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Egyptian Deities
Ab
Egyptian grain god.
Amenti
Egyptian goddess of the underworld and fertility.
Amon
Egyptian god of wind, fertility, and secrets. Had thousands of children including Bast, Neith, Hapi, and Khons. Amon is often shown with the large, curving horns of a ram unique to the Nile Valley. Also shown as the sphinx. Often referred to as Amon-Ra, a combination of Amon and Ra.
Amun
"The Invisible One". One of the most spiritual of the Egyptian gods. Symbolizes the element of air.
Anhur
Egyptian god of the power of the sun. He was depicted as a warrior wearing a headdress with four tall, straight plumes. Elements are air and fire.
Apep
Serpent in egyptian lore that tried to destroy the sun every day.
Apollo
Greek god of the sun, light, music, song, medicine, and healing. Patron of herdsmen.
Apollo's mother Leto was forced to run from Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus. She went to the Island of Delos and delivered her two children- the twins, Apollo and Artemis.
Though the god of light, Apollo had a dark side. Under the name of Carneios, he is seen as a god of death. He and Artemis slew all of their mother Leto's children when Niobe, their grandmother, claimed all of Leto's children were more beautiful than the gods.
Apollo was worshipped at the oracle of Delphi, where a priestess who give forth his predictions. The Greeks believed that the egyptian God Heru and Apollo were the same deities. He is the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo's minor associations include black magic, blessing, justice, divination, oracles, prophecy, creativity, fertility, productivity, success.
Atchet
Egyptian goddess who nurses children.
Aten
In Egyptian lore, the disk of the sun.
Athor
Egyptian goddess of light. Daughter of Ra.
Atum
Egyptian sun god. In some creation myths he is the creator of the universe. Father of Shu and Tefnut. Astrologically related to the leo sign of the zodiac.
Bes
Egyptian dwarf god. In contrast to the other Egyptian deities, who were usually depicted in profile, Bes was depicted full face. He was originally the protective deity of the royal house of Egypt, but came to be a popular household deity throughout Egypt. He was believed to guard against evil spirits, protect children, kill snakes, and ward off misfortune. Assisted Tawert in childbirth. Associated with fertility and human pleasures.
Buto
The main Egyptian Delta goddess commonly associated with serpents and snakes, especially the cobra. She would protect those she favored by spitting poison into their face or burning them with her glare. She is the Queen of the goddesses and a symbol of the pharoah's reign over the land.
Chons
Egyptian 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.
Duamutef
Egyptian god who protected the stomach of the deceased, one of the sons of Horus.
Emutet
Egyptian cobra-headed goddess of the harvest and agriculture.
Geb
"The Green Man". Egyptian god of the earth, symbolizes the element fire. Green skinned man with a goose on his head, often shown lying down beneath the feet of Shu with his phallus pointing straight up. He was said to imprison the souls of the dead, disallowing them to move on to the afterlife. His laughter caused the earth to shake.
Gengenver
Egyptian fowl god in the form of a goose who laid the Cosmic Egg.
Hapi
Egyptian deification of the blessed river Nile. Eventually thought of as the creator of everything. Without the waters of Hapi, all life would perish. Also known as Hapy.
Hathor
"The Beautiful Face In The Boat For Thousands Of Years". Egyptian goddess of joy and love. Symbolizes love, beauty, happiness, joy, element of Air, the moon.
Horus
"The Mighty One of Transformations". Egyptian god, the son of Isis and Osiris. God of the all-seeing eye. His animal is the falcon. To understand the cycles of Horus' life, you should know his manifestations
Imhotep
Egyptian god of healing who was raised from mortality to god status.
Imseti
Egyptian god who protected the liver of the dead.
Isis
Egyptian mother goddess of day and moisture. It was Isis who retrieved and reassembled the body of Osiris after his murder and dismemberment by Seth. Because of this she took on the role of a goddess of the dead and of funeral rites. Isis impregnated herself from the corpse and gave birth to Horus. She gave birth secretly and hid the child from Seth in the papyrus swamps. Horus later defeated Seth and became the first ruler of a united Egypt. Isis, as mother of Horus, was revered as the mother and protectress of the pharaohs. The relationship between Horus and Isis may have been an influence on the Christian relationship between Jesus and Mary. Icons of Isis holding the infant Horus as he suckled are quite remininscent of such images of Jesus in Mary's arms. Statues of Isis and Horus were gradually disallowed by the Christian churches.
Oh Isis, Great Goddess,
Mother of God, and Creator of Life
You reign over Philae and all other lands.
Oh Mighty Goddess, Queen of Philae
You rule over the celestial bodies
And give the stars their place.
-A Hymn to Isis
Khepera
"The Self-Created". Egyptian god of the sun. Symbol is the scarab beetle. Symbolizes the element of air. Also known as Kherpi.
Khnum
Egyptian god of childbirth. Sometimes shown as a ram-headed human, often at a potter's wheel forming the child in the womb with his clay.
Ma'at
Egyptian Goddess of truth, justice and the order of the universe. Her symbol is the feather. She sits in the underworld, judging the souls that pass through.
Mary the Egyptian
Love.
Mertseger
Egyptian goddess of flowers and death. Shown with the head of a snake.
Meshkent
Egyptian goddess of birth. She is to be present on the judgement day.
Min
"The Firm One". Egyptian god of fertility, rain, and agriculture, and protector of roads and travellers. Symbolizes sexual prowess and fertility.
Montu
"Nomad". Egyptian god of war.
