#it's called an uraeus

[kawaoneechan]

In the actual ACNH, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, each and every character has their own model. Even if for example all cats share the same exact model.

This, I feel, may be because it lets them do custom accessories like Ankha's snake thing.

For Project Special K, I wanted to do it differently. Putting "customModel": true in Ankha's JSON and dropping a model.fbx that includes the snake is easy. But what you see here is not that.

This has "customAccessory": true and an accessory.fbx that's just the snake thingy, manually split out from the model in Blender.

(yeah, I'm still putting off doing the ground and animation shut up oh wait people rarely reply to this shit)

[talonabraxas]

"O Isis, Beautiful in All Thy Names, I call Thee with the breath of my body, I call Thee with the beat of my heart, I call Thee with the pulse of my life, I call Thee with the words of my mouth, I call Thee with the thoughts of my mind. I call Thee Power and Life and Creation. I call Thee, Isis, Isis, Isis!"

Isis (Aset) Talon Abraxas

Invoking Isis

Invocation is a way to focus our intention and attention upon Isis. It offers a method for awakening and re-awakening in ourselves the knowledge of Her eternal presence. It opens a channel of communication and communion between us and Her. If we have done it well, invocation of Isis will evoke a corresponding emotion from us. When our defenses are down, our emotions are up, and we fully open our hearts and selves to Her, that’s when our invocations are effective and we find that She is fully present with us. And that is how the magic happens.

Invocation is a wonderful way to explore the many aspects of Isis. By invoking Her by Her various epithets (epithets are names or descriptive phrases that express various aspects or powers of the Goddess), we can experience and better understand the many facets of Isis’ nature.

To this end, I thought I’d share some of Isis’ many epithets, both well and lesser known, which you may wish to try out in your own invocations.

Great Goddess

Nutjeret Weret (Egy.); Thea Megiste (Gk.); Iset Weret (Egy.; “Isis the Great”). This is Isis in Her all-encompassing form as Goddess of All Things, and indeed, She is specifically called Lady of All. Other related epithets are Isis in All Her Names, Isis of Many Names and Many Forms, both of which refer to the ability of Her devotees to see Isis in all other Goddesses and all other Goddesses in Isis. At Denderah, She is called Lady of the Sky, the Earth, the Underworld, the Water, the Mountains, and the Nun (the Primordial Watery Abyss) for She is the Goddess of all manifest as well as all un-manifest things.

Isis the Noble

Iset Shepshyt (Egy.). This is a very interesting one for me. Before I knew of this name, I had often described Her to myself as “noble.” Several other priestesses I know described Her that way as well. And then I learned that She was actually called “Noble” anciently as well. To me, She is somewhat aloof, yet entirely awe-inspiring, in this aspect. A related epithet is Isis, Lady of Dignity or Great of Dignity. At Isiopolis, there is an inscription that says that the Deities bow down before Isis’ dignity.

Isis the Queen

I just thought you’d like to have this word in Egyptian: Nesutet (“Queen”). This, of course, refers to Isis’ sovereignty over ancient Egypt. Yet as the Throne, Isis is Sovereignty Itself; She is the ruler and She confers rulership.

Beautiful Khabhuet

Khabhuet (Egy.; “Libationess”) is related to concepts like the Great Celestial Deep and the Watery Abyss. Thus this is Isis as the one Who makes effective—surely magical—libations and as a Goddess of the Primordial Depths.

Lady of the Journey on the Abaton

In an Egyption temple, the abaton is the sacred place where no one may walk, the Holy of Holies. As Isis is the Lady of the Journey on the Abaton, we may understand that She is so inherently holy that She may indeed walk there, or perhaps may even serve as our guide for such a journey; the shrine of Osiris on Biggeh, the island of Osiris’ tomb near Philae, was called the Abaton.

Isis the Uraeus

Iset Uraiet (Egy.; “She Who Rears/Rises Up”). Uraeus is a Latinized version of the Greek word ouriaos, which is itself a version of the Egyptian word uraiet, which indicates the rearing, coiled cobra. The root word has to do with rising up or ascending, so that uraiet, a feminine word, can be interpreted as She Who Rears/Rises Up. The root word is also used to refer to the upward licking of flames. And indeed, the uraeus is often depicted spitting fire. This serpent fire represents both magical fire and the burning pain of the serpent’s venom.

In this form, Isis is the Cobra Goddess upon the brow of Re and His “Eye.” She is the Iret Eye (“the Doer”), the active power of Re. The idea is similar to Shakti, the active, feminine power related to the God Shiva in some Hindu sects.

Isis the Good North Wind

In different texts, Isis can be identified with various directions, but She has a strong identification with the north and the north wind. To understand, you have to know that to the ancient Egyptians, the north wind was the cooling, beneficial wind. It was thought that the north wind “dammed up” the Inundation, which flowed from the south, enabling the water to flood and nourish Egyptian fields. So Isis is not only the one Who heralds the Inundation and even causes it to flow (as Sopdet/Sirius), but also keeps it in place where it will fertilize the fields. She is called the Good North Wind and the Living North Wind.

Isis the Savior

Even in Egyptian texts, we find Isis as a saving Goddess. She is the one Who dispels evils, storms, and “rescues the weak from the fierce.” When Isis moves into the wider Mediterranean world, we find Her called The Savior (Sotera, Gk.), All Savior or Savior of All (Pansotera, Gk.), and the Great Hope. She is both literal savior, helping and protecting people in their every day lives and She is the spiritual Savior, Who offers those who are Hers “a life given by grace” (Apuleius, Metamorphoses). The funerary inscription of a priest of Isis declares that because of the secret rites he performed during his life, he has traveled not to dark Acheron, but to the “harbor of the blessed.” The Goddess and Her Mysteries are a spiritual harbor in storm-tossed seas—an image that is still used today by devotees of the Christian Savior God.

