#Heka deity

[homeybadger]

Of Gods and Lattes (Part One)

Summary: When you- local coffee barista turned Avatar of an ancient Egyptian god- get kidnapped, you're thrust into a whole new world Warning(s): Non-detailed kidnapping of reader, mild non-graphic combat Note(s): I'm torn between a few possible deities in connection to this story: Thoth, Heka, Ra and Anubis. I'm open to any suggestions!

Coffee making had always been a kind of a personal ritual for you. Humming to the rhythm of the milk frother, each step was precise, measured. You'd often imagined that brewing a latte was akin to crafting a potion, each ingredient essential to the final result- smooth, energizing, and restorative. There was something special about it, providing tired mothers and businessmen alike with the necessary energy for their days. But, your shift was cut short when you were taken. You didn't remember the exact details- it all happened too fast. One moment, you were wiping down the counter after a busy lunch rush, and the next, someone grabbed you from behind, pulling you into an alley behind the café. A van. Darkness. Rope. Now, here you were, hands bound and sitting on the cold ground in some dilapidated warehouse. Cold metal presses against your wrists, the uncomfortable bite of handcuffs incessantly reminding you of your current predicament. You shift slightly, testing the restraints, and a wave of dull pain ripples through your body. Of course kidnappers weren't gentle. In front of you was a man. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing what looks like an approximation of tactical gear, face obscured by a mask. You narrow your eyes. This is the guy, the one who took you “Ah, you’re awake,” he says, his voice deep but trying a little too hard to sound intimidating. He paces slowly in front of you, his boots echoing in the room. You lean back- feigning more discomfort than you actually feel. It's difficult to feel very threatened when a literal god is nearby. "Yeah, guess I am. If this is about money, I’m not really-" “Money?” He cuts you off with a harsh laugh. “No, no. This isn’t about money.” He stops pacing, turning to face you fully. “I know what you are. I know who you serve.” At that, you raise an eyebrow. This should be good. "Anubis' power will be mine!" your captor croons, pacing once more like a professor rehearsing a lecture. You eye the crude symbols scrawled across the floor a bit behind him, white chalk instantly declaring their presence. They're meant to be ancient, powerful runes- instead, they look more like the artistic attempt of a child high on sugar. The symbols are sloppy, some even backward, and you swear a good portion of them are just random doodles. Whatever this guy thinks he's doing, it's nowhere near invoking anything close to Anubis. You feel him, your god, closer this time. Your captor continues his rant about power, the gods, and his supposed mastery of ancient Egyptian rites. Something about raising a man named Arthur from the grave. Arthur... Sparrow? Farrow? It was hard to hear behind his mask. You sigh internally, feeling the distinct thrum of your god's power settling behind you. "Anubis will rise," your captor says, voice reaching a crescendo, "and he will grant me dominion over life and death!" You can't help it. A chuckle slips past your lips. The man stops dead in his tracks, glare attempting to shoot daggers into your soul, "What's so funny?" You shake your head, biting your lip. "What?" "Your symbols." you gesture with your chin to the floor, "They're wrong. Even if Anubis was the one you were trying to summon, which- by the way, he isn't- this wouldn't work." His eyes narrow behind the mask, clearly thrown off. "What are you talking about? These are ancient runes of power, crafted by-" "By someone who hates you apparently." you interrupt, "You think you can bring death under your control with that?"

"You know nothing of these powers! Anubis will answer, and I will-" "You don't even want to summon Anubis." If it was physically possible for your captor to glare harder, you're sure he would have by this point. Your god stands in the corner, his eyes gleaming in the shadows. He doesn't speak, but his presence fills your soul with a sense of calm. Of inevitability. "What?" "Anubis is about funerary rites, guiding souls," you continue, "not... whatever it is you're aiming for here. Osiris is the one you're thinking of with this resurrection business." Your captor tenses, fist slowly curling into a ball. "You said you know what I am, you have to have assumed I researched things." He scowled, clearly thrown off by the correction, but before he could respond, the door slams open. She's quick, moving with a grace that immediately makes it clear she's not here to talk things out. You've seen her before- the woman who's been making appearances in the headlines recently, the Scarlet Scarab. Her appearance is striking, strong and purposeful, like she's not here to take nonsense from anyone. But it's what you see just behind her that really makes your breath snag in your throat. Hovering over her shoulder, watching with an intense curiosity, is the goddess Taweret. You almost wave- an instinctive gesture, like you’re greeting someone you recognize- but then you remember your hands are securely bound. Khonshu is there too, looming at the edge of the room, his towering skeletal form and crescent-shaped staff impossible to ignore. You’ve heard of Moon Knight too- another vigilante working alongside the Scarlet Scarab some days. Khonshu’s presence is cold, oppressive, but you know he’s not here for you. The Scarlet Scarab strides toward your captor, her expression hard. “It’s over,” she says flatly, no room for argument in her voice. Your captor stumbles backward, panic setting in. He gestures once more toward the chalk symbols on the floor, muttering something incoherent about power and magic. “Anubis is not coming to help you,” you say, unable to keep the exhaustion out of your voice. “And even if he was, this isn’t how you’d get his attention. You’ve got it all wrong.” Your captor spins to face you, his face contorted with anger. “You think you know more than me? I’ve spent years studying these texts!” You feel the sheer, absolute weight of your god’s presence now, a calm certainty settling over you like a familiar blanket. Your god is always with you- but in moments like these, his influence becomes palpable. It’s as if he’s standing just behind you, his ancient hands resting on your shoulders, steadying your resolve. Relax, you hear him whisper in the quiet corner of your mind, a voice like rolling thunder, yet somehow soothing. He is a fool.You shift slightly, testing your cuffs again. The metal bites into your skin, but you feel the tension begin to give, a soft pulsing energy coiling beneath your skin. There. he whispers again, Got it. The cuffs click, and with one last movement, they snap open. “I’m telling you,” you say, that same hum of power underscoring your words, “You might’ve spent years studying those texts, but you don’t understand a thing.” The captor’s rant finally falters. His eyes flick toward the Scarlet Scarab, and for the briefest moment, you see his bravado finally crack. She takes a step forward, ready to finish things, but something shifts in the air. An unnatural pulse of energy, twisted and wrong. A shadowy figure emerges from the darkness, an ethereal form that seems to manifest out of thin air. Some kind of twisted guardian or specter, summoned by the captor’s sloppy rituals. A flash of white and silver darts forward, crescent shaped weapons glinting faintly in the lighting. Your captor slams the door open, fleeing into the night- and you decidedly ignore the coward in favor of ducking.

[apiswitchcraft]

the egyptian gods

MA'AT: the essence of harmony and balance

in the beginning, well, there were a lot of different beginnings,

AMUN/AMUN-RA: god of the sun and air, supreme king of the gods in some periods. some stories say that he created himself and then everything else in the universe

ATUM: sometimes considered another name for Ra, but when separated he represents the evening sun. he was the first of the Ennead to emerge from Nu, and was the supreme ruler of the gods, and creator of the universe and human beings

RA/RE: when separated from Atum, he represents the midday sun, but other stories say that his aspect changes as he advances his sun barge across the sky. also considered the supreme ruler and creator of the universe. later merged with Amun as he rose in popularity

PTAH: another creator of the universe, Ptah was lord of truth, and the patron god of sculptors and craftsmen (since he was considered to have sculpted the earth). he created the first mound of earth from Nu by imagining it in his heart and breathed life into things with his voice

KHNUM: said to have created everything on his potter's wheel. in a different story he created humans on his potter's wheel then raised them up to the sun so that Ra could breathe life into them

NEITH: a war and funerary goddess, she created all things from her innards. she invented birth, therefore considered the "mother goddess" and closely associated with life and living things

MUT: emerged from Nu and gave birth to the world on her own, or in other stories was the wife of Amun. she was a goddess of protection, guarding humans in life, and against demons in death

MEHET-WERET: celestial cow goddess that emerged from Nu and gave birth to Ra at the beginning of time. goddess of water, creation, and rebirth

then under Atum/Ra creation stories, there were the first gods, called the Ennead,

SHU: the primordial god of air, he was born from Atum/Ra with his sister Tefnut to create the world. it's said that after bein gone for so long, Atum/Ra sent the eye of Ra to search for them, and his tears of happiness at having them returned became humans

TEFNUT: the sister and wife of Shu, she was the primordial god of moisture and rainfall

NUT: child of Shu and Tefnut, she represented the sky, but her relationship with her brother Geb disturbed Atum/Ra so he pushed her high above Geb, decreeing that she could not give birth on any day of the year. however, Thoth then gambled with Iah (or Khonsu) winning five days of moonlight he transformed into days. On those five days, her five children were born

GEB: god of the earth and growing things

OSIRIS: child of Nut and Geb, he was lord and god of the underworld and afterlife. he was said to be the first god to die, after being killed by his brother Set, wherein Isis then resurrected him and they bore Horus.

ISIS: child of Nut and Geb, she was the goddess of the moon, healing, fertility, and magic

NEPHTHYS: child of Nut and Geb, she is the twin sister of Isis and wife of Set. she is considered a goddess of funeral rites, darkness (not in an evil sense), and protector of women.

SET/SETH: child of Nut and Geb god of war, chaos, and storms. although he was the first murderer, he was considered a necessary balance to the good of Osiris. he killed Osiris to usurp his throne, only to later be usurped by Horus.

