Ba	Spiritual manifestation is the nearest description of this hieroglyph although the word soul is also used but even then depends on the context. The ba was the spiritual aspect of the human being that survived, or came into being, after death. The icon consists of a bird with a human head.
Baboon ian	The baboon appears in many contexts in Egyptian art and a baboon god is known to have been worshipped from as early as the Archaic Period (2920-2649 BC).
Barque wia	A papyrus boat with rear-mounted steering oars - the preferred mode of travel for the gods. A shrine that held the god's image stood where the cabin is usually located and the head of the deity set upon a collar often surmounted the prow and stern of the boat.
Basket nebet	The woven wicker basket used in this icon was termed nebet by the Egyptians and the sign was used in written language to represent the phonetic group neb. Thus the hieroglyph came to be used in two different contexts meaning "all" as well as "lord" or "master".
Bee bit	The emblem of the Lower Egyptian Kingdom. Connected with Re, the sun god and associated with a number of other deities including Amun, Min and Neith whose temple at Sais was called per-bit or "house of the bee". Apiculture was practiced in many periods as honey was used in food and medical preparations.
Board Game senet	Senet is represented in Old Kingdom tomb paintings from the Fifth Dynasty. The word signifies "passing" and the game seems to have been associated with passage through the underworld.
Bound Captive sebi	A kneeling prisoner with bound arms tied behind him. The captive is depicted as harmless in an attitude of submission. The symbol often appeared as larger statues and was also used as playing pieces in the game of senet (see above). Large numbers of this type of figure were placed in funerary complexes to represent enemies of different ethnic or tribal groups.
Bow iunet, pedjet	The most powerful weapon of the ancient world and therefore very significant in iconography. A symbol and attribute of the goddess Neith.
Brazier khet	Often termed the "fire sign". Fire was regarded as a mysterious and potent element and features in Egyptian religious beliefs and in particular the concept of the underworld. Here the imagery is very similar to the Christian conception of hell. In coffin texts and other works the underworld contained fiery rivers and lakes as well as fire demons. These demons were identified with fire signs on their heads! As with all signs the fire sign is ambivalent and was also used as a symbol of protection.
Bread Loaf te	Bread was an essential part of the Egyptian diet. Representations show loaves of oval, round and conical shape. The icon symbolizes the process of offering at a number of levels. The loaf was used as a generic food offering in the decoration of offering tables as well as in the offering formulae found on funerary stelae and in tomb inscriptions.
Breast menedj	The symbol of fecundity, maternal or natural abundance. Associated with Isis in her role as the mother of Horus and, less obviously with Hapi, the god of the Nile inundation. He is shown as a man with the beard of the gods and heavy, pendulous breasts.
Bull ka	Shown in two forms; docile and rampant, as depicted here. A potent source of procreative life, the image of the bull could represent the primeval waters and certainly had important fertility connotations. The Egyptian king was also identified with the bull.
Bulti Fish ienet	Fish were viewed as ritually unclean and therefore disallowed as offerings to the king, priests or the transfigured dead. Nevertheless they were used as food by most people and so were often represented in Egyptian art as a symbol of rebirth.

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