Ba
A bird with a human head: the ba, usually translated soul.
Meaning
Petrie gives its meaning as the human soul. Budge describes the amulet of the soul, made of gold inlaid with precious stones in the form of a human-headed hawk and placed on the breast of the dead, so that the soul could unite with the mummified body and be with its spirit at will.
Which bird
Budge describes the bird as a hawk. Petrie thought the image was probably derived from a large-faced owl that lived in tombs.
See also
Eye of Horus, Scarab, Djed pillar, Was sceptre, Shen ring, Cartouche.
Sources
- Amulets, illustrated by the Egyptian collection in University College, London, W. M. Flinders Petrie, 1914, Constable and Company, London (Internet Archive), No. 28
- Egyptian Magic, E. A. Wallis Budge, 1901, Internet Archive (Getty Research Institute copy), Amulet 9
Last reviewed September 25, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research