However, sometimes Set was replaced with Horus in the Ennead,

HORUS: technically there were two Horuses, Horus the Elder, who was a child of Nut and Geb, and Horus the younger, who was the better known Horus. however, they ended up merging into one deity, a god of the sun, sky, and kingship

under the Amun (and sometimes Ptah) creation myth(s) there was the group called the Ogdoad, including Amun and

AMUNET: the female counterpart of Amun, together they represented forces unseen, including the wind and air

KEK: the god of the hours before dawn, he guided the sun barge of Ra from the underworld to earth

KAUKET: the female aspect of Kek, she represented the hours after sunset, and guided the sun barge of Ra into the underworld. Together these gods represent darkness (but not in an evil way)

HEH AND HAUHET: often not separated in any meaningful way, these two were the gods of infinity, eternity, and time

NUN AND NAUNET: personification of the primordial waters, from which everything was created. Naunet is only ever referenced when it comes to the Ogdoad

However, when Amun became revered as a god of creation, him and Amunet were sometimes replaced by

NIA AND NIAT: gods of the void

so then the rest of the gods,

THOTH: advisor of Atum/Ra, he was the god of wisdom, writing, and truth, and was associated with the moon. sometimes he is the child of Atum/Ra, other times he is the son of Horus. he gave humanity the gift of language and marked the passage of time

SESHAT: consort of Thoth, she was the goddess of writing, books, and measurements

ANUBIS: son of Nephthys and Osiris, he was the god of the dead and associated with embalming. he leads the souls of the dead to the Hall of Truth and weighs their heart to determine if they were good or evil

KABECHET/QEBEHT: daughter of Anubis and a funerary deity. she provides cool, pure water to the souls awaiting judgement in the Hall of Truth

BASTET: daughter of Ra, although her image has tempered over time, Bastet was often considered a defender of pharaohs and the hearth. goddess of cats, women, and fertility

SEKHMET: sister of Bastet, she was goddess of destruction, justice, and desert winds. after Ra became tired of the sins of humanity, he sent Sekhmet to destroy them. she ravaged the land until the other gods implored Ra to stop her, where he took beer dyed red (to emulate blood) and left it at Dendera. when she drank it, she fell asleep and woke as the benevolent goddess Hathor

MAAHES: solar god and protector of the innocent, sometimes the son of Bastet, sometimes Sekhmet

HATHOR: goddess of joy, celebration, love, women, drunkenness, and sometimes animals. in some stories she is the wife of Horus the elder, in some Horus the younger, and in some Ra

MA'AT: embodiment of the principle of ma'at, she was the goddess of truth, justice, and harmony

KHONSU: the son of Amun and Mut, god of the moon and healing

MONTU: a god of war and the vitality of pharaohs, he was later replaced by Khonsu as a child of Amun and Mut

TENENIT: goddess of beer and brewing, consort of Montu

HEKA: patron god of magic and medicine, but was also said to be present at the creation of the universe

HU: god of the spoken word, personification of the first word Atum/Ra ever spoke. represented the tongue

SIA: personification of perception and thoughtfulness who represented the heart

ANAT: goddess of fertility, sexuality, love, and war. sometimes she is a virgin goddess, others she is sensuous and erotic

APEP/APOPHIS: the celestial serpent that would assault the sun barge of Ra every night as it travels through the underworld

BA-PEF: god of terror

BES/BISU/AHA: god of childbirth, fertility, sexuality, humor, and war. he protected women and children, fended off evil, and fought for divine justice

TAWERET/TAURET: considered a consort of Set, goddess of childbirth and fertility. guarded children and invoked to help with pregnancy and birth

HRAF-HAF: the ferryman of the dead, he would carry good souls across the Lily Lake to the shores of paradise in the Field of Reeds

AMENET: consort of the divine ferryman, she welcomed souls of the dead to afterlife with food and drink

FETKET: cupbearer of Ra, patron of bartenders

MAFDET: goddess of justice, protected people from venomous bites, later replaced by Serket

SERKET: goddess of protection and funerals, protected people against venom

HEDET: goddess of scorpions and protector against their venom

IHY: son of Hathor and Horus the elder, he was the god of music and joy

IMHOTEP: the deified vizier of the king Djoser, god of wisdom and medicine

MESKHENIT: goddess of childbirth, created a person's ka (life force) and breathed it into them, creating their destiny

NEHEBKAU: joined a persons ka to their body at birth, and with the ba (winged aspect of the soul) at death. has always existed, and swam in the primordial waters before Atum rose

NEFERTUM: god of perfume and beauty, said to be born from the bud of a blue lotus flower at the beginning of creation. associated with rebirth and transformation due to his association with Atum

RENENUTET: goddess of nursing children and the harvest. she determined the length of a person's life and the important events that would occur, sometimes considered the mother of Osiris as consort of Atum

NEPER: son of Renenutet, god of grain and fertility

ONURIS/ANHUR: a son of Ra, god of war and hunting

SHAY: personification of fate, no one could alter her decisions

SHED: god who protected against wild animals and mortal enemies

SHEZMU: god of wine, perfume and plenty

SOBEK: god of water and medicine, namely surgery. lord of marshes and wetlands

SOTHIS/SOPDET: astral form of Isis, represented the star Sirius

SAH: astral form of Osiris, represented the constellation Orion

SOPDU: son of Sothis and Sah, astral form of Horus, guarded over outposts and soldiers on the frontier

TAYET/TAIT: goddess of weaving and associated with embalming

WENEG: held up the sky and maintained balance between the heavens and earth

WEPWAWET: the "opener of ways," a funerary and hunter god

KHENTYAMENTIU: the "Chief of the Dead," a funerary god believed to have created important funerary rites

and the sons of Horus, who get their own special spot,

DUAMUTEF: protector god of the stomach, he represented East

HAPY: protector god of the lungs, he represented the North

IMSETY: protector god of the liver, he represented the South

QEBEHSENUEF: protector god of the intestines, he represented the West

[headlessmage]

One thing I think people forget about when looking at heka, or Ancient Egyptian magic, is that it wasn't just prayers and praising the Gods to convince Them to help.

Sometimes it was more forceful, in the manner of bargaining or threatening, where the magician made their intent clear and the Gods either acted upon it or accepted the results.

Obviously I do not go around threatening my Gods (no need to straddle the line between earned respect and anger), but I do bargain with Them a good amount.

For example, I found a job within my niche that I desperately wanted. When I applied, I fit most of their requirements (besides missing a strongly preferred certification). I also knew that as it was a remote position, there would be plenty of other, more well qualified candidates. Of course I focused on preparing for the interviews appropriately, but figured extra divine help couldn't hurt.

I went to my shrine, and asked the Gods, "do these offerings and paintings and statuary please you? Are you content with just what I have already given freely, or do you wish for more?"

I told Them that as it stands, I cannot afford much else with this current job. However, if They helped get a new job, I could afford more for Them. More space, more offerings, more paintings and statuary. After all, I want to please Them with this shrine and fill it with all that Their hearts desire, and yet how can I supply it with no help?

And so They provided Their strength and assistance, with the promise that should things go well, I will compensate Them. I received the offer for the position, and am slowly working on providing Them with new offerings and statuary as thanks and payment.

[artistandtales]

I have a strong interest in Kemetic and practice it alittle. I saw in the reddit group that someone is starting an inktober but with the Egyptians gods, I thought "why not participate in it?". Here I did Heka: the god of magic and medicine. 

#akhtober #egyptian #deities #drawing #mythology #art #heka #day3 #digitaldrawing #magic #pagan #witchcraft #illustration #simple #kemetic #firealpaca #artist #artistoninstagram #myart #dahkyarts #artistoftales #artistonig

[noxturnalmoth]

Repentance

Summary: Repentance: n. the action of repenting, sincere regret or remorse.

Hurt, overworking and miserable, two souls find one another and fates intertwine even when they are worlds apart. How can one deal with the guilt of wanting something they cannot have? And why does going against the very principles you have imposed upon yourself feel so good?

Warnings: violence, crude language, themes of guilt, suicidal ideation, depression

Word Count: 5, 793

Masterlist: here

Chapter 1 - Erring in the City of Iron and Glass

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

"Go! Leave!"

"I can't! We stay together!"

"Just fucking leave! You'll end up dead!"

"I'm not leaving without you!"

Your voice screams, the is air scarlet and heavy with smoke, the sky is painted with burning flames as the stone beneath your feet is stained blood red.

Littered with corpses.

Children, men, women. It didn't matter to Piltover, Zaun and its people didn't matter to Piltover.

You never did.

You run after Hekarim, your older brother, your only family. But he is so much faster and your strides could only hope to match his as he marches into the fray like a Noxian soldier into a battlefield.

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

The smell is enough to make you heave, burning flesh, gunpowder and chemicals, the smell of death.

"Don't leave me!"

"I need to, they need me!"

"You'll die! I don't want to be alone! Mom and dad said-"

He turns around, tears carving through the soot and blood marring his face. "Mom and dad are dead! They're gone! They have been for so long now!"

"You're all I have left! Please don't do this!" You cry out, finally catching up to him as he slows down, your knees giving up from under you as you hold him.

His arms wrap tightly around you, shielding you from the world crumbling around you. "If I don't fight for our freedom, then I don't fight for you. And I'll be damned if I can't strive for a better life, if not for me, if not for Zaun, then at least for you. Our people are fighting out there, and I can help, I need to do this little bird."

"I'm old enough Heka, I can fight!"

"If you don't survive, then I'd have fought for nothing. We finally have a chance at making a difference, I can't let it go to waste. As a Zaunite and as your brother."

Your shoulders shake, his do too. His hands cradle your face softly, his eyes raking over you as if to ingrain the sight in his memory before his forehead gently touches against yours.

The Zaunite symbol for love, a kiss shared to those you love most.

A goodbye.

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

You claw at him as he leaves but your body is too weak for you to rush after him like before, the smoke erasing his silhouette all too soon as you crawl. Bile rises in your throat as you scream for him, shadows of your people falling like flies illuminated by the flaming bridge.

