Described in ancient texts as ‘The Word of the Gods’, these symbols are frequently used in religious and magical rituals in Egypt. Each symbol has a distinct meaning, specific to the belief culture of the Egyptians, enriching the national cultural identity of this rich country.
Ankh – Symbol of eternal life
Ankh is Egyptian hieroglyph which means ” life “. Only Pharaohs, Empresses and gods are allowed to wear this symbol because it is believed to bring power to its possessor who can grant or deprive others of life.
It is also regarded as the ‘key of life’ because its key-like shape has created the belief that it can unlock ‘hell gates’. Ankh also evokes the image of the sunrise in the horizon, signifying rebirth every day.
From the Middle Kingdom era (1986 – 1759 BC), the word Ankh was also used to refer to the mirror and interestingly, the mirror was also created under the shape of this symbol. It is also an inspiration to create the symbolic symbol of the Greek Venus , which was later widely used as the symbol of Venus , the female gender or the bronze symbol.
Later when Christianity was born, it was used by the Egyptian Christian Church as a symbol of a special form of the cross.
Horus’s eyes – Symbol of wisdom, protection and health
Horus’s eyes (or Egyptian eyes) – the symbol of power of ancient Egypt – is known by many in the world because it is widely used to this day.
According to experts, the Horus eye icon is shaped like the eyes of a falcon. God Horus is the god representing health, life and rebirth.
In Egyptian mythology, Horus is an ancient Egyptian angel incarnated as a eagle. The right eye of the falcon is the Eye of the Horus god, also considered to symbolize the Sun. The left eye symbolizes the Moon and the god Tehuti. The ancient people believed that this immortal symbol would support the reincarnation, so it was found under the 12th layer of King Tutankhamun’s mummy.
According to Egyptian legend, Seth , Horus’s brother, killed Osiris . Horus fought Seth to avenge his father’s death and lost his left eye in the war. Thoth, the god of magic and the Moon, used his power to restore Horus’s eyes.
When he brought this eye to Osiris, Osiris was reborn again. Horus’s eyes, also called “Oudjat” , symbolize protection against evil and bring wisdom and wisdom .
Over time, the Horus eye symbol was used by physicians and developed into Rx characters on prescription. Therefore, it is meant for recovery and unity.
In the second century, Galen borrowed the mysterious symbol from the Egyptian legend and used it to impress his patients. After that, it gradually developed into today’s Rx sign for prescriptions. It means to symbolize recovery and unity .
Feather of Maat – Symbol of truth, morality, balance of justice
The feather is considered a symbol of the goddess Maat . The heart of the dead will be weighed against the feathers of Matt in the Last Judgment Day.
If it was the heart of an honest person, it would be equal to the weight of the feather and that person would be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Osiris. If that heart is filled with sin, it will be heavier than the feather and that person will be taken to prey on Ammut monsters.
It is the responsibility of the Pharaoh to establish and maintain Maat law as a way to keep the cosmic order in balance. When a glacier Pharaoh dies, Maat will temporarily disappear and the world will sink into chaos again, until the ascension of a new Pharaoh.
Hook and pinch – Symbol of power and royal power
Hooks and twists often come together as a pair, commonly used from the Middle Kingdom dynasty , which is a symbol used as a staff affirming the king’s power and power. The couple originated from the ancient agricultural god of Egypt, Anedjti. He was depicted as wearing a crown with two feathers and a hook and a characteristic twist. Later, Anedjti assimilated to one with Osiris and all the characteristics of this god’s identity were transferred. god Osiris.
The hook is held on the left hand and the wedge is held on the right. The hook (heq) symbolizes the sound or ” spiritual power ” of a Pharaoh, affirming his role as a protector of the people or ” shepherd ” – God is responsible for leading and caring for your ” fries “. The nekhakha symbolizes positivity and aspect of tangible power because Pharaoh is naked but represents all the gods who govern the three realms: metaphysics, the universe and the earth. It also represents the farmer – who creates food and takes care of all life in the field (the diver is used as a farmer’s threshing device in ancient Egypt).
Its message as a reminder to a true leader must know how to combine discipline with wisdom and understanding, to be benevolent to calm justice and make right decisions. best. Their holding postures also have different meanings. In ancient times, the posture of crossing the arms into each other in front of the chest was a sign of death and the dead were often buried in this posture. However, also with this posture and with two hooks and twists that are crossed together, it means resurrection as in the pictures we often see in the coffin of King Tutankhamun . When holding them in front of them means the judgment, or described in conjunction with the god Anubis, the god of the underworld and the judge in the Maat trial.
It is thought that the letter X originated primarily from the image of two twists and hooks crossed together and that is a symbol of death and rebirth.In the original, the word “ex” – which represents the X – means dead, when people say ex-husband means to refer to the dead husband.
Scarab – Symbol of strength, creativity and transformation
The dung beetle represents the sun god Khepri involved in the revival. The beetle usually lays eggs in the faeces of other animals, curls them up like a ball and rolls into the hole, which is the beginning of a young ladybug’s life cycle. The Egyptians likened this behavior to the movement of the sun ‘s ” ball” rolling in the sky and its daily rebirth.
Ancient Egyptians believed that a beetle flying in the sky every morning would call the sun up. Therefore, the beetle is a symbol of the rising sun, used to protect it from evil, it is also a symbol of rebirth, creation, transformation, giving strength to its wearer.
Large winged beetles and heart-shaped beetles are considered lucky insects and placed on mummies to protect them against demons. When Pharaoh Amenhotep III died, hundreds of memorabilia with beetles were made to mark the milestones of his life.
Lotus – Symbol of the Sun, high bar, creativity and rebirth
Egypt has two native varieties of native lotus which are white lotus and blue lotus, and later have a variety of pink lotus imported from Persia. All three types of lotus are described in Egyptian art, but the blue lotus is the most widely used and popular. According to the creation theory of Egypt, in the early days, there was a huge lotus flower growing on the ocean of chaos. From that lotus, the sun appears for the first time on Earth.
The golden lotus in the blue lotus makes the Egyptians think of the sun rising from the surface of the sea as in the legend of the birth of all things. At night, the flower flaps its wings and sinks under the water to dawn, it blooms again and again. Blue or white flower varieties are widely used in medicinal preparations. In mathematics, the lotus symbol symbolizes the number of 1,000. It is also a symbol of Upper Egypt and represents Isis’s resurrection.