Eye of Horus Meaning: Legend and Powers of the Udjat

Painted on amulets, tombs and the prows of boats, the Eye of Horus has kept watch for more than four thousand years. It is one of the most powerful protection symbols of ancient Egypt.

Legend, meaning, the difference with the Eye of Ra and ways to use it: here is everything the udjat has to tell you.

✦

The legend of the Eye of Horus

Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris. An Egyptian god depicted as a man with a falcon’s head, he is one of the oldest deities of Egypt: his two eyes are the Sun and the Moon.

It is his left eye, linked to the Moon, that was injured by Set in the battle where Horus defended his father. The broken eye was restored by Thoth, god of wisdom and the moon, and became the symbol of what is made whole: the healing of the world, the return of light after night.

✦ ✦

The six parts of the udjat

The Eye of Horus is also called the udjat, “the one that is whole”. Scribes used its six parts to write fractions, and each was linked to a sense:

• The inner corner, towards the nose: 1/2, smell.
• The pupil: 1/4, sight.
• The eyebrow: 1/8, thought.
• The outer corner, towards the ear: 1/16, hearing.
• The spiral under the eye: 1/32, taste.
• The vertical teardrop: 1/64, touch.

Added together, these fractions make 63/64: the missing sixty-fourth, tradition says, is the part Thoth added by magic to make the eye whole.

✦

What does the Eye of Horus symbolize? Protection

Udjat also means “to preserve oneself”. It is found on countless amulets meant to protect and ward off bad luck. It also offers sight: in many Mediterranean countries it is painted on the prows of boats so sailors stay on course. It is also linked to the third eye, the seat of intuition.

A symbol of the sun and light, it protects the living and the dead alike, against the evil eye, betrayal and spells, and embodies strength, security and life.

✦ ✦

The Eye of Horus and the Eye of Ra

A hybrid of a human eye and a falcon’s eye, the Eye of Horus looks very much like the Eye of Ra. But the Eye of Horus is the left, lunar eye, while the Eye of Ra is the right, solar eye. Ra’s vision is said to be all-seeing and limitless; Horus’s, more intimate, is turned towards protection.

Is the Eye of Ra evil? It is rather a fearsome force, capable of violence to subdue the sun god’s enemies. Less protective than the Eye of Horus, it should be invoked with respect.

✦

The Eye of Horus in modern culture

Jewelry, tattoos, works of art: the Eye of Horus has become a universal symbol. It is worn as an amulet against negative energy, tattooed for intuition and awakening, and seen in films and video games as an image of mystery and ancient wisdom.

Did you know that Horus is also one of the signs of Egyptian astrology? And among the most powerful spiritual symbols, he stands alongside the ankh, his Egyptian neighbor.

✦ ✦