Amenti (Amentet, Ament, Amentit, Imentet, Imentit) - She of the West

   Amenti was the goddess of the Land of the West.  She was depicted as a beautiful woman crowned with a falcon holding a sceptre and the ankh, which symbolized eternal life, in her hands.  

   To the Egyptians, the Land of the West was the world of the dead.  They called it the Amenti; the entrance to the netherworld where the sun set in the west.  There, the goddess Amenti would meet the recently deceased giving them bread and water before ushering them into the underworld, preparing them for the rebirth of their souls as they went on to live in the Fields of Peace.

Ammut (Ammit, Ahemait) - The Devourer

   Ammut is a female demon.  She had the head of a crocodile, body of a leopard and the hind of a hippopotomous.  The demoness accompanied Maat in the judgement of the dead where Maat would weigh the heart against her feather of conscience.  If the heart was heavier than the feather of Maat, the soul of the deceased would be given to Ammut to devour.  This was a horrifying outlook for the ancient Egyptians as this meant the end of existence.

Amun (Amen, Amon, Ammon, Amoun) - The Hidden One

   Amun was the god of air and a god of creation.  He was seen as a man with a ram head wearing an ostrich plumed hat. 

He was one of the the most powerful gods.  Amun was thought to have created the world and uphold justice.

   Amun-Re was the combination of the god of creation and the creator of men to become the King of Gods.

Anqet (Anuket, Anket, Anjet, Anukis) — To Embrace

   Anqet was a huntress and water goddess.  She was depicted as a woman wearing a crown of reeds.  She was the goddess of life as she embraced the Nile as the goddess of the banks.  Since the Egyptians viewed the Nile as their life source, Anqet was described as “Giver of all Life and all Power, of all Health and of all Joy of the Heart.  One of her temples was called, “Amen-Hery-Ib” (Amen’s heart is content) and the other “Per-Mer” (House of Love). 

  Anqet was also a nourisher of the Pharaoh and a protective deity who gave life to the Pharaoh and the land of Egypt.

Anubis— Protector of the Dead

   Anubis was a jackal-headed man.  He played a role in the dead, attending the “Weighing of the Heart” to determine if the soul would be permitted to enter the afterlife.  If so, Anubis would usher the soul into the afterlife.

   Anubis was also a protector of the graves and an embalmer.

Bastet (Bast) — The Tearer

   Bastet was a lioness who had two personalities.  Her aggressive, vicious nature came out in war when she became a protective goddess who watched over the Pharaoh in battle and punished the enemies of Egypt.  During times of peace, Bastet had a docile, gentle nature, which took on her duties as protector of the home and pregnant women. 

   Bastet was also known as “The Lady of the East.”

Bes

   Depicted as a dwarf, Bes was the god of music and dance.  He was also the protector of  women, children and childbirth. 

   Bes warded off evil spirits and protected the home as the ally of good and the enemy of evil. 

Eset (Aset; named by the Greeks as Isis) — The Throne

   Eset wore a vulture headdress or a solar disk between two horns.  She was the great mother goddess who was married to Oser (Osiris). 

   Saddened by the murder of her husband Oser, Eset searched the Nile until she found Oser’s body in order to give him a proper burrial.  With her magic she brought Oser back to life so that they may have a child.  Horu (Horus) is the son of Eset and Oser.  All Pharaohs were believed to be the living Horu (the son of Eset).

Eset was a protective goddess who used magical spells to aid those in need.

Geb (Seb, Gebb, Keb, Kebb) — Great Cackler

   Geb, God of the Earth, was one of Ancient Egypt’s oldest gods.  He was known as the Great Cackler as his laughter was believed to be the cause of earthquakes.  He lay along the earth under the goddess of the sky.

   Geb became a mighty king, ruling wisely and thus earning the title, “Heir of the gods.”  Geb was so greatly admired that the Egyptian throne became known as the Throne or Seat of Geb and each king claimed to be a descendant of him.

Hapi (Hapy) — Father of the Gods

   Hapi was the God of the Nile who was responsible for flooding the river each year, which would nourish the land.  Due to this, Hapi represented nourishment and since the Nile was regarded as the source of life, Hapi was believed to have created all things.  His symbol was running water.

Hathor (Hethert, Athyr, Het-Hert) — Mistress of Heaven

   Hathor, meaning the House of Horu, was the goddess of love, fertility, music and beauty.  Ancient Egyptians would also invoke Hathor to interpret their dreams.

Horu (Heru, Hor, Her; named by the Greeks as Horus) — He Who Is Above

   Horu was the son of Osir and Eset.  After Oser was murdered by his brother Set, Eset raised Horu to avenge his father’s murderer.  Set and Horu battled for the throne of Egypt.  Horu would battle Set daily in order to keep the world safe.         

   During the Old Kingdom, the Pharoh was considered the embodiment of Horu on earth, and thus, was a living god.  Horu was later replaced with Re as supreme deity.

Maat (Ma’at) — The Goddess of Truth

   The goddess Maat represented law, order and truth.  Maat translates to “that which is straight” implying anything that is balanced.  She played an important role in the Book of the Dead since before a soul could enter the afterlife, it had to pass judgment. 

