Egyptian Mythology - Dig In

[silver ink pot]

This thread is for the discussion of Egyptian mythology, art, cosmology, and theology. Of course, the purpose would be to make connections to the Harry Potter series and what implications there might be in future books. I know there have been great posts on many threads that had an Egyptian connection - feel free to post them here for discussion. I'm hoping we can become as inspired here as many of us have on the "All About Alchemy" thread.

First, here are some research links to get us started:

http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythol.../articles.html
http://www.geocities.com/owlsinfo/egypt/gods.html
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/enter.htm
http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/index.htm

I've picked out seven topics that spurred my interest in connection to the Harry Potter books:

1. The god "Ptar" or "Ptah" who was worshipped in Memphis. He was the god of architecture, words, and craftsmen. Just say his name out loud, and you'll see why this is interesting.
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/ptah.htm

2. Sirius/Osiris and the Underworld or Land of the Dead.

3. The Phoenix

4. The Scarab beetle.

5. Ma'at, goddess of wisdom and truth, who wears a large feather on her head. Hint: it is sometimes a vulture feather!
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/feather.htm

6. The heart as the seat of intelligence instead of the head.
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/heart.htm
After death, the heart is weighed on a scale by Anubis, the jackal-headed god. The heart is weighed against Ma'at's feather of truth.
http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/anubismaat.htm

7. The "ankh" symbol which means "breath of life" and is shaped like a hand mirror or a cross with a circle on top. Later the symbol became the Coptic cross or the "Eyed" cross. "Ankh" means "mirror." It is also the shape of a musical instrument called a "sistrum."
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/ankh.htm

There are hundreds of gods and goddesses, plus sacred animals, myths, and symbols that we can discuss. I am not a scholar in the topic, and I certainly don't know all the gods or stories. So anything anyone wants to start with is fine with me.

Dig In!

[Sinistra]

So Ma'at can have Vulture feathers in her crown, huh?

Neville's grandmother certainly is not what you would call tactful, but she does say truthful things. Could she also end up as some sort of judge for those whose actions have been more enthusiastic than carefully thought out? And could she be a member of the Wizengamot? Harry said he could not see all the faces, that some were in shadow. The only ones he saw clearly were the ones in front.

Good thread idea, silver!

[Jill]

After death, the heart is weighed on a scale by Anubis, the jackal-headed god. The heart is weighed against Ma'at's feather of truth.

You know the first thing I think of after reading this is Harrys wand and the pheonix feather at its heart. Even the weighing fits in as in GoF there was the weighing of the wands done by Olivanders. Maybe this ceramony had more deeper meaning that just a tradition. Maybe it is a weighing of there inner self. Victor Krum also had dragon heart strings within his wand as announced by Olivander himself and he also stated that it was an unusal design.

The heart and the feather are connected by the sounds of things. It tells you something associated with the persons inner soul and self being.

Originally Posted by Sinistra

So Ma'at can have Vulture feathers in her crown, huh?

Neville's grandmother certainly is not what you would call tactful, but she does say truthful things. Could she also end up as some sort of judge for those whose actions have been more enthusiastic than carefully thought out? And could she be a member of the Wizengamot? Harry said he could not see all the faces, that some were in shadow. The only ones he saw clearly were the ones in front.

Your right there Sinistra and I love the idea of her being a member of Wizengamot. Perhaps she could become the ultimate judge and take over Fudges job in the next book. It does say a feather in the crown, suggesting supremacy of an order.

[Serpentine]

This is a snippet I once posted in the "Neville, Voldemort and a LOT of gum" thread, quite some time ago (in relation to an anagram brought up by somebody, "Droobles Best Blowing Gum" = "Goblins Were Sold Tomb Bug")...

Originally Posted by furryfreakferret

A Bill's traveled further into the picture. He was a curse breaker for Gringotts, which is run by Goblins, in Egypt, where scarab beetles are from and I think in some way related to the gods. Don't know if it's a bad god?

As far as I remember, the scarab was connected to Horus, one of the Egyptian Sun gods (mid-day sun, I think) and son of Osiris and Isis. The idea was that the scarab kind of rolled the sun across the sky, like "earthly" scarabs roll their dungballs around.

Scarabs were also placed on the heart of a deceased person to be buried, in order to prevent the heart telling bad things on its "owner" at his trial in the Otherworld. That would help him to get admission to the joys of afterlife, such as being allowed to accompany the Sun on its daily travel through the sky.

Rather good than bad, I'd say.

[Potter1313]

Hmm... interesting! I've always loved Egyptian mythology... it's so mysterious. I also wanted to point out that Rita Skeeter turns into a beetle, and not a mosquito or something else that would be more appropriate for her character. I don't think this necessarily means something, but it's an interesting parallel.

The vulture feather doesn't necessarily mean Neville's grandmother either. If you think about it, it could definitely signify something totally different. "Death Eater" is also an epithet for a vulture. Vultures are scavengers and more often than not, feed off of the carcasses of dead animals. I don't know how exactly the DE's would play into the whole "wisdom and truth" thing going on here, but I just wanted to point that out.

[silver ink pot]

After death, the heart is weighed on a scale by Anubis, the jackal-headed god. The heart is weighed against Ma'at's feather of truth.

You know the first thing I think of after reading this is Harrys wand and the pheonix feather at its heart. Even the weighing fits in as in GoF there was the weighing of the wands done by Olivanders. Maybe this ceramony had more deeper meaning that just a tradition. Maybe it is a weighing of there inner self. Victor Krum also had dragon heart strings within his wand as announced by Olivander himself and he also stated that it was an unusal design.

Jill: I didn't even connect the idea of "weighing" the wands! Great catch there! I remember wondering what it meant when I read it. I could understand examining them, but the weighing baffled me. Aha! So Viktors wand has a "heartstring," Fleur's had a "veela hair," Harry's has the phoenix feather, and Cedric's had a "unicorn hair." Harry's core is the only feather, which I think is symbolic of truth, but we also know that Cedric was honest and noble, and unicorn's are symbols of innocence, and therefore truth.

I know some of you have already seen this on the "layers" thread, but I wanted to put this information here as well. It concerns Neville's Grandmother and her "vulture hat." I began to research vulture mythology because I realized that "vulture hat" is an anagram for "value truth." And I love Neville and think his Grandmother is really trying to protect him, so I desperately needed to know if JKR wants us to like or dislike Neville's Grandmother.

