There is a reason some of those concepts are depicted in their art...The above image is from The Book of Going Forth by Day which is also known as The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Here is a synopsis of what the illustration is attempting to communicate: Soul Life - A Light Heart - Egyptian KeyAgain, the people grinding grain and selling goods in the marketplace may have had little understanding or appreciation of these concepts, as it is still today, but even a brief study of Egyptian mythology will reveal a number of concepts that are very similar to concepts depicted in Eastern traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The Light of the Creator, as the Kabbalists would say, shines thru the lenses of many cultures and traditions.