Animal Symbolism

Excerpt from Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are THE ONEby Moustafa Gadalla. ISBN 1931446040Copyright © 2001 by Moustafa Gadalla, All rights reserved.Animal SymbolismEgyptians’ careful observation and profound knowledgeof the natural world enabled them to identify certain animalswith specific qualities that could symbolize certain divinefunctions and principles, in a particularly pure and strikingfashion. As such, certain animals were chosen as symbolsfor that particular aspect of divinity.This effective mode of expression is consistent with allcultures. For example, in the West they use expressions suchas: quiet as a mouse, sly like a fox, ...etc.The animal or animal-headed neteru (gods/goddesses)are symbolic expressions of a deep spiritual understanding.When a total animal is depicted in Ancient Egypt, it representsa particular function/attribute in its purest form.When an animal-headedfigure is depicted, it conveysthat particular function/attributein the humanbeing. The two formsof Anbu (Anubis), in thetwo illustrations shownhere, clearly distinguishthese two aspects.[The particular qualities of the dog are described on page 100.]Another example is the depiction of soul in Ancient

2Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are THE ONEEgypt, which is known as theba. The ba is represented as ahuman-headed bird, which isthe opposite of the normal depictionof neteru (gods/goddesses)as human bodies withanimal heads—in other words,as the divine aspect of the terrestrial.The ba is depicted as a stork. The stork is knownfor its migrating and homing instinct, and is also knownworldwide as the bird who carries newborn babies to theirnew families. The stork returns to its own nest with consistentprecision—hence a migratory bird is the perfect choiceto represent the soul.[Several examples of animal symbolism will be detailedthroughout the book.]Excerpt from Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are THE ONEby Moustafa Gadalla. ISBN 1931446040Copyright © 2001 by Moustafa Gadalla, All rights reserved.