Seba Symbol – History And Meaning

Seba is one of the most significant Egyptian symbols. It is the symbol for star, which connotes discipline or learning. This symbol is also associated with doorways and gates. 

For the Egyptians, stars symbolize the souls of the departed. They are also the symbols of the followers of the god Osiris. 

Another deity associated with the seba symbol is the sky goddess Nut, who is also depicted as having five-pointed stars as adornments. 

Seba Symbol – History And Meaning

If you want to learn more about the Seba symbol, read on to find out the meaning, history, and significance of this Egyptian symbol.

Seba History

The ancient Egyptians were big in astrology which formed their calendar and their beliefs in life after death. They were extremely knowledgable in the stars and the whole night sky. As a matter of fact, they had named 38 constellations.

The ceilings of early Egyptian temples were graced with images of constellations, stars, and celestial deities. The stars were considered as followers of Osiris, the god of the dead and the afterlife, as stars were believed to represent the souls of the dead.

For the Egyptians, the stars not only inhabited this world, but in the land of the afterlife as well. This land is called the Duat. They believed that the Ba (personality) could ascend to the heavens to live as a star. 

Back in the day, numerous tombs had deep blue ceilings with yellow stars in hopes this would make the Ba feel at home in its new abode which was the sky. 

The Seba Symbol

Seba is a symbol for a lot of things. It represents the Duat or the realm of the dead and the afterlife itself. It also symbolizes time and religion, as well as the constellations and the star-gods. 

Seba as a symbol is linked with the ideas of guidance, discipline, traveling, learning, and new beginnings. 

Depicted as a five-pointed line that looks like a starfish, the seba symbol represented the stars. Early examples of this symbol has rounder ends with two concentric rings marking the middle.

The seba symbol is linked with concepts of learning and discipline. It also signifies gates and doorways.

In Egyptian art, seba is used to symbolize the stars which the Egyptians believed dwelled in the Duat and that they came down there every night to accompany the sun. The symbol of a star within a circle was the Egyptian way of representing the afterlife.

Seba Symbol Meaning

Patterned after a starfish, with five spokes separated by an equal distance, the seba was a representation of the constellations, or star-gods. 

A variation of the seba with a round enclosure symbolized the Duat, or the underworld where the sun diappeared every night, and to which the souls of the dead came up after death. 

The word “seba” means “learning” or “discipline” and is associated with doorways and gates.