Feather of Ma'at

This image depicts the Ostrich feather worn upon the head of the goddess Ma’at. Ma’at personified the laws of all existence, she represented truth, justice, law, divine and world order, and as such the image of the feather depicts these qualities and is the symbol of truth. This symbol appears frequently in the Book of the Dead, in the Hall of Judgement at the ‘Weighing of the Heart’, in which the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of Ma’at, upon the scales of justice.

On the tarot cards, the feather of Ma'at is used to symbolise justice and truth.
o ‘XIX – The Sun’ – the woman standing beneath the sun has a headdress of two ma’at feathers and ma’at feathers hanging from each arm.
o ‘XIII – Death’ – shows Anubis weighing the heart of the deceased against the ma’at feather.

Horus

Horus was seen early in Egyptian mythology as a sky god, depicted as a falcon with outstretched wings, whose eyes represented the sun and the moon. From the early historic period Horus in his celestial falcon form was associated with the King and kingship, seen often as the manifestation of Horus himself. In mythology Horus was seen as the son of the god Osiris and rival to his uncle, the god Seth.

Tellow sandstone falcon of Horus, possibly Ptolemaic (Greek rule 332 - 30 BCE).


Horus appears most frequently in the tarot cards in falcon form:
o ‘Horus’ Glory’ (3 of pentacles) – “After his victory over Seth, Horus could finally rise to the heavens bearing two Shen, and here he was crowned with a flaming sun disc by Ra”.

o ‘Horus’ Sceptre’ (Ace of Wands) – Falcon Horus “with the sign of power over the earthly world (wand)”.
o ‘The Chalices of Souls’ (10 of Chalices) – “The god Horus surrounded by ten chalices, symbols of the hearts containing the souls destined for reincarnation”.

Lotus / Lily / Papyrus Flowers

The lotus, or red waterlily in Egyptian mythology is associated with one of the creation myths as the ‘blossom which came into being in the beginning’ from the primeval waters or ‘emerged from the light’. At night waterlilies close their flowers and submerge into the water, appearing again in the morning to face the rising sun. The waterlily therefore also became a symbol for the rising sun.

The ancient Egyptians also viewed the blue lotus as a sacred flower. As the plant belonging to the god Nefertem, the blue lotus appeared frequently in Egyptian art.

The Papyrus plant was a symbol of the world which had risen from the primeval waters. The papyrus was the heraldic plant of Lower Egypt. Bunches of papyrus plants were supposed to signify triumph and joy.

Large storage jar with lotus and papyri decoration,18th dynasty Amarna (1550 - 1500 BCE).


The lotus, lily and papyrus flower features in tarot imagery, for example:
o ‘The Lady of Glory’ (Queen of Pentacles) – “The Princess holds a bunch of flowers while the sun shines in the sky”.
o ‘Uraei of the North’ ((4 of Pentacles) – Two papyrus stems representing life.
o ‘Papyrus Buds’ (8 of Chalices) – “Papyrus flowers that bend over towards the sides symbolise maturing that stops”.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten (Amarna Imagery)

Artefacts in the Petrie Museum from the royal palace at Amarna offer examples of Amarna royal imagery, for example in display case WEC4 there is a limestone statuette group of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Princess.

Although the cards are not specific in mentioning Akhenaten and Nefertiti they are easily recognised by their identifiable image:
o ‘The Lord of the World’ (King of Pentacles).
o ‘The Lady of Glory’ (Queen of Pentacles).

Scarabs

In Egyptian mythology, the sacred scarab beetle came into being from a ball of dung. He was worshiped in the form of the god Khepri, ‘he who came forth from the earth’, who was believed to roll the sun across the sky, just as the dung beetle rolls balls of dung on earth. The scarab became a popular amulet for its association with the sun, light and warmth and was commonly placed with the deceased, symbolising new life.

Scarab amulet from 2nd Intermediate period (1700 - 1570 BCE)
The selection of amulets in pottery case 33 in the Petrie Museum demonstrates the scarabs important role as an amulet motif and its surrounding mythological/religious significance:
• PC33: displays a selection of scarab amulets.
• PC32: displays a winged scarab as used in one particular tarot card.

Scarabs can be seen in the following tarot examples:

‘Khepri’s Glory’ (4 of wands) – shows Khepri with outstretched wings “symbol of the rising Sun and the continuing alteration of day and night, life and death.”

‘The Goldern Scarab’ (9 of wands) – Described in terms of tarot cards as being “one of the most important amulets, Kephri’s scarab protects the heart and emotions in particular”.

The Sun - The Aten's life giving hands

The Aten, depicted in these Tarot cards, is an image of the sun disc with its arms outstretched offering the Ankh or ‘breath of life’ to those beneath its rays. This solar symbolism came into being under the reign of Akhenaten, who denoted the Aten as the ‘sole god’ of Egypt. However solar imagery has long been connected to Egyptian mythology and has varied greatly in its manifestation, such as the lotus, Horus headed depiction of Re-Herakhty, the scarab headed Khepri and the sun disc of the god Ra.

Fragment of an alabaster relief showing Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Princess Meritaten beneath the Aten’s outstretched arms – common Amarna symbology, from early in Akhenaten’s reign (c. 1350 BCE).

Although the sun as a generalised symbol appears frequently in the cards, the sun specifically as the aten appears on a number of tarot cards:
XIX ‘The Sun’ (Shining Light – Happiness).

‘The Lord of the World’ (King of Pentacles) – “A sovereign gathers the rays of the sun with his own hands.”

Uraeus

The uraeus represents a rearing cobra and is a significant symbol of kingship, usually found on the diadem and later on the crown of the Pharaoh and worn by the royal gods Horus and Seth. As a flame-spitting serpent the uraeus had the ability to ward off evil and became defined as the eye of the god Re.


Sandstone slab showing Osiris wearing the uraeus, 26th dynasty (664-525 BCE)





The Uraei in tarot cards are often used to highlight solar connection. For example:

‘Uraei of the North’ (4 of Pentacles) – “Two cobra under two papyrus stems represent Ra’s power to make things live: vital fluid and breath of life”.

‘Uraei of the South’ (5 of pentacles) – “Two cobras coming directly out of the sun represent Ra’s destructive power: inflamed fluid that destroys life”.