The bodies are piling up, surrounding you in a grotesque painting of mangled body parts and broken spirits. Yells echo in the air, yours, theirs, the enforcers', all swirling into an unintelligible cacophony of hatred, pain, fear, disgust and..hope.

Hope for a better future for Zaun.

Hope for a better life.

"Please!" Your people echo. "We are as deserving of a good life as any of you!"

Yet the pleas of Zaunite souls are ignored by the gods, the deities looking down, mocking your pitiful attempt at fighting for freedom.

Your legs shake, your balance all too troubled by the overwhelming scenery.

There it was, the proof that the lords above didn't care.

No, they didn't give a shit about any of you.

Neither did Piltover.

Neither did the rest of Runeterra.

Zaun was alone in its fight.

And you are now alone too. The last of your family taken in a conflict that should have never been, in a situation that could have been avoided if not for the greed of those in blue and gold.

You are terrified and all you can do is stand straight as you quiver in fear, watching the massacre happen.

Yet a noise you don't recognize resounds in the loudness of the battle, your own. A war cry, choked by tears, making its way out of your throat, ripping it to shreds as you rip a metal pole from a brethren's corpse.

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

You run into the fray.

Fire burns your lungs, licks at your skin, and the blood covering you becomes wet again. The dried metallic essence fueled with life again as you bash an enforcer about to hurt a child.

"Run!"

And she does, her pink haired companion nodding at you in thanks.

You're gonna find your brother.

And if I don't then damn it all, I'll die here fighting too.

The gods don't hear you, they haven't for a long time. So you'll take the matter into your own hands and make them hear, make them see.

Bullets fly by you, piercing you with crimson lances of white hot pain, batons strike your young body, leaving trails of indigo while you soldier on. And you bash and bash, hiding behind the Piltovan forces before you skewer them, hiding between corpses so you can crack their skulls open, rage blinding your vision while you roar again. As loud and as hot as the flames that seemed to come from the river itself.

You have to.

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

This pain is nothing, it's nothing compared to what you're about to lose, compared too all that Zaun has lost at the hands of the ones topside.

As if hell had opened itself up and you were about to be swallowed.

It's unfair! Why? Why? Why? Why?

Why?!

Bomb explode as your eyes watch a life drain because of you. You're a murderer now, you haven been since you entered the fray to fight for your people.

But so were they. Them in their ivory towers, them in their navy uniforms, them from the other side of the river. Them, them, them.

It's all their fault.

The loud bangs sound closer, yet so move forward. Only stopping at the sight of your brother, the man that raised you for most of your life after your parents died in the god forsaken mines Piltover has caged many of your people in.

It seems as if he's dancing, dancing the dance of your people. A dance of rage, of hurt, of hope. Yet you know he's fighting, not for his own life but for your own.

So your dead vocal chords cant help but let out a pathetic sound as the enforcers surrounding him beat him into submission. His body crumples yet he remains straight, even when brought down to his knees.

"Hekarim!"

His head turns and his look of horror turns turns wide eyes as a bullet is shot through his head.

Please gods above, don't take him away from me too.

Please lords above stop this massacre, let my people live, haven't we gone through enough?

Then his body hits the ground, like many others around you. It ragdolls with a thud, crumpling to the ground lifeless.

Yet instead of the chaos you've been in for god knows how long since the revolt began, everything stops. Noises muffled, sight blurry and draining itself of every color. Every one of their eyes trail to you. Their filthy eyes, soulless and angry.

Then it all hits at once.

Kha nas xera.

I hate them. I hate them all.

Your throat doesn't make any noise when you yell and cry, stumbling over yourself as your rage moves your body like a puppeteer, pushing you to rush forward and attack. It doesn't make a sound as you're punched and kicked, as you claw at the men in navy blue.

It doesn't make a sound when they set off a grenade next to you.

Neither when your body is projected onto the stone fences bordering the bridge.

But your bones do.

A sickening crack overpowering every other unbearable noise when your back hits takes the blunt of the shock, a sharp breath burning your lungs with the flames surrounding you. Your mouth tasting blood, smoke and salty tears as you slump down with the other corpses.

You're gonna die. You're gonna die alone and you couldn't do anything else.

Hekarim had been right.

He'd fought for you and you've still gone and fucked it all up.

And now you'll be swallowed by the gaping maws of hell while the gods above get their entertainment.

You've been foolish, stupid, reckless.

You've been foolish and now you're paying the price.

"Wait for me in the abyss, Heka." Your soul calls out to one that has been long gone. "Mama, papa, I'm coming." One last tear escapes your eyes, the loud screeches surrounding you rolling over you one last time before they're drowned by the sound of your slowing heart while your eyes close.

Please gods above, take me away too.

But I beg of you let my people live.

"-llo?"

Janna, is that you?

"-ello?"

Have you finally come to protect us? After you've abandoned us to pain and misery?

"Hello?"

Wait, you're not-

____

"Hello! Runeterra to the bartender, anybody home?"

Your head snaps up.

You rub your blurry eyes, the first thing coming into view being a familiar mop of magenta hair, powder blue eyes concerned and gentle as you emerge from your thoughts. Warmth seeping through your shirt from the person's hand shaking your shoulder hurriedly.

Then comes in the cozy dark green wallpaper and mahogany hardwood floors that you've grown used to these past few years, scarlet curtains framing small booths carved into the walls. Chairs and tables arranged in a way you've memorized, carved in your mind's eye after years, and a cold, scratched, oak counter top beneath your arms contrasting with the warm touch nudging you awake. Next to the pink haired girl stands dark brown haired woman, her tan skin looking soft in the warm lights of the bar as her grey eyes observe you with worry.

Finally come in the rest, the smell of leather and alcohol, tobacco lingering at the forefront of it all. The sound of music emanating from a jukebox in the corner of the room.

"You're good, kiddo?"

A low feminine voice attributed to the older woman rings as you blink away the last of tears you haven't noticed were flowing freely from your eyes like rain from the heavens.

"Yeah, you've been staring at the wall, crying for the past ten minutes."

Only ten?

It felt like an eternity.

But then again, time is different in hell.

You shake your head with a drawn out sigh as your hands wipe at your face hurriedly, getting rid of the last of your daydream and its traces on your face.

"Oh yeah, my bad girls. What were we talking about again?"

"Oh hell no, we're not skimming past that dude." You groan at the scolding.

"Vi, really, I'm good. C'mon, you're gonna get on my ass for being distracted now Miss Darcy. I'm just a bit tired is all."

The girl looks at you unimpressed, her famous "shut up" look craving through her face like a chisel through marble. Yeah, she wasn't taking any of your usual deflection today. And Sevika neither by the looks of it.

"Really, I just think I've been working a little too much lately. I just need to rest."

"Bullshit, we both know you won't." Grumbles the taller lady, slipping behind the bar counter, next to you, before she cages you against the counter top.

"And that you're lying about being just a little tired."

Back groaning at standing for so long, hunched over in an uncomfortable position, you slump against the corner in resignation, grunting as your two friends corner you and hound you with care.

Undeserved.

Too much.

Yet always appreciated.

You've been working with them at The Last Drop for years, Violet recognizing you even years after the bridge "incident", as the Pilties called it, and offering you a spot at her godfather and uncle's bar. Not only to "repay a debt", which you insisted was non-existent in the first place, but also for friendship, wanting more people around her age in her life.

You didn't blame her, you were grateful in fact.

You were grateful to Sevika too, who endorsed Vi in her quest to get you in the staff due to seeing your teen self rushing into the fray thirteen years ago. Admiring your courage and scolding your foolishness, forcing you to promise never to put yourself in such danger ever again.

Back then you let out a bitter laugh, the promise easy enough to make from the traces the battle left for you.

Parts of your spine were broken to such an extent that you'd have to wear a brace for the rest of your life, limiting movement and straining you until the day you died.

Since that day you've been alone. Working shitty job after shitty job to sustain yourself while the Pilties seemed to go back to their peaceful lives. Your spine screaming louder after years of slaving away for your own safety and a life that was worth living.

Yet you persevered.

Clawed your way out of the pit that topside has dug for all of the children they ripped families away from.

And now here you are, working two jobs, having your small shoddy apartment and two friends you wonder if you truly deserve. They tell you that you do, yet it's hard to believe when every night is plagued with the same visions. Ghosts that seem to never want to let go of you, now even throughout the day. Clawing at you from the inside and screaming in your head, filling your eyes with sceneries straight from hell. Yet you know it to be far from the truth. Or hell is on Runeterra, and it likes your pain enough to rip you apart day after day.

You'd think you would have grown accustomed to them. Yet if anything, the constant reminders only make you grow more weary each day that passes.

"What's your schedule been like?" Violet slides next to you, her shoulder nudging yours softly to snap you out of your reverie.

"The usual? I don't know, I don't feel much has changed."

When you turn pain bites at your upper back and your hands grip the bar top, nails biting into the wood while you set your jaw to stop any noise of pain to escape you. Vi looks at you with the same expression she always has in moments like this, sisterly love. For being five years your junior, the girl surely know how to make you feel younger with her affections.

"Tell us, or we're gonna have to tell Silco and Vander about it."

"Yeah, can't have our bartender keeling over one night." Sevika sets herself on your other side and slides your stool under you, reserved for when your back gets too much. You nod your thanks and let out a groaned out breath at the feeling of your body not needing to hold itself up anymore.

"Just nine to five at the library and the usual seven to two in at night for the bar. Same as always."

"Same as always. Well seems like this isn't sustainable for you anymore. I don't even think it ever has been. You do know that working yourself to death is not gonna fix anything, right?"