Enough to chew on for now, I think. May your invocations of Isis in All Her Names be blessed.

[teatrtenei]

Raet-Tawy By at least the 5th dynasty a female counterpart had been assigned to Re, the sun god, and the simple name of the goddess - the feminie form of the name Re - indicates that she was created to complement the sun god rather than having been a deity with an independent prior existence. In the Pyramid Texts the goddess is called Raet and though a fuller variant of her name was Raettawy, "Raet of the Two Lands", it is uncertain at what point this form was first used. In later times she was addressed by the expanded titles "Raet of the Two Lands, the lady of heaven, mistress of the gods", parallel to the superlative titles of her husband. Nevertheless, the goddess played a lesser role in Egyptian mythology than Hathor who was also viewed as the wife or daughter of Re. Raet is therefore not frequently represented pictorially and is usually depicted in a Hathor-like form as a woman wearing a solar disk with horns and a uraeus, sometimes with the addition of two feathers above the disk. A festival of Raet was held in in the fourth month of the harvest season, and she was venerated, along with Montu and Harpocrates, in the Graeco-Roman of Medamud.

[akhret]

Mut

Offerings

Wine, beer, milk, coffee, water.

Meat, bread, fruits and vegetables, lettuce, honey, sweets, cakes, candy,

Frankincense and myrrh, sandalwood, cedar, cypress, lotus, floral smells, along with fresh and clean scents are all good for incense, candles, essential oils, or perfumes.

Precious metals and stones like malachite, carnelian, garnet, gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. You may also offer her jewelry or your makeup.

As a mother goddess, you can offer her children toys or books. Or you may offer her items that you use as a mother including a breast pump (if you’re currently breast feeding, she may help with milk production or help with any blockages in milk ducts).

Imagery of the double crown of Egypt (Pschent), the red crown of Lower Egypt (Deshret), the double feather crown (swty), Hethert-crown, or the crown with the solar disk. Or you can offer her scared items like the menit, sistrum, ankh, was scepter, papyrus scepter, Udjat eye or the uraeus. You may also her imagery specific to her like vulture imagery/figurines, along with cat and lion imagery; she’s also called the ‘great cow,’ too. You may also offer her images of her. You can draw any of these symbols, print them out, or get figurines of them (you can go to the dollar store and get a cheap toy if you can’t afford something more!)

Devotional Acts

Acts of maat. This may include fighting evil, and standing up for what’s right. You may also do this in other aspects too, like knowledge seeking, learning bites of wisdom, becoming an active part of your community, helping out your neighbor or those who are less fortunate. This can also be acts of kindness or love, or doing things for others out of love.

Acts of motherhood/parenthood. Taking care of your children (even if they’re fur children).

As an ‘Eye of Re,’ you can learn how to fight, or learn self defense. This may include just working out. She’s often associated with the bow and arrow, so you could take up archery.

Doing your makeup or dedicating your skincare routine to her! She is a mother goddess and wants you to take care of yourself, but she also has the epithet of ;the lady of the makeup utensils.’ She’s also called ‘the lady of joy,’ so do things that bring you joy like singing, dancing, crafts, etc.

She’s called ‘the lady of the harp,’ and can be seen holding the sistrum, so you could learn how to play either musical instrument. Or, even if you’re not interested in learning them, you can listen to music with those items.

Signs

You may start seeing her scared signs and symbols start appearing more like lionesses, vultures, and cobras. You may also start seeing imagery of the Eye of Re or the Eye of Horus.

You could start seeing images of the harp or sistrum, or you may even start hearing music with the harp start playing. As the lady of jubilation and joy, it can also take the form of some really good music that you can’t help singing along and moving to.

You may start feeling more drawn to doing your makeup and skincare, or you could feel drawn to look into ‘glamor magic.’

You could start feeling a very sweet sensation come over you, one that makes you feel like you’re in a motherly embrace. One that makes you feel warm on the inside and safe.

[violetmoondaughter]

The eye

The eye symbol was used since antiquity as an apotropaic talisman to protect from evil spirits. Eye is associated with vision, clarity and with the experience of the sensible world and the underworld.

The symbol is also associated to knowledge, in ancient Greece it was related to the Glaukopis Athena, the goddess of wisdom and her association with the birds of prey such as Owls, Crows and Seagulls. The glimmering eye that can see and perceive things from this world and from the other and that is always watching and judging. In ancient Greece this concept was also used in ritual mask such as the Gorgoneion or the primeval representations of the divine presence of Dionysus. Traditional talismans such as the Nazar and the Mati probably took its origins from these ancient traditions or even from previous Mesopotamian origins. Eyes were depicted on vases, temples doors, ships, and charms to protect humans from negative energies such as the evil eye, the envious gaze, and malevolent spirits.

In ancient Egypt the eye symbol was depicted as the two specular eyes of Horus and Ra and represented well-being, healing, and protection. Egyptian texts say that Horus's right eye was the sun and his left eye the moon. The symbol was connected with the myth of the conflict between Horus and his uncle Set in which his rival tore out one of Horus's eyes and the eye was subsequently returned to Horus with the assistance of the god Thoth. Horus subsequently offered the eye to his deceased father Osiris, and its revitalizing power sustained Osiris in the afterlife.

The right eye, the solar eye was also called the Wedjat and represented the eye of Ra. This eye was seen as a feminine extension of the god, a Goddess with both protective and destructive powers representing the benevolent and damaging energy of the sun. It is also equated with the red light that appears before sunrise, and with the morning star that precedes and signals the sun's arrival. The power of this goddess stands in the representation of the womb in which the sun god enters at sunset, impregnating her and setting the stage for his rebirth at sunrise. Consequently, the eye, as womb and mother of the child form of Ra, is also the consort of the adult Ra. This goddess is sometimes associated with feline and reptile form goddesses like Hathor and Sekhmet and with the Uraeus symbol, the cobra. These totemic animals incarnate the ferocious and protective energy of the dark feminine and, in the myths, the Wedjat is often used as a protecting or destructive weapon by the Sun god.

