THOTH

Originally named Tehuti by the Egyptians, Thoth was given his better known name by the Greeks. They linked him with their god Hermes, and like Hermes, he was considered to be the god of wisdom, writing and invention.

He was also the messenger and spokesman of the gods and finally the lord of the moon. He is represented as a man with the head of an ibis, which is often crowned by the crescent moon supporting the full moon disk. He often holds a writing palette.

The baboon is sacred to him, for in Hermopolis, he merged with the local baboon god Hedj-wer.

Thoth invented the arts and sciences, music, and magic, and was the god of learning, but above all, he was famed for being the creator of hieroglyphs, and was known as “the lord of holy words”.

As the god who invented writing, he was the protector of scribes. Thoth was occasionally described as the tongue or heart of Ra. As the god of magic, he was called “the elder”.

ANUBIS

[Temple of Abidos, Egypt. 19th.Dynasty 1317 B.C.]

Anubis, God of the Dead, represented with a head of a jackal or simply as a jackal opened the road to the other world and presided over embalmments.

After a funeral, Anubis would take the deceased by the hand and introduce him into the presence of the sovereign judges where the soul of the deceased would be weighed.

Anubis was the Guardian of Offerings brought to the ceremony by heirs of the deceased and he also guarded the mummy from evil forces in the night. When the body was embalmed, a priest wearing a jackal mask acted as Anubis's representative. Anubis also guarded the Sacred Esoteric Mysteries.

The origin of this God lay in the fact that jackals could be heard howling in the desert to the west of the Nile at sunset-at the time when burials took place. Here, Anubis is shown carrying the long ‘was’ scepter and the crook and flail, symbols of kingship.