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Deities of The Zodiac

Anubis- God of Embalming
Other Names: Anpu, Inpu, Ienpw, Imeut (Lord-of-the-Place-of-Embalming).

Appearance: A man with the head of a jackal-like animal. Unlike a real jackal, Anubis' head is black, representing his position as a god of the dead

Patron of: mummification, and the dead on their path through the underworld.

Anubis is an incredibly ancient god, and was the original god of the dead before Osiris "took over" the position. After that point, Anubis was changed to be one of the many sons of Osiris and the psychopomp (conductor of souls) of the underworld. His totem of the jackal is probably due to the fact that jackals would hunt at the edges of the desert, near the necropolis and cemeteries throughout Egypt.

Amon-Ra- The King of the Gods
Other Names:Amen, Amon, Amen-Ra

Appearance: Amun was closely associated with the Ram, a symbol of fertility. At various times he also sometimes appears as a man with the head of a frog, the head of a uraeus, the head of a crocodile, or as an ape. However, when depicted as a king, he wears the crown of two plumes

Some assume that Amun was a relatively modern god within the context of ancient Egyptian religion. His worship at Thebes, where the earliest known Temple dedicated to him was located, is only documented from the 11th Dynasty onward.
It is true that he gained most of his prestige after replacing the war god Montu as the principle god of Thebes during Egypt's New Kingdom, when he was recognized as the "King of Gods". At that time, because of Egypt's influence in the world, he actually became a universal god. In fact, by the 25th Dynasty, Amun-Re was even the chief god of the Nubian Kingdom of Napata and by the Ptolemic, or Greek period, he was regarded as the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus. However, he is actually mentioned in the pyramid text from the Old Kingdom (5th Dynasty, Unas - line 558), which show him to be a primeval deity and a symbol of creative force. This text seems to assign great antiquity to his existence.

Bastet- Beautiful Cat-Goddess
Other Names: Bast, Ailuros

Patron of: the sun (originally), the moon (after the Greeks), cats, women, and secrets.

Appearance: A desert cat, or a woman with the head of a cat (this form possibly dates after the domestication of the Egyptian wild cat).

Probably the most famous Egyptian goddess after Isis, Bast was said to be the daughter of Ra, though long after he created the primal gods. She was originally a sun goddess, but after contact with the Greeks, she changed to a moon goddess, probably due to the Greeks associating her with Artemis.

Like Artemis, Bast was a wild goddess. To those who were in her favor, she gave great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was sometimes listed as one of Ra's avenging deities who punish the sinful and the enemies of Egypt. This is of course in keeping with her totem animal, the cat. Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was deemed a great transgression. Bast's importance in the Egyptian pantheon might be due to the great value placed on the domesticated cat by the Egyptians. Cats curtailed the spread of disease by killing vermin, and though the idea of microbes was unknown to the ancient Egyptians, they must have noticed the connection between rats and disease.

Geb- God of the Earth
Other Names: Seb, Keb, Kebb or Gebb

Appearance: Geb is usually represented in the form of a man who who wears either the white crown to which is added the Atef crown, or a goose. The Goose was his sacred animal and symbal. As the God of earth, the earth formed his body and was called the "house of Geb," just as the air was called the "house of Shu," and the heaven the "house of Ra," Hence,. he was also often portrayed laying on his side on the earth, and was sometimes even painted green, with plants springing from his body. Earthquakes were believed to be the laughter of Geb.

As the God of the earth, Geb was one of the most important of ancient Egypt's gods. According to the Heliopolis doctrine, he came from a line of important gods. His parents were Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture, who were in turn the children of Atum. Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys were the children of Geb and Nut, and together these gods made up the Heliopolitan Ennad. However, it should be noted that Geb may also be referred to in various literature as Seb, Keb, Kebb or Gebb. After Atum, the four deities (Shu, Tefnut, Geb, and Nut) established the Cosmos, whereas the second set of deities (Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys) mediated between humans and the cosmos.

Horus- King of the Gods on Earth
Other Names: Heru, Hor, Harendotes/Har-nedj-itef (Horus the Avenger), Har-Pa-Neb-Taui (Horus Lord of the Two Lands),Harmakhet

Patron of: the living Pharaoh, rulers, law, war, young men, light, the sun, many others depending on the particular variant.

Appearance: His most common form is that of falcon-headed man, but he is also shown as a falcon, a lion with the head of a falcon, or a sphinx. He is also shown as a falcon resting on the neck of the pharaoh, spreading his wings to either side of the pharaoh's head and whispering guidance in his ear.

The worship of Horus was brought from the outside by neighboring tribes who invaded and then settled into Egypt. He was their god of war, but was quickly absorbed into the state religion, first as a son of Ra, then changing to become the son of Osiris. He was the protector and guide to the pharaoh and later pharaohs were believed to be his avatar on earth. Horus was also the patron of young men and the ideal of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man. As Harmakhet
God of the dawn and of the morning sun, he is also worshipped as a keeper of secret wisdom. Harmakhet's form is that of a sphinx or a sphinx with the head of a ram, often depicted as a companion to Khephri. It is thought that the Great Sphinx, staring at the eastern horizon, represents him.

