[5] Erich Neumann remarks that the djed pillar is a tree fetish, which is significant considering that Egypt was primarily treeless.

[3] In their 2004 book The Quick and the Dead: Biomedical Theory in Ancient Egypt,[8] Andrew Hunt Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe speculated that the ankh, djed, and was symbols have a biological basis derived from ancient cattle culture (linked to the Egyptian belief that semen was created in the spine), thus: The djed hieroglyph was a pillar-like symbol that represented stability.

[11] Ceremonies in Memphis are described where the pharaoh, with the help of the priests, raised a wooden djed column using ropes.

This ceremony was a part of one of the more popular holidays and celebrations of the time, a larger festival dedicated to Osiris conducted from the 13th to 30th day of the Koiak.

Celebrated as it was at that time of the year when the soil and climate were most suitable for agriculture, the festival and its ceremonies can be seen as an appeal to Osiris, who was the God of vegetation, to favor the growth of the seeds sown, paralleling his own resurrection and renewal after his murder by Seth.

The scene is described by Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The anthropomorphized pillar stands at the middle left, in a shrine.

The pillar is on a high base reminiscent of the platforms visible today in many temples, on which the cult barks once stood.

Beneath the large slab of the base are two tall offering stands – one bears a libation vessel, while flowers have been laid on the other.

Fowl, cucumbers, blossoms, breads, and heads and ribs of beef are all lying on the upper mat, while a cow and an antelope can be seen on the lower one.

The vulture goddess, Wadjyt, the Mistress of the Per-nu shrine, has spread her protective wings above the sovereign, with the blue crown on his head.

Hodel-Hoenes explains that it once showed the pharaoh, accompanied by his queen, using a rope to raise the djed pillar.

A line of hieroglyphs running just above the girls' heads in each row of women says, "Children of the king praising (or charming) the noble djed pillar."

[11] The festival of the raising of the djed also involved reenactments conducted at Denderah, Edfu, Busiris, Memphis, and Philae.

At the Osiris Temple in Abydos, these re-enactments are described as involving hundreds of priests and priestesses in the roles of the gods and goddesses, with 34 reed boats carrying the gods, a sculpture of Osiris inside an elaborate chest, 365 ornamental lamps, incense, and dozens of djed amulets.

It was placed as an amulet near the spines of mummified bodies, which was supposed to ensure the resurrection of the dead, allowing the deceased to live eternally.

[13] Katherine Harper and Robert Brown also discuss a possible strong link between the djed column and the concept of kundalini in yoga.