Khepri: Ancient Egyptian Scarab Beetle
Manifestation of the sun god at sunrise
If you’ve been following my posts so far, you’ve learned about a few Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses: Osiris, the god of the underworld and symbolized by the Djed Pillar 𓊽; Isis, the wife of Osiris and a powerful goddess in her own right symbolized by the Knot of Isis 𓎬; Horus 𓅃, the falcon-headed son of Osiris and Isis associated with the udjat eye 𓂀; and the sun god Ra 𓁛.
Today we’re looking at another manifestation of Ra as he travels across the sky. At sunrise the sun god takes on the form of the scarab beetle Khepri 𓆣 and rolls the sun up from the horizon.
In the wild, you can see scarab beetles rolling balls of dung in which they’ve laid their eggs across the ground. The Ancient Egyptians regarded this creature as a symbol of rebirth and renewal.
You can find depictions of scarab beetles in Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings, and several examples of scarab amulets or rings with the owner’s name inscribed on the underside survive today.
I encourage you to read more about Ancient Egyptian philosophy, as a social media post can’t do justice to the nuances of an ancient religion.
I haven’t posted this pattern test in my shop, but if it’s one you like don’t hesitate to reach out.
A portion of the proceeds from each sale benefits the Theban Mapping Project Library, which provides books and literacy programs to the locals of Luxor, Egypt.
Facebook · Instagram · Twitter
Reference: Treasures of the Pharaohs, Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum
Images © 2023 EEWL
..........
#ancientegypt #ancientegyptians #egyptology #archaeology #mythology #hieroglyphs #hieroglyph #kingtut #tutankhamun #eewl #notjustknitting #fashionscarf #fiberartist #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration #knitstagram #ra #sun #akhenaten #nefertiti #pharaoh #khepri #scarab #beetle #sunrise