Lena Headey [1] might play Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms on Game of Thrones, but now the actress is paying homage to a different empire with her new tattoo [2]. Headey posted an image of her new scarab tattoo, a sacred symbol in ancient Egypt, to Instagram and credited celebrity tattoo artist [3] Dr. Woo for the large ink.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, scarabs [4] were amulets of large dung beetles found around the Mediterranean. These insects were regarded as sacred in the ancient Egyptian religion because of their similarity to a story about the sun god Ra. Ra rolled the sun across the sky each day, just like these insects roll dung into a ball for food and for laying their eggs, making the beetles a symbol of rebirth.

Headey's tattoo features the insect with its wings spread out, as well as a small flower located at the top of the beetle's head. Check it out, ahead.

Lena Headey's Scarab Tattoo