Scarab beetle: the meaning of the talisman. Scarab - a talisman from ancient Egypt

Everyone knows such a symbol as the scarab beetle - the meaning of the talisman comes from Egypt, where it is given great importance. Jewelry and decorative items with scarabs are offered to tourists in local markets. From this article you will learn what such souvenirs mean.

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Scarab beetle - the meaning of the talisman in Egypt

The scarab beetle is one of the most revered symbols in Egypt. This country has given the world many secrets and mysteries, some of which excite the minds of researchers to this day. These include talismans that have long been used by local residents. They can be seen in huge numbers in Egyptian markets, in particular we're talking about about talismans and souvenirs with the image of a scarab beetle.

By purchasing such a souvenir, you can be completely sure that it carries only positive meaning. These could be boxes, figurines or jewelry, and all these items, and it doesn’t matter what material they are made of, or how much you had to pay the seller.

Images of the scarab beetle can be seen on ancient frescoes, papyri and statues in Egypt. Priests from this country believed that any image of him would not only decorate the house, but also protect everyone living in it from harm, negative energy, and even illness and death.

If you observe a living scarab, it becomes clear why it is so revered by the Egyptians. The beetle rolls perfectly even balls of dung and then rolls them where it needs to go. In this the ancient Egyptians noticed a similarity to the movement of the Sun, a symbol of his birth in the early morning. It is known that the sun god Ra was one of the main ones in the Egyptian pantheon, and the Sun generally occupied a very important place in their beliefs. Therefore, the scarab beetle, as well as amulets with its image, acquired such importance.

This insect was associated with the god of the morning dawn of the Sun Khepri. Therefore, it is considered a symbol of rebirth, a new beginning and bright changes, because the dawn, according to the Egyptians, represents the rebirth of all things, which occurs every day. An amulet with a scarab meant new opportunities, gave strength in difficult times and helped in self-development and learning.

The possibilities of the dawn deity were almost limitless, since the Egyptians believed that he controlled the universe itself and its energy. Therefore, they believed that the owner of an amulet with a scarab could control everything. Also, like most Egyptian symbols, it meant life itself and vital energy - something without which no one could exist.

The scarab beetle was used not only to create amulets. He participated in the rituals of ancient Egyptian magic, some of which have survived to this day. But most of them can spoil the appetite of a modern person.

For example, if a woman wanted to get rid of infertility, she had to mix powder made from dried scarabs with water and drink the resulting remedy. It was believed that the symbol of the birth of a new life could not help but help get pregnant. The remedy that protected against harmful witchcraft included the head and wings of a scarab, oil and fat of a snake. It was also consumed internally.

The most ancient amulets with a scarab

It is known that Egypt is the birthplace of tattoos. Decorating the body with drawings was especially popular among noble people. They believed that in the afterlife those will become their pass. A scarab applied to the body bestowed the favor of the gods, who were responsible for life after death, and made his afterlife complete. It was believed that without such a tattoo the spirit remains restless.

The very first Egyptian amulets were made from stones. It was like gems, as well as granite, marble, basalt and limestone. Often the finished products were covered with a turquoise or green glaze - the most popular colors in Egypt. Sometimes they were covered with silver and gold.

Like most similar amulets, scarabs were inscribed with spells and special signs. They discovered the power contained in the object and increased it. Sometimes beetles were depicted with human traits faces, surrounded by gods, and sometimes combined with other symbols. These should be symbols that are similar in meaning, for example, a heart, which also meant life.

There were also funerary scarabs, which had a very special meaning in Egyptian culture. They carried the same meaning - help in afterlife. They were placed in burial, in special breast decorations made of faience.

scarab statue in Luxor

The most famous image of this beetle is in the Karnak Temple in Luxor. This is a fairly large statue. Every year you can see thousands of residents of other countries near it who come to see Egypt and touch its culture. Many people say that when you touch this statue you can feel warmth, and after a long stay near it they note a surge of strength.

Local legends say that if you walk around the statue in Luxor seven times while thinking about your wish, your wish will come true. It is believed that the desire should be difficult to achieve, from the list of your long-term and global goals, because sacred beetle does not like to waste his time on trifles.

