Djed

Djed


 * Other Names:**

//Djed// Column, //Djed// Pillar, //Tet// Column, //Tet// Pillar


 * Hieroglyphics:**



The //Djed// pillar was a roughly cruciform object with at least three cross bars, but almost always four. It often stands on a rectangular base. The //Djed// was sometimes topped with an Atef Crown, and shown with human arms or falcon wings. It represents stability and strength. As a fetish symbol, its origins seem to lie in the Predynastic period. The //Djet// was worn around the neck as an amulet, and examples have been found made from gold, faience, bone, turquoise, crystal, porcelain, lapis lazuli, glass, carnelian, and wood.

Like the //Ankh//, the exact meaning is unknown and there are many theories on what the //Djed// was meant to be. Some scholars have suggested that it originally represented a pole, around which grain was tied. Others have seen it as a world pillar holding up the sky, four altars, a bundle of reeds, a phallus, or as a tree trunk girth about with metal bands. Another idea is that the //Djet// represented the four regions of the Egyptian world - Libya, Nubia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

The current theory is that the //Djed// is a rendering of a bull or human backbone. The //Djed// was originally associated with the god Ptah - one of his titles was "Noble //Djed//." It was also associated with the gods Sokar, Banebdjedet, Tatenen, and Osiris.

The //Djed// was known as the "backbone of Osiris" and became one of his most recognizable symbols. The //Djed// was sometimes pictured next to the symbol of Osiris' wife Isis - the //Tyet//. When priests preformed the rites of Osiris, one of the last ceremonies was the raising of a //Djed// pillar by the king or high priest to symbolize stability and Osiris' triumph over death.

A //Djed// column is often painted on the bottom of coffins, where the backbone of the deceased would lay, identifying the person with the king of the underworld, Osiris. It also acted as a sign of stability for the deceased's journey through the Duat. //Djeds// were sometimes engraved on architectural columns in order to improve the stability of a building.


 * Quotes from the Book of th****e Dead and other sources:**

"Rise up thou, O Osiris! Thou hast thy backbone, O Still-Heart! Thou hast the fastenings of thy neck and back, O Still-Heart! Place thou thyself upon thy base, I put water beneath thee, And I bring unto thee a //Djed// of gold that thou mayest rejoice therein."

Magical Amulets