"Have you been-"

"I have been, Vi. I've been journaling, I've been drinking less, I've been trying to get more than three hours of sleep per night. But I can't, nothing clears my head, I can't even afford a good therapist because they're so rare in Zaun it's like trying to find a unicorn, and like hell I'm going topside because they'll only extort me until I have nothing left."

The women at your sides nod in understanding. They've been trying to help yet nothing seems to soothe the storm of your soul, forever raging, ever restless, screaming from the depths of your very being and haunting you at every moment. Their support means the world to you though, and you feel like you never know how to show just how deeply important their presences are within the nightmare of your life. You feel like you're not grateful enough for all that they've done for you, not deserving enough. Like you're-

"You're not a lost case, Maestro."

You chuckle bitterly at the nickname, your two friends having nicknamed you as such because you were the "drink virtuoso" of The Last Drop. The young bartender that knew people's tastes like the back of her hand at first glance and who always knew which buttons to push to get clients to buy something more expensive if they could afford it.

"Sevika's right. She's doing better, Silco and Vander too, not to forget Powder and I. You'll make it. We just have to find the right coping mechanism, the right…thing."

Violet mumbles, cursing at herself for being bad with words compared to her more "proper" girlfriend Caitlyn, a Piltover enforcer born in one of the gilded city's most noble families.

"I know but I've tried so much. Many options I don't have the time for, others are too expensive, the rest just doesn't work. You two are keeping me afloat but I wonder if I'm just rotten work, like trying to help me or even simply being around me is just gonna end up wearing you down in the end."

The women chuckle and eye one another with a smile, one of their arms wrapping around your back in two half hugs.

"You? Wear us down? Now aren't you underestimating us?"

"I think you forgot who you're talking to so let's remind you. We're your best friends, and if you think you'll ever get rid of us because you're a mopey little shit then you clearly are overestimating yourself."

"Sev's right, you're a cocky bitch if you think you're so cool that you'll be able to push us away in any way, shape or form. We're the dirt under your nails, Maestro. Don't you dare forget that."

"Oh fuck off you two."

You chuckle along, the burning flames of the bridge cooled by the laughter of the women holding you.

"You know we're right."

"Yeah yeah, now stop being gay and help me cleaning. Butch one you take the booths, Butch two you take the floor. I'll take the tables and bar."

"Shut your trap, kid."

"Aye aye captain."

Are chuckled out as your two friends leave your side to get started on tidying up the bar, the soft notes of the jukebox rhythming the cleaning and softening the heaviness in the air while you stretch. Getting out of the stool feels like a ton of lead has been dropped onto your shoulders and pain fires through you like electrical current but you still pick up your rag, a bottle of cleaning product and make your way to the tables.

It's comfortably silent between the three of you from then on. Humming coming from your throat as you bend over, scrubbing away at the traces of alcohol and crumbs left by patrons on every table, placing the chairs upside down on each and every one of them after wiping them down too.

Vi taps your ass with the broom while passing by you and you slap her arm, the girl acting hurt and falling to the ground at the ministration.

"How could you hurt me so, dear friend?"

"You already got a fine piece of ass at home, don't be greedy Darcy."

And you offer your hand and Violet refuses before you grab hers anyways and drag her up, your body shaking in pain as you pick your friend from the floor. She pinches your hips with a softly scolding look before going back to cleaning the floor.

Time passes and the bar top is the last surface that needs cleaning, Sevika and Violet try to get you to stop but you push them away.

"My bar, my responsibility."

"Technically it's Vander and Silco's-"

"I'll rip your tits off Sev."

"Bite me."

"Nah, you'd like that. You whore." She barks out a laugh at that, "touché" escaping her painted lips as she gets out her pack of cigarettes, two little cylinders are pulled out from it and she places both in her mouth to light them. The flick of her lighter echoing through the now silent room before she gives you one of the smoking tubes.

You inhale, the smoke filling your lungs in an all too familiar way and nicotine rushing through you while you slump over the spotless oak with your arms crossed, your eyes softly closing to enjoy the taste of tobacco and the presence of the two women at your side.

Just a normal night, after a very usual day. You dread to think about your weekend, having nothing to do killed you a little every time it happened, the silence of your apartment too loud and only serving to fuel the maelstrom of feelings swirling within you at any moment. Anytime you try to sleep those days off you wake up sweaty and screaming like every night, unable and unwilling to fall back asleep.

Life for Zaun has gotten better, sure. Access to topside was not as restrained, the city was given sovereignty after the complete hecatomb that happened thirteen years ago opened the eyes of many to the destiny of most Zaunites under Piltover's rule. It took about seven years for the gilded city to surrender Zaun and accept it as an equal, since then business had been booming, general health and education got much more advanced yet a lot was still a work in progress.

Progress that was not achieved with much help from Piltover, no, but by the blood, sweat and tears of the people from the Undercity. Who worked hard to make living here much more comfortable with the new influx of income and trades from all around the world.

And you were proud of your brethren for making it this far, you were proud to be part of such an enterprise to make Zaun a better place.

Yet no matter how much you worked then, how much you work now, how much you fought and still fight, you still can't find it within yourself to find forgiveness. Not after witnessing what you had, feeling what you did. Even if Vi's girlfriend was a kind girl and very involved with her family to help Zaun, the actions of one still didn't make the bile rising in your throat when thinking about Piltover subside.

You didn't necessarily hate everyone topside. The targets of your rage were their police force and their politicians who, for three hundred and fifteen years, cultivated a mentality of elitism and classism that was the flail used to whip your people into submission. To make Zaun into their own colony, providing for their every whims while they stood behind you, twiddling their thumbs and laughing at your misery. So you still had a hard time feeling comfortable or peaceful with the people that persecuted your own, directly or by proxy, many had let this happen even if they knew it was wrong and that was something else you could not forgive.

None of the rage you direct towards Piltover can truly fill the hole within you, though.

A hole that had been dug since you were born, the intrinsic Zaunite anger at the unfairness of others' treatments towards you ingrained within every part of your DNA. A hole that became a fissure, similar to those trencher miners would die in, when your parents died in a crumbling mine that was left operating even with the dangers its state was dismal. A fissure that became an unspeakable abyss the day of the bridge revolt when you lost Hekarim and so many of your own, nearly meeting your maker as well in the process.

An abyss that you've tried to fill with anger, with so much work that your body would crumble the second you reached your small apartment, with your two friends' presence that although helped you, never filled the tear in your soul. No, the abyss grew with time, no matter how many books you read, how much music you listened to, how many hobbies or coping mechanisms you tried.

It grew.

And grew.

And although you've ignored it, you're becoming unable to. The exhaustion. Setting deep within your bones from the sleepless nights, from the overworking, the constant reminders of vision's you'd rather forget. It's like no matter what you try, your symptoms only become worse.

And you feel so much guilt.

At not feeling well, at not being able to appreciate the simple pleasures of life, at not seeing how far you've come, at your friends not being nearly enough to fix the broken, ugly mess that you are.

You feel guilt for losing faith at everything in life that pertained to you. You are on survival mode, and you can't flip the switch off. But there's only so much you can do on survival mode before you shutdown.

And right now you were going down that slide at immense speed.

One where your thoughts would drag you to commit something that would never be able to be taken back.

And you hoped that if it ever came to that, you'd at least be missed.

snap

Your eyes swiftly get to Sevika who's snapping her fingers at you, her other hand holding the ashtray under the cigarette currently burning away between your lips.

"Yeah no, we're not taking I'm fine for an answer."

"Sev, c'mon."

"No, girl, c'mon. You're not okay."

"Vi." You whine, taking a deep inhale from your cigarette, the smoke escaping your nose in two streams. "Really, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl I can take it, you know me."

"Not anymore it seems." Inhale, Sevika gazes at you with a knowing look shining through her steel tinted eyes.

"You're trying to do all of this by yourself. And we get it, we really do, but you're just pulling yourself deeper." Exhale, Vi brushes her hand on your arm comfortingly.

"We love you, and all we want is your good health and for you to finally be able to rid yourself of whatever's going on in there. You don't tell us because you want us safe, yet what about you?" Inhale.

"We've thought of something, and we know you'll vehemently refuse at first, but it's free and many people find comfort in it. Especially here in Zaun."

You tilt your head, smoke held in your lungs as you look at your two friends inquisitively.

"So, would you be willing to go to church?" Exhale.

Stub.

"No."

They look at one another in a way you knew all too well. They knew of your stubborn streak, to anything related to Piltover. And to faith.

You had prayed everyday for your parents' safety. They died, alone, in the dark and ripped to shreds by rubble.

You had prayed everyday for your people's freedom. They kept on dying unjust deaths by the hand of their greedy, self-important jailers.

You had prayed for your brother to be alive that day. He was ripped away from you before your very eyes.

You had prayed for your own death, to stop the pain, to stop you from losing everything when nothing was left anymore. Yet you lived.

The lords above didn't exist.

And if they did they had abandoned Zaun.

And me.

So like hell you'd go to a place of worship to any one of them. That day you abandoned them just like they did you, mockingly watching from above as meaningless deaths happened beneath their almighty gazes once more.

"Listen. We know. But would you listen to us?"

You look at Violet with expectant eyes, exhaustion pulling your lids down into a glare that has been carved into your face, never to be erased.

"Powder has a tutor, she has for a while now, and turns out he's a priest for the local Jan'ahremite church. He seems like a good man and maybe he'd know how to help, it's his job to lead those who are lost and all that. You could go to mass, test the waters, you could even confess! It's like therapy, but free."

You exhale a sharp breath.

