The Scarab

Scarabs are engraved stones representing the Scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), which rolls each of its eggs in a ball ofmud and may be seen on sandy slopes in the hot sunshine of Egypt; rounding the pellet by pushing it backwards uphill with its hind legs, and allowing it to roll down again. The ancient Egyptian compared this living germ to the sun, which brings matter into life, and the Scarab became the symbol of creation, and sacred to their Sun-god, khepera. It was their custom as far back as 4,600 years B.C. to bury these engraved Scarabs with their dead, and frequently one was placed in the heart itself. It was an emblem of re-creation, and symbolized this evolution of the soul through eternity.