It turns out, the ancient Egyptians worshipped Vultures, specifically, Griffon Vultures!!! They didn't associate them just with death, but with protection and motherhood!

http://www.pauldfrost.btinternet.co.uk/intro_h2.html


In Greek & Assyrian mythology, the (old world) vulture was believed to be descended from the griffin, the guardian of the mysteries of life & death. The Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Maat, was often depicted with a vulture feather.

http://66.102.11.104/search?q=cache:RvdVf-K4cw8J:edu.iucnp.org/newbirds/part1.htm+griffon+vulture+greek+mythology&hl=en&ie =UTF-8

Thousand of years ago when the Pharaoh ruled Egypt, the Griffon Vultures and Lappet faced Vultures represented the goddess Nekhebet, goddess of child birth.

http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptgods9.html

In Southern Africa, the name for an Egyptian vulture is synonymous with the term applied to lovers, for vultures like pigeons are always seen in pairs. Thus mother and child remain closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, loving are essential attributes associated with a vulture. Because of its immense size and power and its ability to sore high up in the sky, the vulture is considered to be nearer to God who is believed to reside above the sky. Thus the qualities of a vulture are associated with Godliness. On the other hand the wide wingspan of a vulture may be seen as all encompassing and providing a protective cover to its infants. The vulture when carrying out its role as a mother and giving protection to its infants may exhibit a forceful nature while defending her young. All these qualities inspired the imagination of the Ancient Egyptians. They adopted what seemed to them at the time to be motherly qualities, the qualities of protecting and nurturing their young. -

Nekhbet was thought to be the wife of Hapi, in his Upper Egyptian aspect. She was also linked to Horus in his role of god of Upper Egypt. Due to her vulture form, she was linked to the goddess Mut, the mother goddess and wife of Amen. Both Mut and Nekhbet were a particular type of vulture - the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). It was the griffon vulture that was usually related to the goddesses and to royalty.

I also want to add that the word "gypsy" comes from "gyps" which means vulture. I don't know what we might see in that. Of course, gypsys have a reputation for witchcraft, fortune-telling, and giving someone the "evil-eye."

I just think it is very significant that Snape appears in the vulture hat, and that JKR reinforces it later in the book when Dumbledore hands the "party-hat vulture" to Snape at Christmas. It was a joke, but it was meaningful, I think.

I believe that Neville is being protected by his Grandmother and by Snape, in some way.

[Serpentine]

Originally Posted by silver ink pot

I just think it is very significant that Snape appears in the vulture hat, and that JKR reinforces it later in the book when Dumbledore hands the "party-hat vulture" to Snape at Christmas. It was a joke, but it was meaningful, I think.
I believe that Neville is being protected by his Grandmother and by Snape, in some way.

Good point, SIP. Also in Egyptian mythology there seems to be a connection between Ma'at the goddess of truth - resp. her ostrich/vulture feather - and Anubis, who weighs the heart of the deceased against that feather. He's the god of embalming, keeper of poisons and medicines and the guide of the dead.
http://www.geocities.com/owlsinfo/egypt/gods.html

Anubis: A man with the head of a jackal. A dog or a jackal.

The jackal-headed god. Anubis can foresee a mortal's destiny and is associated with magic and divination. Anubis supervises the weighing of the soul when the departed are brought to the hall of the dead.

Guardian of the Necropolis (cemetery). He was the guide of the dead as they made their way through the darkness of the underworld. As a patron of magic, it was believed he could foresee a persons destiny, in this role he was the announcer of death.

Anubis was the patron of embalming. He was also the keeper of poisons and medicines. He provided unguents and rare herbs to help Isis and Nephthys with the embalming of Osiris. Anubis then performed the funeral of Osiris, which would be the model for all funerals to come. As he received the mummy into the tomb, he performed the 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony.

In the Hall of Maat - Anubis appears on behalf of the diseased. It was Anubis who saw that the beam of the great scale was in the proper position as he supervises the weighing of the heart of a deceased person against the feather of Maat. The god of knowledge,Thoth, records the results. It is also Anubis that protects the dead from Ammut, the 'Devourer'.

Poisons and medicines, rare herbs and unguents, protection, cemeteries, funeral of Osiris... Is it just me seeing Snape everywhere, or does anybody else feel reminded to our Potions Master here?

And does Sirius (Osiris?) still have family somewhere? According to myth, Osiris was slain and dissected by his evil brother Seth, put back together by his sister and wife Isis and avenged by his son Horus. Also the constellation of Orion the hunter, the owner of the two stellar dogs (the main star of the bigger one is Sirius), was known to the Egypts as Osiris. The evil relative would more or less fit his cousin Bellatrix - or more indirectly, Seth's red hair/eyes and pale skin could point to Voldemort himself -, and Harry could be his (god-)son avenging him. But who would be his Isis?

About Ma'at herself, she seems to be one of the most ancient Egyptian goddesses, and the wife and female counterpart of Thoth, the god of knowledge. The Egyptian chief judge usually wore a feather symbolizing hers, so an important place the Wizengamot would be quite possible for her.

Maat: Goddess of truth and justice. Her symbol is the feather. Wife of Thoth. A woman wearing a tall ostrich feather on her head - an ostrich feather.

The goddess Maat represents the ideals of law, order, and truth. The word, Maat translates "that which is straight." it implies anything that is true, ordered, or balanced. She was the female counterpart of Thoth. We know she is a very ancient goddess because we find her in the boat of Ra as it rose above the waters of the abyss of Nu on the first day. Together with Thoth, they charted the daily course of the sun god Ra. She is sometimes called the 'eye of Ra' or the 'daughter of Ra'.

Maat also plays an important part in the Book of the Dead. It is in the Hall of Maat the judgement of the dead was performed. This was done by weighing one's heart (conscience) against the feather of Maat. If a balance was struck the deceased was deemed to be worthy of meeting Osiris in the after life. If the heart of the deceased was found to be heavier then the feather of Maat it would be devoured by Ammut.

God of knowledge... sounds like Dumbledore somehow, but I have a hard time seeing Granny Longbottom as his wife, even though the age might fit. What does it say about Thoth anyway?

Thoth: Self conceived at the beginning of time. Husband of Maat. Brother and some times husband of Seshat.

God of the moon, drawing, writing, geometry, wisdom, medicine, music, astronomy, and magic. Scribe of the Gods.

His sacred bird was the ibis. He is represented with the head and neck of an ibis and carries a pen, tablet, and palm branch. On his head he wore the combinned lunar disc and crescent.

