The Sacred Ibis' Feather

In Egyptian mythology, the Sacred Ibis is an extremely revered and significant animal. There was a belief in ancient Egypt that the human soul divided into three pieces after death which were the Ka, Ba, and Akh. The Ba was a bird, frequently pictured as an ibis, with a human head that could travel between the worlds of the living and the dead. The Ka was the human being's double in the afterlife, the Akh was a transcended version of humanity attained when the soul was evaluated as just.

The Sacred Ibis' main function in Egyptian mythology was as Thoth's votive animal. The Egyptian pantheon's scribe, Thoth was connected to magic, science, education, and the moon. While some myths state that Thoth sprung from the skull of the god Set, others hold that he was the heart and tongue of the god Ra. Typically, Thoth is shown as an ibis or, more commonly, as a humanoid with an ibis' head. He is a highly revered divinity who appears in numerous myths and tales and has numerous temples devoted to him.According to the legend surrounding Osiris's murder, Thoth is the god who gave Osiris's wife the secret word needed to bring the dead back to life. She takes this action to conceive Horus, one of the principal governing gods in Egyptian mythology.

It was Thoth who had also conned the formidable lion goddess Sekhmet. In this tale, Sekhmet has developed into a ferocious threat who is consuming people and their blood. Thoth came up with a scheme to save humanity. To entice Sekhmet, he stocked the Nile with grenadine and beer. Sekhmet filled her glass with the Nile, believing it to be blood, and then dozed off. She was no longer a menace to humanity because of Thoth.

Thoth was frequently portrayed as an adjudicator and a healer. According to Egyptian tradition, the soul's destiny was decided by the person's actions throughout their lifetime. This was to be overseen by the god Osiris, with Thoth serving as the scribe. Some people also attribute Thoth's invention of the Egyptian calendar.Owing to Thoth and the Ba, ibises were highly esteemed and sacred animals. They were either captured from the wild or domesticated and kept for ceremonial purposes. Ibises were embalmed and turned into mummies once they died. These mummies were placed inside ceramic jars or sculptures shaped like ibises.