The Kemetic (Egyptian) Pantheon

[Gardenia]

MIN (Alt spellings: Menu, Amsu) "The Firm One"

Min's origins seem to begin somewhere in predynastic times. Min is very much a deity of fertility and sexuality. This can be easily seen by looking at almost any picture of Min, as he is generally shown as a human man with an erect penis.* He ruled over both the fertility of the land, and the fertility of men. He is said to be the one who gives men the ability to have children. Min was associated with several creator deities, for example as Amun-Min, to represent that it was He who gave power to create. Interestingly enough, He is also seen synchronized with several goddesses, as well. For example, Sekhmet-Min. The Goddess would normally keep their general form, but gain Min's erect penis.
(*Because of this many early Christians defaced a number of his images. In later times, the Victorian Egyptologists would only take waist up photos of Min.)

Min was associated with a certain type of lettuce that grew in Kemet. It was a straight tall lettuce, that secreted a milky white liquid when pressed. Not surprisingly, this lettuce was also considered to be an aphrodisiac. (On a side note, this lettuce was also said to be a favorite food of Set, as well.) This lettuce was a very common offering to Min.

Min was also occasionally shown as a deity of the eastern desert, and offered protection to those traveling through it. Min also had lunar associations, as lunar gods were associated with moisture, and moisture with fertility.

In some cities, Min was actually said to be the husband of Aset(Isis) and father of Heru. In later times Min became the husband of Qadesh, goddess of female sexuality. Beside the obvious reasons for the pairing, it is also thought that He was put with Her because She and their son were both foreign Gods, and Min was also thought of as lord of foreign lands - particularly of Nubia.


Min was often shown with black skin, to show His association with fertility, as the fertile soils of the Nile were black. He is shown with His arm raised, and holding a flail - a symbol of royal power, as it was He who blessed the king with fertility. It has also been speculated that the particular way He is holding the flail is symbolic of a sexual act, the flail forming a shape to represent a vagina, His arm acting as a penis.

Offerings to Min include swords, long leaf lettuce, beef and other rich meats and foods, beer, wine, and other alcohol.

[Gardenia]

SOPDET (Greek/Roman: Sothis, Sirius) "Skilled female" or "she who is sharp/bright"

Sopdet was the personification of the star we now call Sirius. She is often considered to be a form of Aset(Isis). The star Sopdet was very important to the ancient Egyptians, as they based their entire calender around its rising. The rising of Sopdet marked the new year, and the time of the Nile's flooding. She is known as "the bringer in of the new year", and "the bringer of the flood." As the floodwater brought new fertile soil, She was also considered to be a fertility goddess. Due to Her strong ties with Aset, She later assumes traits of a mother goddess.

The star Sopdet would be missing for 70 days before it was seen in the sky again (bringing the new year). This is also the length of time it took to mummify a person. Because of this, She also has funerary associations. She is said to wash the newly dead, as well as provide them with water. She brought life to both the living and the dead.

Sopdet is wife to Sah(Orion). She is on occasion said to be the mother of the planet Venus.


Sopdet is shown as a woman with a star above/on Her head. She can also be shown as a cow with plants between her horns - probably symbolizing the new growth the floods would bring. Sometimes there is a star between the horns instead.

[Gardenia]

SATET (Greek/Roman: Satis) "She Who Shoots" - possibly referring to either her arrows, or shooting forth the Nile waters. "To pour" is also close to "to shoot," so it is possible her name means "She Who Pours."

Satet was a goddess of war and hunting, as well as a personification of the flooding Nile. She was considered to be the protector of the southern border of Kemet, driving away enemies with her bow. Because of this, She is also thought to be the guardian of the source of the Nile. Due to Her associations with the Nile flood, Satet was also thought of as a fertility goddess. Some also believe She held associations with rain and lightning, although evidence of this is not as solid.

Like many Egyptian deities, Satet also had a funerary role, and was said to offer purified water to the blessed dead. (The pyramid texts read "And behold Satet washes him with the water which is in Her four vases in Abu," referring to the dead Pepi 1 in this case.)

The associations between her aspects of the bow and arrows, as well as the flood waters, are not clearly known. Some believe it is because the waters shoot like an arrow (or perhaps the other way around). Others see it as an image often seen in the ancient world, that She is both a goddess of creation and destruction. (Neith is similar, a Goddess of weaving and of war... those familiar with Greek/Roman mythology can probably think of another deity who is quite the same!)