Thoth's name means 'He of Djehut', which was a province in Lower Egypt Thoth's priests claimed Thoth was the Demi-Urge who created everything from sound. It was said that Thoth wrote books in which he set forth a fabulous knowledge of magic and incantation, and then concealed them in a crypt.

Yeah, it sounds quite like Dumbledore... wisdom, music, astronomy, creativity and fabulous knowledge of magic (even his examiner Marchbanks praised his creative magic!). Also the "beginning of time" could fit his age. Alternatively the moon could point towards Lupin, but all in all it seems to fit Dumbledore better. He also has his half-moon shaped spectacles. And a book? Hmm, that's interesting... Maybe it's about his explorations on the 12 uses of dragon blood, or his cooperation with Flamel on Alchemy (the Egypts had an alchemical tradition as well). If it's all even mentioned on his Chocolate-Frog Card, his actual writings must be somewhere as well. Could Hermione find it in the Restricted Section of the Library?

[silver ink pot]

Poisons and medicines, rare herbs and unguents, protection, cemeteries, funeral of Osiris... Is it just me seeing Snape everywhere, or does anybody else feel reminded to our Potions Master here?

Serpentine! I'm thrilled that someone else would make that connection. I thought I was getting a little Snape-crazy! And Anubis has the "balance" just like the one Harry uses to weigh ingredients. He has to buy one in the very first book.

Very cool about the funeral of Osiris. There has been alot of speculation that tere might be some sort of ceremony for Sirius Black. If Snape is a relative, even a distant one, he might be the only one who could represent the family in front of Harry and other members of the Order. After all, who is left? Bella and Narcissa? There is also Andromeda Tonks, whom I would love to see. A funeral ceremony would be a great opportunity to introduce new characters.

I haven't gone through all the gods yet, but the music connection to Thoth seems very clear, and Dumbledore certainly loves music. I wonder if there is something important about the glasses being "half-moon." I pause on that every time I read it.

I knew this thread would be fun. All the great thinking on this website makes it fun!

[Serpentine]

SIP, I'm so glad you had the same idea about Snape/Anubis! I too was wondering if I was going Snape-crazy. Anubis's dog/jackal head, his "guide of the dead" aspect and his ability to foresee a person's destiny and death do sound a bit like Sirius as a "Grim" dog. But the poisons and medicines, the scales and the cemetery remind me much more of Snape. (Yet another animagus suggestion for him, a jackal. ) And about him being an "announcer of death"... well, that's what you would expect of a spy in Voldemort's ranks of killers, isn't it? The "guide of the dead" thing does give me a sense of foreboding in relation to the Veil though.

And I agree about a ceremony for Sirius being a neat opportunity to introduce new characters, such as husbands, wives and other relations (we haven't seen any teachers' spouses so far either). Funerals seem to be definitely connected to Anubis, so I feel we'd see Snape there too, and maybe learn a bit more about his own family background. Harry won't be happy to see him there...

About Ma'at, rereading the text I'm wondering if it could also relate to McGonagall. Truth and justice seem to be important for her as well, and she is part of the "Adult Trio" together with Dumbledore and Snape. Her connection with Thoth/Dumbledore and Anubis/Snape in the heart-weighing would be more obvious for a prominent character as she is. (Gotta reread Nekhbet for Granny Longbottom and her vulture hat... Does she have anything to do with Anubis?) The only thing confusing me a bit is the feather. With McGonagall you'd rather suspect her to have something to do with cats. But the cat-goddess Bastet or the lion-goddess Sekhmet don't seem to have a role in the Hall of Ma'at, or another kind of relationship to Thoth or Anubis.

Some more info about Thoth... According to crystalinks he is the god of wisdom and learning, a moralist and a supreme magician, but also the god of time and creator of the Egyptian calendar. That gives me a funny feeling about Dumbledore's role in the series.

http://www.crystalinks.com/thoth.html
"It was he who helped Isis work the ritual to bring Osiris back from the dead, and who drove the magical poison of Set from her son, Horus with the power of his magic. He was Horus' supporter during the young god's deadly battle with his uncle Set, helping Horus with his wisdom and magic. (...) He was the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth', the 'Reckoner of Times and of Seasons', the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth'."

It was Dumbledore who put Harry - James's almost lookalike - at the Dursleys' door for his grand plan to defeat Voldemort, laid out almost two decades before the actual defeat would take place, and it is he who guides Harry on his way to become powerful enough to vanquish Voldemort. He has an odd (astronomical?) watch mentioned in PS/SS, and in PoA it was his idea that Hermione use the Time Turner. Somewhere in the Hall of Prophecy there must still be buried my thread on time/history having been twisted (not exactly repeating itself in a circle, but being deliberately twisted spiral-like), and DD had a major role there...
http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=15280

He's a trickster too. When the sun god Ra found out that his wife Nut was in love with Geb, he forbid her to bear Geb's children on any of the 360 days of the year. Thoth helped her by winning 5 more days from the Moon deity Silene in a gamble, so Nut could bear Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys and Horus. (The texts are a bit confusing here, as Horus IMO is recorded just about anywhere as son of Osiris and Isis... but the hierarchy of egyptian gods seems to have undergone quite a few turnabouts in the course of time.)

The books of spells written by Thoth seem to have been of the kind that would make you the most powerful magician - enabling you to talk to all kinds of beings, and to bring the dead back to life -, but very dangerous. There's a story about someone who wanted to retrieve them from a tomb, but was told there about the doom they brought and had to gamble to get them. In the end he narrowly escaped with his life.
http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/egypt/thoth.htm

Crystalinks additionally mentions yet another book, which could be waiting for Harry in book 6 or 7: "It is written in the ancient texts that Thoth wrote a major work of scriptural importance that would one day be found. It would explain the nature of our reality and allow you to find your soul's mission." Most intriguing, this sounds quite alchemical.

Still according to crystalinks, one of his wives was Seshat, the goddess of writing and "Mistress of the House of Books". Hee hee, think of Madam Pince...

Whizbang, I agree - Thoth's symbol being an ibis could be mirrored by Fawkes being Dumbledore's familiar. His other symbol seems to have been a baboon, but I'm not quite sure what to make of that. As a supreme magician and master of knowledge Thoth seems later to have been called Merlin or Hermes (on Crystalinks Hermetic knowledge is mentioned as well in this relation), and Celtic mythology calls him Teutates.

[ginnybatbogeysyou]

That Ptah piece is interesting, but how exactly do you pronounce it? I tried, but I don't see any connection with the Harry Potter-books.