In German mythology the god Odin sacrificed his eye to obtain knowledge becoming the wisest god and achieving the magical knowledge. The sacrifice of the eye represents the loss of the vision in order to obtain an enhanced perception. The God exchanged a profane mode of perception, for a sacred mode of perception informed by divine, ancestral wisdom. In this case the eye symbolize once again wisdom and Odin is also associated with birds of prey and psychopomp birds such as ravens and their magical abilities to perceive and move through the veils of the worlds.

In many oriental religious traditions, the eye of wisdom is depicted by the Third eye, a mystical invisible eye, located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. The third eye refers to the gate that leads to the inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. In spirituality, the third eye often symbolizes a state of enlightenment. It often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe chakras and auras, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.

Eye also recalls to the female breast and to the egg cell symbolizing the portal of life, the ancestral creative energy, and its protection power. In modern days the eye symbol is still used as a protection amulet representing the ability of seeing through things, the mystical knowledge, and warding power against evil.

[rosary-enthusiast]

Dionysus-Osiris

My favorite statue of Dionysus to ever exist is Antinous as Dionysus-Osiris, in the Vatican museum. The work is flawless, his body is well built but also…soft. Youthful, handsome. His hair is long, cascading over his shoulders, & he wears ivy & a uraeus (a pinecone). He’s so shockingly beautiful that I truly wonder if this is how he would appear, if he were in front of me now. I have a recreation of this statue that I keep a Roman rosary with, & even in its less then perfect state, the statue always catches me off guard. I would love to see it in person some day.

Dionysus-Osiris is a fascinating figure, popular during the Ptolemaic period of Egypt (after the death of Alexander The Great, during the rule of Cleopatra, who was a Ptolemy). This is because pharaohs & their wives took the role of Osiris & Isis incarnate, & the Ptolemy dynasty was Greek, meaning they brought with them Hellenistic traditions & gods. They combined the two pantheons, creating Aphrodite-Isis, & Dionysus-Osiris to be crowned under. Hence, Dionysus-Osiris became a symbol of the new dynasty, & of the two cultures becoming one. Osiris is associated with rebirth & the afterlife, calling back to some of Dionysus’ most ancient aspects. A figure that I think represents the more natural & base aspects of Dionysus.

[mid0o]

Statue of King Khafre

This statue of "Auguste Marit" was found in his valley temple in Giza. It dates back to the ancient state "Fourth Dynasty".

Let's know who is King Khafre 👇

He is the owner of the second largest pyramid in Giza and it is called the Pyramid of Khafre. He is the son of King Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid. He ruled for 25 years and built his funeral group in Giza.

This statue is one of the most prominent pieces of art in the Egyptian Museum. The king appeared seated in an official form on the throne, wearing a nemes hair cover, and adorning his forehead with a royal uraeus for protection, and wearing a royal false beard. He appears wearing a short royal apron.

The king is depicted placing his left hand on his knee and the right hand on the knee as well, but he is held and holding a piece of leopard skin with it. Opinions differ about what he holds in his hand, either a handkerchief or a papyrus, and some believe that it is a legal document of his sitting on the throne. Here the statue appeared through his looks and his body in a position of strength and firmness, and the artist drew a simple smile on his lips, and the artist excelled in showing him the ideal form of the king and the muscles of his body.

Standing behind the head of the falcon King Horus, spreading his wings

On the legs of the throne seat appeared the form of lions for protection, as well as the two sides of the throne, the symbol of unity that appears in the form of a trachea and two lungs, and the papyrus and lotus were linked to them, symbolic of the tribal and marine face. The name of Khafre and his titles such as “Khafre, the master of the crowns” were engraved on the throne’s base.❤️🇪🇬

[dailycharacteroption]

Deity Drop 9: Wadjet

And now we’re back to Ancient Osirion deities, with the protector of life and kings, Wadjet.

In the real world, Wadjet is the goddess that watches over Lower Egypt, particularly the Delta of the Nile. Her exact connection to the other gods is not officially documented anywhere, only surviving in oral tradition. As such, it varies from her being a daughter of Ra and his most loyal protector, to being the nursemaid of Horus. Regardless, she is a protector, not just of the people living alongside the Nile, but also of the royal families that rule the land.

In Pathfinder, she serves much the same role, though the river she is goddess of is called the River Sphinx. Where she is said to reside as a great water serpent among the reeds, and acts as both protector and teacher of wisdom.

Of course, like the other Ancient Osirion deities, she has fallen out of favor as other gods have stepped in to fill the gaps, though she still has her worshippers here and there. (Or at least, until the events of Godsrain, when the ancient pantheon tore open a gate and were sucked elsewhere, perhaps to an eerily similar world and region… hinting that this is where they moved on to become the gods of Egypt on Earth… Which makes no sense as previous lore already suggested that they were already focusing their attention elsewhere (implied to be Earth), and also unless the portal was through time as well as space, because canonically the time on Earth relative to Golarion’s canon date is just after the end of World War I.)

I mean, I get it, they wanted to remove the Egyptian gods from the wider pantheon of Golarion out of cultural sensitivity for a minor but still technically living religion… which begs the question why Camazotz got to stay. Did they miss him? Is he considered part of a fully dead religion and therefore fair game? Did a Mexican consultant on Aztec and Mesoamerican religion give them the ok? We may never know.

But that’s enough of a tangent on that. Wadjet is a pretty cool goddess, a guardian of Osirian culture, it’s people, and the land where they dwell.

Wadjet is often depicted either as a winged cobra, or as an Osirian woman with a cobra’s head, as well as feathers running along the outer edge of her arms, making them also wings.

