Book of the Dead: spell 87
Spell 87 is for ‘being transformed into a son of the earth’. This was a snake described as being ‘long of years, who sleeps and is reborn every day’. The Egyptians believed snakes were dangerous creatures to be both feared and revered. They had a protective role — for example the king was usually depicted with a cobra on his forehead, but they also had a destructive nature — the principal enemy of the sun-god was a huge snake called Apep or Apophis.
As in this papyrus, spell 87 is often found with spells 86 (for being transformed into a swallow) and 88 (for being transformed into a crocodile).