[Jill]

Originally Posted by whizbang121

Thoth/Hermes is one of those universal figures who shows up with different names in different places. The references to time and astronomy are interesting.
The maya describe time as a spiral, rather than as a line or river, as our culture often describes it. In the spiral, time always moves in one direction, but there are repeating cycles in the sprial. One of the cycles that repeats is the "new heavens and new earth." The idea is that periodically, the earth undergoes an upheaval that causes the crust to slip. The position of the poles and the equator don't necessarily change, but what land mass is over those spots does. So, some have theorized that during the last so called Ice Age, the north pole was centered somewhere in Hudson's Bay and north america was simple close enough to be glacial. When the crust slipped, causing the Ice Age extinctions, (and that makes for some interesting reading) the North American glaciers retreated. So the periodic slipping of the crust not only brings about physical upheavals and extinctions, but afterward, the skies appear different to the survivors and the calendar must be recalculated to account for the new locations and observations. It's theorized that during some of these cycles, the length of the day and the number or days in the year have also been affected. Thus the obsession among the ancients all over the world with solstices and the precession of the equinoxes, as well as buildings like stonehenge and other structures worldwide that are mathematically designed to track the path of the sun through the year noting the soltices particularly. These themes are universal. And the guys with the smarts to figure this stuff out were usually deified.

What has this got to do with Harry Potter?
The time and astronomy rooms are a couple of the few rooms we've seen in the dept of Mysteries. Dumledore's watch, his various sensitive instruments, his interest in astromony, the fact that the universe can be described as a giant timepiece. The connection of Dumbledore to Thoth is too interesting. How esoteric do you think JKR will get with these books?

Interesting that you mention stonehenge as in the new PoA movie there are these rock formations that have been put in place, that where not in the book. Perhaps this accounts for one of the errors that J.K.Rowling stated, she would have to put write. It might be too late for her to put this formation into the books but not in the film. There must be a reason for the scene with Hermione and Draco having a tiff around those new rock formations near Hagrids hut. Someone wants us to pay close attention to these formations and with good reasoning. I do not think they have just been thrown in for the sake of it because they seem to fit the time line and soltices theories.

Another thing too has arisen. When searching and looking for information regaurding the egyptian asp and why it was so important, I came across a passage that stated: 'the asp was known as the gaurdian to the mouth of the river nile'. Well I have always seen Snape as a protectorate of Hogswart, a kind of gaurdian. So perhaps this is why Dumbledore admires and trusts Snape so much. Perhaps Snape familier is the guardian asp of egypt.

http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTri...ory/egypt.html

p.s. sorry about the Snape mention and just had to say it.

Snape, a protectorate of the school with an attitude problem and enjoys spitting when he is angry. Sound aspy to me.

[Serpentine]

The Ptah analogy is nice, but I found another nice one totally elsewhere - no similarity of name, but of craft and description. I'm talking about Khnum, the ram-headed potter god of creation.

www.crystalinks.com/egyptgods6.html
(above Khnum, the link also contains some interesting info about Khepri the scarab-headed sun-god creator!)

KHNUM
Potter God of the Inundation Silt and Creation. Ram headed God - Lord of the Cataract. God of fecundity and creation from the Cataract area.

Khnum (Khenmew, Khnemu, Khenmu, Chnum), from the Egyptian 'unite', 'join' or 'build', was an ancient deity of fertility, water and the great potter who created children and their ka at their conception. He was mentioned in the pyramid texts and the pyramid builder Khufu's name was actually 'Khnum-Khufu' meaning 'Khnum is his Protector'. His cult was popular before the cult of Ra eclipsed it. The next pyramid builders were his son and grandson who added 'Ra' to their names - Khafra and Menkaura. Khnum was possibly even a predynastic god. The Egyptians believed that he was the guardian of the source of the Nile who was originally a Nile god, but who became a helper of Hapi.

His role changed from river god to the one who made sure that the right amount of silt was released into the water during the inundation. In working with the silt, the very soil that the ancient Egyptian potters used, he became the great potter who not only molded men and women, but who molded the gods themselves and the world.

He was depicted as a ram, ram-headed man or as a full male with the horns of a ram who wears a plumed white crown of Upper Egypt. In early times he was shown as the first domesticated ram, the Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus, with long corkscrew horns growing horizontally outwards from his head. This species died out, though even so he was still depicted as that breed of sheep until much later in Egyptian history. Eventually he was shown as the Ovis platyra (the type of ram associated with Amen) with horns curving inward towards his face. Sometimes he was shown with four ram heads, aligning him with the sun god Ra, the air god Shu, the earth god Geb and Osiris, lord of the dead. In his four headed form, he was known as Sheft-hat. The Egyptians believed that the ram was a very potent animal, and thus Khnum was linked to fertility.

Considered to be the ba of Ra - this might be an Egyptian pun on the fact that the ram was also called ba - he helped Ra travel through the underworld each night on the Solar Barque. In the pyramid texts (Utterance 300), the barque was referred to as the "Ikhet Barque which Khnum made", so not only did he defend the barque, but Khnum was thought to have created it as well. In this form he was often called Khnum-Ra and wears the sun disk of Ra.

Originally a water god, Khnum was often pictured by the Egyptians as the source of the Nile. On temple walls, he was sometimes shown as holding a jar, with the precious water flowing out of it. He was also believed to be a guardian of the waters in the underworld. He is mentioned as a protective deity of the dead. Many heart scarabs have a similar versions of one of the spells from The Book of the Dead to protect the deceased against a negative judgement in the Halls of Ma'at.

O my heart ...
Do not stand up against me as a witness!
Do not create opposition against me among the assessors!
Do not tip the scales against me in the presence of the Keeper of the Balance!
You are my soul which is in my body,
The god Khnum who makes my limbs sound.
When you go forth to the Hereafter,
My name shall not stink to the courtiers who create people on his behalf.
Do not tell lies about me in the presence of the Great God!

- Heart scarab spell, translation by Thomas J. Logan

The ram-headed god was 'Lord of the Cataract' a god of the yearly inundation and the fertile black soil that came with the flood. Khnum was also seen as a fertility god because of his association with the fertile silt. Pottery was created out of the soil of the Nile, and it was believed that he created the first humans - and the gods - on his potter's wheel with this silt. In Iunyt (Esna) it was believed that it was he who molded the First Egg from which the sun hatched, and thus was a creator god who was 'Father of the Fathers of the Gods and Goddesses, Lord of Created Things from Himself, Maker of Heaven and Earth and the Duat and Water and the Mountains'. (...)

