SCARAB BEETLES (SCARABAEUS SACER)
(A little nerdiness doesn’t hurt)
Rolling dung balls to lay eggs is
Interpreted as a symbol of the
Cycle of life, death, rebirth
Associated with Khepri
The god of the rising sun and
creation
As amulets, symbolized as
protection
And good fortune
How I love compasses and maps
Perhaps because being left-handed
until age 5
And then being “changed”
I get confused which way is left
Which way is right
Or, looking for something else to
blame
It could be an unfortunate
byproduct of
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Or, could be my interesting but
jumbled brain
But I recently added a scarab
pendant
Called a “compass”
With lots of hieroglyphics on the
back
So I now walk around with another
guide
Along the path of life
A long lane I’ve wandered for so
many years
Got lost a few times
Even spent a few years with the
fairies
Only to find I’d aged a bit when
finding the
Portal back to home
Wherever that is
To my everlasting delight
Found a scientific abstract
About dung-rolling beetles
Relying solely on celestial
orientation
For their compass cues
Which way do I go?
Asks the beetle of the sun
See below for the scientific
explanation*
But I believe the conclusion is
Scarabs—dung beetles—
Do better in the morning than
later
In the day
I suppose that’s why I’m a
morning person
Although caffeine may be
responsible for that…
© 2024 Clarissa Simmens
(ViataMaja)
IMAGE: Scarab amulet compass
*Interesting article National
Library of Medicine by M. Dacke, et al
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886324/
