Some of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. The period that we know as Ancient Egypt began in about 3150BC, and ended in 30BC when it was conquered by the Romans and became a Roman province. Within that period existed 3 separate eras when Egypt was at its high points: the Old Kingdom (2575-2150BC), when the Giza pyramids were built and mummification was refined; the Middle Kingdom (1975-1640BC), when Egyptian military conquests, classical art and culture were at their peak; and the New Kingdom (1539-1075BC), when the pharaoh Akhenaten (father of Tutankhamun) tries to introduce Sun worship, tomb building in the Valley of the Kings was in full swing and Tutankhamun was a pharaoh. Between these periods, there is a general unrest or even full-scale invasion by foreign powers. (Incidentally, the famous Mark Antony/Cleopatra saga took place in the 20 years before Egypt became a Roman province.)
Anubis
God of embalming and the dead. He is concerned with mummification, funerary rites, the weighing of the deceased's heart against the Shu feather, the underworld and the protection of the souls of the dead. He is a gatekeeper to the underworld, and is shown with the head of a jackal. He can be called on in workings for protection as well as matters concerning death.
Bast
Goddess of protection, the Sun and the Moon, childbirth, sex and cats. She wears a breastplate decorated with the head of a lion, carries a rattle and is shown with the head of a cat. She is a warm, kind Goddess, with immense power. She is also called Bastet.
Geb
God of the Earth. He is the brother of Nut, and has dark skin to represent the dark, fertile silt the flooding of the Nile brings.
Hathor
Goddess of motherhood, protection, beauty, love and sex. She is a cunning and beautiful Goddess, shown wearing cow's horns containing the Sun-disc or taking the full form of the cow. Her colour is turquoise.
Horus
God of the sky. He is the son of Isis and is seen with the head of a falcon, or taking the full form of a falcon. He avenged the murder of his father (Osiris) by Horus' uncle Set, in the process losing an eye - this is the 'wounded eye of Horus' (also called 'the eye of Ra'), a symbol of great protection and power.
Isis
Creation Goddess, associated with womanhood, fertility, childbirth, healing, resurrection, magick and the Moon. She a queen among the Gods, is the mother of Horus and wife of Osiris, whom she resurrected after his death. She is often depicted seated and holding the baby Horus.
Maat
Goddess of justice and divine order. It is her feather that the deceased's heart is weighed against before they can enter the afterlife. She will dispense justice to any party involved in the matter over which she is called - be sure your own slate is clean before you call her. She is the counterpart of Thoth and is depicted as a woman with a feather on her head.
Nephthys
Goddess of women, dark magick, dreams and intuition. She is associated with funerals and the dead. She is the daughter of Geb and Nut and the wife of Set.
Nut
Goddess of the sky. She is the mother of Isis, Set, Nephthys and Osiris. She is depicted as a tall, slender woman covered in stars, arched naked over her brother, the Earth God Geb. She is also called Nuit.
Osiris
God of vegetation the dead and the underworld. He is usually depicted as a mummified man, with the crown, crook and flail that come with being king of the underworld. He was killed and dismembered by Set, then resurrected by Isis so they could conceive Horus.
Ptah
God of creation, the afterlife and craftsmen. He is said to build the boats the dead use in the afterlife. He is shown as a mummified man with a shaved head, holding a staff with the ankh on it.
Ra
God of the Sun. The source of all life and truth, rites and spells. He travels with the Sun across the sky during the day, then takes it safely through the underworld during the night, to rise again the next morning. He is depicted as a man with the head of a falcon.
Sekhmet
Goddess of war and battle. She wears a cobra crown, and was believed to protect the pharaoh during battle. She is a fierce warrior, with a intense bloodlust. This bloodlust can only be mellowed with red beer, as discovered by Ra - whenever you work with Sekhmet, keep some red beer on your altar to calm her.
Thoth
God of wisdom, intellect, language, writing, mathematics, astronomy and knowledge. He is associated with the Moon, and often shown with the head of an ibis, holding a scribe's writing tools. The baboon and the ibis are sacred to him.
