Ancient Egyptian Gods: Eternal Protectors. Maribel Pedrera Pérez – Maga Beth
Egyptian people became experts in conserving the body of the dead, embalming it with ointments, oils and aromas, which have also been used by the rest of civilisations over the years.
Ancient Egypt mythology and religion have left us many writings and monuments and have had a great impact on ancient and modern cultures.
Chapter 2 – Egytian gods and goddesses
In this chapter I describe some specific characteristics that define each Egyptian god and goddess. They changed over time and sometimes they were dual and versatile. They may symbolise protection at first, but they may also be worshipped to lead the dead to the afterlife, to ask for love unions, for fertility, for abundance in crops, etc.
I briefly detail their story, the symbols that identify them, and the animals that represent them, their Greek representation, and the meaning of the crown they wear.
I also explain what you can ask for and how to work at a magic level: the use of each god and goddess, the use of their energy, their essence, their mineral, their curiosities, etc.
There were many gods and goddesses; this is just a brief guide of the most important ones.
1 – Amheh
Amheh was depicted as a man with the head of a dog who lived in a lake of fire. He was a god of the underworld whose name meant ‘devourer of eternity’.
At a magic level you can ask for and work to address your fears: i.e., fears you do not want to solve and negative attitudes you have decided to keep for the rest of your life; a burden that does not let you evolve; a burden that blocks you and prevents you from getting everything you want.
This god is used to remove all the things that are difficult for us to leave behind. Things that seem that belong to us but they do not; things that we have acquired by bad habits or have been sent to us so that we do not move forward, etc. These things block us.
Essence: Jasmine
Mineral: Amethyst, Hematite, Jasper
2 – Ammit
Ammit represented death and, unlike other gods or goddesses, she considered herself a demon. Her body was formed by three different animals: crocodile, lion and hippopotamus. These three animals were the most feared animals by the Egyptian people due to their strength, dexterity, voracity, aggressiveness, and the deaths they caused. The goddess Ammit was synonymous with evil.
At a magic level you can ask for and work to block enemies, especially when there are problems with children, such as bulling at school. People ask this goddess to remove anyone who directly or indirectly harms their children. Ask these three animals to surround the people who are trying to attack your loved ones.
Essence: Peppermint
Mineral: Bolivianite, Fluorite, Tiger’s Eye
3 – Amón – Amun – Ammon – Amon Ra
Amun was the main deity of the city of Thebes. He was the patron of its pharaohs. Thebes was the capital of the Egyptian Empire and was the territory in which the Hyksos were expelled, thus building the strongest dynasty of antiquity.
His father was Thoth (god of wisdom, time, and magic) and his mother was Maat (goddess of justice, truth, and harmony), the consort of Thoth. Amun’s consort was Mut (creator goddess) or Amonet (goddess of the wind) and their son was Khonsu (god of medicine). Amun was part of the triad of Thebes with Mut and Khonsu.
Amun had several names. His Greek name was Amon.
Amun was depicted as a man and his associated being was a ram. His large crown had two feathers, a pair of branches -a little separated- which was synonymous with consciousness and wisdom. Each branch had 7 leaves representing the levels of consciousness, since he was reincarnated in a man until the god reached the highest degree of illumination to free himself from the material limitations. He was holding the Was Sceptre (a distinctive symbol of the Egyptian culture of a god’s power or control over creation) in one hand and the Egyptian cross, the Ankh (the key to life) in the other.
At the beginning, Amun was considered the god of the wind, but was later placed next to the god Ra, the sun god, thus reaching a very high level and merging with him to give rise to the god Amon-Ra, the king of the gods; the father of all the gods; the creator of men, animals, and life; the lord of truth.
Amon-Ra was known for his omnipresence. He was the centre of the gods since he could be everywhere. He also called himself the hidden god because nobody could see or feel him, and always attended to all the pleas of his people. He was considered the god of wind and sun.
At a magic level you can ask for and work for spirituality and to find yourself, to recover one’s memory.
Essence: Rosemary
Mineral: Diamond, Topaz, Sulphur
4 – Amonet
Amonet was the wife of Amun or Amon-Ra. She was a self-created goddess. She was known as “the mother who is a father: she did not need any man because she had the power of procreation without a male. The name Amonet meant “The Hidden One”, her shadow symbolised protection and together with her partner, they symbolised the enigmatic, the chaos and the darkness. She symbolised the underworld and the West, the Earth’s cardinal point.
Amonet also symbolised the wind, since she could be felt but not touched. She was depicted as a woman with the head of a snake and with a red crown. However, in Hermopolis, she was depicted as a woman with a head of a frog or with the appearance of a cow. She was also sometimes depicted as a hawk or a woman with a head of a hawk.
She was mentioned for the first time during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Her places of devotion were Thebes, Karnak, and Hermopolis. Over the years, she lost relevance in favour of Mut who finally became Amun's consort.
At a magic level you can ask for and work with her when you need to hide things, to help you forget the pain, to erase every trace of suffering. Learning to forget helps to live in the present, it expels the negative that has been recorded in the mind and ultimately you feel better about yourself.
Essence: Birch
Mineral: Turquoise, Opal, Pyrite
5 – Anat
Anat was a war goddess and many temples were dedicated to her. Even Ramesses named her daughter Bint-Anat (daughter of Anat in Arabic). Anat was a very widely worshipped goddess.
At a magic level you can ask for and work to overcome traumas caused by big emotional problems, accidents or mutilations. Anat will give you strength to recover, to leave your pain behind, and to overcome your fears and distress.
Essence: Cananga
Mineral: Pearl, Chalcopyrite, Amazonite
6 – Annubis – Inpu
He was believed to be the son of Set and Nephthys and was the protector of the dead. Nephthys, his mother, was the goddess of shadows and wet places.
His birth is not clear. One story says that his mother, Nephthys, took the appearance of Isis to approach Set and gave him some vintage wine to get him drunk, since Set wanted Osiris, his brother´s wife and his sister. From their union a child was born but was immediately abandoned because he was the fruit of sin. Curiously, Isis rescued the child and named him Anubis.
Other stories suggest that Anubis was born when his mother Nephthys cheated Set with Osiris after an argument.
Anubis was depicted as a jackal-headed man. He was the god of mummification, embalming and death. His animal representation was an Egyptian dog. He was personified as the summer solstice.
Anubis was also the one who took the dead to their doomsday or Duat. In the beginning, Anubis was the god of the dead, but later he moved into the background giving Osiris the cult and the main role in the afterlife (i.e., guiding the dead into the afterlife and giving them light, opening the roads and presiding their graves).
Anubis was one of the oldest gods. He was in charge of embalming the gods and helped Isis to embalm Osiris. That is why he was the protective god