As I continue to work on my Witches of Griffin series I often find myself researching ancient Egypt. In book three, Higher Resonance, the sisters travel to ancient Alexandria to exchange energy with their many greats Grandmother Cleopatra VII Philopator, pharaoh of Egypt and the embodiment of the mother goddess Isis. The goddess guides and directs the sisters in their efforts to raise human consciousness. The crook and flail were royal symbols used in ancient Egyptian society to represent Osiris and the pharaoh’s authority. These two symbols represented the important role of the pharaoh.
The crook was known as the heka and originated from the staff shepherds used to protect their sheep. The shepherd’s role was to care for the people by overseeing the sheep.
The flail was known as the nekhakha and it was a rod with three strands of beads attached to the top. Unfortunately, historians are not sure of its use and some speculate that the flail was a type of weapon used to defend sheep, thus representing the pharaoh’s responsibility to establish order by doling out punishment among Egypt’s people. The other theory is that the flail was used as an agriculture tool to thresh grain, thus representing the pharaoh’s responsibility to provide for the people and protect the land for food crops.
The crook and flail are mentioned in the Book of the Dead. This book is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that was used from the beginning of the New Kingdom until around 50 BC. In essence, it was a collection of spells believed to assist the deceased on their journey in the afterlife. Osiris, god of the underworld, was said to inherit rule over the Earth from his father Geb. The Book of the Dead states, “The White Crown is set on your head. You seized the crook and flail when you were in the womb and had not emerged onto the earth.”
Anubis, god of embalming and the dead, was close to the god Osiris and was sometimes depicted with a flail when presented in jackal form. Perhaps the ancient Egyptian people felt these symbols strengthened their connection between the deceased and the god Osiris, who was believed to have risen from the dead, thus proving eternal life. It was rare, but crooks and various farming tools have been found buried with commoners during the Third Intermediate Period.
The earliest history of the royal crook comes from a tomb in Abydos, Egypt. In late Predynastic times, the shepherd’s crook was an established symbol of rule. The flail was often shown separate in some of the earlier representations of royal ceremonies. By the Second Dynasty, the crook and flail were paired together.
The crook and flail were carried by the pharaoh at public appearances. The pharaoh was often depicted in art with a crook and flail being held in each hand and then crossed over the chest. Pharaoh’s were considered representations of gods on Earth and these symbolic items were used to connect the people with the gods through the pharaoh. The royal symbols were buried with the pharaoh upon death. These symbols were typically made of wood, which was scarce, and overlaid with sheet gold or ivory with blue copper bands. In the tomb of Tutankhamen, his staff and flail are made of a heavy bronze covered in alternating stripes of blue glass, obsidian, and gold. The flail’s beads are made of gilded wood.
A special thank you to: https://study.com/academy/lesson/crook-flail-in-ancient-egypt-definition-symbolism.html,http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/symbols/crook_and_flail.htm