"Vi's right, but there's also the fact that you'd be surrounded by a community. It would do you good, go at least twice. Please? We know it's far from what you want but it could be what you need. You don't need to believe, just to be there."

"What do you have to lose, right?"

You pull away, slowly making your way to your coat hung behind the bottle filled shelves, your back screaming at you for rest as you cover yourself, slipping one arm after the other in the long sleeves. You pass by the counter where your two friends are, stopping at their level as Sevika calls out for you.

"You can't keep on going like this, kiddo. We may not know what's going on in that head of yours, but we know it's far from pretty. Everyone needs something to believe in, and as is, we know your faith is in nothing but your own fall."

You scoff. "Understatement of the century Sev."

"Even more of a reason to try! We don't ask you to pray, to beg for whatever god may listen, only to see if it'd help. I'd be more than reluctant to step a foot in a church myself, and I know that Sevika too." The older woman scoffs as she nods at Vi's words. "But we know that wherever your mind's headed right now could potentially take you from us, and we can't imagine Zaun without you. Neither can little man or Powder."

"Hell, Vander and Silco would hate to lose you too, every patron around here and everyone at the library too."

"You're worth so much more than you can imagine to so many of us. So, please, at the very least if not for yourself, do this for us."

Your hands grip tightly at the counter top, a lump forming in your throat at the very thought of stepping into a god's space. Wanting nothing more than spit and yell in rage at their pictures and statues, never to be vulnerable for them ever again.

"I'll think about it."

Is all you can manage to let out.

"And that's all we ask."

You nod, the three of you leaving the building and locking up behind yourselves and Vi nudging her forehead to yours as a loving goodbye before she hops on her motorcycle.

"Kid, you know we love you, right?"

You purse your lips, eyes looking down as your heart drops to your stomach. Feeling all too undeserving of the words.

"Yeah, I know Sev." Your gaze reaches hers, and you know she understands what you mean with it.

I love you too.

You sigh and softly place your forehead on hers.

"See you on Monday, kid." She ruffles your hair lightly and walks away, her body illuminated by the kaleidoscope of Zaun's neon signs.

You get in your car, the music not loud enough to drown your thoughts, the words and melodies jumbling in and all too familiar self-deprecating dance as you arrive home.

Your body drags and you step foot within the threshold of the building, it slumps against the elevator's walls as you wait for your floor and it drops onto your bed as you arrive at your bed.

Your phone is put to charge, your clothes and brace are taken off for the night and you refuse to get up for any food or water. The comfort of your mattress pulling you in like quicksand in the deserts of Shurima even if your mouth is pasty and your stomach grumbles.

Your eyes trail to your ceiling, tears rolling down like a waterfall before you even realize what's happening. No sob escapes you, you believe you've exhausted your capacity for them since hell opened its gaping maw and presented you what it had to offer.

Exhaustion, bone deep, was eating away at you like water erodes stone. Your soul was rotting and although you could always keep yourself together it seemed like your willpower was abandoning you.

Just like everything and everyone always did.

Were Violet and Sevika right? Could going to this place of worship work, even with your hatred of those sitting on their golden thrones up above? Could this be it, the one last thing that could help you from drowning further in the dark tar possessing every inch of your heart?

I don't think so.

Yet as much as the thought of standing before the eyes of a deity makes you sick, you make yourself sicker. A hateful, pained and pathetic little thing you are, filled to the brim with so much sadness that no good can truly reach you and pull away the black veil blinding your soul. A disappointment, a failure.

And yet your two friends still remained by you.

You could wallow all you want, but bile rises in your throat at the thought of hurting the girls that stand by your side even after everything.

Even if respite in death is all you crave now.

Maybe you could try one last time. To make them proud more than to save yourself. Although if the latter came with the former you would accept it with open arms.

Yet I still find myself unable to believe that the broken mess that I am can be fixed.

I am beyond saving.

But for them you'll try. Your final attempt at piecing yourself back together.

Your eyes close, the last of your tears contained beneath the dam of your lids. Images quickly flickering from the bridge to Sevika and Violet standing next to a grave, their gazes a storm of regret and pain as they cry and call out to you softly. Praising you even after you took the cowardly way out, even after you abandoned them.

"If not for yourself, do it for us."

Yes, for them you'll try anything.

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[whencyclopedia]

Egyptian Medical Treatments

The ancient Egyptians experienced the same wide array of disease that people do in the present day, but unlike most people in the modern era, they attributed the experience to supernatural causes. The common cold, for example, was prevalent, but one's symptoms would not have been treated with medicine and bed rest, or not these alone, but with magical spells and incantations. The Ebers Papyrus (dated to c. 1550 BCE), the longest and most complete medical text extant, clearly expresses the Egyptian view of medical treatment: "Magic is effective together with medicine. Medicine is effective together with magic." The magic referred to took the form of spells, incantations, and rituals, which called on higher supernatural powers to cure the patient or treat symptoms.

Heka was the god of magic and also of medicine, but there were a number of deities called upon for different diseases. Serket (Selket) was invoked for the bite of the scorpion. Sekhmet was called upon for a variety of medical problems. Nefertum would be appealed to in administering aroma therapy. Bes and Tawreret protected pregnant women and children. Sobek would intervene in surgeries. One could call upon any god for help, however, and Isis and Hathor were also invoked, as was the demon-god Pazuzu. Even Set, a god associated with chaos and discord, sometimes appears in magic spells because of his protective qualities and great strength. All of these deities, however, no matter how powerful, had to be called by an experienced practitioner and this was the doctor of ancient Egypt; part magician, part priest, and part physician.

Injury & Disease

Physical injury was common in a culture which not only engaged in monumental building projects but had to contend with wild animal attacks from lions, hippos, jackals, and others. Injuries were easily recognized and treated in much the same way they would be today: bandages, splints, and casts. Since the Egyptians had no concept of bacteria or the germ theory, however, the cause of the disease was less clear. The gods were thought to mean only the best for the people of the land, and so the cause of a disease like cancer was as mysterious to the ancient Egyptians as the origin of evil and suffering is for religiously-minded people in the present.

The most common reasons for disease were thought to be sin, evil spirits, an angry ghost, or the will of the gods to teach someone an important lesson. Although the embalmers who dissected the bodies at death were aware of the internal organs and their relationship with each other spatially in the body's cavity, they did not share this information with doctors, and doctors did not consult with embalmers; the two professions were considered distinctly different with nothing of note to contribute to each other.

Doctors were aware that the heart was a pump and that veins and arteries supplied blood to the body, but they did not know how. They were aware of liver disease but not the function of the liver. The brain was considered a useless organ; all thought, feeling, one's character, was believed to come from the heart. A woman's uterus was believed to be a free-floating organ which could affect every other part of the body. Still, although their understanding of physiology was limited, Egyptian physicians seem to have been quite successful in treating their patients and were highly regarded by other cultures.

Continue reading...

[thequeer07puss]

What exactly IS the Eye of Ra?

Ra, the creator, the Sun, the one who emerged from his own will, once plucked out his eye, worried about the disappearance of his children Shu and Tefnut, and placed it upon his head as the uraeus when it stomped in anger at having been replaced by the Lord. He did so once again, enraged at the disobedience of early humans, and in the form of Sekhmet the Eye of Ra raged until its rampage was stopped by the cleverness of the gods, whereupon she turned into the benevolent Hathor/Bastet. Such stories we heard about the Eye of the creator, the instrument and indicator of his will, but what is she, what role does she have?

The Eye of Ra as an extension of him

As the name implies, the Eye of Ra is quite literally, his eye, a part of him, made from his purest essence. She is the part of him that dwells on earth while he is in the sky and that regulates mortal affairs. Perhaps the “Eye” is not literal, but in the metaphorical sense of her function as a spy or a representative of Ra among humans (the Egyptians were, after all, fans of wordplay). This may be why so many functions of the Eye of Ra are related to human affairs: birth, marriage, love, joy, war, plague, healing…all these functions and aspects to distribute his blessings (and curses) to humanity while he rolls on the back of the Heavenly Cow.

The Eye of Ra as an assistant to him

On the Atet boat, the Lord, his uraeus circling the sun disk shining on his forehead, is not alone. He is attended by a flurry of deities. Among them, Heka with their knowledge of magical words, Sia with their powerful psyche, Hu with an equally prolific tongue, and most brilliant of them all, the Eye of Ra, in the form of Hathor or Bastet, his aide and attendant, his very own daughter, who helps him ride on the back of the Heavenly Cow, and even sometimes IS the Heavenly Cow, in the form of Mehet-Weret, from whose back the Lord brings his light to the world. Her undying fealty is essential to keeping the world running and mortals living.

The Eye of Ra as his consort and counterpart

Depending on who you ask, the goddess Hathor is Ra’s mother, his sister, his wife or his daughter. Similarly, the goddess Raet-Tawy is quite literally a female Ra, Ra as a goddess, an aspect of his Eye that seems to be just him in a female version. Through his Eye, maybe Ra makes himself our mother, as well as our father when he is in Heaven. Maybe the heavenly aspect of the creator feels male, but their aspect on earth is female, maybe the Eye of Ra IS Ra’s form on earth. Maybe Ra’s eye, cares for the world as our mother (for we are Ra’s children and she was the first mother), our shepherd (for we are Ra’s cattle), because she helped to create us as much as Ra did. Maybe she is one of the many, many kas of the infinite mystery that is our creator, one expressed in a variety of ways that blend with each other while staying perfectly distinct.

