Amanda Marcucci draws heavily from Egyptian imagery for her pieces, in this case the scarab. Her site notes, “In ancient Egypt the scarab beetle symbolized eternal life and rebirth. scarab beetles held great religious power and protective abilities. Kephri, the scarab-headed god, rolled the sun across the sky each day, where it died at night and was reborn in the morning. Scarabs also embodied the cycle of creation due to the ‘magical’ way the beetles produce offspring. Scarab amulets would lend the sacred beetle’s power to the wearer. They offered a person magical protection against the dangers of this world, as well as those of the next.”