(Amen, Amun, Ammon, Amoun)
Amen's name means "The Hidden One or Invisible One". Amen was the patron
deity of the city of Thebes from
earliest times, and was viewed (along with his consort Amenet) as a
primordial creation-deity by the
priests of Hermopolis and a god of air. His sacred animals were the
goose and the ram.
Up to the Middle Kingdom Amen was merely a local god in Thebes; but
when the Thebans had
established their sovereignty in Egypt, Amen became a prominent deity,
and by Dynasty XVIII was
termed the King of the Gods. His famous temple, Karnak, is the largest
religious structure ever built
by man. According to Budge, Amen by Dynasty XIX-XX was thought of as
"an invisible creative
power which was the source of all life in heaven, and on the earth,
and in the great deep, and in the
Underworld, and which made itself manifest under the form of Ra." Additionally,
Amen appears to
have been the protector of any pious devotee in need.
Amen was self-created, according to later traditions; according to the
older Theban traditions,
Amen was created by Thoth as one of the eight primordial deities of
creation (Amen, Amenet, Heq,
Heqet, Nun, Naunet, Kau, Kauket).
During the New Kingdom, Amen's consort was Mut, "Mother," who seems
to have been the
Egyptian equivalent of the "Great Mother" archetype. The two thus formed
a pair reminiscent of the
God and Goddess of other traditions such as Wicca. Their child was
the moon god Khons.
See also Amen-Ra, Khons, Thoth.
Amen-Ra
(Amun Ra, Amon-Re)
A composite deity, devised by the priests of Amen as an attempt to link
New Kingdom (Dyn.
XVIII-XXI) worship of Amen with the older solar cult of the god Ra.
In a union of this sort, the
deities are said to indwell one another - so we have the power represented
by Amen manifesting
through the person of Ra (or vice versa). This sort of relationship
is common among Egyptian gods,
particularly among cosmic or national deities. It is an example of
how the Egyptian gods are viewed,
as Morenz puts it, of having "personality but not individuality."
See also Amen, Ra.
Amset
(Imsety, Mestha; Golden Dawn, Ameshet)
One of the Four Sons of Horus, Amset was represented as a mummified
man. He was the protector
of the liver of the deceased, and was protected by the goddess Isis.
See also Four Sons of Horus, Isis.
Anubis
(Anpu; Golden Dawn, Ano-Oobist)
Anubis (Greek, from Egyptian Anpu) was the son of Nephthys: by some
traditions, the father was
Set; by others, Osiris. (And by still other traditions his mother was
Isis.) Anubis was depicted as a
jackal, or as a jackal-headed man; in primitive times he was probably
simply the jackal god.
Owing perhaps to the jackal's tendency to prowl around tombs, he became
associated with the
dead, and by the Old Kingdom, Anubis was worshipped as the inventor
of embalming, who had
embalmed the dead Osiris, thus helping preserve him in order to live
again. His task became to
glorify and preserve all the dead.
Anubis was also worshipped under the form Upuaut ("Opener of the Ways"),
sometimes with a
rabbit's head, who conducted the souls of the dead to their judgement,
and who monitored the
Scales of Truth to protect the dead from the second death in the underworld.
See also Nephthys, Osiris, Set.
Anuket
In Upper Egypt, around Elephantine, Anuket was worshipped as the companion
(generally the
daughter) of Khnum and Sati. Her sacred animal was the gazelle. She
was believed to be the
dispenser of cool water, and wore a feathered crown on her human head.
See also Khnum, Sati.
Apep
(Apophis)
A great serpent god that is the most dangerous enemy of Ra. He can take
the form of a crocodile or dragon. He is usually depicted as a hybrid monster
formed of a hippopotamus's hind quarters, lion's torso, and a crocodile's
head. He is symbolic of any enemy, rebellion, or chaotic force in magick.
Magicians used scripts that portrayed the war between Apep and Ra in the
cosmos in order to conquer enemies on earth. In some magickal work, Apep
was invoked against enemies.