Unlike other gods, Wadjet actually dwells within her primary charge of the River Sphinx, acting as it’s guardian and of the people that rely upon it to survive.

With her role as a protector of the river, the land, and the people, the Green Empress is worshipped in part by farmers, warriors, and the ruling class of Osirion both modern and ancient. In her role as a teacher and a nurse, she is also favored by educators and those who nurture and protect children.

Wadjet is a friend and confidant of all the goodly Osirian gods, as well as presumably others that share her philosophy. She also seems to have a strong relationship with Ra in particular since she is a protector of kings and he is the leader of their pantheon. Naturally, she is the enemy of evil divinities, especially those that pollute, despoil, and target children in particular, as well as those that corrupt the symbol of the serpent away from her role as a protector.

As a lawful good deity, the Green Empress no doubt has plenty of angelic and archon servants, but she also has her own personal servants made in her image, the two-headed winged cobras know as uraeuses. These winged serpents are so synonymous with her protection that a uraeus is considered the ubiquitous symbol of protection by Osirion throughout it’s history.

Wadjet has domain over Good, Law, Protection, Travel, and Water, with the subdomains of Archon (by way of Good or Law), Defense, Exploration, Purity, Rivers, and Trade. All of which covers her protection aspect and connection to the river and everything that is associated with it.

She also has Second Edition domains from the brief time she was part of the lore before War of the Immortals. They are protection, travel, water, and zeal. Additionally, she grants access to spells of weaponizing water, shapeshifting into serpents, and growing protective scales that absorb and redirect energy.

Unfortunately, as a goddess of waning popularity, there is no published obedience or granted powers for her.

Sadly, since Wadjet’s fate is unknown after the events covered in the War of Immortals book, it’s safe to say that she won’t be appearing anytime soon in the far future of Starfinder. Hopefully she found some nice river to watch over in her retirement as a minor deity.

That will do for today, but tomorrow we’ll dig into a deity from another culture far from the Inner Sea region, this time wholly original.

[seewetter]

Mythic Creatures by Region & Culture

Part 9: Africa

Here is the overview of global creatures.

Cross-Cultural (across multiple but not all cultures)

Amadlozi of the Nguni people in South Africa; Anansi is Akan (which includes the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Ashanti (!!!!!!!), Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta, and Nzema) also found in African American lore; Asanbosam is Akan (which includes the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Ashanti (!!!!!!!), Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta, and Nzema) also found in Jamaican slave lore; Death; Jengu various peoples in Cameroon; Madam Koi Koi; Mami Wata; Mazomba; Mbombo; Mbuti Mythic Creatures; Mbwiri; Nandi Bear; Ninki Nanka; Nyami Nyami; Obambou; Obia also name for a creature in Latin American folklore (Garifuna of Bay Islands, Honduras); Ogun; Oshun; Shetani; Somali myth; Werehyena; Yumboes Wolof; Zār; Zuhri

allegedly African

Aegipan; Amphisbaena, in Greek myth, Perseus flies over Libya with head of Medusa…blood creates Amphisbaene; Catoblepas; Cerastes; Crocotta; Dingonek East Africa 1907-1918; Ethiopian pegasus; Forest Bull; Gold-digging ant; Griffon; Hypnalis; Leontophone; Lycaon; Macrobian; Pard; Pygmies; Rompo; Scitalis; Seps; Struthopodes maybe??; Syrbotae; Tarand; Theow; Wild Man, Wild Woman ; Wild Men, Wild Women; Yale

Angola

Kishi

Ashanti

Anansi; Asanbosam; Obayifo

Benin

Aido Hwedo, also in Haiti

Canary Islands (Guanches)

Guayota; Maxios; Tibicena; Witches of Anaga

Congo

Abada; Bunzi; Eloko ; Biloko; Jengu also known in Cameroon, called Bisimi with the Bakongo; Mfinda; Nkisi; Nkondi; Simbi

Dahomey

Aziza

Dogon

Nommo

Ethiopia

in the Quran, an Aksumite (Ethiopian) siege is averted by birds dropping stones: Ababil; Buda (Ethiopia & Eritrea, were-hyena & evil eye); Ethiopian superstition; Holawaka (Oromo, Ethiopia);

Igbo

Ibo loa also Haiti

Nkomi & Bakalai, Gabon

Koolakamba

Ghana

Abonsam, also Gold Coast; Adze, possessing "vampire" who stalks prey as firefly among the Ewe of Togo and Ghana

Gold Coast

Abonsam, also in Ghana

Kalenjin, Kenya

Kalenjin Mythic Creatures

Khoikhoi

Aigamuxa

Lingala

Mokele-mbembe

Lugbara (Congo to Sudan)

Adroanzi, "angels", benevolent children of the god Androa, but if you turn around to look at them you die

Malagasy

Kalanoro; Vazimba; Yateveo (Plant) alleged

Mozambique

Agogwe sighted by 2 Europeans in 1926-1927 but existed prior as a word & creature in indigenous oral traditions

Songhay

Hira; Zin Kibaru

Sotho, South Africa

Kammapa; Monyohe

South African Folktales Grootslang

Tswana

Matsieng

Uganda

Jok (among Acholi of Uganda and South Sudan); Lukwata (Baganda of Uganda);

West Africa

Adze, possessing "vampire" who stalks prey as firefly among the Ewe of Togo and Ghana; Ekpo Nka-Owo (Ibibio, Southern Nigeria); Wereleopard; Zin;

Xhosa

Amafufunyana (possession, schizophrenia); Uhlakanyana

Yoruba

Abiku; Egbere; Emere; Shango; Yemọja

Zambia

Ilomba among the Lozi people

Zanzibar

Popobawa

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Bird

Zulu

Inkanyamba; Isitwalangcengce; Lightning Bird; Tikoloshe; Uhlakanyana; Umamba; Usiququmadevu; Zulu religion

Ancient Egypt

Aani; Abezethibou, Testament of Solomon, acted during Book of Moses in Egypt; Abtu; Abyzou; Akhekh; Ammit; Anubis; Apophis; Ba (personality); Bennu; Griffon; Hieracosphinx; Isfet; Medjed; Mehen_Board_Game_Snake_God_Egypt; Meretseger; Nemty; Serpopard; Set animal; Sphinx; Taweret; Teka-her; Unut_Egypt_Rabbit-Snake-Lion_Goddess; Uraeus; Wadjet

allegedly Ancient Egyptian

Cynocephali; Phoenix

Notify me if there are mistakes or if any of these creatures, beings or figures should not be used in art or fiction. (Note that every artist & writer should consider whether use of these figures is appropriate whether someone has complained or not).

