"The Eye is the commonest symbol in Egyptian thought and the
strangest to us....the striking power of God in all his manifestations....[and]
the key to the religion."
--R. T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt
The Sacred Eye is called "Udjat" in the Kemetic language.
It is the symbol of the protective power of
Netjer in Its Names of Heru (Horus), Ra or Shu, or in feminine aspect, Het-Hert (Hathor),
Bast or Sekhmet. In the most ancient Kemetic texts, the Sacred Eyes (two) are sometimes
equated with the sun and moon, and are said to be the first emanations of the Creator.
This particular Udjat depicts the Names of Netjer associated with the Two Lands of Kemet:
Wadjet, the cobra of Lower Kemet; and Nekhebet, the vulture of Upper Kemet, wearing the
respective crowns of the lands They protect.
Scanned from a papyrus reproduction of a jewelry motif found in the tomb of 18th
Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamen, by an unknown modern Egyptian artist. Courtesy House of
Netjer member Djehutymose. |
