When an oval is a circle
Have you ever wondered where the pharaohs got the idea of representing power and identity with an Egyptian cartouche? There is far more than I would have guessed to those elongated ovals with hieroglyphs in them. According to archaeologist David Lightbody, the oval, for example, gets its origins from the shen-ring symbol. This true circle carried the meaning “unending circling protection.”
Protection and Pride Wrapped up in an Egyptian Cartouche
The cartouche came into use from rituals of protection involving walking around in a circle. However, it also arose from some early one-upmanship when Pharaoh Djoser felt his own tomb had to be clearly distinguished from those of the surrounding nobility. Apparently, a step pyramid wasn’t enough on its own.
Keep Away, You Demons
I’ve used the ancient belief in the magical protective power of circles in my own fiction. If you’ve read Priestess of Ishana, you’ve seen it in action in a ritual Anna and Tesha perform inside a double circle. Since they are calling on some demonic divinities, they need the protection! The Hittites and Egyptians shared many ideas and beliefs—usually in such a transformed way that it’s not immediately obvious.
Anna created the circle by walking around Tesha, the altar and spring, sprinkling gypsum powder. Then she reversed the direction of her steps and repeated the circle with flour, staying always on the inside of the line she drew. At the moment Anna completed the second layer of the circle, the air drew in tight, visibly shifting like heat waves seen from a distance.
Priestess of Ishana
The Full Scoop about the Egyptian Cartouche
David Lightbody makes an intriguing, enjoyable argument about the origin and purpose of the cartouche. Click here for The Ancient Near East Today, “New Symbols of Hierarchy: On the Origins of the Cartouche and Encircling Symbolism in Old Kingdom Pyramids.”
Here for a post about Egyptian pet cemeteries or here for Egyptian beer breweries.