Today’s raku pottery vase, ‘The Eye of Horus’, tells the tale of a feathered god, an 80 year struggle for power, avenging the death of a father, a missing testicle and eye and a race down the Nile. Did your parents ever say ‘It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.’? Horus’ mother might have wanted to mention this to him.
Horus was depicted as a falcon, or a human figure with a falcon’s head. Fittingly he was the Egyptian god of the sky. His right eye represented the sun god Ra, and the left eye was symbolic of the moon. One could literally say he had stars in his eye, or at least a star.
That would be fitting because Horus was kind of a big deal, as he was a contender for the throne of Egypt. But he was not alone in contention for the throne!
His rival and uncle Set, who had murdered Horus also wanted the throne of Egypt, and both of these gods liked to fight dirty. Their battle would last for over eighty years and would include many contests arbitrated by the other gods and battles between the two.
In one such battle, Horus would lose his left eye, ripped out by Set, but Set did not get off lightly. He lost a testicle. Eventually Horus would recover his eye, and the god Thoth would heal it. Thus the Eye of Horus has come to represent, healing, restoration and protection.
And some people worry about laser eye surgery!
At the time it was commonly believed that an evil eye could cast a spell on the heart with just one glance. To counteract this the Eye of Horus often acted as a protective symbol.
You may be wondering how this 80 year old battle would end? In a boat race and some trickery. Tired of the constant fighting and upheaval the gods decided a boat race would determine the victor for the throne and the end to this conflict. Horus somehow convinced Set to use a stone boat. He had painted his own boat to look like stone as well, only his was made of wood.
As you can imagine, Set did not get very far. His boat sunk. Horus had avenged his father’s death, and many of the future pharaohs of Egypt were thought to be his reincarnation.
What do you think of our vase ‘The Eye of Horus’ and our story? You can read more stories and see lots of beautiful pottery on our page of raku vases here. You can also be among the first to get a copy of our book, ‘A Potter’s Dream: Myths & Legends’ by supporting our crowdfunding campaign here. You can even get some great pottery with the book.
That was quite an interesting story and the Vases well they are as lovely as ever 🙂
Thank you so much Nilesh for your very kind comment! You have helped make my day. I hope you are having a beautiful day in your part of the world!
Yesss, its Diwali here …. festival of lights 🙂
I hope you had a beautiful Diwali! I have seen some amazing pictures of Diwali celebrations and I believe it would be a beautiful site to behold.
Yes indeed its just beautiful, lights everywhere all color and shades and firecrackers in the night in its glory 🙂
Beautiful as always
Thank you so much Christine. I hope you are having a wonderful day and all is going well!
Not bad!
Great post !
Thank you! I hope you are having a wonderful day!
The vase is beautiful and I love the story too 🙂
Thank you so much for your very kind words! I hope you are having a great day 😉
in the esotheric world the eye of Horus is associated to a part of th e brain. I am not sure about how it is spelled, neither in my own language nor in English, but the brain part is called something like the Amiglada. You must be able to google it. ( sorry dying of my hand nerves make it hard to write) The amiglada is very important in the brain, and if you look to it you can see the picture of the eye of Horus.
I know the part of the brain you are referring to Cecile. I see some parallels to the Eye of Horus and the third eye in that they both offer protection. I hope your nerve pain is better and you are having an easier day. Thank you so much for sharing your insights as always.
I saw the name of your blog and had to see. The story did not disappoint, and the art included, beautiful. Thank you for the great read,
Thank you so much for your kidn words and for taking time to read the story! I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start!
Nice
Thank you!
You’re an excellent storyteller and the vases are stunning. This seems to happen frequently on your site – great stories and lovely images of your masterpieces. 😊
Eugenia your comments and support mean so much and help make all of it possible. I appreciate you and your work so much and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
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I love your stories and this is a beautiful vase, bravo!
Thank you so much Tiffany! Your comment is very much appreciated and hope you are well.
Very nice vase. And a cool story.
Thank you so much for your very kind words. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
Eye of Horus = pineal gland in the brain. Loved this story! Synchronicity for me; have been thinking all day of Ancient Egypt, and boats or hieroplyph pictures of boats
Thank you so much for your very kind words. I think it is a beautiful coincidence that you were thinking of ancient Egypt and then happened upon my little story. That is synchronicity and being in the flow! Hope you have a weekend full of that!
The work is amazing. Love that the prices have a story.
Thank you so very much for your very kind comment! I think the stories really help bring the pieces to life and are entwined together with the piece to complete the work! I hope you are having a wondersul weekend!
I am. Working on my art as I switch to making dog treats and clothes. I am just a beginner. But the story really brings the item to life. I would love to see you do one about Hecate or Dionysus or Alexander the Great. Or even Nicholas flamel as an alchemist. I will post a magical blog on Hecate later. Have a great day.
I will keep an eye out for your Hecate post later! I rally do think Doinysus needs his own vase, and Nicholas Flamel is a very sound suggestion. Keep your eyes peeled in the future. We also do a monthly name that vase post where people can submit a name for a vase and associated writing. I love reading people’s ideas and submissions.
Good luck with your transition. I am sure it will be both a fun and rewarding journey!
Awesome. Can’t wait to see them
i am offering a free alchemy class, alchemy the beginning on my blog, everyone is welcome to do the first work with me on the herbal elixirs. takes two weeks and i will be posting it on my site. everyone is welcome to do it with me. there will also be videos and pics so you can work when you have time.
This is very exciting. I took a look at what you are doing and I will be following along with great interest. I won’t be able to try it right now, but I am hoping to have time in the future. Hope you are having an amazing week and making lots of magic 😉
Ok. Thanks. I will keep going then
The all seeing indeed…,
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