This last bit actually terrifies me a little. It is a thought that fills me with awe and makes so much sense while tying the rest of my tirade together. The thought of just how vast, how strange and truly unknowable Ra is —how any of the gods is, to be honest— fills me with awe, reverence and a little fear as I contemplate the god that made this world. The one who is male and female on his kas, the one who is our father and mother, whose presence in the sky is the sun, and whose presence on earth is in love, joy, pleasure, healing, but also rage, plague, death and desolation. How versatile in interpretation is the concept of the Eye of Ra, who is a being made directly from him, while being independent and different from him.

[wanderingskemetic]

𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 Em hotep!

I'm Naru (they/it). I'm a mixture of kemetic polytheist and agnostic, and I'm slowly adding Rasenna polytheism to my practice. I've been interested in Ancient Egypt since elementary school, and my love of it and its history is deeply intertwined with my love of the Netjeru. I'm currently working towards a degree in an ancient history/archaeology related field and may occasionally post about that.

I try to strike a balance between reconstruction and revivalism, using my knowledge of historical practices to guide my practices. However, as a college student, someone with multiple conditions that cause executive functioning issues, and someone who needs to be discreet around some family members, I also focus on keeping things approachable for me.

I am devoted to Djehuty/Thoth and Amun.

I primarily worship Ptah, Menrva, Wesir/Osiris, Aset/Isis, Ra, and Khonsu.

I also frequently worship Bes, Tinia, Uni, Seshat, Het Heru/Hathor, and Sekhmet.

I worship all of the netjeru and aiser as appropriate and desired.

I have some interest and knowledge of Hellenic and Roman polytheism, and thus will occasionally reblog content related to them. I hope to eventually incorporate some Roman deities into my practice, particularly Janus and Angerona.

The Kemetic subtle deity worship masterpost can be found here.

Tags Guide Under Cut

Deities:

Posts about deities are tagged with their name(s). If it's about a synchronized deity (ie Amun-Ra or Ptah-Sokar-Wesir) the synchronized deity will be tagged as will all the deities that make up the synchronization. Any deities that have well known Greek names or popular variations (like Bast and Bastet) are tagged with all popular spellings that I know. Posts involving Heru/Horus will be tagged Heru and Horus and if it's mentioned what Horus (ie Heru Wer, Horus of Behdet, etc.) or I can easily tell (ie it's Horus in child form) that will also be tagged.

Reblogged posts with images of a deity or images that remind me of them are additionally tagged Dua deityname if a Kemetic deity or Sin deityname if a Rasenna deity.

Original Posts:

#Naru's eofferings

#Naru writes--prayers, poems, and similar writings

#Naru answers--answered asks

#Naru's musings--various thoughts on polytheism, tends to be about my personal practice, does not overlap with Naru answers

Resources:

#divination--is broken down into further tags based on divination type

#heka

#prayer--different prayers written by other people

#devotional journal

#deity communication--anything deity communication wise that's not divination

#deity worship references--offering ideas, deity information, etc.

#historical references--historical philosophy, perspectives on the gods, etc.

#research references--research recommendations and tips for researching effectively

#resources--catch all tag for posts that don't fit cleanly into a more specific tag ie discord servers

Others:

#skemeticism--Skepticism, struggles with belief, general atheist/agnostic stuff, etc.

#for fun--memes, jokes, and other things of that sort

#reminders

#wandering into Rasenna polythiesm

#a wandering religio roma encounter

#wandering through helpol

[alephskoteinos]

I'd like to share some fascinating insights about the ancient Egyptian concept of Heka, which refers both to basically the concept of "magic" in Egyptian terms and to the deity who personified that concept, derived from The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice by Robert Kriech Ritner. I do not doubt it will have a certain relevance to the broad milieu of Left Hand Path occultism, though in a larger sense I figure it has important things to say about magic in paganism. What follows is an overview of how Ritner covers the concept of heka.

Heka is an Egyptian word that was selected by Coptic scribes to translate the Greek terms "mageia", and therefore magic. Magic is often defined in opposition to traditional religion, and this understanding was sadly, to varying degrees, reflected in pre-Christian Roman and Greek cultures almost as much as it was across Christianity (remember, the Greek word "mageia" was typically derogatory), but this was just not the case for ancient Egyptians. In fact, if by magic we mean heka and by heka we mean magic, magic was seen by ancient Egyptians as an important part of religious life and the life of the cosmos itself. Egyptian texts such as the Pyramid Texts treated magic or heka as something that someone could possess and work over the cosmos or the world around them. That being said, understanding what heka means also depends on understanding the god Heka.

Heka is a deity who is first attested to in visual form at the funerary temple of the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Sahure, where Heka is depicted leading a procession of gods bearing offerings to the pharoah. In the Coffin Texts, there is a spell meant to allow a magician to become Heka, which also serves as the longest theological exposition on the concept of heka or magic. In this text, the god Heka is shown as the first being to have been created by Re-Atum, who was created before the emanation of Hu (the first word) and before the emergence of duality, gave rise to the Ennead, and thus preceded almost all of the other Egyptian deities. In this sense, however, Ritner argues that the god Heka is really a hypostasis of the creative power of Re-Atum which is the source of the order of the cosmos itself. Further, in the Coffin Texts, Heka is also said to inspire fear in all the gods who came into being after him through his powers, and came into being of himself. Heka's creative power is not limited to a single event but is instead re-enacted daily. In fact, Heka is depicted as taking his place on the solar barque of Ra as a protector of Ra.

Heka, as magic, was understood as a power that could be used defensively, both by the gods and by humans, to destroy their enemies or preserve existence. In fact, according to the Instructions for King Merikare, magic was divinely created as a "weapon" for human beings to use for their own defense. Heka was thus, on its own, perfectly religiously legitimate, not to mention perfectly legal, but in a sense it was also basically "morally" neutral. It could be used to defend or create things, but it could also be used for "evil", presumably usually meaning hostile or "criminal" acts. "Sorcery" in itself was not illegal in ancient Egypt, but it was illegal to use magic against the king. In that context, though, one might assume that the crime was not magic itself but rather was understood simply as a form of sedition or seditious conspiracy. In fact, there is only one trial in the whole of Egyptian history for sorcery: the crime was using wax figures for magic in a plot against the throne, and even so the magic itself came from books that belonged to the king himself. Otherwise, the Coffin Texts also apparently mention an "evil magic", a form of heka used by spirits of the underworld and sorcerers that the deceased does not obey, but this is in the sense of meaning "hostile" magic - as in "hostile" from the perspective of deceased souls, and Ritner stresses this is nothing like the concept of "black magic" taken for granted in our Western Christocentric culture. Even Apep, who is daily destroyed by Heka, has his own heka and spells that he wields ineffectually against Ra.

Even so, Heka has an interestingly ambiguous stature, even in relationship to the cosmic order. On the one hand, the god Heka is depicted as the generator and protector of cosmic order. On the other hand, heka is something that can be used to threaten other gods and the order of the cosmos. In the Book of the Heavenly Cow, Ra flees into the heavens from magicians who act as they please using the magic that is in their bodies. In Egyptian myth, Ra refuses to share his divine name with Isis on the grounds that he doesnt want magicians knowing it and therefore being able to threaten him with it. Egyptian theologians sometimes responded to this idea by declaring that at least some gods (for example, Shu and the divine bull of Medamud) were immune to the effects of magic. Despite this, there are numerous magical texts and spells in which magic had the power to threaten gods, the solar barque, and even the existence of the cosmos. According to Ritner, this reflects a widely held Egyptian belief in the power of heka as something all beings are subject to. You can see this clearly in the Greek Magical Papyri, in which lots and lots of spells featured compulsion rites or "threats" made to various gods by magicians, often assimilating into the identity of other gods.

Incidentally, the god Heka was also sometimes seen as having the power to threaten the souls of the deceased: in the Book of Coming Forth by Day (or "The Book of the Dead"), Heka can be threatening to the deceased soul along with a thousand violent divine guardians who stand beside him, and this threat has to be overcome by the deceased (though, again, this isn't necessarily supposed to mean something demonic).

Interestingly, the Egyptians did not see heka as something "supernatural" in the sense that we think of it today, and neither was it seen as "prenatural" as such, but rather as something present within "nature", or at least within the order of the cosmos itself, and as something that gives life to the cosmos itself. It was thought to reside in the bodies of gods and humans as well as in the plants and stones of the earth. This is actually very much in line with the concept of sunthemata as presented by "Neoplatonist" philosophers such as Iamblichus and Proclus, in which The One and/or the divine is diffused across all things in the cosmos, even plants and stones. In the Book of the Heavenly Cow, Ra is also depicted as being immanent in heka or Heka, which in turn is imminent in everything else. This is very interesting because it's as if Ra sees himself as being threatened by that which he himself is immanent in. Even more interesting is the text's ba-theology, in which heka is established as the ba-spirit of Ra himself, who created and established the heavens to house the ba-spirits of the other gods in. So heka is the ba-spirit of Ra, who is immanent in heka, which in turn is immanent in the bodies of the magicians who now threaten Ra. On the other hand, a separate hymn currently housed in Berlin depicts heka or magic as the ba-spirit of the god Ptah. In later papyri, heka is describe as the ka of Ra.

Ritner suggests that Heka's association with ka is linked to the power of heka to enter or penetrate the ka of anything in creation and invest it with either generative or destructive power. Power itself becomes the emblem of Heka's name. In Ptolemaic hieroglyphs, the image of Heka featured a phty-sign on his head, which Ritner suggests is a way of writing the word "ntr", or neteru, meaning "god" or "deity", thus reflecting the notion of the gods as being sources of heka or magical power. In another payprus, Re-Atum says "magic (heka) is my name".