Apis
An early deity, probably the best known Egyptian deity represented only
as an animal, and never as
a human with an animal's head. Apis was most closely linked with Ptah,
and his cult center was
Memphis. He was primarily a deity of fertility. He was represented
as a bull crowned with the solar
disk and uraeus-serpent. A sacred Apis bull was kept in Memphis, and
there is a great mass burial
of Apis bulls, the Serapeum, located there.
See also Ptah.
Aten
(Aton)
The sun itself, recognized first in the Middle Kingdom, and later becoming
an aspect of the sun god.
In the reign of Amenhotep IV during Dynasty XVIII, Aten was depicted
as a disk with rays, each
ray terminating in a human hand and bestowing symbols of "life" upon
those below. Aten was
declared the only true deity during this period, but the worship of
Amen and the other deities was
restored by Amenhotep IV's successor Tutankhamen. Morenz believes the
name "Aten" was
pronounced something like "Yati" during the height of its cult.
Atum
A primordial creator god, worshipped as the head of the Heliopolitan
family of gods. Father of Shu
and Tefnut, and in later times believed to be one with the sun god
Ra.
See also Ra.
Bast
(Bastet)
A cat-goddess, worshiped in the Delta city of Bubastis. A protectress
of cats and those who cared
for cats. As a result, an important deity in the home (since cats were
prized pets) and also important
in the iconography (since the serpents which attack the sun god were
usually represented in papyri
as being killed by cats).
She was viewed as the beneficient side of the lioness-goddess Sekhmet.
See also Sekhmet.
Bat
Goddess who personifies the sistrum of Het-Heru.
Bes
A deity of either African or Semitic origin; came to Egypt by Dynasty
XII. Depicted as a bearded,
savage-looking yet comical dwarf, shown full-face in images (highly
unusual by Egyptian artistic
conventions). Revered as a deity of household pleasures such as music,
good food, and relaxation.
Also a protector and entertainer of children.
Duamutef
(Tuamutef; Golden Dawn, Thmoomathph)
One of the Four Sons of Horus, Duamutef was represented as a mummified
man with the head of a
jackal. He was the protector of the stomach of the deceased, and was
protected by the goddess
Neith.
See also Four Sons of Horus, Neith.
Edjo
A predynastic serpent (cobra) goddess with whom Auset left Heru when she went to track down the body of Ausar, who had been murdered by Set. Edjo is a form of the Eye of Ra, the solar eye. SHe is depicted as a woman and as a cobra, and was placed on the crown of gods, pharaohs, and other royalty as a symbol of protection who would spit fire at enemies. She also indicated dominion over the land. In magic, she is used as a protective symbol and amulet. Thus, she is known as the great protectress.
See also Nekhbet.
Four Sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were the protectors of the parts of the body
of Osiris, and from this,
became the protectors of the body of the deceased. They were: Amset,
Hapi, Duamutef, and
Qebhsenuef. They were protected in turn by the goddesses Isis, Nephthys,
Neith, and Selket. See
also Amset, Duamutef, Hapi, Qebehsenuf.
Geb
(Seb)
The god of the earth, son of Shu and Tefnut, brother and husband of
Nut, and father of Osiris, Set,
Isis, and Nephthys. Sacred animal and symbol was the goose. He is generally
represented as a man
with green or black skin - the color of living things, and the color
of the fertile Nile mud,
respectively. It was said that Geb would hold imprisoned the souls
of the wicked, that they might not
ascend to heaven. Note Geb is masculine, contrasting with many other
traditions of Earth being
female.
See also Nut.
Hadit
See Horus of Behedet.
Hapi
(Golden Dawn, Ahephi)
One of the Four Sons of Horus, Hapi was represented as a mummified man
with the head of a
baboon. He was the protector of the lungs of the deceased, and was
protected by the goddess
Nephthys.
The name Hapi, spelled with different hieroglyphs, in most but not all
cases, is also the name of the
god who was the personification of the River Nile, depicted as a corpulent
man (fat signifying
abundance) with a crown of lilies (Upper Nile) or papyrus plants (Lower
Nile).
See also Four Sons of Horus, Nephthys.
