The Book of Gates
The book of gates sees the passage through the Underworld as a series of gates or portals, between which were separate worlds, each with its own peculiar landscape, guardians and physical laws. The gates were twelve in number, signifying the twelve hours of the night, and the recently deceased traveled upon a barque on a nighted river, as the sun-god also traveled at the end of the day, for the ancient Egyptians saw their own land as a reflection of the Other World
Gate 1
The first gate is called Set-Amentet and is represented as the Western Vestibule, the region just beyond the mountains of the sunset. One soaring mountain is surmounted by a jackal's head; the spire on the other side of the river is topped by a ram's head. Aboard the boat, in addition to the traveler, are the gods Sa, as navigator, and Heka, who will utter words of power at the proper moments. Upon each shore of the river are the twenty-four gods, who represent the twelve hours each of day and night, but it's unclear whether the scribe/priest intended them to be the actual gods or merely statues.
Gate 2
The entry into the second world, called Ament, is not nearly so uneventful, for the way is guarded by a huge snake, named Saa-Set. Other snake-beings surround the boat, judging the words and deeds of the traveler, to determine which of the greater or lesser spirits will be assigned to the journey of the soul, or to judge that the traveler is unworthy and instantly consumed. In this realm, the traveler must also watch out for the metarit or false gods, for they will attempt to deceive him; the false gods will lead him from waters that are cool and refreshing to the "waters of fire."
Gate 3
To enter the third realm, the traveler must float between two walls through which passes a narrow corridor. This corridor is periodically swept by roiling flames, and the flames can only be defeated by the properly intoned words of power. The end of the passage is guarded by a warden in the form of a living mummy, but he does not oppose those who have made it through by quenching the flames. Within this third realm is a long tunnel, almost a world within a world, and here are found the dead who cannot travel on, but which assume a semblance of life when the traveler passes by; they dwell in tombs upon the shore, but are punished by partially immersing them in the "Lake of Boiling Water." Before the traveler may leave the third division of the Underworld, the serpent Apep will try to engulf the boat, but it can be defeated by cutting open its head and slicing its body in many place.
Gate 4
The boat of the dead passes through a gate guarded by a serpent; and on either side of the serpent are twelve goddesses of the hours. When the serpent sends its spawn after the traveler, the goddesses will devour the spawn, but only if the traveler is worthy. In this realm, there are two lakes, the Lake of Life and the Lake of the Living Uraei; unworthy spirits abroad in this world may not approach them, for the mere words uttered by the Living Uraei have the power to shatter spirits. The traveler then passes a shrine dedicated to Khenti-Amenti, the ancient god of Abydos; he has the form of a mummy wearing the white crown of southern Egypt and stands upon a cobra. The flame-goddess Nesert stands near the shrine and near her are four pits filled with fires and the enemies of the gods, ruled over by a Master of the Pits, who is dreadful to behold.
Gate 5
The gateway of the fifth world of the nether realm is opened by the serpent-guardian Teka-Hra. The traveler may enter if he knows the words of power. Beyond the gate there are ethereal beings who represent that four classes into which the Egyptians divided the families of humanity : the Reth (Egyptians), the Themeher (Libyans), the Aamu (desert dwellers) and the Nehesu (the black tribes of Nubia and the Sudan). Also in this sector are beings who are called the "holders of time," to whom are given the responsibility of measuring out the time allotted to everything. All in all, this portion of the Duat is not as fearsome as what has gone before or what is to come.
Gate 6
As the nether region is an analogue to the world above, the sixth realm of the Duat corresponds to the southern portion of the Delta. Here, the gateway is guarded by another monstrous serpent, a familiar motif, and quite appropriate considering their chthonic nature. Not far from the gateway is the judgment hall of Osiris, and no soul may enter without being judged. The depiction of the judgment scene in the Book of Gates is a little different than elsewhere, using unique hieroglyphic signs that are so unusual that Champollion was moved to term them "enigmatic writing." And, yet, it is a judgment scene with all the iconic elements we would expect to find. Here, the scribe is either reaching back to some tradition of which we are ignorant or is injecting some fresh life into an old theme.
Gate 7
The seventh world of the Duat is guarded by yet another big snake, this one named Akha-en-Maat. This section of the Underworld is acrawl with serpents, one of the largest having twelve human heads on its back. The serpents are the enemies of the traveler, but he is helped in his journey by star-gods that wrestle the snakes. From this land, the traveler can see an astronomical body which is unknown to the modern world, but which the ancient Egyptians called the "Night Sun."
Gate 8
In the eighth division of the Duat, the river widens into a calm pool. Four beings having more or less human forms come to the traveler with the gifts of the breath of life, food and water. Afterward a snake approaches; it will breathe fire, but only into the faces of Osiris' enemies, so the traveler must speak those words of power which convinces the snake that the traveler is a friend of Osiris and worthy of continuing toward the light.
Gate 9
In order to pass into the ninth region of the Underworld, the traveler must get by the guardian serpent Ab-ta, traverse a corridor swept by sheets of flame, evade the attention of a company of watchful gods, and two warden mummies. When the gates close behind the traveler, everyone and everything is engulfed by total darkness. When the light goes out, there is a general wailing, and monsters rush from out the darkness, but there are other beings dwelling in this realm who hurry forward to help the traveler defeat his enemies — men with harpoons, goddesses and apes; they help fight the monsters and help pull the boat into the next region They defeat the monsters with magic and fierce weapons.
Gate 10
Upon entering the tenth division, all the obstacles seem to fall from the traveler's path. Deities, people and apes line the banks of the river and sing the praises of the traveler who has passed through so many tribulations. Goddesses take up the ropes of the boat and help draw the boat toward the dawn. The gods also help chart the courses of the stars. There are snakes here as well but they have been chained by apes.
Gate 11
Mummies guard the way into the eleventh world. The great snake Apep is fettered and servants of Ra stand nearby with knives just in case he tries anything. Four apes walk along the shore carrying the disc of the sun and singing the praises of the god. One of the mysteries of this realm is the company of gods who sing with bowed heads and guard the "Hidden Door." This is a region of constant singing, but there is always the danger that dark beings might come from the stars if the traveler is unwary.
Gate 12
The last section of the Duat has a representation of the Gate of Tesert-Beirw, with two doors that lead into the realm of the sun. Marked on the doors are the symbols of the setting and rising sun. Guarding the doors are the serpents Seki and Reri, but they recognize the traveler as one who has successfully traversed the dangers of the Underworld and earned the right to stand in the glorious light of the "world beyond the reeds."
Taken from Nesnut Hatshepsut