darkness and burn the dangerous beings that move within it. The eye's importance extends to the afterlife as well. Egyptian funerary texts associate deceased souls with Ra in his nightly travels through the Duat, the realm of the dead, and with his rebirth at dawn. In these texts the eye and its various manifestations often appear, protecting and giving birth to the deceased as they do for Ra. A spell in the Coffin Texts states that Bastet, as the eye, illuminates the Duat like a torch, allowing the deceased to pass safely through its depths. References Citations Works cited Further reading Egyptian goddesses Solar goddesses Wadjet Ra Eyes in culture Sekhmet Hathor Bastet