AMULETS OF ANCIENT: Scarabs

'My heart of my mother; heart of my earthly existence! Do not bear witness against me; do not oppose me in the court of the gods; do not let me down in front of the master of the balances; do not devise a lie against me in front of the lord of the west' - Book of the Dead.

We owe a lot to the Ancient Egyptians, from mysterious structures to fierce gods. It is hard to deny that this civilisation is an astonishing one which has fascinated me since I was a little boy.

The above quote comes from the famous Book of the Dead, which is not as scary as it sounds. So, a brief history, this book, also known as 'The Book of Going Fourth by Day', is not about bringing people to life, as some might think from watching Bernard Frasers 'The Mummy'! The Book of the Dead is a guide written by Ani who managed to write this guide to the underworld, to help the common man go to the afterlife safely & with guidance.

In one of the chapters (Ruberic 30A to be exact) Ani, writes about a scarab that is to be placed on the heart of the deceased with the quote inscribed upon it (one at the beginning) that shall assist him when his heart is weighed on the scales to see if the deceased has committed any sins.

In short, the scarab was sort of a bribe! But this amulet was not only placed on the deceased. A lot of scarabs were found which shed a light on their use in jewellery. They were most commonly found to be made from precious stones such as Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Carnelian, Malachite and Soap Stone. If you have ever seen Dreamwork's hit animation movie 'The Prince of Egypt' you can see young Moses wearing a Carnelian Scarab!

But why Scarabs? What is so special about a dung beetle who has been given that name because they roll up their dung!?! Well...Scarabs stood as a symbol of creation and resurrection. Heavily associated with the God Kephri, the god of the morning sun who was also associated with resurrection. The comparison is simple, the sun, like the dung, is rolled across the sky, giving birth to yet another day! Another fun fact, dung beetles lay their eggs in the balls of dung and once hatched they emerge out of it, so it represents life!

Whether buried on a dead body as a bribe or an ornament on your living self, the Scarab stands as a symbol of protection and it being carved on a gemstone makes it even more special as the scarabs symbolism meets the gemstone's properties!

If you're looking for your own scarab pendant head over to Libertalia on Facebook or Instagram to get your own special Scarab from their Pharaoh Collection! Thank you for reading this blog!