What is the “Eye of Rah” meme and TikTok trend?

“I’m really happy that people are enjoying the video and laughing at it.”

The Eye of Rah Meme features a Photoshopped image of a black man with a cyclops-like eye and a single red dreadlock, created by fellow TikToker Rashad Bowens’ edit of TikToker Jeremiah Springfield. It is emblematic of the ongoing social media trend that began in 2024, leading to brain rot and sludge content videos.

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The meme joins other trending memes and highlights the evolving nature of digital humor, which is difficult to explain to people outside of online social circles.

Meme Basics

• Meme/Trend Creator: @frightenedsheep25937582
• Meme type: Brain rot, mud video
• First appearance: November 26, 2024
• Source of origin: TikTok
• Used to convey: Nonsense, brain rot
• Highest popularity: 5th-11th January 2025

What does “Eye of Ra” mean?

The “Eye of Rah” meme is based on the ancient Egyptian symbol associated with the sun god Ra, representing revenge and protection.

According to Medium, the Eye of Rah (or Ra) was literally the Eye of Ra, but was considered a goddess in her own right with powers of her own.

They write: “The Eye of Ra was usually a female goddess and acted as a counterpart to the male god. This goes back to the tradition of dualism that embodied the ideology of ancient Egypt. (…) The Eye of Ra was his protector and therefore she was a violent and aggressive force that defeated the enemies of Ra.”

Origin and distribution

Rashad Bowens (@eyeofrahoffical and @bothemess), the face of the “Eye of Rah” meme and TikTok trend, is an aspiring boxer and TikTok creator known for his blunt, dryly humorous reaction videos. In one of these videos, posted on December 12, 2022, Bowens interrupts a cooking video that caught the attention of Jeremiah Springfield (@frightenedsheep25937582) in late November 2024.

Springfield altered the original reaction video and turned Bowens into a cyclops with a single upward-pointing bright red scare, spawning the viral “Eye of Rah” trend.

Responding to the Daily Dot via TikTok DM, Springfield said: “I think the trend is really funny. “I love how people are taking the video I cut of Rashad Bowens being turned into a cyclops with a stiff red dread and making their own versions and remixes of it.” Even though I feel like I don’t get as much credit for the original clip as I should, I’m really happy that people are enjoying and laughing at the video and the many videos that come with it.”

@eyeofrahoffical #stitch with @meka716_ ♬ Original sound – Rashad Bowens

Bowens, meanwhile, was inspired by the meme’s virality. He told the Daily Dot: “I think it’s really an eye opener for people trying to achieve anything in life because all it took was a video and the right person to see it.” And as you know, I’m a viral sensation. It didn’t happen overnight, but it definitely happened at the right time, when I was thinking about quitting content, I went global.”

popularity

The “Eye of Rah” meme trend most likely grew out of the 2023 viral copypasta “Curse of Ra,” which humorously depicts modern humans afflicted by mummy curses. The meme taps into the absurdity of ancient curses that influence today’s world, combining surreal humor with a touch of mythological flair.

While Springfield’s first video was released on November 27, 2024, it gained popularity on TikTok and Reels in early January 2025. People commented on the original edit, calling Bowens the “eye of Rah (sic)” and sending the video skyrocketing to 1.8 million views. Bowens himself changed his profile picture to the Springfield Photoshopped meme Cyclops, reflecting his internet fame.

It has since been added to the “sludge videos” currently all over social media, featuring brain-rot trends like “I Bought a Property in Egypt,” which features the original white man in a dark suit and Bowens as the eye transformed by Ra. These videos and trends seem intended to be absurd, modern Dadaist videos that have no real meaning beyond their entertainment value.

Meme examples

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