The Scarab..An ancient Egyptian amulet for luck and wealth

 What is The Scarab :

The scarab or “scrapper” is the dung beetle, and it is male, and all scarabs are males and not females, and its color is black with coal color, and the ancient Egyptians called it “Khebrer”, and when writing began, its image was used to write a complex word, which is the verb “khebr”. = With the meaning “comes into existence by taking a specific image”, and since the scarab is closely related to the idea of ​​creation automatically, through linguistic similarity.

From https://www.thecollector.com/

the ancient Egyptians considered it to represent the Creator God who created himself “Khebri”, meaning the rising sun, as the scarab rises with the rising of the sun. 

Every morning, the sun collects dung and balls it, makes it into a ball and puts eggs inside it, and rolls it with its hind legs, mimicking the sun’s march from east to west. 

The ancient Egyptians symbolized good luck. 

The largest stone scarab in the world - Saqqara, west of Cairo

The Government of Egypt found The largest stone scarab in the world and also tomb holdings of the "Sacred Animals and Birds" cache in Saqqara area in Giza, west of Cairo.

Manufacture and uses of scarabs among the ancient Egyptians:

The scarab at the Pharaohs goes through several stages in its manufacturing materials, starting with stone, then agate, turquoise and basalt, all the way to gold and silver.

It brings good luck and wealth. This is how the scarab was associated in the mind of the ancient Egyptian, which made it a key element in decorating pharaonic tombs and temples throughout the different dynasties.

Scarab Seal of a senior official, 13th Dynasty Via projectyourself.com

The pharaohs were keen to mummify the scarab and make various statues of it, 

so what is the secret behind the pharaohs' interest in the scarab?

The scarab is a black insect that has the habit of pelleting dung, laying its eggs in it, rolling it in front of it and collecting it. The process of collecting dung contributed to growing crops and constantly aerating the soil, which made it a source of goodness and a protector for animals from infection with harmful viruses resulting from dung.

According to the interpretation of Dr. Magdi Shaker, the chief Egyptian archaeologist, his name means “come into existence in certain forms,” and then the meaning evolved into “to be” or “become.”

Over time, the scarab gained a great place among the pharaohs, becoming a symbol of the god Amun-Ra, the sun god.

Gradually, the scarab turned into a valuable gift for the pharaohs, and King Amenhotep III, one of the 18th Dynasty kings, gave a statue in the form of a scarab to his wife, Queen Tiye, as a kind of expression of his continued love for her.

Egyptian Gold and Steatite Scarab Swivel Ring, ca. 1540-1400 BC, via Sotheby’s

The scarab became part of ancient Egyptian mythology, because the nature of this creature is linked to spontaneous creation, according to a statement by the chief Egyptian archaeologist.

Dr. Magdi Shaker enumerated the uses of Egyptian scarabs in public life, saying: "Many scarabs were used as seals bearing the employee's name and titles, and others that bore royal names engraved with the attributes representing each king or queen from the ancient family to the late era."

On the scarabs, the phrase "Min Khair Ra" was written, which belongs to King Thutmose III, and means "May Ra continue to bring life."

On commemorative scarabs, the king's name and title, in addition to helical and zigzag inscriptions, pictures of Egyptian gods, sacred animals and birds, and writing old wishes such as "peace of mind is better than anger, Amon is the strength of the only one, and a happy year."

Shaker recounts: 

"The scarab has become the amulet of the ancient Egyptian, which brings its owner the resurrection, provides him with good luck and renews his youth, especially the types made of green, blue or brown faience or stones, thinking that this insect carries within it the life force, which made it part of the tombs' holdings. and pharaonic temples.

Scarabs were not only used as symbolic gifts, but also entered the jewelry industry that the Pharaonic queens cared about, and were placed inside the coffins of the dead as a kind of aid to him in the other world.

Scarab and magic :

Many legends revolved around the impact of the scarab in life and the other world. The scarab “the sacred lake” in the Karnak temple in Luxor was the most associated with these legends. It represents the sun disk “Ra” and is installed on a platform made of pink granite stone, 190 cm long and weighing more than 5 tons. It was built during the reign of King Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC.

Shaker explained that ancient beliefs indicate that circumambulating the scarab of the sacred lake 5 times aims to nullify envy and bring good luck, while circumambulating 3 times for the sake of wealth, and circumambulating 7 times with the aim of bearing children, and the girl wishing to marry 6 times.

Tourists circumambulate 7 rounds, always counterclockwise. Some tourists, after the circumambulation, bathe with some water from the holy lake in front of which the scarab is located, so that the blessing will be dissolved in them and the scarab pool will be complete in their bodies, according to what they believe. 

He pointed out that these legends were transmitted from the Egyptians to the tourists, which is more related to the popular heritage and not to the Pharaonic faith.

The walls of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings on the western mainland of Luxor still retain pictures of scarabs, the most famous of which is a huge black scarab emerging from the sand to pull its glowing ball.

At the End : 

And about ways to identify the date of issuance of the scarab, the archaeological expert says: "The ground layer of the scarab becomes a guide for the archaeologist to identify the date of its issuance, and the expert is able to analyze the symbols and secrets of scarabs and learn through them the social and economic life of Egypt during the period of its issuance."