During his contendings with Set, Heru (Horus) lost his left eye, which represented the moon. Het-Hert (Hathor), or Djehuty (Thoth), depending upon the variant of the story, restored the eye and made it whole, hence its name ‘the whole one.’ The wedjat-eye thus came to symbolize the general process of making whole or healing, udjet meaning ‘sound.’

It was a symbol of the power of the god of light, and therefore a popular amulet as well as painted or inscribed in tombs and on pylon walls. Some wedjat-eyes had an arm carrying the ankh or the papyrus staff, the symbol for “to flourish.” It also served as a protection against the evil eye. From the late Old Kingdom two wedjat-eyes were placed on the door recesses of tombs, since they had apotropaic significance as did those from the Middle Kingdom coffins and New Kingdom sarcophagi.