As potter, he was thought to mould the body of a child, and it's ka before birth. He was called the 'Father of Fathers and the Mother of Mothers'. He was also the one who gave health to the child after it was born. In the story of Raddjedet's triplets, the birth related goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet and Heqet disguised themselves as female musicians with Khnum as their porter. After each child was "rushed forth", the umbilical cord had been cut and the destiny had been pronounced, Khnum was the one who "gave health" to each child. So not only did Khnum create the child and its double, but he was thought to also give it health at birth.

The Famine Stele at Sehel island tells of a dream that Djoser supposedly had. Egypt had been going through a seven year drought and a temple had been built to Khnum in the hopes that the famine would end: (...)

Hatshepsut was one pharaoh who encouraged the belief that Khnum, at Amen's request, created her and her ka: (...)

His cult was centered on the island of Abu (Elephantine) at Swentet (Aswan) where he had been worshiped since the Early Dynastic period. In the New Kingdom he was worshiped there as head of a triad with his wife Satet (a fertility goddess of the Nile and purifier of the dead) and daughter Anuket (a huntress goddess of the first cataract near Swentet, 'The Embracer').

There is a Greco-Roman temple for him at Iunyt (Esna) where he was given two consorts, Menhit (a lion headed war goddess, 'She Who Slaughters') and Nebtu (a local goddess of the oasis, 'The Guilded One') - one goddess became a form of the other - and a son called Hike (god of magic, 'He Who Activates the Ka').

He was also linked to the war-like creator goddess Neith at Iunyt (Esna). In Her-wer (Antinoe) he was thought to be the husband of Heqet, the frog goddess who gave the newly created being the breath of life before the child was placed to grow in the mother's womb.

Khnum was a ram god of the Nile, a god of silt, fertility and a potter god of creation. He was a god of the sun, a protector of the dead and protector of Re on the solar barque. This god was an ancient god, popular from early times through to the Greco-Roman period who was thought to have created the pharaoh's form and soul on his potters wheel. From a local god of the Nile to a deity connected with childbirth, Khnum was the 'Father of Fathers and the Mother of Mothers' of the pharaoh.

What I find rather alluring here is not only the craft of pottery and the ram connection (Whizbang, didn't you suggest on the HP astrology thread that Harry's moon was in Aries, with all his head issues and headstrong behaviour?), but also the molding of the child and its ka by Khnum on his potters wheel (Harry is being molded too throughout the series!) and the fact that he seems to have a role in the heart-weighing scene in the Hall of Ma'at.

Edit: Jill, an asp viper? Good idea, but I rather tend to see Snape reflected in Anubis. More fitting characteristics, and a more important role in the whole. And Anubis is a protector too.

[silver ink pot]

Jill: "Aspy" equals "A" plus "spy" - A Spy!

Serpentine: Great research about the "potter god"! I love it! What got my attention was the idea of a "four-headed god" who represents four states of matter. That is just like the four houses trying to come together. Harry represents the sun, obviously, as a fiery Leo in Gryffindor. He flies really well in the "air"- which you would think of as a Ravenclaw trait, although I don't think he is as wise as a Ravenclaw should be. Maybe that will come later. He is down to earth, usually, and very loyal, like a Hufflepuff. Also, not the best student, but he does try. And he was almost put in Slytherin, is a parselmouth, inhabits a snake, and finds the watery Chamber of Secrets. So that is a great parallel with Knum!

I like the title "Lord of the Cataract." Remember all the water imagery in Chamber of Secrets - the book that is supposedly the key? Remember, too, in Order of the Phoenix, when he is in Snape's dungeon and he gets knocked into the shelf and water comes gushing out of the jar? Alot of jars down there, huh? Very Slytherin. Also, Cataract has two meanings, doesn't it? It means "waterfall" but it also means a covering over the eyes." Is that a clue?

Another thing is the idea of the potter god being a fertility god. In CoS, he is seen doing all the yard work for the Dursleys. He's part of the natural world in a way that they are not. In OotP, we see him lying in the dirt under the shrubbery. And at the end of the book, he goes back out in nature to be alone.

One thing about Ptar is that he is a compound god, thought to have traits of the god Osiris and Seker/Sokor. Of course, Seker sounds like "Seeker," which is what Harry is in Quidditch. I think Sokor is like Snape - he is associated with metallurgy, which reminds me of Alchemy. Also, there is that scene in OotP when Harry is standing between Sirius and Snape with a hand on each - they look like an Egyptian triad of gods. So if Harry is Ptar, Sirius is Osiris, then Snape may be associted with "Sokor," but I still think Anubis is Snape. Sokor does have a "beak" like Snape! need to find out more about Sokor, but here is something:

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/enter.htm

Sokar was a god of rebirth and rejuvination that was depicted as a man with a falcon's head. Frequently, Sokar was mummiform yet with a falcon's head. He wore the white crown and held a sceptre and whip.
The Pyramid Texts describe Sokar as aiding in the re-birth of the king and transferring the divine royal powers to the deceased king's son and heir. In the Middle Kingdom, Sokar became involved specifically in the transfiguration of the body following death and the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. At this time, Sokar became associated with Ptah for his ability as a metallurgist and regenerative qualities.
In The Book of the Dead (a New Kingdom text) Sokar became Sokar-Osiris, and a nighttime incarnation of the sun. Sokar enabled the sun to complete its nightly journey through the Underworld, and to be reborn each morning.
The oldest religious texts refer to Osiris as the great god of the dead, and throughout these texts it is assumed that the reader will understand that he once possessed human form and lived on earth. As the first son of Geb, the original king of Egypt, Osiris inherited the throne when Geb abdicated. At this time the Egyptians were barbarous cannibals and uncivilized. Osiris saw this and was greatly disturbed. Therefore, he went out among the people and taught them what to eat, the art of agriculture, how to worship the gods, and gave them laws. Thoth helped him in many ways by inventing the arts and sciences and giving names to things. Osiris was Egypt's greatest king who ruled through kindness and persuasion. Having civilized Egypt, Osiris traveled to other lands, leaving Isis as his regent, to teach other peoples what he taught the Egyptians.

Sorry this is so long, but I didn't want to double post.

[Serpentine]

I've been pondering about the Osiris myth too...
(Detailed descriptions are on http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/osiris.htm or http://www.crystalinks.com/isis.html, with quite a lot of similarities to the HP story - from Seth killing Horus's father Osiris for want of power, up to the final battle between Horus and Seth and their respective followers.)

