Shen – The Symbol of Eternity
Of all the symbols in ancient Egypt, the one that is perhaps the most overlooked is the shen. It is seen in many reliefs throughout Egypt and on many pieces of jewelry. Commonly, the small circle with the tangent line is seen grasped in the talons of birds, usually vultures. It’s most overlooked function seems to be the loop surrounding a person’s name. Usually, this is known as a cartouche, but few seem to see the shen looping around the name (http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html).
Shen derives its name from the ancient Egyptian word, shenu, “to encircle.” The shen is a symbol for eternity and infinity, but also holds the idea to protect (http://www.egyptianmyths.net/shen.htm). It is through this meaning of eternity and protection that the cartouche came to surround names. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that without a name, a person was incomplete and when a person was incomplete, they could not pass into the afterlife successfully. In some way royal names had to be protected for all eternity and thus the shen came to surround names, to protect them for all time (http://www.egyptiandreams.co.uk/shen-ring.php).
The shen is not associated specifically with any one deity, save for the god of eternity, Heh. He was usually portrayed kneeling on gold, holding two notched palm stems, one in each hand. At the base of each palm stem is the shen (http://www.egyptianmyths.net/heh.htm). It is also often depicted in the claws of the falcon-god, Horus, and even some of the various vulture goddesses (http://www.egyptianmyths.net/shen.htm).
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