Difference between revisions of "Template:POTD protected"

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|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[File:Ireland Samhain.jpg|300px|thumb|]]
|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[File:Foreleg of Set Amulets.jpg|300px|thumb|]]
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'''[[Halloween|Samhain]]''' is believed to have Celtic [[paganism|pagan]] origins and some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. Throughout Ireland and Britain, especially in the Celtic-speaking regions, the household festivities included [[divination]] rituals and games intended to foretell one's future, especially regarding death and marriage. Apples and nuts were often used, and customs included apple bobbing, nut roasting, [[scrying]] or mirror-gazing, pouring molten lead or egg whites into water, dream interpretation, and others.
'''[[Set]]''' is a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient [[Egyptian religion]]. In a legend in the [[Pyramid Texts]], as punishment for his rebellion and overthrow of Osiris, Set was transformed into a sacrificial red ox (some legends say a red goat). His foreleg (''xpS'') was cut off and thrown into the sky where it became Meskhetiu (''Msxtyw''), a group of seven stars in the northern sky (likely either Ursa Major or Ursa Minor).


In some places, torches lit from the bonfire were carried sunwise around homes and fields to protect them. It is suggested the fires were a kind of imitative or sympathetic [[ritual magic|magic]] – they mimicked the [[Sun]] and held back the decay and darkness of winter.
The foreleg was not only a protective god, but it was also a lasting symbol of power and strength, especially of strength in the afterlife. Thousands of blue or red foreleg amulets have been found wrapped in the bandages of mummies across all periods of Egyptian history, and drawings of ''Msxtyw'' feature prominently alongside the [[Egyptian decans|decanal stars]] in the Middle Kingdom Period coffins.


<p><small>Photo Credit: History.com</small></p>
<p><small>Photographer: [[Travis McHenry]]</small></p>
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[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
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Revision as of 02:37, 15 April 2024

Foreleg of Set Amulets.jpg

Set is a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In a legend in the Pyramid Texts, as punishment for his rebellion and overthrow of Osiris, Set was transformed into a sacrificial red ox (some legends say a red goat). His foreleg (xpS) was cut off and thrown into the sky where it became Meskhetiu (Msxtyw), a group of seven stars in the northern sky (likely either Ursa Major or Ursa Minor).

The foreleg was not only a protective god, but it was also a lasting symbol of power and strength, especially of strength in the afterlife. Thousands of blue or red foreleg amulets have been found wrapped in the bandages of mummies across all periods of Egyptian history, and drawings of Msxtyw feature prominently alongside the decanal stars in the Middle Kingdom Period coffins.

Photographer: Travis McHenry

(More Images)