Mut
The original Egyptian mother goddess. Wife of Amun. She had thousands of children, among them were Bast, Neith, Hapi, and Chons. She lost importance once Isis became the primary mother goddess. She symbolizes the element air.
Neith
"Lady Of The Sails". Egyptian goddess of war and weaving. She symbolizes strength, love, the moon, courage.
Nepthys
Egyptian goddess of death and mystery. A guardian of the corpse of Osiris along with Isis. Invoke for element of earthk. Also called Nebt Het, Nebet Het, Nebthet, or Neb-hut.
Nut
Egyptian goddess of the sky. Air element.
Osiris
Egyptian god of life and death. 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.
Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the Gods, whose names are manifold, whose forms are holy, thou being of hidden form in the temples, whose Ka is holy.
-"Hymn to Osiris", The Papyrus of Ani, 240 BCE. Translated by E.A. Wallis Burdge.
Ptah
Egyptian creator god of Memphis, created the cosmos and the bodies in which man's souls dwelt. Some legends say he created things as Thoth directed him to. It is also said that he created the elder deities. His is shown as a bald man, a scarab beetle, or a hawk. He can be invoked for stability.
Qebehsenuf
Egyptian god who protected the intestines of the deceased. One of the four sons of Horus,
Qetesh
Egyptian goddess of love, nature, and beauty. She was depicted as a beautiful nude woman, standing or riding upon a lion, holding flowers, a mirror, or snakes. She is generally shown full-face, which is unusual in Epyptian artwork. She can be invoked for matters of the heart, fertility, beauty, and self-esteem.
Ra
Egyptian sun god, can be likened unto the Christian God, as a supreme deity and creator. He created the 8 great gods and the human race came from his tears. Usually depicted as a human with a falcon or ram head. The sun was either his eye or his body. He traveled the sky every day, passing over the lands and then going into the underworld. Because of this legend, he is considered to be the god of the underworld. Ra also stopped wars between humans because he was too decent to let them perish. He may be invoked for cat magick.
Renenutet
Egyptian goddess who took care of children. Also known as Renenet
Renpet
Egyptian goddess of the year, youth, and spring. Portrayed as a woman wearing a palm shoot on her head.
Sati
Egyptian goddess of the elephantine. Symbolizes the element fire.
Sebek
Egyptian crocodile god. Assists in the birth of Horus in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Also known as Sobek.
Seker
Egyptian god of light and protector of souls passing to the underworld. Usually depicted with the head of the hawk, and wrapped like a mummy.
Sekhmet
Egyptian goddess of sunset, destruction, death, and wisdom. Originally created by Ra from his fire to be a creature of vengeance who would punish humans for their wrongdoings. However, she became a loving goddess of peace and compassion, and a protectress of the righteous. Symbols are the lion and the desert. She symbolizes health, rebirth, fire, and wisdom.
O Lady, Mightier than the Gods,
Adoration rises unto Thee!
All beings hail Thee!
O Lady, Mightier than the Gods!
Preserved beyond Death
That Secret Name,
O Being Called Sekhmet.
At the Throne of Silence even,
shall no more be spoken than Encircling One!
I lose myself in Thee!
-"Hymn to Sekhmet"
Selket
Egyptian scorpion-goddess and helper of women in labor, often shown as a beautiful woman with a scorpion on her head. Her scorpions would strike death to the wicked, but she saved the lives of the innocent people who were stung by scorpions. she was also viewed as a helper of women in childbirth.
Set
Egyptian god of darkness and evil. Known for murdering his brother, but was also revered as a protector of Egypt. Set was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, a god of the night often identified with the northern stars. He was variously hailed as a source of strength, and a protector, especially from the serpent Apep.
Within Egyptian theology, there are conflicting opinions regarding Set's strength and warlike resolution. At first, pictures of a god with two heads- that of Set, as the god of darkness, and that of his brother Horus, god of light, appeared. At first this was a symbol of harmony, the union of polarities. However, later, it was regarded as a symbol of the conflict between dark and light. Set is depicted as being untamed and wild looking with white skin and fiery red hair. He is symbolized by barren wastelands and deserts. Also known as Seth, Seti.
Shai
Egyptian god of destiny and fate. Also known as Shait.
Shu
"The Dry One". Egyptian god of the air represented in human form. Personifies the sun's light. Appears as a warrior, lion, or lion-headed man with a feather. Symbolizes the element air, and possibly fire.
Sothis
Egyptian feminine name for the star Sirius.
Tefnut
Egyptian goddess of precipitation and clouds. Her sacred animal is the lion.
Tauret
"The Great One". Egyptian goddess of childbirth. She was depicted as having the head of a hippopotamus, the arms and legs of a lion, the breasts of a woman, the tail of a crocodile, and a great swollen belly like a pregnant woman. Her fierce and strange appearance was supposed to frighten away any spirits that were a threat to the safety of the baby. She is often in the company of Bes, the dwarf god. Pregnant women in Egypt used to wear amulets bearing the goddess' head. Also known as Taweret, Taurt, Apet, Opet.
Thoueris
Egyptian hippopotamus goddess of fertility, women and childbirth.
Thoth
Egyptian god of wisdom, considered to be a messenger between the gods and the god of the underworld. A vizier to Osiris. His animal symbols are the ibis and the baboon. He is a god of the moon, and is associated with magic, communication, time, mathematics, scholarship, music, medicine, astronomy, drawing and writing. Also known as Tahuti, Djeheuty.
Upuat
"He Who Opens the Way", jackal or wolf-headed Egyptian god of the dead.