[mask131]

Egyptian gods: Sekhmet

I) The legend of Sekhmet

Ra was the benevolent creator-god who poured life and energy into the world. He was the wise and fair solar-god that ruled over mortals and deities alike. He was the source of ultimate beauty, justice and perfection… At least in the beginning. Egyptian gods, just like mortals, age. And Ra being the first of all the gods, was also the oldest – such an aging did cause in him the apparition of nasty flaws. We talked about his constant drooling when looking at Isis, but for Sekhmet the flaws that would be interesting would be a more tyrannical and distrustful behavior. Ra had notably a specific ability he used to spy or punish human eyes that disobeyed his law: the ability to detach his eye from his body and send it, as an autonomous magical being, into the world to enact its will. Sometimes the eye took the shape of a goddess, other times it simply appeared as a giant eye (roughly 3,50 meters high). It is said to be the uraeus on the crown of the pharaoh, and according to one legend it was this Eye of Ra that created humanity by accident. It had gone off to fight Ra’s enemy for such a long time that Ra decided to make himself a new eye in replacement, and when the original Eye returned and saw this is cried tears of rage – tears that formed men and women when falling onto the earth.

But the Eye was above all feared, for it was Ra’s executioner, and as Ra, who still walked among men and ruled physically over them as the pharaoh of Egypt, grew older and weaker, people started to openly criticize or insult him. Ra perceived all sorts of nasty rumors about him, all sorts of scheming. The solar god had trouble maintaining order in his realm, with criminal and unruly behavior spreading. Ra was convinced the humans were conspiring against him, and he feared that they would try to overthrow him to take away his crown. The sun god summoned an emergency meeting of the gods, and it was decided that the best way to punish those unfaithful subjects was to make fire rain upon them. Ra promptly did so, but the humans hid away from the flames and shielded themselves too well – nothing was done… Ra summoned a second council of the gods, and this time it was suggested that he might sent his Eye to punish the conspirators. And so Ra sent his Eye on earth, under its most destructive and horrifying form.

It was on the twelfth day of the first month of winter that the goddess Sekhmet appeared among humans, a war-goddess with the body of a woman but the head of a lioness. Sekhmet immediately engaged a battle against humanity, massacring all those that criticized, disobeyed or rebelled against Ra. “The Eye of Ra in Fury” committed an impressive and brutal mass killing – so brutal and so impressive that even Ra was offended by seeing so much gore spilled everywhere. Thinking it was enough, he tried to call back his Eye… to no avail. Sekhmet took a deep and perverse joy in killing humans, and she had grown too bloodthirsty. She killed left and right, ripping to pieces all those she encountered. There was no stopping her – and Ra realized if nothing was done, all of humanity would disappear in an immense genocide. Ra understands he has to resort to trickery and deceit the calm the anger of Sekhmet. So he ordered seven thousand jugs of beer to be brewed, had it mixed with red ochre collected from Aswan, and spilled the whole thing onto the floor. Sekhmet, seeing this red pool and believing it to be blood, gladly drank it all up – only to end up so drunk that she forgot all about her desire to kill, all about her mission, and ultimately passed out…

Humanity was saved! But this incident was the final straw for Ra. He was tired with running humanity, exhausted with his position as the pharaoh of the world. He openly said that he had no more energy in his limbs, and that if he was to be attacked, he couldn’t even defend himself. So Ra left the crown of Egypt to his descendants and left earth – others gods were known to rule over humanity. Ra climbed on the back of Nut the sky-goddess, turned into a cow, and together they rose up to the top of heavens, where Ra still remains to this day. Now the sun simply crosses the sky from east to west each day, protected by other powerful deities since he cannot fight by himself anymore, and staying unbothered by what happens in the human world…

Ever since this fateful event, the Egyptians fear the 12th of Tybi, the twelfth day of the first winter month, the day where Sekhmet received the order to massacre humanity. For Ancient Egyptians, it was a very hostile and ominous days, where one was to beware for all sorts of bad things could happen…

 II) Sekhmet, the goddess of many faces

Sekhmet is a terrible and dreadful goddess. Her name means “the powerful”, and she is the most bloodthirsty and destructive aspect of the Eye of Ra. She is a ferocious goddess of war and battle, whose job was to register all the crimes and bad actions of humans, and settle on what kind of punishment should befall them – a sort of evil, female, Egyptian Krampus if you like. It was during the dreaded five last days of the year, the epagomenal days, that she decided on which kind of evil or disaster would punish all those “naughty humans” and unleashed her wrath against them – so the Egyptians kept singing praises and bringing offerings to her, in hope of appeasing her. Sekhmet was the one thought to be responsible for the various epidemics that plagued Egypt – they were supposedly called by Sekhmet’s wanderings, and by the actions of her companions and assistants, bloodthirsty genies and wicked spirits only known as “the slaughterers”, armed with spikes, knives and arrows, who helped their mistress-goddess tormenting, punishing and killing mortals. It was said they could move and run so fast, no one could escape them once Sekhmet set them upon a prey. Sekhmet was depicted as either a woman with the head of a lioness, or as a full lioness – sometimes a solar circle was placed upon her head, to symbolize her position as the daughter of Ra. The hot winds of the desert were associated with Sekhmet’s fiery breath.