   The judgement of the dead was performed in the Hall of Maaty (Hall of Two Truths).  Maat would weigh one’s heart (conscious) against the feather of Maat, which symbolized truth, justice and morality and place it on her balance scale.  If a balance was struck then the deceased was worthy to meet Oser in the afterlife and live forever in the Fields of Peace, if not, then the soul was fed to Ammut, which doomed the soul to eternal death.

Montu (Mont, Monthu, Mentu, Menthu) — The Lord of Waset

   Montu was a solar god and a god of war.  He had destructive powers that were called upon in battle. 

Mut (Maut) — Lady of Heaven

   Mut was a mother goddess, queen of the gods, and was regarded as the mother of the pharaohs.  She was a fierce goddess of retribution.

Neith ( Nit, Neit, Net)— Great Goddess

   One of the oldest Egyptian gods, Neith was a goddess of war and a huntress.  She was a wise protectress of the royal house.

Oser (Oser, Aser, Asar, Usire; named by the Greeks as Osiris) — Lord of the Dead

   Oser was the first pharaoh of Egypt and his wife, Eset the first Queen.  He ruled justly but his brother Set was envious of him and wanted the throne.  Set conceived a plan to slay Oser and doom him to the Underworld.  Once there, Oser was unable to return to the land of the living and so he became the king of the underworld. 

   As Lord of the Dead, he sat upon his throne and judged the souls of the dead permitting only the good to enter the afterlife where they could live for eternity in the Fields of Peace.

Re (Ra) — Father of the Gods

   Re was a sun god, the symbol of rebirth and regeneration.  He was the father of the Gods and the creator of men.  During the Old Kingdom, Re became supreme deity.  The Pharaohs represented Re as his embodiment on earth and their throne names took on his title.

   Re was a sun god of great antiquity and had many stories connected with him; however, one legend declared that each day, Ra was born and sailed across the sky in a Manjedt-boat.  He would travel through the twelve provinces with many gods, representing the twelve hours of daylight.  At night, he would die becoming Auf (corpse) and would journey 12 hours of darkness in a Mesektet-boat.  Re fought and defeated demons every night so that the sun could return in the morning. 

  During a solar eclipse, it was believed that Re was swallowed by Apep, the strongest of the three demons he had to defeat.

Sekhmet (Sekhet, Sakhmet, Nesert) — Mighty One

   Sekhmet was a female goddess of war and destruction.  She was violent, mighty and strong and she ruled the West.  She was born out of the fire of Re’s eye and created as a weapon of vengeance in order to destroy disobedient and wicked men. 

   The ancient Egyptians feared the power of Sekhmet as she was the destroyer of men.

Set (Suetekh; named by the Greeks as Seth) — Lord of Upper Egypt

   Set is a god of war.  He had plotted to kill his brother Oser to gain control of the Egptian throne.  Along with 72 conspiritors, Set murdered Oser and threw his body into the Nile.  When Oser’s loving wife, Eset, found his body, Set tore it into 14 pieces and scattered them all over Egypt.  But, Eset’s devotion, along with the help of the goddess Nepthys recovered Oser’s body.  Eset resurrected Oser long enough to conceive Horu, who she raised to avenge his father’s death and take back the throne of Egypt. 

   Set and Horu battled for the throne and ultimately, Horu was the favoured deity.

Sobek (Sebek) — He who causes fertitlity

   Sobek was the Egyptian god of the Nile and of crocodiles.  He protected the King as he had helped the god Horu.

As god of the Nile, Sobek controlled the waters.  The ancient Egyptians considered the Nile the source of life; it was important for them to appease Sobek and keep him content so that he would cause the fertility of crops and livelihood.

Sopdet (Sepdet, Sothis) — Skilled Woman

   Sopdet was the pesonifcation of the ‘dog star’ Sirius.  This was a very important star to the ancient Egyptians as it signified the heliacal rising, which brought about the inundation of the Nile.  This was the start of the Egyptian New Year and was celebrated in the Coming of Sopdet.

   Sopdet was the goddess of fertility and of the inundation.

Sopdu (Soped, Sopedu) — Lord of the East

   Sopdu was a god of war associated with the eastern desert and the eastern borders.  The eastern desert became known as Sopdu.

   Associated with the heat of the sun that arrives after the star Sopdet (Sirius) has its heliatical rising, Sopdu was the son of Sopdet.

   Sopdu also protected the mouth of the deceased and his name translates to The Tooth.

Wadjet (Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet, Edjo) — The Serpent Goddess

   Wadjet was the goddess of Lower Egypt and personified the north (lower Egypt).  She was a protectress of the pharaoh and used her ferocious powers to destroy the pharaoh’s enemies.  Her counterpart was Nekhbet, the goddess of Upper Egypt.  Together they embodied the two crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, known as nebty the Two Ladies. 

   Wadjet’s symbol was the cobra, which was a royal symbol of the pharaoh ruling her land.

Fields of Peace

   The Fields of Peace was the eternal land of the afterlife where the diseased would live in joy as a subject of Oser if their hearts were pure and good.   

Underworld

   The ancient Egyptians believed that before a deceased soul could be admitted into the afterlife they had to pass through the Underworld first.  The Underworld was filled with demons.  The deceased needed to be guarded with magic and spells in order to successfully pass through so they could live forever in the Fields of Peace.