Ba Neb Tetet
The Soul of Mendes; Lord of Mendes; The Ram of Mendes
ALSO KNOWN AS:
Banebdedet; Banebdjedet
ORIGIN:
Egypt
At the root of the wrangling and power struggle between rival Egyptian deities Horus and Set is a philosophical disagreement about succession rights. King Osiris is dead: who should succeed him?
• If descent is patrilineal, then it should be his legitimate son, Horus.
• If descent is matrilineal, then it should be Osiris’ mother’s other son, Set.
They might still be wrangling about this today if it wasn’t for Ba Neb Tetet, the calm, cool-headed ram deity who suggested that the primordial goddess, Neith, be consulted for the final decision. Ba Neb Tetet cautioned that a peaceful solution must be found lest Ma’at (sacred universal order) be destroyed and all Egypt with it (and possibly the world).
Ba Neb Tetet is the original goat of Mendes. (The ancient Egyptians lumped goats and sheep together.) In the medieval era, the image of this horned deity was identified with Satan; however Ba Neb Tetet is not even a trickster: he is a calm, peaceful, orderly, honest spirit who may be petitioned for assistance with negotiations and arbitration.
MANIFESTATION:
A man with a horned ram’s head
Sacred site:
Djedet, the Egyptian city better known by its Greek name, Mendes, was also known as Per-Banebdjedet or House of the Ram of the Mendes.
The ancient, Semitic storm spirit is Ba’al (1). His descendent, the Demonologists’ Ba’al, is Ba’al (2).
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.
