At first, there was Alienposting, then Pirateposting, but now, the big craze sweeping the web is Pharaohposting, which is manifesting in the viral Pharaoh's Curse memes about the alleged "Curse of Ra" and the dreaded warning "return the slab."
Images, GIFs and videos of people spitting out sand, being swept up by sand or otherwise being consumed by some creepy ancient Egyptian force have been surfacing on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. Plus, there's a cursed copypasta going around consisting of random hieroglyphics.
As the memes spread across the web, many are wondering what the "Pharaoh's Curse" is. Plus, what is the "Curse of Ra?" Are these alleged curses7 real? Let's explain.
What Is 'The Pharaoh's Curse?'
According to ancient Egyptian legend as well as evident in the stories of experienced archeologists, there is allegedly a supernatural phenomenon called the Curse of the Pharaoh. Sometimes called the "Curse of the Mummy," a person can allegedly be cursed with illness or death if they disturb the grave of an Egyptian, specifically that of a pharaoh's tomb.
"Disturbing" the grave is most often portrayed as stealing something from the tomb. As known throughout history, ancient Egyptians buried themselves with many prized possessions that they wanted to keep going into the afterlife. For powerful pharaohs, they had a pyramid filled with such objects, all of which were said to leave a curse on a thief.
What Do 'The Pharaoh's Curse' Memes Mean?
Memes about the Pharaoh's Curse ironically portray someone who's being plagued by sand, akin to the Egyptian desert. The video memes most often show someone spitting out sand, imagined to be dying for stealing something from the pharaoh's tomb.
The humor in the memes relies on the absurd fact that suffering from an ancient curse in the 21st century is ridiculous. Portraying a modern person being cursed by an ancient pharaoh is hilariously unserious.
Plus, it's surprisingly easy to find videos of people throwing up sand. Remember the Cinnamon Challenge from a couple of years back? There are plenty of fail videos from that challenge in which the participants look like they're coughing sand.
@696969trashboat696969 the Wrath of Ra. #fyp #pharoh #curse #pharohscurse #WrathofRa ♬ the sands of time – friëd shrimp
@culomanuno Return the slabbbbb #fyp #lobotomy #returntheslab #curseofra #pharaohscurse #pharaohscurse #meme #hoodirony #funny #viral #lobotomy ♬ the sands of time – friëd shrimp
What Does 'Return The Slab' Mean?
The phrase "return the slab" started with the caption of a TikTok video in July. The meaning of the phrase in the context of the meme is that an imagined "slab," likely consisting of sacred hieroglyphics, has been stolen from the pharaoh's tomb. Therefore, one must "return the slab" to rid themself of the curse.
@minecraft_blackstone The Pharaoh’s curse is no more #pharoah #desert #egypt ♬ the sands of time – friëd shrimp
What Is The 'Curse Of Ra?'
Despite sounding like a real piece of history, the "Curse of Ra" does not exist anywhere in ancient Egyptian lore. Instead, the only thing that references it is a video game from the 1990s called The Curse of RA. Of course, though, Ra is the ancient Egyptian deity of the sun, however, he does not have a specific "curse" to his name.
Instead, the "Curse of Ra" is a made-up curse that's received meme usage on Twitter and elsewhere, most often written, "Don't care. Curse of Ra," due to it being a harmful spell someone can cast on another via a quote retweet or reply.
What Is The 'Curse Of Ra' Copypasta?
To curse someone with the Curse of Ra, you're going to need the copypasta, which is a string of hieroglyphics that can be copied and pasted. Here it is for your usage:
don't care. CURSE OF RA 𓀀 𓀁 𓀂 𓀃 𓀄 𓀅 𓀆 𓀇 𓀈 𓀉 𓀊 𓀋 𓀌 𓀍 𓀎 𓀏 𓀐 𓀑 𓀒 𓀓 𓀔 𓀕 𓀖 𓀗 𓀘 𓀙 𓀚 𓀛 𓀜 𓀝 𓀞 𓀟 𓀠 𓀡 𓀢 𓀣 𓀤 𓀥 𓀦 𓀧 𓀨 𓀩 𓀪 𓀫 𓀬 𓀭 𓀮 𓀯 𓀰 𓀱 𓀲 𓀳 𓀴 𓀵 𓀶 𓀷 𓀸 𓀹 𓀺 𓀻 𓀼 𓀽 𓀾 𓀿 𓁀 𓁁 𓁂 𓁃 𓁄 𓁅 𓁆 𓁇 𓁈 𓁉 𓁊 𓁋 𓁌 𓁍 𓁎 𓁏 𓁐 𓁑 𓀄 𓀅 𓀆
For the full history of the Pharaoh's Curse and the Curse of Ra, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.
