A Word on 'Egyptian Scarabs'

Kwintessential: The scarab is one of the most important ancient Egyptian mythological symbols. The symbol was derived from a specific breed of beetles popularly known as the dung beetle. It is called so because of the way it lays its eggs and then rolls them up into dung balls. In ancient Egyptian mythology the scarab is associated with the morning sun. The divine manifestation of this deity was displayed in the form of scarab hieroglyphs. It was believed that scarab deity Boz was responsible for rolling out the disc of the morning sun in the same manner as the beetle rolls dung balls. This act would take place every day towards the Eastern horizon.

The scarab beetles had antennas on their heads that appeared to be like rays. It was with the help of these antennas that they could roll the large balls of dung. Because of the belief that Kephera would roll out the morning sun it can be seen to be doing so in many ancient Egyptian artifacts. The Egyptians made extensive use of scarab amulets. These would be placed over the hearts of the dead after they had been mummified. It was believed that the heart scarabs would be measured against another symbolic amulet known as the feather of truth when the time for the final judgment of the deceased arrived.

Scarab amulets would have a spell bound upon them from the ancient "Book of the Dead". They also had the inscription "do not stand as a witness against me"...read more>>>...