The udjat eye, or eye of Horus
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A focus on a popular Egyptian symbol
The eye of Horus is a popular symbol represented on temples, in paintings, jewelry, amulets… Used as a lucky charm, the Udjat eye could bring fertility, knowledge, and good health. This eye has two lines under it, as a falcon symbol.
Horus is the Egyptian god of the sky, son of Osiris and Isis. With his incredible acuity, he can see everything.
Each Horus’s eye has a distinct signification:
- The left eye is connected to the past, the feminine force, the Moon
- The right eye is related to the future, the masculine power, and the Sun.
In the myth, Horus battle for 80 years against Seth, in order to avenge the murder of his father. Seth manages to get Horus' left eye and cut it into 6 pieces and left them into the Nile.
With the help of other gods, Horus gets back 5 pieces of his eye. He has to make a 6th piece to make it complete. His two eyes are needed to see everything (past and future) and to be everywhere. As he has his eye again, this special eye symbolizes a victory against the darkness, a protection, a healing.
This myth carries a message: in our pursuit of eternity, we may keep our eye open, and be sharp-eyed.
We can find a lot of symbolic resemblances between the Horus eye and the eye of providence.