Hathor
(Het-heru, Het-Hert)
A very old goddess of Egypt, worshiped as a cow-deity from earliest
times. The name "Hathor" is
the Greek corruption of the variants Het-Hert ("the House Above") and
Het-Heru ("the House of
Horus"). Both terms refer to her as a sky goddess. She was frequently
equated with Isis. She was
worshipped at Edfu as the consort of Horus. At Thebes, she was considered
the goddess of the
dead. She was also the patron of love, dance, alcohol, and foreign
lands.
See also Isis.
Harpocrates
(Hor-pa-kraat; Golden Dawn, Hoor-par-kraat)
"Horus the Child", the son of Isis and Osiris as a little suckling child,
distinguished from Horus the
Elder, who was the patron deity of Upper Egypt. Represented as a young
boy with a child's
sidelock of hair, sucking his finger. The Golden Dawn attributed Silence
to him, presumably because
the sucking of the finger is suggestive of the common "shhh" gesture.
See also Horus.
Hedjhotep
A god of weaving and amulets that is invoked to assist in magickal work
of knots and making amulets.
Heka
A god of magick and the soul of the sun god. Every magickal act is a
creative process and he is the energy that makes creation possible. Heka
is depicted in human form, with signs written above his head to form his
name. He symbolizes magick, and his power is helpful an all magickal deeds.
Heqet
A primordial goddess with the head of a frog, worshipped as one of the
Eight Gods at Hermopolis,
and seen as the consort of Khnum at Antinoe.
See also Khnum.
Heru-ra-ha
A composite deity in Crowley's quasi-Egyptian mythology; composed of
Ra-Hoor-Khuit and
Hoor-par-kraat. The name, translated into Egyptian, means something
approximating "Horus and
Ra be Praised!" Of course, this could simply be another corruption
due to the inferior Victorian
understanding of the Egyptian language, and it is possible Crowley
had something entirely different in
mind for the translation of the name.
See also Ra-Horakhty, Harpocrates.
Horus
(Hor, Heru)
One of the most important deities of Egypt. As the Child, Horus is the
son of Osiris and Isis, who,
upon reaching adulthood, avenges his father's death, by defeating and
castrating his evil uncle Set.
He then became the divine prototype of the Pharaoh.
As Heru-Ur, "Horus the Elder", he was the patron deity of Upper (Southern)
Egypt from the
earliest times; initially, viewed as the twin brother of Set (the patron
of Lower Egypt), but he
became the conqueror of Set c. 3100 B.C.E. when Upper Egypt conquered
Lower Egypt and
formed the unified kingdom of Egypt.
See also Isis, Osiris, Set.
Horus of Behedet
(Hadit)
A form of Horus worshipped in the city of Behdet, shown in the well-known
form of a solar disk
with a great pair of wings, usually seen hovering above important scenes
in Egyptian religious art.
Made popular by Aleister Crowley under the poorly transliterated name
"Hadit", the god appears to
have been a way of depicting the omnipresence of Horus. As Crowley
says in Magick in Theory
and Practice, "the infinitely small and atomic yet omnipresent point
is called HADIT."
See also Horus.
Imhotep
(Imouthis)
Imhotep was the architect, physician, scribe, and grand vizier of the
IIIrd Dynasty pharaoh Zoser. It
was Imhotep who conceived and built the Step Pyramid at Sakkara. In
the Late Period, Imhotep
was worshipped as the son of Ptah and a god of medicine, as well as
the patron (with Thoth) of
scribes. The Greeks considered him to be Asklepios.
See also Ptah, Thoth.
Isis
(Auset)
Perhaps the most important goddess of all Egyptian mythology, Isis assumed,
during the course of
Egyptian history, the attributes and functions of virtually every other
important goddess in the land.
Her most important functions, however, were those of motherhood, marital
devotion, healing the
sick, and the working of magical spells and charms. She was believed
to be the most powerful
magician in the universe, owing to the fact that she had learned the
Secret Name of Ra from the god
himself. She was the sister and wife of Osiris, sister of Set, and
twin sister of Nephthys. She was the
mother of Horus the Child (Harpocrates), and was the protective goddess
of Horus's son Amset,
protector of the liver of the deceased.
Isis was responsible for protecting Horus from Set during his infancy;
for helping Osiris to return to
life; and for assisting her husband to rule in the land of the Dead.