Sekhmet “The Powerful” is however but one of the several identities and personas of the Eye of Ra, who was said to take the shape of various goddesses. In fact, everybody agrees that once her fury was drowned by the flow of red beer, Sekhmet became another goddess – a peaceful, kinder, benevolent goddess that made life wonderful for Egyptians after the terror they had lived through. However, the various texts and cults keep differing as to know WHICH goddess Sekhmet is the “alternate personality” of. For some, Sekhmet’s peaceful side is Bast, the protectress of the house and the family. Both are feline entities (Sekhmet is the lion, Bast the cat), and Bast embodies sweetness and peace, as opposed to the ferocity and brutality of Sekhmet. For others, Sekhmet is merely another form of the mother-goddess Mut: the pharaoh Amenophis II, of the 18th Dynasty, filled Mut’s temple in Karnak with an enormous amount of Sekhmet statues, it was believed there was one for each day of the year. A third candidate would be the goddess Hathor, the deity of joy, love and pleasure. It was thought that if during Hathor’s parties and celebrations the Egyptians were allowed and encouraged to drink as much as they could, it was in memory of Sekhmet’s defeat, and as a way to maintain the bloodthirsty lioness asleep inside the beloved cow goddess… The association of Hathor and Sekhmet notably appears in one of the legends part of the Ennead cult, of the mythology of Heliopolis. According to the Heliopolis cosmogony, the world was created by Atum, first of the gods, born out of the primordial chaos, and Atum gave birth to two deities, Shou god of the air, and Tefnut goddess of humidity. But the siblings eventually left their father and disappeared in the vastness of the primordial world. Atum, searching for them, took off one of his eyes and gave to this organ all of his power, turning it into a goddess – a goddess which received two names, Hathor for her peaceful and loving side, Sekhmet for her brutal and punishing side. Atum sent Hathor-Sekhmet searching for his children, and she brought them back to him. Atum was so happy, he cried tears of joy – and these tears, upon falling on the earth, created the first humans. [Yes, this is a variation of the legend I described above]. To thank Hathor-Sekhmet, Atum transformed the eye into a cobra, and placed it on his forehead, swearing that this eye-cobra would be feared by mankind as much as the gods: this is the origin of the uraeus.

Later, Atum was identified and fused with Ra – Atum becoming the “rising sun” persona of the solar deity, the sun in its prime as the creator at the beginning of the world, while Ra became the “setting sun”, persona, the elderly pharaoh at the end of his reign, leaving the world forever… And thus, from the Eye of Atum, Sekhmet became the Eye of Ra. A late development in Sekhmet’s cult made her part of a triad, one of those artificial religious families created by priests. In Memphis, during the New Kingdom, Sekhmet was turned into the wife and companion of Memphis’ main god Ptah – she embodied the forces of destruction complementary to Ptah’s role as a creator deity. The triad was completed by the addition of Nefertum, reimagined as the child-god of the two deities.

As a final note, it is important to highlight that while Sekhmet was feared and dreaded, and a goddess of things such as murder and plagues, just like Seth, she too had good sides and thus was not entirely “evil”. She was the defender and faithful servant of Ra/Atum, the greatest of the gods and master/creator of the universe. Her task was to fight the enemies of the sun, destroy the forces of chaos, and thus lead a battle that maintained the very order and existence of the universe. By extension, she also was perceived as a helper of the pharaoh: she notably, during times of war, gave him the power to defeat and vanquish his enemies. Finally, while she was the goddess causing plagues, she also was a healing deity – similarly Apollo’s dual role as the disease god and medicine god in Greek mythology. The priests and cult of Sekhmet formed the oldest corporations of doctors and veterinaries in Egypt – they were the “pure priests” as they were called, who invoked their goddess to fight off the disease, the plague or the sickness that she herself had likely caused in the first place.

[talonabraxas]

"O Isis, Beautiful in All Thy Names, I call Thee with the breath of my body, I call Thee with the beat of my heart, I call Thee with the pulse of my life, I call Thee with the words of my mouth, I call Thee with the thoughts of my mind. I call Thee Power and Life and Creation. I call Thee, Isis, Isis, Isis!" Isis (Aset)

Talon Abraxas Invoking Isis

Invocation is a way to focus our intention and attention upon Isis. It offers a method for awakening and re-awakening in ourselves the knowledge of Her eternal presence. It opens a channel of communication and communion between us and Her. If we have done it well, invocation of Isis will evoke a corresponding emotion from us. When our defenses are down, our emotions are up, and we fully open our hearts and selves to Her, that’s when our invocations are effective and we find that She is fully present with us. And that is how the magic happens.

Invocation is a wonderful way to explore the many aspects of Isis. By invoking Her by Her various epithets (epithets are names or descriptive phrases that express various aspects or powers of the Goddess), we can experience and better understand the many facets of Isis’ nature.

To this end, I thought I’d share some of Isis’ many epithets, both well and lesser known, which you may wish to try out in your own invocations.

Great Goddess

Nutjeret Weret (Egy.); Thea Megiste (Gk.); Iset Weret (Egy.; “Isis the Great”). This is Isis in Her all-encompassing form as Goddess of All Things, and indeed, She is specifically called Lady of All. Other related epithets are Isis in All Her Names, Isis of Many Names and Many Forms, both of which refer to the ability of Her devotees to see Isis in all other Goddesses and all other Goddesses in Isis. At Denderah, She is called Lady of the Sky, the Earth, the Underworld, the Water, the Mountains, and the Nun (the Primordial Watery Abyss) for She is the Goddess of all manifest as well as all un-manifest things.