The modern meaning of the scarab beetle talisman

Now they believe that the image of this insect helps not only in the afterlife, but also in the earthly one. Such amulets protect against evil spirits, negative energy, energy vampirism and other misfortunes. They help with business, creating a family, harmonizing a couple’s relationship and helping.

Such a souvenir from Egypt will make its owner more confident in his abilities and harmonize his energy. It brings incredible luck in literally everything, the desire to work for your own benefit, destroys laziness and helps you achieve prosperity and success. But he won’t do anything for you; instead, he will teach you wisdom and give you the ability to see the true nature of everything that happens to you.

For women, the scarab brings youth and beauty, internal magnetism and charm. Men are endowed with perseverance and consistency. But the influence of the amulet does not depend on gender, because you yourself can ask him for what you need. If you lack luck in business, luck in finding a suitable partner, or motivation to work on yourself, turn to your amulet. It also has a positive effect on sexuality, increasing libido, eliminating impotence and infertility.

How to wear a scarab amulet correctly

It is believed that a scarab amulet works best if it is given as a gift. But the one bought in person is quite good; even an ordinary souvenir from Egypt will work for your benefit. If you give it to one of your friends or relatives, be sure to explain to him the nature of this item and how to handle it. Not a single amulet will tolerate a disdainful attitude towards itself.

You should also not believe in legends about scarabs that eat people; this has no basis in reality. Create an extremely positive image of a hardworking scarab beetle.

It can be made not only in the form of decoration, jewelry or costume jewelry. There are also boxes, combs, and knife handles with this symbol. In this case, the amulet will act a little differently. If it's jewelry, you can use it as a personal talisman. A scarab depicted on a comb or mirror will directly influence your appearance, on a tool - it will give good luck in this activity, etc.

The scarab beetle might be a good option. It protects against accidents and other troubles on the road, as well as the effects of evil spirits and other negativity in parking lots, while traveling and standing in traffic jams. The insect is in motion almost all the time, which makes its image a good amulet for travelers and people who often go on business trips.

The image of a stubborn beetle is well suited for students and schoolchildren. This is a good option for a talisman for gaining wisdom, acquiring knowledge, the desire to learn and the ability to manage one’s knowledge and free time. It will help you in exams and throughout the school year.

The meaning of this talisman suggests that it can be used in the office, if it is a figurine, for example. This way he will be more effective in helping you move forward. career ladder and achieve higher salaries or increased profits.

On the plains of the African continent, where many herbivores live, including many large mammals, there will always be food for beetles. The same elephant eats about two hundred and fifty kilograms of food a day, and after a while returns it back in the form of huge dung heaps. We can say that Africa (and other places on our planet) have not yet gotten bogged down in a huge layer of dung only thanks to the huge number of dung beetles, including special place occupied by the sacred Egyptian scarab beetle.

The scarab beetle belongs to the class of insects, the order of Coleoptera of the lamellar family, one of the characteristics of which is a special form of antennae structure, which is characterized by a lamellar-shaped pin that can open in the form of a fan.

Currently, scientists have discovered more than a hundred representatives of this genus living in arid areas with sandy soils: deserts, semi-deserts, dry steppes, savannas. Most are found only in tropical Africa: in the Palearctic (the region that covers Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas, and North Africa to the southern border of the Sahara) there are about twenty species, while in the Western Hemisphere and Australia they are completely absent.

Description

The length of scarab beetles ranges from 9.5 to 41 mm. Most of them are black; very rarely there is an insect with a silver-metallic tone. As the beetle matures, it acquires a shiny sheen. A male can be distinguished from a female by his hind legs, which are covered on the inside with a reddish-golden fringe.

The body shape of scarabs is wide, oval, large, slightly convex, covered with an exoskeleton (a durable chitinous covering that acts as an external skeleton). The beetle's head is transverse in shape and has a clypeus with six teeth.

The insect's pronotum is simple, strongly transverse, granular in structure, finely serrated at the base and sides. Elytra with six grooves, twice as long as pronotum, base without border, characteristic granular structure. At the base, the posterior section of the abdomen has a border.

