What does the vulture mean in ancient Egypt?

Nekhbet, protector of Upper Egypt, and the goddess Mut. The sign itself writes the word for mother.

What the sign shows: A vulture.
How Gerald Massey read it in 1907: For Massey the vulture is a sign of motherhood, and of the virgin mother in particular.
Where you see it today: Vultures with spread wings protect the ceilings of temple gateways and the jewellery of Tutankhamun.
Where it stands in Massey’s book: Massey names it 64 times across the book. Book IX, p. 614: “The vulture and the hummingbird”; Book V, p. 263: “Hathor, mistress of the mines”; Book II, p. 65: “The mother behind the mask”.
Signs that look like it: Falcon, Goose and Ba. The app’s Symbol Trainer sets them side by side, so the eye learns to tell them apart.
In Massey’s words: “The typical Virgin was a heifer, or a vulture.” (Gerald Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (1907), Book I, p. 9)
In the app: Trainer › Symbol Trainer › Vulture. The app’s Symbol Trainer reads 42 signs this way, each with Massey’s own words and the page they stand on.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

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