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Reading Hieroglyphs

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! These hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ pictured spell out the name of the god β€œShu 𓆄𓅱.”

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭 was the god π“ŠΉ of the air and atmosphere. In the Egyptian creation myth, Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭 raised the atmosphere from the Earth’s 𓇾𓇾 surface, separating the two 𓏻.Β 

Shu in Hieroglyphs
Shu raising up the sky/atmosphere depicted on a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum. Can you spot Shu’s name in the image?

Shu 𓇋𓅱 is usually depicted as a man standing or kneeling with both of his arms raised (like this hieroglyphic symbol – 𓁏). His arms are in this position to show that he is holding up the air/atmosphere above the ground! Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭 was often worshipped 𓇼𓄿𓀒 by sailors, who were looking for favorable winds π“‡‹π“‡¬π“ˆ–π“…±π“Š‘π“¦!Β 

Shu in Hieroglyphs

Here are the two most common ways to write β€œShu” in hieroglyphs: 

𓆄𓅱

𓇋𓅱𓀭

Let’s break down each of the symbols! 

The β€œfeather 𓆄” is a biliteral symbol and is representative of the sound Ε‘w. β€œπ“†„β€ can also function as an ideogram for β€œfeather 𓆄𓏺,” and as a determinative for β€œMaat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“†„.” So the β€œfeather 𓆄” symbol has many different uses! 

The β€œQuail Chick 𓅱” is a super popular symbol! It is a uniliteral phonogram that is representative of the sound w/u, and it is also an ideogram for the word β€œchick 𓅱𓏺.” It mostly appears as a uniliteral phonogram and is one of the hieroglyphs that appears the most in inscription! 

The β€œseated god 𓀭” is a determinative symbol and isn’t pronounced! It acts as β€œpunctuation” at the end of the name of a male god! 

Here are some other words that are similar to Shu 𓆄𓅱 – they are pronounced the same, but have different determinatives which changes the meaning of the word! What is so cool about these words is that they are related to the atmosphere/sky! 

𓆄𓅱𓅨 – Empty

𓆄𓅱𓇳, 𓆄𓅱𓇢 – sun, sunlight

I’m fascinated by the fact that both β€œempty 𓆄𓅱𓅨” and β€œShu 𓆄𓅱” are pronounced the same because we can’t see the atmosphere so what is above/all around us appears to be empty 𓆄𓅱𓅨 but it’s not and the ancient Egyptians knew that!Β 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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