On the abdomen and legs (it has three pairs of legs in total) there are long dark hairs. The front legs are digging, have four external teeth, the part at the base on the outside is finely serrated. The middle and hind tibiae are thin, long, slightly curved, while the tarsi become denser closer to the body.

Way of life and nutrition

In mid-latitudes, the scarab beetle appears in mid-spring and is active during the day as long as it is cold at night. In summer, when it is much warmer at night, it switches to night look life. The insect was nicknamed the sandy soil sanator (one might even say, a kind of waste disposal specialist) for good reason: almost its entire life is centered around the main source of food - manure.

About four thousand scarabs usually flock to one fresh, medium-sized pile of manure and in an hour they completely pull it away (if they hesitate, the manure will dry out and the ball will not form).

They do it quite in an interesting way: using the teeth on the head, and the front paws instead of a shovel and a chisel. Balls are made from dung, the size of which often exceeds the disposal beetle.

When forming a ball, they take a round piece of manure as a basis, after which, clasping it with their middle and hind legs, they do not release it until the end of the work. After this, having settled on top, the beetle begins to turn in different sides, separating with the edge of the head the particles of manure surrounding it, while the front paws pick them up, bring them to the ball and press it into it, now from below, now from above, now from the sides, until it acquires the required size.

An insect can roll a formed ball in search of a shaded corner of the earth for several tens of meters, and the further it moves away from the heap, the faster it rolls its prey. If the beetle is distracted for some reason, the ball it has made is quite capable of being taken away and appropriated by its relatives, so fierce battles often arise for the right to own the finished prey. During this time, smaller species of dung beetles can settle in the balls, and if there are too many of them there, the ball will be useless for the owner.

Having found a suitable place, the beetle, having made a hole, rolls it down, buries it, settles next to it, and until it eats it (usually it takes about two weeks), it does not leave the place, after which it again goes in search of new food.

Reproduction

While the insect is young, it makes a ball only for its food. But quite soon (they live about three months) a beetle of the opposite sex is connected to it, as a result of which a pair is formed: the insects begin to work together and prepare food not so much for themselves as for their offspring.

To do this, they dig holes, the depth of which ranges from 10 to 30 cm (they create as many nests as the female is going to lay eggs). Upon completion of the work, the male leaves the hole, and the female begins to sculpt oval-shaped dung figures (ovoids). In the narrower part, she makes a depression in which she places an oval-shaped egg (10 x 5 mm), after which the entrance to the hole is filled up.

The egg stage of a waste beetle lasts from 5 to 12 days, after which it turns into a larva, which constantly feeds on the food prepared by the parents, while it does not touch the walls of the ovoid.

After a month, the larva turns into a pupa, the stage of which lasts about two weeks. Young insects emerging from pupae do not leave their nests for some time, and if the species lives in temperate latitudes, then they stay there until spring.

Relationships with people

They realized how useful these insects are back in Ancient Egypt, when they saw that black beetles destroy manure and rotten food, clearing the earth of decay products (an important job in a sultry, hot and dry climate).

Therefore, for more than one millennium, they revered and worshiped the golden scarab as an insect that belonged to the Sun God himself. It was a symbol of rebirth in the afterlife: for the inhabitants of ancient Egypt, rolling the ball symbolized the movement of the luminary across the sky, and the teeth located on the head reminded them of the sun's rays. It is not surprising that the golden scarab was often found in ancient Egyptian temples.

In addition to the fact that it was considered the animal of the main deity, there was also a cult of the scarab god Kheper, who was the god of health and longevity, in Ancient Egypt. Therefore, stone and metal figurines of Kheper were found in many tombs, as well as many medallions depicting a golden scarab.

These beetles are still used successfully today. So, some time ago, after the insects of Australia and South America for some reason could no longer cope with the huge amount of manure produced by livestock, it was decided to use scarabs for this, as a result of which the beetles were brought to these continents. Despite the fact that the insects did not take root here, they completed their task.

Egypt is a country of extraordinary structures, amazing discoveries and rich mythology. The first associations associated with Egypt are pyramids, pharaohs, the Red Sea and scarab beetles. The image of this insect is found very often: on papyri, frescoes and statues. A small figurine of a scarab, made of green basalt, granite, limestone, marble, blue clay or faience, covered with purple, blue, green glaze, not to mention scarabs in amber, is one of the most popular souvenirs.

