Sacred Scarab

I'm feeling kind of out of it. It may be the paint fumes at work.

Art

goal for the week 15hrs

Today

sand boxes (lots to go)

Animal

photo by Sarefo

Mythology

For the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Egyptians there were only male sacred scarabs (Scarabaeus sacer) and they reproduced by themselves in the dung ball, they also carried their dung balls which to the Egyptians held a life giving potential in a manner similar to the sun crossing the sky. For the Ancient Egyptians this scarab was associated with the god Khepera (Khepri) who had a head that was a full scarab and was charged with filling the sun with life in the morning so that it could be rolled across the sky and then safely getting it into the mouth of Nut (goddess of the sky) so that it could emerge from her womb the next morning. Khepera has an odd relationship with Ra there seems to be several versions in some cases he is a form of Ra, in others he replaces him, and still in others he rides in the sun boat and assists. Khepera also played a part in the rebirth of the dead in that he became the dead body with the potential life (like the ball of dung) from which the spiritual body could emerge. During Ancient Egyptian burials a green stone scarab was added to the chest cavity of the deceased or as jewelry to act as a guardian of the heart, to help with the opening of the mouth ceremony, and help ward against false evidence being presented during the weighing of the heart. The scarab was also worked into jewelry and seals for a variety of reason sometimes a representation of the rebirth of the body, probably sometimes as a representation of Ra, other times for luck, ect. I could probably babble far longer on the various significances of the scarab in Ancient Egyptian religion and the uses of faience scarab seals but I should probably stop here.