Nephthys by Unity
Nephthys is an ancient Egyptian goddess, daughter of Geb,
the Earth God and Nut, the Sky Goddess. Her siblings are Osiris, Isis, Horus
the Elder and Set, who is also her husband. In some myths she is said to be the
Mother of Anubis whose father is either Osiris or Set depending on the myth.
Nephthys is the Greek pronunciation of her name. To the ancient Egyptians she
was Nebthwt (Nebhhwt or Nebthet) meaning mistress of the House. As a daughter
of Geb and Nut she was a member of the Great Ennead of Helipolis, a group of
nine deities in Egyptian mythology worshipped at Heliopolis.
Nephthys was seen as a comforter of the bereaved, mourner,
guide and guardian of the deceased. She protected Hapi, one of the four sons of
Horus who guarded the four conopic jars of the dead. Hapi protected the lungs
and as a Goddess of air she was often depicted as a Kite, or a woman with
falcon wings.
Nephthys was very close to her sister Isis and so similar in
appearance that in some images only their headdresses can distinguish them.
Nephthys headdress is a hieroglyph for her name - a semi-circle on top of a
square.
Despite being the wife of Set, Nephthys did not support him
in his bid for power in the Osiris legends. She aided her sister Isis in
mourning and collecting Osiris' scattered body parts to reconstitute his body.
As well as being a Goddess of death, Nephthys was also
believed to be present at births, standing at the head of the bed comforting
the Mother while Isis acted as midwife.
These conflicting roles made Nephthys a protective goddess
who represents, life, death and rebirth. She was a devoted sister and friend to
Isis and Osiris, goddess of boundaries and transitions and liminal goddess of
twilight and the in-between places.
Burn Myrrh incense to honour and thank Nephthys for taking
care of your loved ones and granting them peace in the Afterlife.
Sources:
goddess-guide.com
365 Goddess - Patricia Telesco
ancientegyptonline.co.uk
goddess-pages.co.uk
kitchenwitchhearth.com
Image - Nephthys – Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
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