Animals play an important role in Egyptian mythology some of them are explained below:
Abtu and Inet: Twin fishes who swim alongside the boat of the sun God Ra and drive away evil forces. The Goddess Isis was said to transform into Abtu in Abtu’s role as the fish which swallows the penis of Osiris (alluding to sexual intercourse between Isis and Osiris) this however might also be interpreted as a further connection between Isis and the fish Goddess Hatmehit this may suggest that Inet is therefore her partner fish God Rem. Abtu and Inet may be related to the star sign of Pisces as they accompanied the sun as it rose and fell across the heavens similar to the rising and falling fish of the zodiac.
Ab-Esh-Imy-Duat: A monsterous crocodile who guards the tomb of Osiris in the underworld and is charmed with certain magical phrases.
Ab-She: A crocodile that eats souls who become lost in the Egyptian underworld of Duat.
Ab-Ta: A large serpent that guards the ninth entrance to Duat.
Af: The ram with halo symbolising the “dead” or setting sun.
Aker: Twin lions who guarded the rising sun as it left the underworld (depicted top left). The Aker were able to see into the past and future respectively. In later symbolism the lions would be two headed with a single merged torso but would continue to face opposing directions. Aker was a protective force seen to surround the sun God or pharoah’s as they traveled the underworld shielding them from the breath of poisonous serpent demons. This symbology may have gone on to influence connection between the star sign of Leo and the sun as well as its Kabbalistic association with snakes.
Akhekh: A griffin-like creature with the head of a bird, three wings and the body of an antelope.
Akhen: A large serpent that guards the seventh entrance to Duat.
Ankh-Aapau: A large serpent that guards the fifth entrance to Duat.
Ba-Neb-Djet: The sacred goat of Mendes connected with Osiris, it would be turned into the Baphomet symbol by later Occultists.
Benu: The Egyptian phoenix or Benu bird, it was a blue or golden hawk (depicted top central) with a head like a heron often depicted wearing a crown. The Benu was said to rebirth itself from fire which burned at the top of the sacred Persea tree. The Benu was said to be born from the heart of Osiris and was a symbol of the rising and setting sun associated with resurrection. Some Egyptian magicians created magical formulas supposed to transform the soul into a Benu bird after death which coupled with its resurrective quality and association with sacred trees may imply a symbolic Kabbalistic mystery.
Catfish: One of three animals said to have eaten the phallus of Osiris likely symbolising or alluding to sexual intercourse.
Crab: One of three animals said to have eaten the phallus of Osiris likely symbolising or alluding to sexual intercourse. The crab however was considered a cursed animal for this act and may have gone on to influence connections between the star sign of Cancer and the holy grail.
Gengen Wer: A goose that guards the egg of life or cosmic egg. This almost certainly references Kabbalistic sacred geometries.
Ibis: The Ibis is a bird (depicted top right) associated with the God of scribes, Thoth. The Ibis was said to be an enemy of snakes, especially winged-snakes and was a protective symbol.
Mau: The sun God Ra in the form of a great cat prophesied to decapitate the chaotic serpent God Apophis (depicted central) at the tree of life in the end of days using a special ritual knife.
Medjed-Fish: The elephant fish, one of three animals said to have swallowed the phallus of Osiris likely indicating or symbolising sexual intercourse.
Mehen: The serpent that protects the sun God, Ra.
Mnevis: Mnevis was identified as being a bull. The mythology of Mnevis is likely a remnant of the sacrifice rituals where pharoahs would be killed after a period of reign to appease the Gods, since at the time the pharoahs were seen as sons of the cattle deities Bat or Hathor. Mnevis was related to sun cults and held the solar disk between his horns. A suitable living bull would be selected and taken to a special temple where it was worshipped and its movements used as an oracle to divine the future or omens before sacrificing it for the fertility of the land. Since the fertile soil of the Nile was black it was usual to select a completely black bull for this ritual the bull was then refered to as “Kemwer” meaning “great black one”, if a black bull could not be found a white bull was used in contrast.
Saa-Set: A huge serpent standing on end found in the first area of Duat.
Scarabs: Asociated with the sun and protection they were considered symbolic of rebirth and resurrection since their young were born out of the putrification of the dungballs they rolled around. The dungball was seen as a symbol of the sun and the beetle rolled it around the sky.
Scorpions: Scorpions feature prominently in Egyptian mythology sometimes as poisonous animals and at other times as healers this may be due to an understanding of anti-venoms produced from venoms. The Egyptians had a taboo against speaking the names of scorpions believing that doing so brought the creatures to the speaker they also believed that the colour or stone of turquoise was an effective remedy against scorpion stings.
Sebi: A large serpent that guards the entrance to the twelth area of Duat.
Sefer: A hybrid animal with the winged body of a lion and the head of an eagle representing an Egyptian griffin.
Setcha: A serpentine leopard or cat-reptile hybrid also known as a “Seropard”.
Seth Animal: The Seth animal is a mystery of the ancient world it is depicted on Egyptian hieroglyphics and so named because the darkness God Seth has the head of one. Scholars are not sure what kind of animal it is, it may have actually existed and been hunted to extinction due to its association with the darkness and powers of evil, the Egyptian superstition surrounding this animal may have been extreme enough to cause them to destroy the corpses with fire and pulverisation.
Set-Hra: A large serpent that guards the eight entrance to Duat.
Sethu: A large serpent that guards the fourth entrance to Duat.
Teka-Hra: A large serpent that guards the fifth entrance to Duat alongside Ankh-Aapau and Tepan.
Tepan: A large serpent that carries offerings to the God Seker. Tepan guards the fifth entrance to Duat alongside Ankh-Aapau and Teka-Hra.
Uraeus: The divine snake of the eye of Ra often worn on the forehead area of a Pharoahs cobra-hooded crown it may relate to Kundalini/Serpent energy concepts.
