Wadjet Goddess | The Serpent Goddess

• 16 / 5 / 2023

Wadjet, known as Buto, Uto, or Edjo, the elapid snake god of ancient Egypt, was portrayed as an elapid snake coiled around a papyrus stem. She was the custodial god of territorial division. 

Wadjet and Nekhbet, the vulture-goddess of Upper Egypt, were the protecting goddesses of the king and were generally depicted along with the king’s crown, a figuration of his reign over all of Egypt.
 

Often shown as an elapid snake, or because of the head of the elapid snake, Wadjet is seen rearing from the forehead of the rulers. proof of her protection is most notable within the observance mask of Tutankhamun. sometimes, she has been shown within the pretense of her "eye of divine vengeance" role, as a lion. In later years, the royal crowns were usually adorned with 2 or additional depictions of cobras in deference to her role as preserver.

While Wadjet was generally portrayed because the lioness-headed god, she was usually seen within the image of the genus Herpestes, depicted on the ceremonial urns of ancient Egypt. The genus Herpestes was revered as her sacred animal. at the side of the shrew mouse, they were mummified and entombed in statuettes of the god. it's believed that the genus Herpestes and also the shrew mouse were representatives of the day and night cycle. The genus Herpestes represents daylight, and also the nocturnal shrew mouse represents night.

There is an ancient legend that tells how the Eye of Horus was damaged and then recovered, as Set tore it into small pieces and then scattered those pieces throughout the land of Egypt, so Thoth the physician collected those pieces and healed them, so the Eye of Horus took on another meaning, which is the unity of Egypt, and was given the name "Wadjet", which means "complete" or the one who regained his "integration".And the names of the gods of Egypt's unity. The feminine goddess (Wedjoyet) was represented by the uraeus, or cobra, which meant "green."

The center of her cult was the city of Buto (the Greek name for the Egyptian name “Per-Wadjet,” meaning “House of Wadjet”), in the sixth province of Lower Egypt.

During the Late and Ptolemaic periods in ancient Egypt, bronze statues of jackals, like the one adjacent to this text, rose their front paws above a little bronze box.  The ibis' adoration of the sun deity, who rises every morning, is symbolized by the uplifted paws...  In Egyptian mythology, the ibis is linked to Wadjet, the goddess of the sea, who was primarily venerated in the Delta city of Buto.

Two women from Upper and Lower Egypt

A relief depicting the eagle god Nekhbet, the patroness of the south and the dominant goddess of the Theban sky, and the cobra goddess Wadjet, the patroness of the north and protector of kings and queens. This symbol rests on the forehead of every king, and is best known for spitting sesame seeds at Egypt's enemies. 

They represent Upper and Lower Egypt. This is well-known in the heglyphic inscriptions, as the names of the kings are drawn from the second title, the Nabti. These two women are the goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt: the goddess Nekhbet, protector of the south, depicted as an eagle, and the goddess Wadjet, protector of the north, depicted as a snake.The two goddesses rest on two wicker baskets... The inscription can be translated as "Nabti," meaning "the two ladies."

After becoming an independent god, the Eye of Horus was merged with the goddess Wadjet to become one god named Wadjet. The Eye of Horus appears with the goddess Wadjet in Tutankhamun's vest.

Wadjet was associated with Ain al-Shams, as the daughter of Ra, and the goddess Wadjet, of course, had relationships with other snakes, such as the goddess "Rennutet", who also represented the uraeus, and was a protector of the king. Wadjet was also associated with the cat goddess Bastet

With the title of the merciful goddess (Nakhbet), she became a double symbol of the two unified countries.