Egyptian Gods and Goddesses or the Netjeru

RA

Father and Pharoah of the Netjeru, He rules over all and his symbol is the life-giving sun. He is not much concerned with the ways of men, leaving that rather to his children.

SHU

Son of Ra, he is the God of the Air (dry) and is placed between Geb and Nuit to keep them from having more children.

TEFNUT

Daughter of Ra, she is the wife of Shu and she presides over storms and rain.

GEB

God of the Earth and father of Isis, Osiris, Set, and Nepthys. He is married to Nuit.

NUIT (Nut)

Goddess of the stars. She is often shown has an ephemeral lady with the stars of heaven glowing on her body bending over the God Geb.

OSIRIS

Renewal, reincarnation, regeneration, rebirth, reimbodiment. Osiris is the father of Horus, and the brother of Isis and Nephthys. He is the God of the Dead and of Nature.

ISIS

Manifestation, nature, law, ethics, love, solidification, magick. Isis governs the forces of creation. She gives form to the formless and therefore rules over all processes of birth. Her name means "throne" and She is the source of all creative power.

NEPHTHYS

Fragmentation, dispersion, fermentation and disassociation. She is the co-equal of Her sister Isis. Her name means "Lady of the House". Nephthys rules over all breaking-up processes; she returns forms to formlessness and is the Goddess of Wealth.

SET

Brother of Osiris, Set is the God of chaos and destruction. He presides over the desert where he was banished by Horus.

HORUS

Attainment, fruition, man, humanity, the present as the fruits of the past. Because he defeated Set who slew his father Osiris, Horus holds the title "Avenger". Horus is a warrior, aggressive and dynamic. He is the the God of Spring who vanquishes winter and avenges the Summer that slain by winter.

UR-HERU

Age, wisdom, responsibility, maturity. He is the Elder Horus.

HARPOCRATES

Innocence, faith, purity, youth. He is Horus the Child also known as the "God of Silence".

HATHOR

Protection, sustenance, motherhood. Hathor is the wife of Horus and her name means "House of Horus". She is shown with the head of a cow because she is the eternal mother and guardian of mothers.

SOTHIS

Initiation (feminine), generation, growth. She is the Goddess of the Dog Star, which heralded the flooding of the Nile by its appearance. She is always nude for She keeps no secrets from her followers.

APIS

Passion, lust, emotions, desire. He is the Sacred Bull whose line continued even when that of the Pharoahs failed.

ANUBIS

Initiation (masculine), wisdom, intellect, the rational mind. Anubis is the son of Osiris and Nephthys and the half-brother of Horus. He Guards the dead on their journey through the underworld and is shown with a head of a jackal.

BAST

Intuition, magick, animalistic mind. Bast has the head of a cat and like a cat sees in the dark, She sees both the future and the past. She is the keeper of secrets and hidden things and the Cat is Her sacred animal.

SEKHMET

Sister of Bast. She is the lion-headed goddess of battle and divine retribution. She is the the personification of the fiery heat of Ra and the mysteries of magick and cats she shares with her sister.

THOTH

God of knowledge and learning, he is shown with the head of an Ibis. He knows everything that has ever happened since the dawn of time, though he seldom shares that knowledge unless the seeker is truly diligent and has earned it.

MA'AT

The wife of Thoth, she is the Goddess of Truth and Justice. All things in their proper place and in their proper relationship is called the Law of Ma'at.

THE SONS OF HORUS

MESTHA: mental protection--He has the head of a man

HAPI: emotional protection--He has the head of an ape

TUAMAUTEF: spiritual protection--He has the head of a jackal

QEBHSENNUF: physical protection--He has the head of a hawk

This page last modified 11/22/98