Isis- Queen of the Gods

Patron of: women, mothers, children, magic, medicine, and the Ritual of Life.

Appearance: A beautiful woman in magnificent clothing, sometimes shown wearing the sun disk. She has almost no variant forms.

Isis may be the oldest deity in Egypt, and certainly the oldest to survive the ages in much the same form. She may also be the most important, for although the other gods were worshipped widely, Isis was worshipped almost universally by all Egyptians. The major goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, she had many of the same attributes of other mother-goddesses found all over the world. She was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace in the world. Temples to Isis are found everywhere in Egypt, some of them quite ancient, and many houses had shrines to her devotion. Her worship was taken up by the Greeks and the Romans, and indeed, Isis followers are still found today. She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, the sister to Osiris, Set, and Nephthys, as well as wife to Osiris.

Maut- Grandmother of the Gods
Other Names: Mut

Patron of: the sky, mothers.

Appearance: A vulture-headed woman or a woman wearing a vulture for a crown.

The very word Mut means "mother" and Mut was the great mother goddess of Egypt, even outranking Isis. Often Mut was believed to be a sort of grandmother figure, as Isis was the mother figure for the world. She was said to be the consort of Amun, and their son was the moon-god Khonsu. Mut (Maut) was the mother goddess, the queen of the gods at Waset (Thebes), arising in power with the god Amen. She came to represent the Eye of Ra, the ferocious goddess of retribution and daughter of the sun god Ra.

Osiris- Lord of the Dead
Other Names: Oser, Aser, Asar, Usire

Patron of: the Underworld, the dead, past Pharaohs, agriculture (old form), fertility (old form).

Appearance: In his original form, a green-skinned man dressed in the raiment of a pharaoh. Following the Legend of Osiris, he appears as a green-skinned man in the form of a mummified pharaoh. He is often depicted wearing the atef crown with a pair of ram horns at its base.

Throughout the height of Egyptian civilization, Osiris was the primary deity. In power, he was second only his father, Ra, and was the leader of the gods on earth. He was the husband of Isis and the father of Horus (and a number of other gods in some stories). Osiris resided in the underworld as the lord of the dead, as after being killed by Set, even though he was a god, he could no longer dwell in the land of the living. In the underworld, Osiris sits on a great throne, where he is praised by the souls of the just. All those who pass the tests of the underworld become worthy to enter The Blessed Land, that part of the underworld that is like the land of the living, but without sorrow or pain. In some texts, in addition to the Judging of the Heart, Osiris passes final judgment over the dead.

Sekhmet- The Eye of Ra
Patron of: divine retribution, vengeance, and conquest.

Appearance: a woman with the head of a lioness.

Sekhmet means "The Mighty One," and she was one of the most powerful of the gods and goddesses. She was the goddess who meted out divine punishment to the enemies of the gods and of the pharaoh. In this capacity she was called the "Eye of Ra." She also accompanied the pharaoh into battle, launching fiery arrows into battle ahead of him. Sekhmet could also send plagues and disease against her enemies, but was sometimes invoked to avoid plague and cure disease.

Sekhmet's capacity for destruction is well-documented. In one story, Ra sends her to punish those mortals who have forgotten him and she ends up nearly destroying the entire human race. Only the cleverness of Ra stops her rampage before it consumes every living thing.

Set- God of Evil
Other Names: Seth, Sutekh

Patron of: winds, storms, chaos, evil, darkness, strength, war, conflict, Upper Egypt.

Appearance: A man with the head of a jackal-like animal. In depictions of his battle with Horus he is often shown as a black pig or hippopotamus. Sometimes he is shown as a crocodile, perhaps a combination of him and the original god of evil, Apep. He is also shown as a man with red hair and eyes, or wearing a red mantle, the Egyptians believing that bright red was a color of evil.

In early times Set was worshipped as the god of wind and the desert storms, and prayed to that he would grant the strength of the storms to his followers. Although he was always a dark and moody god, he was believed to be the ally of his brother and sister, Osiris and Isis, the counterpart to his sister-wife Nephthys, and the defender of their father, Ra.

But somewhere along the line the view of Set changed. He became a god of evil, in eternal conflict with the gods of light, and especially with Horus, the son of Osiris. Set became identified with his former enemy, the serpent Apep.

Thoth- God of Wisdom
Other Names: Tehuty, Djehuty

Patron of: knowledge, secrets, writing, and scribes

Appearance: A man with the head of an ibis holding a scribe's palette and stylus. He was also shown as a full ibis, or sometimes as baboon.

Thoth is an unusual god. Though some stories place him as a son of Ra, others say that Thoth created himself through the power of language. He is the creator of magic, the inventor of writing, teacher of man, the messenger of the gods (and thus identified by the Greeks with Hermes) and the divine record-keeper and mediator.

Thoth's role as mediator is well-documented. It is he who questions the souls of the dead about their deeds in life before their heart is weighed against the feather of Maat. He was even sent by Ra to speak with Tefnut and ask her to return when she abdicated her position and went to Nubia. He is also the great counselor and the other gods frequently went to him for advice. Thoth is considered a lunar deity and is often depicted wearing the lunar crescent on his head.