Scarab symbol

Why is the scarab so popular and revered in Egypt? The answer to this question is literally before your eyes: just look at a fresco or papyrus with paintings from Egyptian mythology. While observing scarabs, the ancient Egyptians noticed that the beetles rolled dung into perfectly shaped balls and pushed them in front of them, moving them from place to place. In these actions, the Egyptians saw a symbol of the movement of the sun across the sky, and in the teeth on the head of the beetle - a similarity sun rays.

Scarab beetle

The scarab beetle became the personification of one of the most ancient Egyptian gods, Khepri. God Ra symbolizes the daytime sun, Atum - the night, hidden, Khepri - a deity with the head of a scarab - symbolizes the morning, rising Sun. That is why the scarab is an image of the sun, transfiguration, resurrection and eternal life. A Chinese sages They believed that the scarab is a clear example of the spontaneous generation of existence.

It was not for nothing that the Egyptians decorated almost all surrounding things with the image of a scarab: they attached great importance to this insect and believed that its symbol had energy and strength. The most famous scarab statue is located at the Karnak Temple in Luxor. Thousands of tourists walk around the statue every day and touch its smooth sides, heated by the Egyptian sun. There is a legend that if you walk around the statue seven times, any wish will come true. The more global the desire, the better: the sacred beetle is not wasted on trifles.

Scarab as an amulet

Surely the fact that Egypt is the birthplace of tattoos will not come as a surprise to you. Initially, tattoos served Egyptian believers as a pass to the afterlife - according to Egyptian mythology, it could be even more intense than life on earth, so the Egyptians prepared for the transition to another world very seriously. Needless to say, the image of a scarab, symbolizing rebirth, was very popular? But then scarab tattoos were no longer associated only with the afterlife. They are still popular today, and people who choose them receive not only decoration, but also a powerful talisman. This is a sign that gives you self-confidence, helps you achieve your goals, attracts and retains the energy and strength of the sun.

Scarab - a symbol of good luck

For those who consider a tattoo to be too extravagant an adornment, there are many ways to gain the power of the divine insect. Jewelry, boxes, combs, mirrors and much more are decorated with the image of a scarab. Such a talisman can protect a person from the evil eye and attract good luck.

The scarab, as a great worker, will bring prosperity in business and success in your endeavors. For women, a talisman in the form of a scarab beetle will suppress youth and beauty, and for men - stability and self-confidence. It’s a good idea to take an amulet with you on the road: it will protect the traveler and keep him healthy.

The scarab is also a symbol of learning and the path to wisdom. The hard work of acquiring new knowledge and working on oneself is compared to the efforts of a scarab to create a ball from a shapeless mass. A small amulet, which can be used as jewelry, keychains, amber figurines with a scarab inside, will help in studying, especially during the “hot” time: during sessions, tests or under heavy workload.

Scarab souvenirs can be beneficial even if used as home decoration. The main thing is to choose the right place. Do not forget that the scarab is a mythical symbol of the sun, so place its figurine on the windowsill or any other sunny place- and very soon wealth and luck will flow into the house.

What kind of insect is this

To begin with, before plunging into the mysterious magical meaning of the talisman, let’s delve a little into zoology, find out what kind of mysterious beetle this is.

This is an insect belonging to the order Coleoptera. Many people do not even suspect that the genus of scarabs has more than eighty species! The most famous of all species is the sacred scarab. The insect is black in color (in at a young age they are matte, and the wings of older individuals are shiny). Its length is approximately from two and a half to three and a half sometimes four centimeters.

They have big eyes and mustaches (by the way, scarabs belong to the lamellar family). Perhaps some people who watched the movie "The Mummy" are afraid of scarabs, thinking that they pose some kind of danger. We hasten to reassure you, it is completely harmless to humans.

Scarabs live in many countries in Europe and Africa. They live mainly on sand. Four of their species live even in Russia, and in Ukraine this beetle is listed in the Red Book.