Her cult seems to have originally centered, like her husband's, at Abydos
near the Delta in the North
(Lower Egypt); she was adopted into the family of Ra early in Egyptian
history by the priests of
Heliopolis, but from the New Kingdom onwards (c. 1500 BC) her worship
no longer had any
particular identifiable center, and she became more or less universally
worshiped, as her husband
was.
See also Horus, Osiris.
Khepri
(Keper, Khepera)
God of the rising sun at dawn. He represents a polarity-matter at the
threshhold of crossing from inertness into life, and the spirit of the
dead preparing for rebirth into a new, glorified form of life. The creator-god,
according to early Heliopolitan cosmology; assimilated with Atum and Ra.
The Egyptian root "kheper" signifies several things, according to context,
most notably the verb "to create" or "to transform", and also the word
for "scarab beetle". The scarab, or dung beetle, was considered symbolic
of the sun since it rolled a ball of dung in which it laid its eggs around
with it - this was considered symbolic of the sun god propelling the sphere
of the sun through the sky.
He is depicted as a man with a scarab beetle for a head. Scarab amulets
are attributed to him. The amulets symbolize "becoming and the process
of creation".
See also Ra.
Khnum
Appearing as a ram-headed human, Khnum was worshipped most at Antinoe
and Elephantine. He
was another creator-god, represented as fashioning human beings on
his pottery wheel. His consort
was variously Heqet, Neith, or Sati.
See also Sati.
Khons
(Chons)
The third member (with his parents Amen and Mut) of the great triad
of Thebes. Khons was the god
of the moon. The best-known story about him tells of him playing the
ancient game senet
("passage") against Thoth, and wagering a portion of his light. Thoth
won, and because of losing
some of his light, Khons cannot show his whole glory for the entire
month, but must wax and wane.
The main temple in the enclosure at Karnak is dedicated to him.
See also Amen, Mut, Thoth.
Maat
Considered the wife of Thoth and the daughter of Ra by various traditions,
Maat's name implies
"truth" and "justice" and even "cosmic order", but there is no clear
English equivalent. She is an
anthropomorphic personification of the concept maat and as such has
little mythology. Maat was
represented as a tall woman with an ostrich feather (the glyph for
her name) in her hair. She was
present at the judgement of the dead; her feather was balanced against
the heart of the deceased to
determine whether he had led a pure and honest life.
See also Thoth.
Min
(Menu, Amsu)
A form of Amen depicted holding a flail (thought to represent a thunderbolt
in Egyptian art) and with
an erect penis; his full name was often given as Menu-ka-mut-f ("Min,
Bull of his Mother"). Min was
worshiped as the god of virility; lettuces were offered as sacrifice
to him and then eaten in hopes of
procuring manhood; and he was worshiped as the husband of the goddess
Qetesh, goddess of love
and femininity.
See also Amen, Qetesh.
Month
(Mentu, Men Thu)
The principal god of Thebes before the rise of the Amen cult; appeared
as a falcon-headed man and
often united with Horus. Primarily a war god.
Mut
(Golden Dawn, Auramooth)
The wife of Amen in Theban tradition; the word mut in Egyptian means
"mother", and she was the
mother of Khonsu, the moon god. She is symbolic of maternal love and
protection and was quite possibly the original deity of Thebes. She is
shown in human forms, but it is thought that in predynastic times she was
in the form of a griffin-vulture. Her name is written using the hieroglyph
for vulture.
See also Amen, Khons.
Nefertum
The youthful son of Ptah and Sekhmet, connected with the rising sun;
depicted as a youth crowned
with or seated upon a lotus blossom.
See also Ptah.
Neith
(Net, Neit; Golden Dawn, Thoum-aesh-neith)
A very ancient goddess of war, worshiped in the Delta; revered as a
goddess of wisdom, identified
with Athena by the Greeks; in later traditions, the sister of Isis,
Nephthys, and Selket, and
protectress of Duamutef, the god of the stomach of the deceased. Mother
of the crocodile god
Sobek.
See also Sobek.
Nekhbet
Upper Egyptian patron goddess, represented as a vulture in iconography,
and often part of the
crown of the pharaoh, along with her Lower Egyptian counterpart Edjo.
