Heket – Giver of Life; Spirit of the Primordial Waters; Mother of the Spirits
No, not Hekate: despite the resemblance of their names, these two ancient goddesses are not identical, but they do have much in common. Both are associated with birth, death resurrection, and subterranean realms.
Some consider Heket to be the eldest of all Egyptian spirits. She is a goddess of birth, death, resurrection, and all points in between. She helps place the child in the womb and is a guardian of the dead. Heket prevents miscarriage and stillbirth. She has dominion over contraceptives.
Heket and her husband, Khnum, belong to a band of celestial midwives who assist each dawn with the birthing of the sun. Heket is among the spirits who help Isis temporarily revive Osiris in order to conceive Horus.
ALSO KNOWN AS:
Heqet
ORIGIN:
Egypt
MANIFESTATIONS:
Heket manifests as a frog or a woman with a frog’s head.
Iconography:
Heket’s hieroglyphic is a frog.
ANIMAL:
Heket is as intensely associated with frogs as Hekate is with dogs.
Elements:
Water, earth
SACRED SITES:
Among the oldest centers of her veneration was near Elephantine Island where the caverns through which the Nile entered Egypt were situated. She was also venerated at Abydos and Hermopolis.
OFFERINGS:
She was traditionally offered faience or carved stone frog statuettes, however any sort of frog imagery may be appropriate.
SEE ALSO:
- Anuket
- Hekate
- Horus
- Isis
- Khnum
- Osiris: Satis
- Egyptian Mythology
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by : Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.