From about the beginning of spring to mid-summer, scarabs roll balls of dung (by the way, for this they received the name dung beetles). Sometimes the size of the balls exceeds the size of the beetle itself. Scarabs bury them in the ground, and subsequently eat these balls. Sometimes they even start fights for the finished balls.
As you know, doing something together brings you closer together. So, it turns out that this happens not only in people. And scarabs are excellent proof of this. In the process of making dung balls, “families” are often formed. That is, the male and female begin to prepare balls not only for themselves, but also for future offspring, which, by the way, will soon appear. A male and a female mate in specially dug burrows, after which the male scarab leaves the “dwelling” (as they say: “If you’ve done the job, walk boldly”), and the female lays eggs in specially prepared dung cocoons-cups. Larvae emerge from the eggs, pupae from the larvae, and adult beetles emerge from the pupae. Often the beetles remain in these cocoons for a long time until they become wet from rainwater, and sometimes even overwinter in them.

A reasonable question arises, how long do scarabs live? So, their life is not long at all - only about three months. And by the time young beetles are born, their parents have already died.

Magical properties.

In ancient Egypt, the scarab beetle symbol was one of the most revered. He was associated with the sun. It symbolized the movement of the sun in the sky from east to west, and was also identified with renewal and rebirth in the afterlife. According to legend, this insect crawled out of the head of the dead Osiris (the god of rebirth, the king of the underworld), announcing his rebirth in the afterlife.

The Egyptian god Khepri, who according to mythology created the world and man, is depicted with the head of a scarab. In addition, the image of scarabs is found on frescoes in tombs and on ancient papyri. And not far from Luxor in the Karnak temple there is a column, the top of which is crowned with a stone scarab beetle. According to legend, if you make a wish and walk around this column with a scarab seven times, touching the side of the beetle on each circle, then it will certainly come true. So, if you find yourself in these places, don’t forget about it!

The scarab talisman is a symbol creative power, it helps its owner to create whatever he wants. It is not simple empty words, since the structure of the process of fulfilling a wish in a metaphysical sense is exactly identical to the behavior of the scarab beetle. Just as a beetle rolls its dung ball, wanting to get offspring, so a person, wanting something, first imagines it in his subconscious, after which he realizes that he already has it. Only by imagining that you already have what you want, that the desired desired object is already yours, can you really get it without difficulty. And an amulet in the form of a scarab beetle will constantly remind you that in order to get something, you first need to know exactly what you want and imagine in your subconscious that you already have it.

Amulet of the Scarab beetle from the Magic Book store

There is also an opinion that this magical insect is a symbol of wealth, and your personal talisman should not catch the eye of strangers. It is put in the wallet. A flat amulet made of medical steel, which can be purchased in the Magic Book online store, is ideal for these purposes.

A brass amulet in the form of a stylish pendant should be worn on the chest, it symbolizes renewal, helps to always make the right decisions, protects and protects its owner from negative energies(for example, damage or the evil eye) coming from the outside world. You can also purchase it in the Magic Book online store.

Brass amulet from the store
Magic book

At the same time, it is not at all necessary to specifically go to Egypt for amulets. But taking it with you on a trip is just right, because according to Feng Shui, amulet in the form of this black insect protects and protects travelers during travel.

Have a good trip, wealth and pleasant emotions. Wear amulets for your health, relax in Egypt, give talismans to your friends, share information in in social networks. And we, in turn, will prepare many more exciting articles for you

The history of Egypt is full of secrets and mysteries. Grandiose pyramids and mummies of pharaohs, sacred animals and a scarab, as one of the symbols of past greatness ancient civilization. The Egyptians endowed it with divinity, and numerous myths and legends, along with the pyramids, made it an emblem of tourist Egypt. To understand why this little bug has earned worldwide fame, let’s learn more about it.

Who is this sacred scarab?

The sacred scarab - and it is to this species that our hero belongs - is a matte black insect with an almost round smooth body 25–35 cm long. Old individuals become shiny over time. On the head of the beetle there is a frontal protrusion and eyes, divided into upper and lower parts. There are spurs on each leg. Their gender differences are weakly expressed. The lower part of the body is covered with dark brown hairs. The photo of the scarab beetle, taken in macro mode, clearly shows these features.

