While it is closely related to the African sacred ibis, the Australian white ibis is a native Australian bird ā contrary to urban myth, it is not a feral species introduced to Australia by people, and it does not come from Egypt.
The ibis has become a popular symbol of Australian identity, and has been depicted on television, in art, and in online memes. In March 2021, the Macquarie Dictionary blog chose ābin chickenā as an Australian word of the week, and wrote that it was potentially ācompeting with the kangaroo for the position of most iconic Australian animalā.
Its interesting how different societies view different animals. Ibis is protected in Australia but seen as a pest. In ancient Egypt it was totally sacred to the point where priests of Thoth would only wash themselves with water from pools from where an ibis had drank. I love the whole idea of sacred links with animals and trying to decipher the link between its characteristics and that of the associated deity.
On the other handā¦ Now, it has to scavenge. And thereās a stigma by people against any creature that is willing to eat out of the bin. Even other humans who are desperate enough to have to do so. (We have homeless problems, too, so itās not rare to see this happen.)
So, while human society has forced it into this position, some do not have the empathy to understand that they arenāt choosing this life ā theyāre just doing their best to survive in a human environment.
I love this. It comes off as very respectful to nature. But it also makes a lot of sense: the animals know what water is clean, and they are, in a sense, showing us the way.
Ooo @Cosmic_Curiosity thank you for this! Iām happy that you were able to write it up AND use it for a challenge entry I did add it to the Egyptian Deities Master Post & Bonus! I got to add another section for Thoth!
I enjoyed reading the post, as I was reading about the Lunar associations, it sort of clicked that Thoth was a Lunar Deity which was against the grain so to speak when it came to other cultures & their lunar deities. I had read previously about him being associated with Mathematics & then finding out about the ibis & being associated with scribes was really interesting! Especially why the ibis was used for his depictions. Also, itās a lovely bird too
I liked that you specified how Egyptians didnāt necessarily view their deities as animals but that they used animals in their depictions, representations, & imagery more to show what the particular deities have for attributes that they connected animals to.
No problem at all. I actually really enjoy doing a bit of research like this. Iām just thinking about my natal chart and how my Sun conjuncts Mercury so learning is very much part of who I am. It is just done in a methodical and structured way (and at my pace). That my Taurus Sun coming in here. My Jupiter forms a trine with my Sun and Mercury so again, the quest for wisdom and higher understanding is strong. Add to this that the fact that Jupiter is in Capricorn and we have even more emphasis on structure and getting things right. That is me to a tee.
Just to point out that the master post now has two Thoth sections in case this was duplicated by accident. Khonsu could be added as a new deity. I will consider which deities I will focus on next. I am trying to do it as a theme e.g. solar deities, sky deities, those linked to the after life. I just donāt want to flood the forum with too many long posts.
I love doing this type of research too & had also realized that I need to revisit the Master Post regarding Thoth & should probably check Sekhmet too. I literally just learned that Thoth is associated with Mercury in astrology as well as the Roman deity by the same name!
Too much braining with not enough coffee this morningā¦ I will revisit the Master Post now & adjust it. I went back to it & wentā¦ wait a secondā¦ thatās not right
@Susurrus Yes the Romans associated Thoth with Mercury and the Greeks associated him with Hermes. Infact, the Greeks combined the two individual deities to form Hermes Trismegistus. This means thrice greatest hermes. This was linked to the fact that Thoth was often referred to as thrice great in hieroglyphs. He was a mythological figure that was said to have produced the Hermetica, a collection of texts on astrology, alchemy and spiritual wisdom.
It is amazing how how different pantheons had different figures but for similar beliefs and how these appear to merge together seemlessly as time went on.
Yes I felt it was important to mention this. I read that when the Greeks and Romans entered Egypt and saw these deities wirh animal heads etc, the viewed it with both curiosity and contempt, seeing them as strange, ignorant and primative. Greek scholars were dismissive of these deities because of how they were depicted. In fact, the opposite is true. They Egyptians were highly civilised and in touch with their environment and all that lived in it. It was merely an aesthetic difference in depicting that which cannot trully be depicted. So much so that, over time, the Greeks and Romans came to both admire and respect Egyptian beleifs, evident in their adoption of deities into their own beliefs, including Thoth and Isis.
