Happy Valentines Day Everyone!
Since itโs Valentineโs Day, letโs talk about the Heart ๐๐๐ฃ in ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐! Today ๐๐๐๐ณ we are going to look at the Heart Scarab! This particular Heart Scarab at the Brooklyn Museum is so cool because it is actually in the shape of a heart ๐๐๐ฃ instead of a Scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ. The term โHeart Scarabโ is a modern one used by archaeologists!
In ancient Egyptian culture, the heart ๐๐๐ฃ was not only the center of a personโs life ๐น, but also thinking, memory, and moral values. The heart ๐๐๐ฃ was not removed during the mummification ๐ด๐ง๐๐ ฑ๐ process, because the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ person would need it on their journey through the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
The personโs heart ๐๐๐ฃ would be weighed against Maatโs ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ฆ feather ๐๐บ by Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ, and that would determine if the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ would be presented to Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ and then enter the Field of Reeds ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ ฑ๐ฐ๐, or eternal ๐ life ๐น. This was called the โWeighing of the Heart,โย or the โJudgement of Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ.โย
So how does the Heart Scarab play into this? In modern terms, the Heart Scarab could be seen as a โcheat codeโ for getting past the โWeighing of the Heartโ – most are inscribed with the spell ๐๐๐ from Chapter 30B from the Book of the Dead. In this spell ๐๐๐, the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ asks their own heart ๐๐๐ฃ to not betray them during the โWeighing of the Heart.โ
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 30B from the Papyrus of Ani: โO my heart of different ages! Do not stand up as a witness against me, do not be opposed to me in the tribunal, do not be hostile to me in the presence of the keeper of the balance, for you are my ka which was in my body, the protector who made my members hale.โ
Basically, the ancient Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช feared the outcome of their final judgement so they developed this amulet ๐๐ช๐ as a way to ensure a positive outcome to the scales!