Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus is one of the oldest and best loved protective signs in the world. Egyptians called it the wedjat, “the sound one”, and wore it in life and in death as a sign of wholeness after injury and loss.

Where it comes from

The eye belongs to Horus, the falcon god of kingship. In a myth told in many versions, Horus fought his uncle Seth for the throne of his murdered father Osiris, and in the struggle Seth tore out or damaged Horus’s eye. Thoth, or in some tellings the goddess Hathor, restored it, and Horus offered the mended eye to his father.

Early references to the story appear in the Pyramid Texts, carved inside royal tombs of the late Old Kingdom. Horus was honoured all along the Nile, and his great temple at Edfu in Upper Egypt, built much later under the Ptolemies, still stands almost complete.

Small eye amulets appear in Egyptian burials by the end of the Old Kingdom, around 2300 BCE. They remained popular for well over two thousand years, into Roman times, and became one of the most common amulets of all.

What it means

The design combines a human eye and eyebrow with markings below that recall the cheek pattern of a falcon, the bird of Horus. That mixture of human and bird is part of the point: it is the eye of a god, watching on the wearer’s behalf.

For Egyptians the wedjat stood for protection, and also for well-being and completeness in the widest sense, which places it among the oldest talismans for protection. In temple and funerary texts, offerings themselves could be called the Eye of Horus, because giving them restored what had been lost. Many Egyptologists also link the damaged and restored eye with the moon, which wanes and returns each month.

The eye was valued not because it had never been hurt, but because it had been made whole again.

A popular modern idea holds that each part of the eye stood for a fraction, from one half to one sixty-fourth, used by scribes to measure grain. The fraction signs did exist, but many historians of mathematics now doubt that they were ever understood as pieces of the eye, so the story is best enjoyed with caution.

How it was worn and kept

Wedjat amulets were made in glazed faience, carnelian, lapis lazuli, obsidian, gold and silver, from tiny beads to openwork plaques. Some multiply the eye in rows, so that several watchful gazes look out at once; others pair it with a cobra or with other sacred signs.

The living wore them too, on necklaces, rings and bracelets: in gold for the wealthy, and in bright blue-green faience for almost everyone else. That colour mattered, because Egyptians linked green and blue with growth, freshness and new life.

In burials, eye amulets were tucked into the linen wrappings of the mummy, and a plate marked with the wedjat could be laid over the embalming incision. Middle Kingdom coffins often carry a pair of painted eyes on one side, placed so that the person lying within could look out towards the rising sun.

Variations and relatives

• Right and left eyes: both appear on amulets, and some texts link the right eye with the sun and the left with the moon.
• The Eye of Ra: a related idea, the fierce eye of the sun god, often pictured as a goddess and sometimes confused with the Eye of Horus today.
• Painted boat eyes: the eyes on the prows of fishing boats around the Mediterranean, as in Malta, are often said to descend from the Egyptian eye, though the link is hard to prove.
• The Evil Eye bead: a different belief, but a close cousin in jewellery boxes today, where a watchful eye turns back harm.

In Egyptian thinking the wedjat kept company with other amulets: the Ankh for life, the Scarab for becoming and rebirth, and the djed pillar for stability. You can read more about these companions among the talismans of ancient Egypt.

Wearing it today

For most people the Eye of Horus is a heritage symbol, and it is worn widely by people of many backgrounds. For followers of modern Kemetic religion it remains sacred, so it is worth wearing with the same courtesy you would give any religious sign.

It suits a pendant, a ring or a charm on a bracelet. It also makes a thoughtful gift for someone setting out on a journey, or making a fresh start after a hard time.

Faience and glazed pieces are fragile, so keep them away from hard knocks and harsh cleaners. Metal versions need only a soft cloth, as our guide to caring for talismans explains. Whatever the material, the old meaning travels with it: a watchful eye, and the quiet hope of being made whole.

taliaris describes beliefs and customs; it makes no claim that a talisman has an effect.