A winter solstice group healing journey with Horus the Sky God- son of Isis and Osiris-defender of the family. Healing of the third eye, Physical healing. Patron of Families & Homes, Courage, Creativity, Balance, The Arts, Beauty, Family.
In the beginning stages of the ancient Egyptian religion, Horus was believed to be the god of war and the sky and was married to the goddess Hathor. As the religion progressed, Horus was seen as the son of Osiris and Isis, as well as the opponent of Seth. Sometimes Horus is shown as a winged sun disk, representing the Horus of Behdet, a town in the Nile delta where the falcon-God enjoyed a cult.
When Seth murdered Osiris and contested Horus’s heritage (the royal throne of Egypt), Horus became Set enemy. Horus eventually defeated Seth, thus avenging his father and assuming the rule. In the fight, Horus’s left eye (i.e., the moon) was damaged—this being a mythical explanation of the moon’s phases—and was healed by the god Thoth.
The figure of the restored eye (the wedjat eye) became a powerful amulet. Horus is also associated (sometimes as son, sometimes as partner) with the ancient cow-goddess Hathor, who is often depicted with cow’s horns, sometimes with cow’s ears.
With the transformation into his godly form, Horus can sprout gold and silver coloured wings, otherwise identical to falcon wings except for their size and composition, which enable him to fly. He can move at great speed in the sky, even to the point where he can break the sound barrier.
Coined the All-Seeing Eye, was thought of as having special powers related to protection, taking actions, and anger. In ancient Egypt Eyes were thought to have powerful energy and could cast evil spells with just a glance. It was also believed that evil eyes could be counteracted with "good eyes", which led to beliefs around the protective power of the Eye of Horus.
In hieroglyphics, the Eye of Horus is represented by seven different symbols, with the meaning of "take action" or "one who does". Sailors harnessed its power by painting it on ships to protect them on dangerous voyages and to ward off evil forces. In this way, it is like the evil eye symbol.
It was also used in funeral monuments and amulets to offer the dead safety and protection on their journey to the underworld and to ensure a good and safe afterlife.
Another name for the Eye of Horus is the "Eye of the Mind". Incredibly, when the Eye of Horus is superimposed over a cross-section of the human brain, each of the six sections of the Eye seem to correspond to the major sensory centres of our five senses and to the corpus callosum, the largest collection of white matter fibres in the brain that facilitates communication between the two halves of the brain. What is amazing about this correspondence is that the ancient Egyptians, who were leaders in medicine and anatomy, seemed to understand the intricate functions of the central nervous system without the benefits of modern technology. The following is a list of each part of the Eye of Horus to sections of the brain:
Smell: The triangular-shaped section on right side of eye is in the olfactory trigone.
Vision: The centre of eye corresponds to the interallelic adhesion.
Wisdom: The eyebrow corresponds to the shape and location of the corpus callosum.
Hearing: The triangular left side of the eye corresponds to the location of the Brodman areas 41 and 42, which are the centre of hearing in humans.
Taste: The coiled, tail-shaped object corresponds to the taste pathway in the brain.
Touch: The teardrop-shaped object corresponds to the shape and location of the somatosensory pathway, the carrier of many sensations from the body.
The Eye of Horus and mathematics
There is yet another fascinating element of symbolism in the Eye of Horus as it relates to mathematics. The Eye can be divided into six individual elements (the six pieces of the eye that were ripped apart by Set, and that also correspond to the various parts of the brain), each of which is assigned a fraction, as follows:
½ corresponds to the outer triangle of the eye
¼ corresponds to the pupil
1/8 corresponds to the eyebrow
1/16 corresponds to the inner triangle of the eye
1/32 corresponds to the the curled "tail"
1/64 corresponds to the teardrop shape
If you then add up the fractions, they do not equal 100%, as expected, but instead only add up to 63/64, or 98.43%. It is said that the missing fraction was either withheld by Thoth's magic when he restored the eye, or that the magic itself is the missing piece. Another interpretation is to say that nothing is perfect.
The Eye of Horus as a symbol of the moon: Ancients believed that Horus' right eye represented the sun, and his left eye, the moon, meaning that he ruled all the heavens. Because it is believed that it was Horus' left eye, which was gouged out, the Eye of Horus also represents the waxing and waning moon. The nights when there is no moon in the sky represents the time when Horus' eye was ripped out, and the full moon represents the eye that has been restored by magic.
The Eye of Horus and divine royalty
Horus' name means "the falcon who soars above all the other inhabitants of the land". Horus is the god of the sky and is often shown with the head of a falcon or as a falcon itself. The Eye of Horus is shaped to resemble a falcon's eye, along with the distinctive teardrop on the bottom. The Eye of Horus has also been seen in royal courts and royal garments. This is because ancient Egyptians believed that pharaohs were the living embodiment of Horus and that when one pharaoh died, his spirit was passed down to the next one.
The Eye of Horus and the Pineal Gland The pineal gland is a tiny, pinecone-shaped gland located near the centre of the brain, at the same level as the eyes. The famous philosopher Descartes called it the "principal seat of the soul". It is also known as the "third eye" and is thought to be a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. Many cultures throughout the world have some belief in the idea of the third eye. In ancient Indian texts, the chakra located between the eyebrows is believed to be the connection to divine consciousness.