Isis the Noble

Iset Shepshyt (Egy.). This is a very interesting one for me. Before I knew of this name, I had often described Her to myself as “noble.” Several other priestesses I know described Her that way as well. And then I learned that She was actually called “Noble” anciently as well. To me, She is somewhat aloof, yet entirely awe-inspiring, in this aspect. A related epithet is Isis, Lady of Dignity or Great of Dignity. At Isiopolis, there is an inscription that says that the Deities bow down before Isis’ dignity.

Isis the Queen

I just thought you’d like to have this word in Egyptian: Nesutet (“Queen”). This, of course, refers to Isis’ sovereignty over ancient Egypt. Yet as the Throne, Isis is Sovereignty Itself; She is the ruler and She confers rulership.

Beautiful Khabhuet

Khabhuet (Egy.; “Libationess”) is related to concepts like the Great Celestial Deep and the Watery Abyss. Thus this is Isis as the one Who makes effective—surely magical—libations and as a Goddess of the Primordial Depths.

Lady of the Journey on the Abaton

In an Egyption temple, the abaton is the sacred place where no one may walk, the Holy of Holies. As Isis is the Lady of the Journey on the Abaton, we may understand that She is so inherently holy that She may indeed walk there, or perhaps may even serve as our guide for such a journey; the shrine of Osiris on Biggeh, the island of Osiris’ tomb near Philae, was called the Abaton.

Isis the Uraeus

Iset Uraiet (Egy.; “She Who Rears/Rises Up”). Uraeus is a Latinized version of the Greek word ouriaos, which is itself a version of the Egyptian word uraiet, which indicates the rearing, coiled cobra. The root word has to do with rising up or ascending, so that uraiet, a feminine word, can be interpreted as She Who Rears/Rises Up. The root word is also used to refer to the upward licking of flames. And indeed, the uraeus is often depicted spitting fire. This serpent fire represents both magical fire and the burning pain of the serpent’s venom.

In this form, Isis is the Cobra Goddess upon the brow of Re and His “Eye.” She is the Iret Eye (“the Doer”), the active power of Re. The idea is similar to Shakti, the active, feminine power related to the God Shiva in some Hindu sects.

Isis the Good North Wind

In different texts, Isis can be identified with various directions, but She has a strong identification with the north and the north wind. To understand, you have to know that to the ancient Egyptians, the north wind was the cooling, beneficial wind. It was thought that the north wind “dammed up” the Inundation, which flowed from the south, enabling the water to flood and nourish Egyptian fields. So Isis is not only the one Who heralds the Inundation and even causes it to flow (as Sopdet/Sirius), but also keeps it in place where it will fertilize the fields. She is called the Good North Wind and the Living North Wind.

Isis the Savior

Even in Egyptian texts, we find Isis as a saving Goddess. She is the one Who dispels evils, storms, and “rescues the weak from the fierce.” When Isis moves into the wider Mediterranean world, we find Her called The Savior (Sotera, Gk.), All Savior or Savior of All (Pansotera, Gk.), and the Great Hope. She is both literal savior, helping and protecting people in their every day lives and She is the spiritual Savior, Who offers those who are Hers “a life given by grace” (Apuleius, Metamorphoses). The funerary inscription of a priest of Isis declares that because of the secret rites he performed during his life, he has traveled not to dark Acheron, but to the “harbor of the blessed.” The Goddess and Her Mysteries are a spiritual harbor in storm-tossed seas—an image that is still used today by devotees of the Christian Savior God.

Enough to chew on for now, I think. May your invocations of Isis in All Her Names be blessed.

[dwellerinthelibrary]

Box of an Anthropoid Coffin by Margaret Lucy Patterson on Flickr. (I've taken the liberty of turning the photo sideways.)

Once again here's the bearded, feathered, snake-headed god I've nicknamed "The Gentleman". This time he's labelled, rather vaguely, "Great God, Lord of Heaven" (so is the uraeus on the papyrus plant). But I did find one instance where he was called Maaty, "The Righteous One", so maybe that's his correct name. Or perhaps this iconography is used for multiple gods? I've sometimes seen two of them together.

(Does that second god represent Osiris's Imiut fetish? Looks like the third is named Neith.)

[Three mummiform gods on the inner side of a coffin. The first has a snake's head adorned with a feather; the next has a cow's head, white with black splotches; the third has a vulture's head. Between them are vessels on stands; above them is a row of hieroglyphs.]

[akhret]

Wadjet

𓆘        𓇅𓏏𓆗      𓇆𓏏𓆇𓆗      𓇅𓏏𓆘
   𓇅𓇌𓏏      𓇆𓇌𓏏𓆗      𓇅𓏏𓇌       𓇅𓇌𓏏𓉐  
 𓇆𓇌𓏏𓐎𓆗      𓇅𓏤      𓇅𓏏𓆇     𓇅𓇌𓏏𓆗  
𓍯𓄿𓏏𓆓     𓏸𓏸𓏸𓇅𓏏𓆘       𓇆𓇌𓏏𓆇𓆙

Epithets

The mother of all the gods

Great of Magic

Mistress of Earth

The Devouring Flame

Who burns the enemy at the bow of the barque of Re

She who gives light

She who glows in the darkness

Areas of Worships

Wadjet was the tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt but her cult center was in Pe and Dep. her shrine was called the per-nu or the ‘House of Flame.’

Offerings

Cobra statues or imagery of the uraeus.

You can also offer her fire- whether this is imagery, candles, or bonfires.

You can offer her papyrus, plants that grow in marshes (like cattail), or fresh greens.