Thinking about it, it would also make sense if it was about James. (Actually JKR could be using characteristics of Osiris for both James and Sirius, just like Anubis seems to have provided characteristics for both Snape and Sirius.) The family threesome Osiris-Isis-Horus would fit very well for James, Lily and Harry. According to myth, Isis was the goddess of life, light and magic, and the "ideal wife and mother". Reminds me more of Lily than of anybody else. Isis also had a "darker" sister, Nephthys (the wife of Seth ), who was always together with Isis and just as powerful as her but less widely known.

http://www.geocities.com/owlsinfo/egypt/gods.html

Isis: Daughter of Nut and Geb. Wife and sister of Osiris. The ideal wife and mother.

Generally a goddess of the home and person rather than of the temple and the priest. After the twenty sixth dynasty, Isis is increasingly portrayed as a nursing mother, and her cult eventually spread throughout the Roman empire. Her husband/brother was Osiris who was slain by their brother Set. She had his dismembered remains restored. Their son was Horus.

On her head is a miniature throne (the ideogram of her name) and the solar disc between the cow's horns of Hathor. In some cases vestigial cow's ears are all that remain to show her connection with that goddess. Sacred to her were the sistrum, the rattle, to ward off evil spirits, and a magic knot called Tat. She is shown in many attitudes: suckling the infant Horus, enthronged alongside Osiris, protecting her husband and the souls of the dead with her winged arms. Her magical powers were considerable; Isis was the only divinity ever to discover the secret name of Ra. She used a magic snake to torment him with its poison until he revealed his true name to her.

Isis was still alive after the murder of Osiris, but well, in Lord Thingy's original plan Lily wasn't supposed to be killed either... Orion/Osiris with the two dogs - the bigger one having Sirius as a main star - could then refer to James being accompanied by Sirius and Remus. Peter doesn't seem to be in sight, but I guess as the traitor Marauder he might be discounted, until we find a rat popping up somewhere. And it could make the red-eyed Seth guy Voldemort himself indeed. (But any relationship between him and James? Makes me shudder... )

About the forgotten "darker" sister of Isis, Nephthys:
http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptgods9.html

NEPHTHYS - NEBHET
Daughter of Nut and Geb. Sister of Osiris, Isis, and Seth. Wife of Seth, mother of Anubis.

Nephthys is one of the Egyptian goddesses who seems to have been ignored or pushed into the background. She didn't become a major cult figure, like her sister Isis, but one must remember that Nephthys, too, was a sibling of the most famous gods of ancient Egypt - Isis and Osiris.

She was also the sister-wife of the god Set, the god of storms and the desert... and aunt to the god Horus.

Her Egyptian name (Neb-hut, Nebthet) means "Mistress of the House" - by the word "house" we must understand that portion of the sky which was supposed to form the abode of the Sun-god Horus; in fact "het" in the name of Nebt-het is used in exactly the same sense as "het" in the name "Het-Hert," or Hathor, i.e., the "House of Horus". Despite being the wife of Set, she was seen as a loyal sister to her other siblings, helping Isis to gather Osiris' scattered limbs (after Set cut him into pieces), and helped her revive the dead god. She thus became associated with the dead, becoming a friend of the deceased. She offered guidance to the newly dead, and comfort to the family of the one who died.

She was depicted as a woman with the hieroglyphs of her name (a basket and a house on top of each other) on her head, though she was also sometimes given wings or the form of a bird (the kite), making her a solar deity, as well as a deity of the dead. In the later period, she became the mother of Anubis (the god of the dead) through Osiris.

As comforter, she stood at the birth-bed to offer comfort and help with the birth of new born children - Isis was seen as the midwife. The two sisters were often together, only being able to be told apart by the hieroglyph on their heads. Also, like her sister, she was thought to have great magical powers - she was the Mighty One of Words of Power.

Yet, originally, where Isis was visible, birth, growth, development and vigour, Nephthys was invisible, death, decay, diminution and immobility. She was the darkness to Isis' light. Isis was the day, her twin sister the night.

Petunia is Harry's aunt, the same relation Nephthys has with Horus, and she seems to have been in Lily's shadow. As a loyal sister she takes Harry into her house, right after his parents have died. Her blood relationship and her house seem to be important in Harry's protection. And she does know more about the wizarding world than she lets on, even about the Dementors of Azkaban (which she says she overheard from "that awful boy" telling Lily), who are definitely part of its "darker" side... Seth being Nephthys's husband still worries me, but Petunia could well have had a nasty run-in with some Dark wizard, which scared her so much that she decided to keep her own life as far away from anything magical as possible. And JKR stated that someone will learn magic late in life. Could it be Petunia? If the Nephthys analogy is worth anything, she might then prove to be a really powerful witch.

Alternatively, Nephthys and Seth could be distantly referred to as the parents of Anubis/Snape. His mother doesn't look very powerful (cowering in front of her yelling husband), but she is dark-haired, and there might be more to her than we see in this very short flash of memory. And his father could well be a Dark wizard who taught him all the curses even before going to Hogwarts for the first time.

By the way, if we assume the Osiris/Isis/Horus triad to be mirrored in James, Lily and Harry, there's yet another triad Amun/Mut/Khonsu that's worth a look. Mut as we have seen is a vulture goddess (another being Nekhbet - both are protective mothers but can be very fierce, having aspects of warrior goddesses). Her and Amun's adopted son Khonsu, "the Wanderer", is a moon god, healer and protector against evil spirits. He is usually depicted as a child or young man with the traditional sidelock of youth. He's often linked to the other "triad child" Horus, but also to Thoth whom he helps to record the passing of time. Hmmm... does this sound like Neville?
http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/khonsu.htm

[Kaonashi]

Another point to ponder:

In royal Egyptian marriages, they are working out of a very limited gene pool, or one linked to the royal family. In a lot of cases, if there weren't any cousins once removed to marry, brothers were actually marrying their sisters to keep the "royal blood"' in the Dynasty.

Sound sa lot like the Slytherins and their "pure blood" mentality.

[Serpentine]

Sirius - or Sothis, as the Egyptians used to call it -, the Dog Star:
http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/sothis.htm
Its position was also considered in the construction of pyramids. The original idea for this was said to have come from Thoth, responsible for "sacred geometry" and the creation of the pyramids.

I've been ferreting the given sources a bit more about Anubis... All the italics (except the part about Wepwawet) relate to details I feel can be associated with Snape. Most of the characteristics of Anubis seem to fit Snape better than Sirius. Yet Sirius seems to unite in himself aspects of both Osiris and Anubis, apart from having the Western name of Sostris the Dog-Star.