See also Edjo.
Nephthys
(Nebt-het)
The youngest child of Geb and Nut. The sister and wife of Set, and sister
of Isis and Osiris; also the
mother (variantly by Set or by Osiris) of Anubis. She abandoned Set
when he killed Osiris, and
assisted Isis in the care of Horus and the resurrection of Osiris.
She was, along with her sister,
considered the special protectress of the dead, and she was the guardian
of Hapi, the protector of
the lungs of the deceased. See also Isis, Osiris, Set.
Nut
(Nuit)
The goddess of the sky, daughter of Shu and Tefnut, sister and wife
of Geb, mother of Osiris, Set,
Isis, and Nephthys. Described by Crowley in his Magick in Theory and
Practice thus: "Infinite
space is called the goddess NUIT."
Nut was generally depicted as a woman with blue skin, and her body covered
with stars, standing
on all fours, leaning over her husband, representing the sky arched
over the earth.
Her relationship to Hadit is an invention of Crowley's with no basis
in Egyptology, save only that
Hadit was often depicted underneath Nut - one finds Nut forming the
upper frame of a scene, and
the winged disk Hadit floating beneath, silently as always. This is
an artistic convention, and there
was no marriage between the two in Egyptian myth.
See also Geb, Shu.
Osiris
(Ausar)
The god of the dead, and the god of the resurrection into eternal life;
ruler, protector, and judge of
the deceased, and his prototype (the deceased was in historical times
usually referred to as "the
Osiris"). His cult originated in Abydos, where his actual tomb was
said to be located.
Osiris was the first child of Nut and Geb, thus the brother of Set,
Nephthys, and Isis, who was also
his wife. By Isis he fathered Horus, and according to some stories,
Nephthys assumed the form of
Isis, seduced him thus, and from their union was born Anubis.
Osiris ruled the world of men in the beginning, after Ra had abandoned
the world to rule the skies,
but he was murdered by his brother Set. Through the magic of Isis,
he was made to live again. Being
the first living thing to die, he subsequently became lord of the dead.
His death was avenged by his
son Horus, who defeated Set and cast him out into the desert to the
West of Egypt (the Sahara).
Prayers and spells were addressed to Osiris throughout Egyptian history,
in hopes of securing his
blessing and entering the afterlife which he ruled; but his popularity
steadily increased through the
Middle Kingdom. By Dynasty XVIII he was probably the most widely worshipped
god in Egypt.
His popularity endured until the latest phases of Egyptian history;
reliefs still exist of Roman
emperors, conquerors of Egypt, dressed in the traditional garb of the
Pharaohs, making offerings to
him in the temples.
See also Anubis, Horus, Isis, Nephthys, Set.
Pharaoh
(deified kings)
From earliest times in Egypt the pharaohs were worshipped as gods: the
son of Ra, the son of
Horus, the son of Amen, etc. depending upon what period of Egyptian
history and what part of the
country is being considered. It should be noted that prayers, sacrifices,
etc. to the pharaohs were
extremely rare, if they occured at all - there seems to be little or
no evidence to support an actual
cult of the pharaoh. The pharaoh was looked upon as being chosen by
and favored by the gods, his
fathers.
Ptah
Worshipped in Memphis from the earliest dynastic times (c.3100 BC),
Ptah was seen as the creator
of the universe in the Memphite cosmology. He fashioned the bodies
in which dwelt the souls of men
in the afterlife. Other versions of the myths state that he worked
under Thoth's orders, creating the
heavens and the earth according to Thoth's specifications.
Ptah is depicted as a bearded man wearing a skullcap, shrouded much
like a mummy, with his hands
emerging from the wrappings in front and holding the Uas (phoenix-headed)
scepter, an Ankh, and
a Djed (sign of stability). He was often worshipped in conjunction
with the gods Seker and Osiris,
and worshipped under the name Ptah-seker-ausar.
He was said to be the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertum
(and later Imhotep).
Qebehsenuf
(Kabexnuf, Qebsneuef)
One of the Four Sons of Horus, Qebhsenuef was represented as a mummified
man with the head of
a falcon. He was the protector of the intestines of the deceased, and
was protected by the goddess
Selket.