Itās funny how the Greeks & Romans adopted so many different things from a wide array of other cultures or belief systems. Not funny like haha but that they transformed things into their own after finding out what they could or how they understood them into their ownā¦ Iām sure others did the same from them also as travelers came across different things from all over so far back in history too
There is so much symbolism and meaning behind the depictions they chose for the divine! I had always thought of the Egyptian deities as being āanimal godsā, but Iām learning now that itās not quite that straightforward. I really like the idea of relating their traits to beings and entities here in the mundane world- perhaps because it makes them more relatable? Easier to visualize and connect with? Iām sure there were many reasons. Itās fascinating to learn about
I will admit that I was lost a bit on the eye math part- but it sure sounds cool! Imaging the healing eye as the moon phases fits a bit better in my mind space- it makes for an interesting visualization
Iām always intrigued by a deity of travelers and wanderers! Khonsu sounds fascinating- light and dark sides alike
110% yes! This was a wonderful read- thank you so much for sharing your research on these two deities of the Moon, Alan! I really enjoyed learning about Them, Their traits, and Their stories. Thank you!
I think this is a very common misconception. We see the depictions and just assume that this must be how they saw their deities. Truth is they beleived that the deities were beyond an image and therefore saw the animal images as the best alternative. I love the associatjons with the animals aroind them it really shows how much they valued their surroundings.
The eye of Horus is fascinating. It could have a whole post to itself. Interestingly I was reading aboutnthe third eye and the pinneal gland and the eye of Horus came up unexpectedly. It appears that a cross section of the human brain reveals a likeness to the eye of horus, particularly in areas responsible for our senses. Ive labelled a diagram to show this. The eye of horus seems to sit in the coloured areaā¦ might be pure coincidence but fascinating all the same.
Oh my! Iād never seen that before. The shape appearing in the brain is amazing!
I recently had to go through many brain examinations, so this is a bit fresh in my mind. But isnāt the bit labelled as āvisionā the thalamus, which handles smell? With hearing just behind that and touch just above. While sight is handled at the back of the mind, in the occipital lobe, not in the centre.
Edit: Sorry, I was off with some of those descriptions.
I knew there were masculine moon deities, but I didnāt know there were any in the Egyptian Pantheon. Thank you for sharing this detailed information! I always learn something new from you!
If Iām not mistaken, the Greek people were very good at this. Theyāre one of the cultures that (if Iām remembering correctly) were amazing at syncretizing deities from other cultures and belief systems. They saw the Gods of others as manifestations of their own, simply changing form to appeal to a different culture and population. Iām not sure if they did it because thatās how they viewed all divinity or if it was just a method of ensuring cohesion in a kingdom, but itās still very interesting anyway!
Yep, you arenāt mistaken. The Romans, too. They were even more famous for taking on traits from cultures, including those they conquered. To them, it just made sense to do so.
Part of what youāre referring to is covered by āHellenisation,ā but yeah, thereās more to it than just this. Including that the concept of nation-states wasnāt so clear-cut back then. For example, there was no unified Greece as we see it today, but we call it Greece for simplicityās sake, even though it does skew our vision of the past sometimes.
Reading that source further, it appears that the focus of the diagram is on midsagittal area of the brain, bascially what you would see if it was cut in half from top to bottom. The areas labelled do some processing of the senses before it goes to the appropriate lobe for interpretation. Its a complicated piece of machinery
I did add it to the 
that Thoth was a Lunar Deity 
which was against the grain so to speak when it came to other cultures & their lunar deities. I had read previously about him being associated with Mathematics & then finding out about the ibis & being associated with scribes was really interesting! Especially why the ibis was used for his depictions. Also, itās a lovely bird too 
doing this type of research too & had also realized that I need to revisit the Master Post regarding Thoth 
& should probably check Sekhmet too. I literally just learned that Thoth is associated with Mercury 
in astrology as well as the Roman deity by the same name! 
this morningā¦ I will revisit the Master Post now & adjust it. I went back to it & wentā¦ wait a secondā¦ thatās not right 