Anubis according to Mythographica: http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/anubis.htm

For many centuries Anubis was the main god of the dead. Later, when the role of Osiris changed from god of vegetation to that of god of the dead, he became superior to Anubis. Anubis, however, retained an important part in the funeral rights and was considered to be the son of Osiris and Nephthys. It was Anubis, aided by his mother and aunt, the goddesses Nephthys and Isis, who embalmed the murdered Osiris's body, and he who devised the method of wrapping the body in bandages and formulated the embalming oils.

Anubis is shown in Egyptian art either as a jackal or as a man with a jackal's head. However the colouring is not the natural colour of the animal but a symbolic black, perhaps representing rebirth, or possibly recalling the colour assumed by the skin following treatment with natron and the other resins during the process of mummification. In Ancient Egypt the necropolis or cemetery would be situated in the desert to the west of the settlement to which it was attached. This was for three reasons: firstly, by placing the cemetery in the desert essential good farming land was not lost, secondly, as good farming land symbolized life, so the desert came to represent death and was a natural place to house the dead, and thirdly, the gate or entrance to the realm of the dead was believed to lie in the west, as Ra in the form of the setting sun was seen to die there each day, slowly descending into the underworld.

On edge of the desert the jackal lived, scavenging what he could from the communities and frequenting the cemeteries which lay within his natural habitat. So it was inevitable that this animal should become associated with the dead.

One of the main areas for the worship of Anubis was the Seventeenth Nome of Upper Egypt, the capital of which the Greeks named Cynopolis, the 'city of the dogs'.

As the embalmer of Osiris, Anubis became the patron of all embalmers. One of his titles was lord of the divine pavilion: referring to the building within each temple complex where mummification was carried out. In his early history the rites of Anubis were the domain of the king alone, but as time passed he became the god of death for all members of the community.

On passing from this life to the next, the deceased was judged to test his worthiness to enter the afterlife. As part of this test Anubis took the deceased's heart and weighed it upon his scales against a feather, the symbol of Ma'at, goddess of truth. Nearby stood Thoth, the celestial scribe, recording the findings of the trial. Then the deceased stood before each of the 42 assembled gods, and to each in turn he denied that he had committed any of the 42 sins. Instructions for the soul on the correct way to present this negative confession were painted on the inside of the tomb and form Chapter 125 of The Book of the Dead.

If the deceased passed the test he was pronounced true of 'voice' or 'justified', and taken by Horus to the presence of Osiris, who upon his throne, flanked by Isis and Nephthys, granted him access to the afterlife.

However, for those who failed the judgement, punishment was severe. Outside the hall of judgement the monster Beby 'the destroyer' lay waiting to consume them. Beby was a composite creature with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion and the rear of a hippopotamus.

Related to Anubis was the god Wapwawet. He was also a god of the dead, resembling Anubis in several ways. Both gods were dog-headed but where Anubis was shown with a black head, that of Wapwawet was white. It is probable that his head was that of a wolf, for his cult centre in the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt was called by the Greeks Lykopolis - the 'wolf city'.

Now that is interesting! A wolf-headed god named Wepwawet... Remus? Also, in the Osiris myth Osiris left the country for some time putting Isis onto his throne, and that was when Seth started his first (unsuccessful) try to overthrow his reign. Osiris wanted to bring civilization to other countries as well, and Wepwawet, Thoth and Anubis accompanied him on his travels. (James, Sirius and Remus fulfilling Order tasks with DD?)

Anubis according to Crystalinks: http://www.crystalinks.com/anubis.html

ANUBIS - ANPU
God with the head of a jackal or dog. Presided over the dead.

His mother was Nephthys and that his father was, according to some, Set; from another point of view he was the son of Ra.

His worship is very ancient, and there is no doubt that even the earliest times his cult was general in Egypt; it is probable that it is older than that of Osiris. In the text of Unas {line 70} he is associated with the Eye of Horus, and his duty as the guide of the dead in the Underworld on their way to Osiris was well defined, even at the remote period when this composition was written, from we read, Unas standeth with the Spirits, get thee onwards, Anubis, into "Amenti [the Underworld], onwards, onwards to Osiris."

In the lines that follow we see that Anubis is mentioned in connection with Horus, Set, Thoth, Sep, and Khent-an-maati. (Edit Serpentine: Sep or Sostris is a form of Isis; I don't know about Khent-an-maati.) From another passage of the same text we find {line 207 ff} that the hand, arms, belly, and legs of the deceased are identified with Temu, but his face is said to be in the form of that of Anubis.

The localities in which Anubis was especially worshipped are Abt, the Papyrus Swamps, Sep, Re-au, Heru-ti, Ta-hetchet, Saint, {Lycopolis}, Sekhem, {Letopolis}, etc. In the Theban Recesion of the Book of the Dead he plays some very prominent parts, the most important of all being those which are connected with the judgment and the embalmed the body of Osiris, and that he swathed it in the linen swathing which were woven by Isis and Nepthys, that it resisted the influences of time and deacy.

In the vignette of the Funeral Procession the mummy is received by Anubis, who stands by the Book of the Dead the god is seen standing by the side of the mummy as it lies on its bier, and he lays his protecting hands upon it. In the speech which is put into the mouth of Anubis, he says, "I have come to protect Osiris." In the text of Unas {line 219} the nose of the deceased declares, My lips are the lips of Anpu." From various passages it is clear that one part of Egypt at least Anubis was the great god of the Underworld, and his rank and importance seem to have been as great as those of Osiris.

In the Judgment Scene Anubis appears to act for Osiris, with whom he is intimately connected, for it is he whose duty it is to examine the tongue of the Great Balance, and to take care that the beam is exactly horizontal. (...)

(...) the Egyptian Anubis and the Dog, it being observed of this animal, that he is watchful as well by day as night. In short, the Egyptian Anubis seems to be of much the same power and nature as the Grecian Hecate, a deity common both to the celestial and infernal regions. (...)

Strictly speaking, Anubis should be reckoned as the last member of the Great Company of the gods of Heliopolis, but as a matter fact his place is usually taken by Horus, the son of Isis and of Osiris, who generally completes the divine part; it is probable that the fusion of Horus with Anubis was a political expedient on the part of the priesthood who, finding no room in their system for the old god of the dead, identified him with a form of Horus, just as they had done with his father Set, and the double god possessed two district and opposite aspects; as the guide of heaven and the leader of souls to Osiris he was a beneficent god, but as the personification of death and deacy he was a being who inspired terror.