See also Four Sons of Horus, Selket.
Qetesh
Originally believed to be a Syrian deity, Qetesh was a goddess of love
and beauty. Qetesh was
depicted as a beautiful nude woman, standing or riding upon a lion,
holding flowers, a mirror, or
serpents. She is generally shown full-face (unusual in Egyptian artistic
convention). She was also
considered the consort of the god Min, the god of virility.
See also Min.
Ra
Ra was the god of the sun during dynastic Egypt; the name is thought
to have meant "creative
power", and as a proper name "Creator", similar to English Christian
usage of the term "Creator" to
signify the "almighty God." Very early in Egyptian history Ra was identified
with Horus, who as a
hawk or falon-god represented the loftiness of the skies. Ra is represented
either as a hawk-headed
man or as a hawk. In order to travel through the waters of Heaven and
the Underworld, Ra was
depicted as traveling in a boat.
During dynastic Egypt Ra's cult center was Annu (Hebrew "On", Greek
"Heliopolis", modern-day
"Cairo"). In Dynasty V, the first king, Userkaf, was also Ra's high
priest, and he added the term
Sa-Ra ("Son of Ra") to the titulary of the pharaohs.
Ra was father of Shu and Tefnut, grandfather of Nut and Geb, great-grandfather
of Osiris, Set, Isis,
and Nephthys, and great-great-grandfather to Horus. In later periods
(about Dynasty 18 on) Osiris
and Isis superceded him in popularity, but he remained Ra netjer-aa
neb-pet ("Ra, the great God,
Lord of Heaven") whether worshiped in his own right or, in later times,
as one aspect of the Lord of
the Universe, Amen-Ra.
See also Amen-Ra, Horus.
Ra-Horakhty
(Ra-Hoor-Khuit)
"Ra, who is Horus of the Horizons." An appelation of Ra, identifying
him with Horus, showing the
two as manifestations of the singular Solar Force. The spelling "Ra-Hoor-Khuit"
was popularized by
Aleister Crowley, first in the Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis).
See also Horus, Ra.
Renenutet
(Renenet)
Goddess of fertility, harvest, fate, fortune, and plenty. She is often
mentioned with the God of destiny, Shay. Renenutet is personified as a
cobra.
Sati
The goddess of Elephantine, and the consort of Khnum. Together with
their companion Anuket,
dispenser of cool water. Represented with human head, the crown of
Upper Egypt, and the horns of
gazelles.
See also Anuket, Khnum.
Seker
A god of light, protector of the spirits of the dead passing through
the Underworld en route to the
afterlife. Seker was worshiped in Memphis as a form of Ptah or as part
of the compound deities
Ptah-seker or Ptah-seker-ausar. Seker was usually depicted as having
the head of a hawk, and
shrouded as a mummy, similar to Ptah.
See also Ptah.
Sekhmet
A lioness-goddess, worshiped in Memphis as the wife of Ptah; created
by Ra from the fire of his
eyes as a creature of vengeance to punish mankind for his sins; later,
became a peaceful protectress
of the righteous, closely linked with the benevolent Bast.
See also Bast, Ptah.
Selket
(Serqet, Serket)
A scorpion-goddess, shown as a beautiful woman with a scorpion poised
on her head; her creature
struck death to the wicked, but she was also petitioned to save the
lives of innocent people stung by
scorpions; she was also viewed as a helper of women in childbirth.
She is depicted as binding up
demons that would otherwise threaten Ra, and she sent seven of her
scorpions to protect Isis from
Set.
She was the protectress of Qebehsenuf, the son of Horus who guarded
the intestines of the
deceased. She was made famous by her statue from Tutankhamen's tomb,
which was part of the
collection which toured America in the 1970's.
See also Isis.
Serapis
A Ptolemaic period god, devised by the Greeks from Osiris and Apis.
Supposedly the consort of
Isis, god of the afterlife and fertility. Also physician and helper
of distressed worshippers. Never
obtained much following from the native Egyptian population. His cult
center was Alexandria.
See also Apis, Osiris.