Heka (magic) is to be understood as a power immanent throughout the cosmos, which both underwrites the very existence of the cosmos and might potentially destroy it, and can both support the order of the cosmos and subvert and shatter it; divine power that also threatens gods. That last part is in the sense that heka (magic) comes from the gods, is immanent in gods and at least one god is immanent in it, but it is also capable of threatening gods and spirits, or allowing magicians to do so. The way that works runs along lines similar to the theurgical logic of sunthemata, but also runs along the lines of Egyptian theology concerning ka. From that very standpoint, you can see the true extent to which the magic of the PGM is underwritten by Egyptian theology.

Those who align with a "Left Hand Path" magical orientation can clearly derive something useful from this conception, especially when seeking a link to paganism that might break them from what they see as the confines of the Christocentric religious imaginary. It seems then that those who want a pagan magical worldview that also allows the same kind of Promethean conceit so present in modern Satanism and similar systems would do well to explore the subject of ancient Egyptian magic and theology.

[steve-the-bear]

Minecraft Deities Because I Can

There are High Deities, that rule over larger domains. Every High Diety has Minor Deities attached to them, that encompass smaller pieces under their domain. Minor deity does not mean weak or unknown, simply that they have a smaller domain within anothers.

if u see anything based off of mcyt no u dont <3

Prie'ama

Prie'ama is considered to be "The Creator", known for creating and protecting the overworld. Overworlders believe Prie'ama created all realms, and most overworld cultures believe Prie'ama [or whatever name they use for Prie'ama] is the Deity Emperor, or above all other deities.

Prie'ama was not the original creator, though there are little to no records or religions/cultures that remember this.

N'xtun

N'xtun is the deity of life and death. She is believed to be the one to create souls, and then return to bring souls from their living hosts to the lands of death. She is also the guardian of the "limbo" space, a place between dimensions, most often used to house partial souls [souls of those with unfinished business, half of themselves left behind, clinging to their old life. These souls are volatile and considered dangerous, even if they don't intend to be] and be the creation space for new souls.

N'xtun is the second eldest deity. She is older than Prie'ama, though many modern cultures believe her to have come after their supposed creator.

Exdea and De'ex

Exdea and De'ex are twin deities who both reign over the domains of sleep and dreams. They are considered to be guardians and guides through the lives of living creatures between N'xtun's embraces. De'ex has closer relation to "good" or "strange" dreams, and they are often associated with pleasant premonitions and silly mishaps within dreams. Exdea is the opposite, typically related to nightmares and ominous or foreboding premonitions.

Exdea and De'ex were given the role of guardians over the End and the Overworld, respectively. They help the elder deities in their roles and are able to interact and interfere more than their elders.

Kinïstra

Kinïstra is the deity of the nether, having created both the hellish landscape and all of its residents. While the other dimensions have little to no records of her, the netherborn cherish her as their "mother," despite her lack of interaction with the netherfolk. Kinïstra, unlike the other deities, can't traverse dimensions, having been exiled to the dimension of her own creation eons prior.

It is unknown how old Kinïstra is due to the lack of record within overworld scripts and carvings. She is as old as the nether, perhaps even more ancient. She was once called Parima.

Cruor

One of N'xtuns minor deities, created to aid both N'xtun and Parima Prie'ama with the creation and destruction of their living creations. Cruor is often titled "The Blood God." Most cultures associate them with violence, bloodshed, and war. Cruor, like Exdea and De'ex, has more freedom than the elder deities to interact and interfere with mortals. Unlike the twins, however, Cruor instead picks a host, a "vassal," to bless. Their vassal carries out the more dramatic work for them, laying waste to villages and cities who dare defy them or turning the tides of battle in either sides favor single-handedly.

Cruor is a more tabboo deity in many cultures due to their association with war and bloodshed. Some cultures, such as the Piglins of the nether and the Illagers of the overworld, remember that Cruor is also the giver of life, as they control the lifeblood that flows through people and animals alike.

Heka

The deity of magic, they go by many names across cultures, but their most notable name is Heka, the deity most witches worship. In most stories, Heka is regarded as a Prometheus-type role, granting the use of magic and enchantments to mortals despite the orders of the other deities, and in turn facing a terrible punishment. Many overworld cultures portray Heka as blind, with poison, or acid, being dripped onto her forehead and rolling down her face as her eternal punishment.

Shaeol

A minor deity of Prie'ama, associated with all forms of water, from riverbeds to vast oceans. The ocean monuments are a testament of her once great influence in the overworld and the attempt at life she once created against the wishes and guidance of the elder deities. Shaeol did not have the power to sustain life for extended periods, and eventually, her people devolved beyond her control, ultimately becoming known as The Drowned.

Shaeol is known to be shapeshifter, as fluid and changing as the sea. Many stories involve Shaeol coming ashore and falling in love with mortals, their villages and people, and ways of life, only to return one day and find the place she held dear gone, either by herself or by time.

Aeshed

A minor deity of Prie'ama, associated with the earth itself, and the biomes within it. Aeshed was once known to walk the earth, going from forest to forest, biome to biome, with a gentle smile and a trail of blossoms behind him. Aeshed has not been seen wandering the earth for many generations now.

It is widely believed that Aeshed has fallen asleep in the heart of the earth or some variation. Some stories say Aeshed is merely resting from their many years of wandering, and will one day return, while others say Aeshed was cursed by a jealous Shaeol or De'ex to sleep for a thousand lifetimes, and yet others believe Aeshed has simply abandoned the overworld altogether.

Wiethesh

A minor deity of Prie'ama, associated with the wind and storms. Many stories associate Wiethesh with the Wither, either as the creator of the Wither or as the Wither itself. Most mythos believe Wiethesh has been sealed away by the other deities because they caused too much destruction upon the earth, only able to be called forth through the souls of those long past and the skulls of their infected hosts.

It is often told that stormy nights and windy gales are Wiethesh' attempt at breaking free from their imprisonment to wreak havoc once more.

Deshae

A minor deity of Prie'ama, often associated with fire and the hearth. Deshae has many appearances across cultures, some with disaster, some with the warmth of a hearth or the fire of a furnace, but many keep Deshae fairly neutral, balanced both in blazing, destructive fury, and gentle comforting warmth.

Ca'alohn

The deity of chaos. Often portrayed with horns or antlers and associated with the wild. Ca'alohn is typically considered to be wild and free spirited, oft portrayed with a voice like thunder, so that no mere mortal can hear them.

It's rumored that Ca'alohn has abandoned the peoples of the overworld in favor of roaming across the known dimensions as he sees fit. While most disasters and chaos are blamed on Ca'alohn's interference in some way, shape, or form, Ca'alohn himself has not been seen in hundreds of years.

Myx

Deity of change. They are known to have at least 4 distinct appearances, another constant shifter similar to Shaeol. Myx is often associated with horns, creepers, and divides between biomes.

[poptod]

i don’t usually talk about my private life unless it interferes with my writing or maybe inspires it, but i wanted to share something with you all. i talk a lot—because i want you to understand—so i will put this under a read more

well, it’s been a tumultuous two or so years since moving with my parents to this beach town in CA. some very good, some incredibly bad. and… it’s coming to an end. it’s a very complicated story and i suppose i don’t really want to share all the details, but i think i will share the big parts

like most people i have a complicated relationship with my parents. they are very kind but they also have done some irreparable damage to my psyche, like a lot of parents do. and maybe irreparable is the wrong word because i do forgive them, but regardless i will be moving out of this home without their knowledge.

i tried to do it once and i got caught. who i thought was my best friend decided to tell my parents and i got yelled at and berated for weeks, and my dreams crushed. i was going to go to egypt. i was going to go with my partner, my soul partner, who lived in another country. don’t worry, i met her in real life first while i was traveling. but.. i was going to go to egypt! the land of my Deities! my beautiful Gods Nefertem and Nuit, Hapy, Heka, Khonsu, and Amun… all of Them. Their beautiful faces. carved in the stone of Kemet. my parents never would have let me go but i was ready, i was willing, i would give up anything i own to be there in egypt with my Gods and my love. and then my friend, who was living in my room since he didn’t want to live with his parents, told my secret and nearly had my passport taken away permanently. he left my house and i can’t talk to him anymore because i won’t. can’t stand his words or his voice. but i forgive him.. i just don’t want to communicate with him anymore. i wish him the best.

i travelled to my ancestral homeland of korea after the separation and heartbreak. i visited many Buddhist temples and learned and engrained myself more with the act of worship and the Buddhas teachings; i fell in love with worshipping. i fell in love with the temples. and i revisited the ideas i’d learned in the sixth grade—idea of giving things up. of releasing material want, which leads to the cessation of dukkha. the idea is beautiful. and i think it’s accurate. stopping our desires for material things of this world will stop our suffering; suffering emanates from our greed. fear emanates from greed. in the end what matters is our connections to people, and in this case, my connection to my Love and my Deities. in korea, i found the knowledge, independence, and courage that has allowed me to bring to realization what i want not from this world, but from my life.

and now i’m trying again. i’m telling no one of my plan. actually, two people know—one is my closest friend of eight years who lives five hours north of me. another is someone i vetted thoroughly to confirm his ideology and make sure he wouldn’t tell my parents. and actually, he supports me! he almost admires my decision, the courage to get what you want despite the odds. and he is helping me. he’s a blessing from Hathor, an aid of Khonsu to help me travel to the airport to see my Love and my holy land.

there is no greater excitement than this! i will be able to feel the Nile through my feet and hands and hair. and the light of Amun-Re and Khons will shine on my face. and my love will hold my hand. does it seem like a fantasy? well, the world is love, the world is hate… the world is what you make of it. i know people who have easy lives and are incredibly depressed. and there is my Love, who has had an incredibly hard life and will talk much about it, but she is incredibly happy. she is enlightened. i want to be like her—i want to be with her.