These beetles are found on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, in the South and Eastern Europe, on Arabian Peninsula, in Crimea, Turkey and, of course, in Egypt.

Scarabs are dung beetles that feed on the dung of cattle, horses, and sheep.

The main feature of beetles is their feeding method. They roll a shapeless mass of excrement into a perfectly flat sphere and bury it in the ground, where they then use it for food.

Scarabs live for about two years. They spend almost their entire lives underground, emerging to the surface at night. They overwinter by burrowing to a depth of 2 meters. The emergence of beetles begins in March and lasts until mid-July.

Vapors are generated during the process of collecting dung balls, and further work happens together. A pair of scarabs digs a burrow 15–30 cm deep, which ends in a chamber. After mating, the male leaves, and the female begins to roll special pear-shaped balls and lays eggs in them. At the end, the burrow is filled up.

After 1–2 weeks, the beetle larvae hatch. For a month they eat the food that their parents have prepared for them, and then they are reborn into pupae. In unfavorable weather, the pupae remain in the burrow for the winter. In spring, young beetles leave their burrows and come to the surface.

Scientists believe that in hot tropical climate play a vital role in processing the huge amounts of manure produced by wild and domestic herbivores. Elephants, common in Africa alone, consume about 250 kg of food per day, and return a little less to nature in the form of dung heaps.

Some time ago, through the efforts of introduced scarab beetles in Australia and South America A countless amount of manure was processed, which local insects could no longer cope with. The scarabs did not take root in the new place, but they completed their task perfectly.

Where do the myths about scarabs come from?

While observing the scarabs, the Egyptians noticed interesting feature- beetles always roll their balls from east to west, and fly only at noon. Attentive Egyptians saw in this a connection between beetles and the sun. The luminary passes its path from east to west and disappears behind the horizon, only to appear again in the east tomorrow.

According to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the sun was a deity who brought life to all living things and resurrection after death. The Egyptians correlated the development cycle of scarabs inside a dung ball and its emergence to the surface with the movement of the sun. The resemblance is so amazing ancient people, that the god Khepri, who personified the rising sun, began to be depicted with a scarab instead of a head.

Luxor is home to a statue of a sacred scarab; this place is especially revered by tourists and locals.

The role of the scarab in the life of Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians had poetic religious texts that called the scarab the god who lives in the heart and protects Inner Light person. Therefore, the beetle symbol gradually became a connecting link between the divine principle and the human soul, uniting them.

The symbol of the sacred scarab accompanied the ancient Egyptians all their lives and, according to their beliefs, passed with them into the afterlife. If the body was mummified after death, then instead of the heart, an image of a sacred beetle was inserted. Without it, the resurrection of the soul in the afterlife could not occur. Even at the primitive level of medicine, the ancients understood the importance of the heart in the human body and, by placing in its place an image of the sacred beetle, they believed that it represented the primary impulse for the rebirth of the soul. Somewhat later, instead of a figurine of a scarab beetle, the Egyptians made a heart from ceramics, and the names of the deities were depicted on it next to the symbol of the sacred beetle.

What do amulets with a scarab mean in our time?

At all times people believed in miraculous power various amulets that bring good luck, wealth, happiness. Egyptian talismans are among them due to their ancient origin are considered the strongest.

The scarab beetle mascot is one of the most revered, and it is what is offered to tourists as a souvenir. Initially, amulets were made from stones, both precious and ornamental. Green granite, marble, basalt or ceramics were used, which, after drying, were covered with green or blue azure. Nowadays tourists are offered metal amulets decorated with stones.

Before buying a talisman with the image of a scarab beetle, you should find out its meaning. The little thing helps its owner gain self-confidence, achieve desires and achieve their goals. First of all, this concerns work and creative activity. Since the scarab is a symbol of life, it is believed that it preserves youth and brings beauty to women. With its help, the strong half of humanity should gain Fixed salary and high position in society. Students take the talisman with them to exams, and in the house the symbol of the sacred beetle can provide protection from thieves, fires and other troubles.

It is believed that greater strength gifted amulets possess, but handling of the amulet must be respectful and careful. A careless attitude towards magical objects and foreign culture and mythology can be dangerous for a person.