Official Blog Post #4 (Blue Amulet of the Sacred Eye)

Object Name: Sm. Blue Amulet, the Sacred Eye (Wadjet)

(c) the Smithsonian Institution

Community: Ancient Egyptian, County of Qena in Upper Egypt, Africa. The site name is Luxor.  

Creator: Ancient Egyptians. The actual creator of this object is unknown.

Owner: Donor name is John V. Hansen

Colonial history: This is an actual object consisting of an eye and eyebrow with two lines descending from the bottom of the eye. Today it has become a symbol with three different names. The symbol's names are the "Eye of Horus," the "Eye of Ra," and the "Wadjet." 

Specifically, the object from the Smithsonian museum we are focusing on is the Scared Eye of Wadjet. The three names are based off the meaning behind the symbol rather than the construction. Wadjet, “Whole One” or "Green One," is the patron of lower Egypt, and her sacred animal is a cobra. At first, she was worshiped as a local goddess, but soon became a patron goddess of Lower Egypt. Eventually, Wadjet became known as a personification of Lower Egypt, rather than a distinct goddess (J Hill). 

The symbol was frequently used in jewelry made of silver, lapis, gold, carnelian, porcelain, and wood.  The second name, "the Eye of Horus," is more commonly known. Horus, the Greek word for the Egyptian "Heru" ("the distant one"),  is a celestial falcon god whose eyes were supposed to be the sun and the moon. It is thought that the lines beneath the eye are falcon markings. There is a myth that there was a battle between Horus and Set where Horus’ eye was ripped out; they were restored by the moon god Thoth and each given the name ‘Wadjet”. The myth relates to the waxing and waning of the moon. The symbol was divided into six parts representing the shattering of Horus’ eye; the pieces were associated with the six senses of smell, sight, thought, hearing, taste and touch. The pair of eyes appear on Egyptian coffins, symbolizing that they will provide sight for the deceased, whose souls live for eternity(Dunn). The symbol is also one of protection and was commonly used in protective amulets worn by both the living and the dead. (Beyer).

Modern use: Clearly, bloggers and others all across the internet have posted information about Wadjet and Horus and other sacred beliefs belonging ancient Egyptian religion. Wikipedia, the biggest online open-source information pool, has it's own page on the Eye of Horus, which is accessible to anyone with internet.

Some people believe the eye of Horus is just a symbol of wisdom, protection and revelation. Thus, this symbol has become, perhaps  a commodity.

It can be found on jewelry:

This ring can be found on Ebay here.

 t-shirts:

This and many other varieties found on Zazzle.

 and other things available for purchase:

For those who like to drink from a protected cup, this one's labeled as "Cute Eye of horus Mug," found here.

·         The Eye of Providence, found on the US $1 bills, has an association with the symbol. However, the symbol on the $1 may only symbolize that the owner of the bill is under the eye of a power superior to them.

America would turn the Sacred Eye into something creepy and slap it on money... note the pyramid it rests on.

·         Illuminati Organization-There are conspiracies that link the symbol with the Illuminati organization, which is believed to be the underlying real power of many governments.

·         The symbol has been a very popular tattoo due to the meaning of protection, sacrifice, restoration and healing given to it.

Current Location: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Anthropology of Archaelology

·         Pictures available on the Smithsonian website, taken of the object by the museum, belong to the Museum

Typing in "Blue Amulet of the Sacred Eye, Wadjet" into Google revealed only informational websites and commercial sites selling things featuring the Eye of Horus. This amulet, and the symbolism of the original amulets inscribed with "The Sacred Eye," have been commercialized and reduced in meaning to symbolize "cool" things, like protection and wisdom. Even if someone is aware of its sacred origins, nothing sacred or religious now pertains to this eye in its multiple commercial settings.

The Smithsonian claims that the donor (John V. Hansen), under copyright laws, technically has the rights to this object. Clearly, there are other pieces of ancient jewelry with the sacred eye on them; however, the Smithsonian only has two. It makes me wonder how something so old and sacred became so widely dispersed publicly...until I remember copyright laws.

These days, according to copyright, anyone could take the "Sacred Eye" and remix it, reuse, or turn it into a coffee mug. The creators of this symbol are long dead; in the reality of modern copyright, however, these ancient Egyptian creators never had rights to it. Hansen may have donated the amulet, but I doubt he ever had rights to the amulet either. But now it belongs to the Smithsonian Museum, somehow. Pictures taken of this object belong to the Museum, and if someone wanted that amulet for sacred reasons, they would have to ask permission of the museum. 

I Googled "do people still follow ancient Egyptian religion?" and found out that, yes, there are still some people who do. They call themselves Kemetics, and follow Kemeticism or Kemetism, a modern revival of ancient Egyptian religion. I wonder how all these commercialized Eyes floating around make them feel. Too bad there's really nothing they can do about the commercial, diluted meaning of the Eye of Horus; however, even if Kemetics wanted to reclaim this ancient amulet, the Museum is fully capable of saying no. The community of Kemetics, or even Egyptians wishing to preserve their ancestors' culture, can no longer have a say about sacred things such as the symbolism behind the Eye, because it is already posted all over the internet. Sadly, in the haste to get the info out there, no one thought about whether or not information on ancient Egyptian religion was important or sacred to people alive today.

Citations: 

• Ancient Egypt Online