From an interesting passage in the "Golden A ss" of Apeleius {Book xi.} we find that the double character of Anubis was maintained by his votaries in Rome even in the second century of our era, and in describing the Procession of Isis he says, Immediately after these came the Deities, condescending to walk upon human feet, the foremost among them rearing terrifically on high his dog's head and neck - that messenger between heaven and hell displaying alternately a face black as night waving aloft the green palm branch. (...)

There seems to be yet another jackal-headed god who was once thought to be identical with Anubis, but Ap-uat proved to be actually another god of the dead, or rather a form of Osiris himself.

"The function of each god was to "open the ways," and therefore each might be called Ap-uat, but, strictly speaking, Anubis was the opener of the roads of the North, and Ap-uat the opener of the roads of the South' in fact, Anubis was the personification of the Summer Solstice, and Ap-uat of the Winter Solstice."

(Snape and Sirius? Or maybe Sirius and Regulus? )

[snowman]

can any find out how a Phoenix is suposed to die. i've heard they can die for good. just wornding

[silver ink pot]

Another point to ponder:

In royal Egyptian marriages, they are working out of a very limited gene pool, or one linked to the royal family. In a lot of cases, if there weren't any cousins once removed to marry, brothers were actually marrying their sisters to keep the "royal blood"' in the Dynasty.

Sound sa lot like the Slytherins and their "pure blood" mentality.

Great point, Kaonashi! Although the Egyptian hierarchy of king lasted longer than perhaps any other civilization in history, due to its stability, a price had to have been paid by the incestuous inbreeding. People literally married their own sisters. Over generations this had to cause physical and emotional problems.

Maybe this the point of Sirius Black's mother screaming about the "House of her Fathers." She was of the House of Black and so was her husband. It is a pun, too. Osiris's mother was called "Nut"! And Sirius Black's mother sure was a Nut-case!

Serpentine: Love that about the Jackal God and the Wolf God! I think Harry is literally being raised by wolves, like Mowgli in the Jungle Book.

But I feel lost about Sirius and Isis, with Isis being Lily. Where does that leave James? And while Nepthys could be Petunia - alot of good points about that! - maybe we should look at who Snape's mother could be, and work from there. Somewhere I saw a family tree of the gods - maybe we can apply it to what we know about the House of Black. If only we knew who James really was! Who were his parents? Was he adopted?

Who is Seth? It is supposed to be the evil brother of Osiris/Sirius. Hmmm. Regulus? Snape - adopted brother? Or is it James - marauder brother? Lupin embraces Sirius "like a brother." The problem that is huge for me is that Sirius didn't die violently at the hand of his brother - he fell at the hand of his female cousin, Bella. And he wasn't dismembered, right? Other things fit so perfectly that this bothers me!

[Serpentine]

Seth is tricky... The aspect of evil and killing seems to fit Voldemort or his DE gang best. The white flesh, the moon legend (Thoth/DD) and the violent birth remind me of Voldemort too (his mother died at his birth). But his red hair - mentioned everywhere - sounds quite Weasley-ish. And his family relationships with the other gods are even more confusing. SIP, do you remember where to find that family tree?

Seth is often cited as the god of the desert, storms and thunder, of droughts and destruction, and sometimes as the god of foreigners. But it seems that he hasn't always been an evil god. His animal hasn't been identified with certainty, its head looks somehow piglike or doglike, but it's definitely red like the Egyptian desert. Owl's Info on Egyptian Gods and Crystalinks point out his red hair and red eyes; other sources note only red hair. Mythographica adds that he has "deathly white flesh", and says that in dynastic times there were illustrations of Seth with a dagger in his head, showing that by that time he was seen as harmful and had to be ritually countered. He has been associated with a pig, aardvark, donkey, hippopotamus or crocodile. Nebet "the gold town", north of Luxor, is reputed to be his town of birth. He doesn't have any children, which emphasizes his connection to the barren desert.

He seems to have been Lord of Upper Egypt (Horus the Elder being Lord of Lower Egypt; EgyptianMyths denotes them vice-versa though) and a just ruler and benefactor of his country. Early in history he appears to have had no conflicts with the other gods. As part of the same divine family he was married to his sister Nephthys. Crystalinks mentions Seth as one of the protectors on the solar barque, fending off the evil serpent Apep (the most dangerous foe of the sun god Ra), and that he was spoken of reverently as god of wind and storms. According to Mythographica, with the unification of Egypt Seth and Horus the Elder were shown with the symbol of unity between them, and EgyptianMyths says they used to crown the new kings together.

Then there seems to have been a power struggle among the worshippers of Horus and Seth. Apparently foreigners began to move into his country Upper Egypt and adopted his cult because it was similar to theirs (the natives of Egypt were very distrustful towards foreigners, and red for them represented evil), and/or its inhabitants conquered the other part of Egypt. Eventually Horus eclipsed Seth. The relation between Horus and Seth changed from equality to adversity, and the Osiris legend was created, making Seth the embodiment of evil. His place in the coronation of new kings, according to EgyptianMyths, was taken over by Thoth.

In the Osiris legend Seth was said to have tricked and murderered his brother Osiris. Other legends add that already at his birth he tore himself violently out of his mother's womb in his impatience to be born. Mythographica records that each month he attacked the moon, causing the New Moon. (Eclipses were caused by the evil serpent Apep.) There were some pharaohs who preferred Seth and even named their sons after him, but overall Horus was the foremost among the two of them.

www.geocities.com/owlsinfo/egypt/gods.html
www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/set.html
www.crystalinks.com/seth.html
www.egyptianmyths.net/seth.htm

[silver ink pot]

Serpentine: I found the family tree of Osiris.
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/ennead.htm

I couldn't remember where I saw it, because I was just cruising around. But this is the one I saw last night, only it still confuses me. If we apply it to the Harry Potter Story, and we think of him as Horus, then why does it show him as the son of Isis and Osiris. I'm perplexed!

This also has information about Heliopolis, which is interesting considering Luna Lovegood believes that Cornelius Fudge has an army of "heliopaths" at his disposal.

This one has a short version of the family tree with pictures:

http://www.starsandseas.com/SAS_Mythology/Efamily.htm

This quote about Thoth got me thinking:

He is represented as a man with the head of an ibis, which is often crowned by the crescent moon. The baboon is also sacred to him, for in Hermopolis he merged with the local baboon god Hedj-Wer.
http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/egg/thoth.htm

To me, Hedj-Wer sounds like "Hedge War."