Set
(Seth)
In earliest times, Set was the patron deity of Lower (Northern) Egypt,
and represented the fierce
storms of the desert whom the Lower Egyptians sought to appease. However,
when Upper Egypt
conquered Lower Egypt and ushered in the First Dynasty, Set became
known as the evil enemy of
Horus (Upper Egypt's dynastic god).
Set was the brother of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys, and husband of the
latter; according to some
versions of the myths he is also father of Anubis.
Set is best known for murdering his brother and attempting to kill his
nephew Horus; Horus,
however, managed to survive and grew up to avenge his father's death
by establishing his rule over
all Egypt, castrating Set, and casting him out into the lonely desert
for all time.
In the 19th Dynasty there began a resurgence of respect for Set, and
he was seen as a great god
once more, the god who benevolently restrained the forces of the desert
and protected Egypt from
foreigners.
See also Anubis, Horus, Isis, Nephthys, Osiris.
Shai
(Shay)
The personification of the lifespan and destiny who decreed the fate
of individuals. He had two wives, both goddesses of fate; Renenutet and
Meskhenet. He is often depicted as a human man with hieroglyphics that
form his name.
Shu
The god of the atmosphere and of dry winds, son of Ra, brother and husband
of Tefnut, father of
Geb and Nut. Represented in hieroglyphs by an ostrich feather (similar
to Maat's), which he is
usually shown wearing on his head. He is generally shown standing on
the recumbent Geb, holding
aloft his daughter Nut, separating the two.
The name "Shu" is probably related to the root shu meaning "dry, empty."
Shu also seems to be a
personification of the sun's light. Shu and Tefnut were also said to
be but two halves of one soul,
perhaps the earliest recorded example of "soulmates."
See also Tefnut.
Sobek
The crocodile-god, worshipped at the city of Arsinoe, called Crocodilopolis
by the Greeks. Sobek
was worshipped to appease him and his animals. According to some evidence,
Sobek was
considered a fourfold deity who represented the four elemental gods
(Ra of fire, Shu of air, Geb of
earth, and Osiris of water). In the Book of the Dead, Sobek assists
in the birth of Horus; he fetches
Isis and Nephthys to protect the deceased; and he aids in the destruction
of Set.
Sothis
Feminine Egyptian name for the star Sirius, which very early meshed
with Isis (being the consort of
Sahu-Osiris, which was Orion). Also associated with Hathor.
See also Hathor, Isis.
Souchos
The god of the lamp. He is believed to reside in the lamp oil during divination, and he appears as a shadow.
Tefnut
The goddess of moisture and clouds, daughter of Ra, sister and wife
of Shu, mother of Geb and
Nut. Depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, which was her
sacred animal. The name
"Tefnut" probably derives from the root teftef, signifying "to spit,
to moisten" and the root nu
meaning "waters, sky."
See also Shu.
Thoth
(Tehuti, Tahuti)
The god of wisdom, Thoth was said to be self-created at the beginning
of time, along with his
consort Maat (truth), or perhaps created by Ra. At Hermopolis it was
said that from Thoth were
produced eight children, of which the most important was Amen, "the
hidden one", who was
worshiped in Thebes as the Lord of the Universe. The name "Thoth" is
the Greek corruption of the
original Egyptian Tahuti. Thoth was depicted as a man with the head
of an ibis bird, and carried a
pen and scrolls upon which he recorded all things. He was shown as
attendant in almost all major
scenes involving the gods, but especially at the judgement of the deceased.
He served as the
messenger of the gods, and was thus equated by the Greeks with Hermes.
Thoth served in Osirian myths as the vizier (chief advisor and minister)
of Osiris. He, like Khons, is a
god of the moon, and is also the god of time, magic, and writing. He
was considered the inventor of
the hieroglyphs.
See also Amen, Maat.
Thoueris
(Ta-urt)
A hippopotamus goddess, responsible for fertility and protecting women
in childbirth. Partner of
Bes.
See also Bes.
Weret-Heka
Goddess of magick, and the power inborn in the royal crowns. She is
usually shown in cobra form.
The serpent-shaped magical rods employed by magicians likely represented
her. Her form and name also appear on the apotropaic wands of magicians.Snake
amulets were made to harness her power for various reasons.