Satet was the wife of Khnum at Abu, or sometimes Montu at Uaset. She is generally thought to be the mother of Anuket, although sometimes they are shown as sisters. Satet was also occasionally part of a triad in Ensa, with Khnum and Neith. In later times Khnum became associated with Ra, and so Satet also took on the title/role of Eye of Ra. Satet also became associated with Aset in later times.


Satet is either shown as a woman wearing the atef crown (similar to that of Wesir), which is the white crown of upper Egypt (which we should remember is actually the southern half of Egypt) decorated with two ostrich plumes - or as a woman with gazelle/antelope horns. She was occasionally shown as fully a gazelle. She was often shown with a bow and arrows, but sometimes shown carrying water jars as well. Like many deities She is also shown holding the was scepter and an ankh.


Satet is shown here wearing the white crown as well as gazelle horns, and holding the was scepter and ankh.

[Caliburn]

Have Kemetic pagans asked from government of Egypt that their temples be used for worship (e.g. temples at Siwa oasis) and what do you think of such an action?

[sunlight]

Thanks for posting all of this info

[Corvus]

It looks like everything on Aset (Isis) was edited out, can we get some info on her? Ra and Hathor also please?

[thalassa]

[quote author=Corvus link=topic=120.msg18894#msg18894 date=1291177164]
It looks like everything on Aset (Isis) was edited out, can we get some info on her? Ra and Hathor also please?
[/quote]

The forum snacked the post.

We were having issues with longer (and even the occasional shorter) post getting mysteriously truncated around the time that was posted.

Gardenia had a *huge* thread on the pre-crash forum, unfortunately a lot of that information was lost...and she *does* have a life outside of PF so it might take her a minute to information if she rescued it, and if not...well, well-researched posts take a while.

[Gardenia]

[quote author=Corvus link=topic=120.msg18894#msg18894 date=1291177164]
It looks like everything on Aset (Isis) was edited out, can we get some info on her? Ra and Hathor also please?[/quote]

I have the Aset information saved to my computer from before the crash, but it'll take me a little while to get it together for re-posting. I'll try to get to that this week.
As for Ra and Hathor, I don't think either made it through the crash, so those will take me a bit longer.

[Gardenia]

I haven't forgotten about this thread, I just haven't had much time to post lately. Hope to get it updated again soon, though.

[Gardenia]

ASET (Alt Spellings: Auset, Ast - Greek: ISIS) "Throne"

Aset is the daughter of Nut and Geb, wife and sister to Wesir(Osiris), and mother to Heru-sa-Aset(Horus, son of Isis). She is the power and stability of the kings, as we see in her name. In the Egyptian pantheon Aset was the devoted wife, perfect mother, and maker of kings as we see with Her son Heru. When Her husband Wesir was killed by their brother Set, Aset and their sister Nebet-het searched for Wesir's corpse, and made sure to give him a proper burial. Before this, Aset reanimated Wesir for a short time to conceive their son Heru. She protected and raised Heru to take back the throne from Set.
In these series of stories we can see how Aset won her traits of mother and protector. This protective quality also makes Her one of the many Goddesses to carry the title "Eye of Ra."

She is also one of the Goddesses who protects the dead, and guides them through the underworld. She appears quite often in funerary texts.

Aset was also the Mistress of Magic (or as another title says, Weret Hekau, She Who is Great in Magic). She created scorpions using Ra's spit, without His knowledge. They stung Him, and She said She could cure Him only by knowing His secret name. He eventually gave in and told Her. Knowing Ra's (creator of the universe in this particular myth) secret name gave Aset power over all magic. She only told this name to Her son, so He would also have this power.

In later times Aset was synchronized with many other female names, and in the Roman era all other Goddesses were said to be aspects of Her. The spread of the worship of Aset as Isis is amazing.. She who stared out as a local goddess of the delta region took on aspects of many other Goddesses and Her worship spread far from Egypt.



Aset, holding her son Heru. She is wearing the sun disk with horns around it, topped with a crown. This form of her headdress probably happened when Aset and Het-heret(Hathor) absorbed each other's traits. In some cases, Aset only wears the sun disk and horns, and can be easily confused with Het-Heret. In earlier times, she only wore the throne.

Offerings to Aset can included roses and other fresh flowers, white wines, other sweet alcoholic drinks, milk, pomegranates, incense, and chocolates. She generally does not like offerings of pork.