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ix Acknowledgments More than ten years have passed since this book was published in German—Seelenführer durch den verborgenen Raum: Das ägyptische Unterweltsbuch Amduat (Munich, 1994)—and this edition has long been out of print. It is therefore a great pleasure to me that Cornell University Press has been willing to publish this revised edition in English. In the meantime, I have become increasingly cognizant of the fact that ancient Egypt is not only the source of many basic Judeo-Christian ideas but also the actual origin of the underlying beliefs of alchemy, that is, the thought of those ancient Greek and medieval philosophers who, more than any other scholars, were deeply aware of the richness of the human psyche and its capacity to regenerate, again and again, from stagnation and depression. Especially as we encounter it in the New Kingdom, ancient Egyptian belief in the continuous regeneration of the Sungod in the netherworld—and, with him, of all beings and creation—found beautiful expression in the writings of the medieval alchemists, and from there, these beliefs gradually transformed into the seedbed of modern depth psychology. It was C. G. Jung who discovered these treasures of alchemy, which are deeply rooted in the history of humankind. In his time, however , the principal Egyptian sources had yet to be published. Thanks mainly to Erik Hornung and his assistant, Elisabeth Staehelin in Basel, and to their tremendous achievements in decipherment and translation, we today have access to all the major Books of the Netherworld and their incredibly rich symbolism. The intent of the present book is to illuminate some of this symbolism for the reader. I am greatly indebted to David Lorton, who corrected my translation in a most sensitive and excellent manner. I enjoyed every moment of our collaboration. I am also grateful to the staff of Cornell University Press, and especially to Peter Potter, for their willingness to include this book in their publishing program. Many thanks go to my dear friend Acknowledgments x Tony Woolfson, who encouraged me in this project from the moment of its inception and who read the final manuscript with great care. Finally, I give my heartfelt thanks to my wife, Regine Schweizer-Vüllers, who, throughout these past years, has supported me with her deep understanding of the psychological implications of my work. Andreas Schweizer Zollikon, May 1, 2009 ...

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