Incense, candles, essential oils, or perfumes that smell of Myrrh, dragonsblood, fresh scents, grass, earthy scents

Jewelry, lapis, turquoise, or faience

Information

Wadjet’s name means ‘the fresh one,’ ‘the green one,’ or ‘she of the papyrus.’ Pinch believes this may refer to her embodiment of the constantly renewed vegetation of the marshes. The marshes themselves play a big role in Wadjet’s connection to Horus, though, as this became the place where Isis left her son to find her husband’s corpse. Wadjet and Nekhbet become the wet nurse to Herusaaset, protecting and shielding his body from any evil that may threaten him.

Wadjet was the tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt; whereas Nekhbet was the tutelary goddess of Upper Egypt- together they were know as the ‘two ladies.’ You can see both of them on the Double Crown of Egypt, or the Pschent crown, where they symbolized the unification of the two lands. Pinch suggests that perhaps they were warring opposities, in the same way that Sutekh and Horus are, but no surviving texts survive to back this up.

Wadjet, herself, is the emboidment of the ureaus on the royal headdress. She’s a protective deity of kingship and would spit fire/venom at the enemies of the pharaoh. She can be seen protecting both Re and Wesir, where she protected Re’s solar barque and the corpse of Asar. Her protecting the corpse of Wesir might connect her to being a guardian of the deceased king.

[echoes-of-kemet]

Crowns of Ancient Egypt

A brief overview of the different kinds of crowns seen in Ancient Egyptian iconography. Note that I say crown, note headdress; the well-known nemes headdress and similar things not worn by the king and gods will not be covered.

Hedjet: translates as “White One,” the crown of Upper Egypt. Most famously worn by Nekhbet, Horus, and Satet. Nekhbet, the Patroness of Upper Egypt, was occasionally placed on the brow of this crown as an ornamental vulture.

Deshret: translates as “Red One,” the crown of Lower Egypt. Most famously worn by Wadjet, Horus, and Neith. Like her sister, Wadjet- the Patroness of Lower Egypt- would commonly adorn the crown as a uraeus. However, this symbol was featured on a majority of the other crowns as well.

Atef: a hedjet crown with two ostrich feathers on opposite sides. Most commonly associated with Osiris and his followers, but was also worn by Underworld related deities like Sokar.

Hemhem: translates as “to shout,” “cry out.” This translation has led to speculation that it was associated with battle or military power. It’s three atef crowns placed side by side atop curled ram horns; sometimes there is a solar disc above each atef, sometimes just the middle one, sometimes not present. Not specifically associated with any one deity, but Khnum and Sobek are often depicted wearing one.

Pschent: also called sekhemty- translating as “the Two Powerful Ones”- it combines the hedjet and deshret to become the crown of a unified Egypt. Though the Pharaoh Menes is said to have first united the crowns, surviving records show Djet was the first to wear it. Horus is the deity most commonly associated with it, but Atum-Ra was also shown wearing the double crown at times. The Two Ladies Nekhbet and Wadjet would both adorn this crown side by side, further symbolizing the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Khepresh: known to exist in the second intermediate period, but popularized in the New Kingdom; worn by pharaohs for militaristic and possibly religious purposes. It isn’t associated with any deities, but as with most royal headdresses it often featured a uraeus.

Cap Crown: one of the oldest crowns of Egypt recovered by Egyptologists, depictions of it stretch as far back as the Old Kingdom. Again, no particular deity is associated with it, seemingly exclusive to the human Pharaoh, but it did almost always feature a uraeus.

Solar Crown: also called a solar disc, this was used to not only signify a solar deity but royalty. It’s most commonly associated with Ra, but many other deities have worn one, even if only in rare depictions. Most commonly, the solar crown is also worn by deities like Horus-Ur (Horus the Elder), Isis, Hathor-Sekhmet, Amun, Tefnut, Bast.

Lunar Crown: like the solar crown, this can also be alternatively described as a lunar disc. Unlike its counterpart, however, it was rarely described with a single phrase despite being not uncommon in depictions. The closest it had to its own word was shared with the moon in general. The crown itself was depicted with the full moon resting in the curve of an upturned crescent moon. Deities like Khonsu and Thoth are most associated with this crown, but Tefnut and Mehit also wore it occasionally.

Two-Feathers Crown: also called the Amun crown as it was most commonly associated with him, but it is also worn by Montu and Min. Unlike the atef, these feathers are described as those of a falcon rather than an ostrich- but similar to the hemhem, they’re placed atop two ram horns and sometimes feature a solar disc.

[rudjedet]

Are there any links between Isis-Thermouthisis and Demeter? Thermouthis is the Greek name for the grain goddess Renenutet and Demeter was the Greek goddess of grain aswell and both goddesses were synchronised with Isis (Isis-Thermouthis and Isis-Demeter) Isis-Thermouthis was usually portrayed as a half woman, half snake. She often wore the attributes of Isis such as the cow horns and moon disk, the Isis knot and the lit torch (taken from Demeter). I've heard some people call the half snake figures of her a Demeter-headed uraeus, but I haven't really seen it in academic text.

Isis-Thermouthis seems to mainly be found in Egypt and in Rome I think, and as a deity I see her best to be the most similar to Demeter/Ceres. I want to add her iconography (cause I'm in a warm climate surrounded by snakes) into my Demeter centred religious practices and I wanted to know if there was some academic sources that link the two (three? Six?) deities together? Any sort of academic validation? I can't find anything sadly and I was hoping that you might know more on the subject?

Im scared that I might be scorned for adding something into my practice that wasn't done so back then

Hi! I'm currently not taking on research questions about Egyptology for personal health reasons and this is outside of my wheelhouse, so I won't be able to answer this I'm afraid. You could consider contacting any museum with an ancient Egypt/classics department with this question, though. Oftentimes the experts working there are willing to answer this and/or point to any available academic sources. :)

[gaykarstaagforever]

The person who does all of these amazing Egyptian god illustrations for Wikipedia, FOR FREE, is called Eternal Space.

This is Wadjet / Buto, the goddess of the Uraeus Serpent.