The misidentified symbols of
Ancient Egypt
Some of the greatest misinterpretations of the ancient hieroglyphic symbols concern those representing the moon. Previously, I have explained the origins of the Sphinx and the All-Seeing Eye as they pertain to the ancient Egyptians’ beliefs.
I
discovered that there were several additional symbols which had seemingly been
overlooked. The heavens played a large part in the ancient Egyptians’ beliefs,
yet the moon and its symbols seemed scant, at best. To be one of the largest
heavenly bodies, it has been largely ignored. One of its iconic symbols, that
of the crescent, was used only rarely. The moon, it seems, was sadly neglected,
or was it?
While
researching the origins of the Sphinx and the All-Seeing Eye, it came to my
attention that several symbols had been mistaken for other things, especially
those that linked the role of the mother goddess to the ancient Egyptian’s
belief in the afterlife.
The
moon has symbolized the feminine in almost all of the world’s various ancient
religions and mythologies, so why, then, is it so rare to run across it in the
ancient Egyptian writings?
The
five-pointed star, the Egyptian symbol of the priesthood (sacred knowledge) and
adoration is shown here with half and full crescents above it. These symbols
represented the half and full months on the lunar calendar.
And
yet another, with what is thought to be the sun cradled within the moon’s
embrace although this too I think could depict a new moon, eclipse, or lunar node.
Were
these slim depictions, used sparsely at best, all that the moon merited?
In
the year 391 A.D., Emperor Theodosius banned pagan rites throughout the Roman
Empire and closed the non-Christian temples. Thus began a systematic purging of the ancient beliefs within all
of the conquered lands. The lengths that the Roman Catholic Church went to in
order to suppress these religions have been well-documented. Because of this,
the Egyptian hieroglyphs remained silent until Jean–Francois Champollion
deciphered the famous
stone from Rosetta. Not all the symbols came to light, however. In 1827, when
Champollion went to Egypt as part of the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, he was under
an edict not to expose anything that may have been in conflict with the
Church’s teachings at that time.
Not
only did he not translate the dates on the Wall of Kings, but these
restrictions also caused some rather unique labeling of some of the Egyptian
symbols. It is my belief that Jean-Francois knew exactly what most of these
hieroglyphs actually represented (due to the rather comical misidentification
of some). Not wanting to open that can of worms, I believe he worked around
them so as not to bring attention to something the Roman Catholic Church had so
long tried to suppress, especially during a time of renewed interest in
everything Egyptian.
Take
the symbol of a half-circle, for instance. This hieroglyph represents the sound
“T”. Champollion described this
symbol as being a bun, and it is used to denote the feminine, or daughter.
Could it be that this is, in fact, a half-moon?
Were
any other symbols of the moon overlooked? The rising sun had a symbol that was
very close to it. Why was this not a hot bun?
To
better understand the ancient Egyptians’ hieroglyphic writing, we need to
understand that the symbols not only phonetically, but also pictorially,
represented a word. For instance, the symbol for life is the ankh.
The
oval on the top represents woman, and the stem at the bottom man. The cross
expresses the union of the two. Thus, it is man and woman together creating
life.
The
word itself is spelled by using the symbol “N”,
a zigzag line, and a round circle with lines across it, which sounds like “kh”. Together, they not only
phonetically sounded out the word “n-kh”,
or ankh, but they also pictorially held meaning for the symbol of life.
The
jagged line “N” represents water, in
and of itself life-giving. The Nile’s sacred waters gave life to the land. The
terms ebb and flow are still used today to describe life.
This
symbol, a circle with lines running through it, is one that has been
misidentified. When Jean-Francois Champollion translated the ancient symbols,
he described it as being a ball of string, or a placenta. Oddly enough, the
second suggestion is more correct, as far as its association with life is
concerned.
This
ball of string, however, represents something much larger. It does, in fact,
depict the moon in all its phases.
The
new moon is symbolic of birth, the waxing of the moon, youth. A full moon, our
maturity, and the waning of the moon, our old age and eventual death, followed
by rebirth. This connection with resurrection is why I believe its true meaning
has been lost for so long. In many ancient cultures, the goddesses were
worshipped for this most auspicious gift that included not only birth but also
rebirth. This symbol of the striped ball is also quite prominent and is used in
many cartouches, quite the honor for a little “ball of string”, wouldn’t you
say?
There
is one more symbol of the moon that illustrates the true meaning of the
misidentified symbol above, the waning moon.
I think it’s easy to see the similarities between the “placenta” above and this half-ball of string . . . I mean, waning moon.
I think it’s easy to see the similarities between the “placenta” above and this half-ball of string . . . I mean, waning moon.
Another
symbol whose ties to the moon have been misidentified is the horns of fertility
around the sun disc.
There
is a tale of Seth killing his brother Osiris and scattering the pieces of his
body. Isis, his sister/wife, gathered the pieces and, with the aid of Anubis,
wrapped his body back together, missing only one unfortunate member, which she
fashioned herself. Through her magic, Isis brought her husband back to life and
was able to become pregnant with Horus.
The
story illustrates the goddess’s role in the resurrection of the dead, which
leads to yet another symbol that has been misidentified. The horns of fertility
wrapped around the Uraeus, a symbol of royalty, was worn by Isis and Hathor,
as well as the head priestess of Amun.
As
pointed out in Parts One and Two of the Enigmatic Symbols of Egypt article
series, Isis and Hathor share much the same place in the Egyptian Parthenon.
Understanding
the many feminine associations with the moon—fertility; birth and rebirth; the
goddess Wadjet and her connection with the Uraeus and the moon—it is easy to see that there could be a link of the disc to the harvest moon, full, ripe and potent. Yet another association of the disc within the horns may also be that of a comet. What is most definitely certain is that it is not the sun as has been postulated
To
read more about the symbols of ancient Egypt, or to just enjoy a humorous
action adventure/romantic comedy that has been described as being much like the
new versions of the movies Sherlock Holmes, The Mummy (without the walking dead
guy), and Indiana Jones, please click on the book.
-Author Barbara Ivie Green
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