do i sound insane? probably. but i’ve learned being crazy is a good thing. especially for writers. i don’t know how many more stories i will write about our beloved Ahkmenrah. i still have the Breeding Kings to finish as well as the Night Grows Dim. then i have a story i want to write about Nabataeans, and i might write a long forgotten story i used to call Hiding in the Light. i hope i will get published some day but it’s not my greatest desire. my greatest desire is to see the world with unending clarity, to know things as they truly are; in other words, to be enlightened. to worship my Deities. this is my path towards that.

to put it in perspective, i have two paths. literally two. i can follow what my parents ask of me; go to college, get a job, work for a long while, and then i can travel when i happen to get free time once a year for one or two weeks at a time. i can settle down in america without my Love; she is already a refugee in israel and can’t move to america. so i would be alone. this path has its good parts. my parents will love me, so will my grandparents. i’ll be well-off with many physical belongings tying me to this realm (which is debatably good thing—bad thing in my eyes), and i will be a normal person. how delightful.

the other path is the one i am choosing. i am going to follow my dreams, which is a terrifying thing to hear a 19 year old say. but i didn’t even think i’d live this long. i’ve healed so much. and this will further my healing. i wonder if it is possible for you to understand… maybe not. it’s difficult to comprehend. but i want you to know. i want you to understand. and it’s not because i want you to know what’s going on (though i do of course), actually it’s selfish, because i want to be understood, very desperately i want to be understood because no one except my friend who is driving me to the airport understands me. and even he is a little on the edge with it despite fully supporting me. this feeling of desire to be understood fades slowly from my life, little by little. i come to realize—or perhaps question—is it worth it? most people are incredibly close minded. most people live their lives blind to happiness and the truth of the world. most people do not even care about themselves. and i do not want to end up like that. that is not the future i’ve worked so hard to heal myself for.

everything will go. and all will change.

someday i will die. someday my love will die. someday all my possessions will be dust. someday this land will erupt in lava or sink into the crevices of earthquakes, or maybe it will slowly fade into the ocean. someday this earth will be unrecognizable. someday, our home will not seem like our home at all, and the only indication that we ever existed will be stones in the shape of our skeletons, and maybe even those will not exist. and someday the earth will be gone. our sun will implode, and the black love of space will enshroud everything. at that point, i really don’t want to be walking around talking about how i went to college. i don’t even want to be talking about how i managed to run away from america and go to egypt.

i want to be learned. i want to see it all in its beauty as the earth dies in its many wondrous colors—i want to smile as the sun evaporates into particles of gold, i want to understand this cycle and it’s end. and the way to get here—to this sense of bliss and enlightenment—is to separate from what the modern world wants me to be.

listen to me very well, because no one ever really does this—you have to live.

please live. this word carries weight like love; which means that not many understand it’s depth. you know it’s definition. but the meaning of it is indescribable and beautiful like a supernova the size of a galaxy.

You have to love. You have to live. Please.

[dwellerinthelibrary]

Cleopatra VII by Heidi  Kontkanen Via Flickr: Donation stele. The queen and king making offerings to the deities Heka and Sekhmet. Based on a study conducted by Dr Jean Yoyotte, the queen has been identified as Cleopatra VII and the king as Ptolemy XIII or Ptolemy XIV. Ptolemaic Period (c.51-30 BCE)m no provenance. Museu Egipci de Barcelona.

[headlessmage]

Heqat Rebirth Heka

Heqat is often viewed as a frog headed goddess who presides over birth (as well as rebirth). She sits with Khnum at His potters wheel, and breathes life into His creation. She is also present at birth, and acts as a midwife to the Netjeru.

In terms of rebirth and recreation, She is often tied to the resurrection of Wesir and the dead. She is there for us in death, just as She is at birth.

This heka focuses on the rebirth and recreation aspect, to have Her assistance in facilitating change and growth within our lives. When approaching Her to do this heka, I would recommend having a clear idea of what rebirth and change means to you, and how you wish for it to come in your life (whether it is in terms of personal, professional, or other matters).

As with all heka, I recommend cleansing yourself beforehand. Speak the words aloud, and allow your magic and strength to be behind each word.

The magician approaches their shrine with offerings and a glass of cool water. They call upon Heqat, and present the offerings while speaking aloud.

Words to be said:

"O' Heqat, Mistress of Creation, You who were present at my birth, I come to Thee as Thy beloved child!

O' Heqat, Great Mother, You who are constant in my life, I come to Thee for Thy assistance!

I have brought [name of offerings], May they please You, May they nourish You, May You hear my prayers now!"

The magician then focuses on rebirth and recreation. They pray to Heqat, touching on what they need assistance with, while praising and thanking Her for Her help in such matters.

They then take the glass of water, and hold it above or within the shrine.

Words to be said:

"From the waters of the Nun, creation was born. From the waters of the Nun, all is created. I too was created and born within the Nun, at the hand of Heqat.

She has brought me forth, born anew! She has brought me forth, in strength and prosperity! She leads me now, to my future! She leads me now, to my desires!"

The magician may now 'revert', or drink the water. The offerings may sit upon the shrine if nonperishable, or 'reverted' as well if a perishable food item.

[onyxandemerald]

i almost understand why the masses were encouraged to remain illiterate; all language is powerful and being able to use it properly is tricky.

Even with my family at home sometimes it feels like I'm negotiating with a genie in trying to both i) get my needs met and ii) not accidentally step on someone's feelings. We understand that it happens and the forgiveness is real but we all came more or less from childhoods where our words, our cries for help were not taken seriously and the ripple effect holy shit.

Words are so powerful. Often there's intention laced in words you don't intend to send. A sharp tongue ends up in a real, actually cursing of friendship. When these wounds aren't taken seriously can't heal.

This is influenced by, as I understand it, the Ancient Egyptian interpretation of magick through the form of the written word (icon?). If anyone would like to tale this as an invitation - I would love to learn something new. How does this concept affect your day to day? Do you incorporate Heka, as the force or the deity, into your practices? love you guys

[lensky-polonium]

me: obsessed with hands on a fragile neck, find symbolism in the ancient egyptian deity Heka with similar hands, associated with magic and medicine, standing behind all the gods at the creation of the world, watching over souls and giving them strength and rebirth, his symbols are hieroglyphs literally two hands (meaning ka) and knots!!!!

kojima: I suddenly thought, "I'd like to "like (hand sign)" and rest the chin with both hands even when you have luggage in both hands"

[stevenspector]

Happy Moon Knight Thursday! Did y'all like episode 4? I sure did! I especially liked that Steven got to use his knowledge for Egyptian history and mythology! And that we got to see so many cool details and nods to said history and mythology! Which, of course, led me to do another deep dive and research into topics. Have fun with more Moon Knight rambles about the details in episode 4

Starting with: "The Eyes of Horus"

First off, this scene begs the question of just how many times Steven has drawn the eye? Because his movements were smooth and that eye looked great. Now onto the eye of Horus. It stems from the conflict between Horus and his uncle Seth who were rivalling about who would be the successor to the title of "King of Gods" after Seth killed the former King, Osiris; his brother and Horus’ father. It’s one of my favourite stories and I could get into all of it, but I won’t. I'll just say that it’s both very interesting and very entertaining. During their conflict, they had a fight in which Seth took out Horus’ eyes in order to defeat him and make him unable to take the title. Now, this is where it gets interesting for the plot. Horus gets his eyes back with the help of another deity. Who that is tho is up for different interpretations and retellings of the story. Some say it was Hathor who healed him and gave him another pair of eyes. That would be a cool connection since we have met Hathors avatar! And they helped Marc and Khonshu previously. Other retellings on the other hand have Thoth replace his eyes. Thoth himself is known to be associated with the moon which would fit with, well, Moon Knight. We also see an ibis statue in the tomb later on, next to the sarcophagus, which could potentially represent Thoth as well since he is often depicted with an ibis head. In general, the eye of Horus itself represents healing and regenerative properties which is why it was chosen for the shape of the tomb, as Steven states. Additionally, the eye is connected to the moon as well. It is said that one of his eyes represents the moon and the other the sun. So we have another nod to the moon (knight). If you wanna get a nice rundown of the story, I can recommend The History of Egypt Podcast

Secondly: "The Heka Priests and a God™"

Heka was the god of magic and medicine. His most devoted followers often were doctors. In the scene were the Heka priests are introduced however, we also see this drawing on the wall. There’s another god next to them and yes, i did look into who that could be for WAY too long. My conclusion is that it could be Khnum. The only thing not fitting is him being depicted with a disc above his head, yet everything else matches up. Khnum is the god of cataracts, pottery and creativity, but he started out as the guardian of the source of the Nile River. Fun Fact perhaps: The full name of Khufu, a pharao of the fourth dynasty, who commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza (or at least is widely accepted to have done that) is Khnum-Khufwy or "Khnum is my Protector". Do with that info what you will. And lastly: "The Tomb of Alexander the Great"

In general, I really loved the tomb scene. For one, because of how excited Steven is to see all the relics and then he also finds out it’s the lost tomb of Alexander the Great? That's an interesting twist! Another fun fact perhaps: the tomb and dig site in the show are in the Siwa-Desert which is also where Alexander’s tomb was supposedly found. Egyptian officials claimed to have identified his tomb at the Siwa Oasis in 2021. But from what i’ve read it’s not actually completely confirmed. Alexander having been Ammit’s avatar could even make sense if you look at his life and “accomplishments”. He started and fought many battles and wars, conquered many lands, killed many people and believed he was in the right to do so. It would fit in with what Harrow wants to do. Which is to kill people for a cause he believes to be good and righteous.

So in conclusion: I love Moon Knight and it's details