Note 31 — Chapter XIII · The Symbolism of Jade

As “the stuffing of the corpse with jade took the place of embalming”31 in China, the custom of placing a jade amulet on the tongue is of marked significance. It is quite evidently an imported custom. The cicada takes the place of the Egyptian scarabæus, the beetle-god of Egypt, named Khepera and called in the texts “father of the gods”. In ancient Egypt scarabs were placed on the bodies and in the tombs of the dead to protect heart (mind) and tongue and ensure resurrection. A text sets forth in this connection: “And behold, thou shalt make a scarab of green stone, with a rim of gold, and this shall be placed in the heart of a man, and it shall perform for him the ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ”. The scarab is to be anointed with “ānti unguent” and then “words of power” are to be recited over it. In “words of power” the deceased addresses the scarab as “my heart, my mother: my heart whereby I came into being”.