William S. Burroughs explains the seven souls of the ancient Egyptian faith.

[ZombieHorde]

The ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls,Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren, the Secret Name.This corresponds to my Director,He directs the film of your life from conception to death.The Secret Name is the title of your film.When you die, that's where Ren came in.

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem:Energy, Power, LightThe Director gives the orders,Sekem presses the right buttons.

Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel.He, she, or it is third man out . . .depicted as flying away across a full moon,a bird with luminous wings and head of light.Sort of thing you might see on a screen in an Indian restaurant in Panama.The Khu is responsible for the subject and can be injured in his defense- but not permanently,since the first three souls are eternal.They go back to Heaven for another vessel.The four remaining souls must take their chances with the subject in the Land of the Dead.

Number four is Ba, the heart, often treacherous.This is a hawk's body with your face on it, shrunk down to the size of a fist.Many a hero has been brought down, like Samson, by a perfidious Ba.

Number five is Ka, the Double, most closely associated with the subject.The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead to the western Lands.

Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives.

Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.

[struggle4progress]

1. After reading Naked Lunch, I never felt much need to learn more about Burroughs' thoughts

[KT2000]

3. maybe his last journal entry?

His final entry describes love as "the most natural painkiller that there is."

[struggle4progress]

4. I'm glad to hear that

[Warren Stupidity]

6. One of the great American novels.

[struggle4progress]

2. Hey! That was really an OK listen, as far as jazz with babble with goes!

[dimbear]

5. Things that come in sevens (usually) take their origin in the seven planets, just

like the days of the week. No doubt that's worked out for these somewhere. You see the same effect in the seven heavens that the early Christians believed in. (Some still do.)

[struggle4progress]

7. I'd guess seven day weeks arose from the fact that a complete lunar cycle and a complete solar cycle

are both almost multiples of 7 days:

new moon to new moon is about 29 = 4x7 + 1 days
vernal equinox to vernal equinox is about 365 = 52x7 + 1 days

The sun and moon are the major visible celestial objects, and a number of calendars are lunisolar

[dimbear]

8. Undoubtedly that's folded in with the conclusion that there were seven planets.

Not an entirely obvious observation, it took a little stretching. (There are surely people still living who remember when there were eight, then nine, then eight again.) As astrology explained it, back when it was a full scale religion, one swept close by each of the seven planets in turn as one's soul came to earth. Hence their various influences.
Vaguely similar in some ways to the Mormon belief.