Ba, the Soul-Bird

The myth

For the Egyptians, a person had several spiritual parts. The ba was one of them: the soul with the power to move, shown on papyri as a bird with a human head. It dwelt with the ka, could leave the tomb by day, rise to the sky and then return to visit the body, with which it could even converse. In the great judgment scene of the Papyrus of Ani, the scribe's ba appears as a human-headed hawk beside the balance. One chapter of the Book of the Dead served to reunite the ba with its body.

Why it has this power

A common level 2 Bird of Light with 700 ATK and 800 DEF: fragile as a traveling soul. Feather beats Sun and Crown beats Scarab. Its true worth is fusion: Ba plus Ka, the Luminous Double, form Akh, the Radiant Spirit, echoing the Egyptian belief in the transfigured self.

Did you know

Budge explains that the word ba seems to mean something like sublime, noble or mighty.

Connections

• Fuses into: + Ka, the Luminous Double → Akh, the Radiant Spirit
• In Oracle Bakenra's deck

Where to get it

• Daily Offering: 0% per pack (Common 64% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 0.97% per pack (Common 70% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.88% per pack · 5.2% in the themed pack (Common 64% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.86% per pack · 5.1% in the themed pack (Common 62% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.67% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Common 49% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.46% per pack · 2.7% in the themed pack (Common 33% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.69% of days · 150 gold
• Craft with card dust: 40 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life — E. A. Wallis Budge (Project Gutenberg)
2. The Book of the Dead (introduction and chapter summaries) — E. A. Wallis Budge (Project Gutenberg)
3. Ancient Egyptian Religion — Joshua J. Mark (World History Encyclopedia)