"Symbolic symbols played an important role in Egyptian culture because ancient Egyptians believed that, through ceremony, one could influence the gods and the otherworld."--Cover.

This book identifies, for the first time since antiquity, the sources and meanings of more than 50 ancient Egyptian symbols, including the Eye of Horus, evil god Seth and his strange head, 10 major crowns, and the symbolic foundations of Osirian mythology, backbone of ancient Egyptian religion for more than 2000 years. These are paradigm-changing discoveries. Most of them are based on detailed examinations of living examples of ancient Egypt's two sacred flowers - the Blue and the White Waterlilies - and on resurrection texts found in ancient Egyptian tombs. More than 300 detailed illustrations, beautifully presented, make these discoveries easy to understand and appreciate. The book is organized for the general reader and scholar alike. *Andrew Weil, MD - "Remarkable discoveries that, once seen, are completely obvious. A revelatory work." *Carol Andrews, Egyptologist, author of "Amulets of Ancient Egypt," at the British Museum for 27 years - "This truly remarkable publication challenges the world of Egyptology to reassess long-held and clearly incorrect theories about the origin and meaning of so many symbols and representational forms which are fundamental to our understanding of ancient Egypt."

This classic study remains the best single introduction to the Egyptian mythological world. The Egyptians lived apart from the rest of the ancient world, and it is this isolation that makes their ideas so difficult to appreciate and interpret. Egyptian though was presented in terms of mythology: myth was used to convey insights into the workings of nature and the ultimately indescribable realities of the soul ...