With Guide of Nephthys


Nephthys

Goddess of Death and Lamentation
Goddess of Sleep and Nature
Lady of the Night


It is October; which Halloween season and the border between the Spiritual realm and the Living Realm grows weaker. So I writing about series of Gods of the Underworld and monsters this month. I am being with the Egyptian Goddess Nephthys.
Nephthys is the twin sister Isis. Her name means 'Lady of the House' it's thought to be referring to Osiris' Palace or the Home of the Gods. She has little in common with the Isis, Goddess of Life; she uses her talents toward the aid and comfort of the dead. It is said that no dead person, no matter their status or wisdom, can hope to traverse Duat (the Egyptian Underworld) without the protection of Nephthys, who unstintingly guards the deceased as they make their long journey. She is also a great healer, second only to Isis, and she bestows her aid to women who call upon her, granting them the children she herself is seldom able to bear.

Nephthys’s themes are death, spirits and rebirth. Her symbols are fire, baskets and Myrrh.  This Egyptian funerary Goddess had a hawk for a sacred animal. Together they guide and watch the souls of our loved ones in the afterlife. In Egyptian tradition, Nephthys lives in the east, where She can receive the rising sun, a symbol of the hopefulness she can instill and of resurrection.
As Goddess of the Night, she is the mistress of the blackness beyond man's reach, but acts as a helper and guide in the abyss, unerringly guiding worshipers through the darkness safely and revealing the secrets that it keeps so well-hidden. 

She was also believed to be the protector of the pharaoh in life and death. She is pictured to release her fiery power incinerating the enemies of the pharaoh. She also bestowed upon the pharaoh the ability to see beyond what is hidden by the moonlight making Nephthys the patron of witches and magicians.
As Seth's wife, she is faithful and complements his violence with cool reason. Although there seems to be some mutual love between the two, they do not always trust each other. Nephthys has sided against her husband more than once and likewise, Set was willing to sacrifice her to gain power. However, seeing as he told her his secret name, it is likely that he cares more for her than he leads on.
Though Nephthys wanted children of her own, tried as she might she could not interest him in her sexually. At her wits' end and afraid that he must find Isis more attractive, Nephthys disguised herself cunningly as her sister; however, her disguise was so convincing that Osiris, happening to pass at that time, mistook her for Isis as well and, believing her to be his wife, took her to bed despite her protests. It was not long after that the god Anubis was born, but none among the gods have ever been able to truly say whether his father is Nephthys's true husband, Seth, or whether he might be born of her one ill-fated affair with Osiris.
When Seth had killed Osiris, Isis's wailing was so strident that all the gods came to see what the matter was, including Nephthys. When she saw what had been done to her brother, she made a keening cry of such sorrow that none of the gods had ever heard it’s like; she had invented mourning, and thereafter it was decreed that all mankind should emulate her custom and mourn their dead after their passing. Once she had recovered, Nephthys helped Isis prepare Osiris's body for death and served as a fellow mourner in her sister's grief.
After the birth of Horus, Isis immediately hid for fear that Seth discover her in her weakness and attempt to murder her to prevent her from opposing him. The infant Horus set up a loud clamor, such that Nephthys came to see what the matter was; seeing that there was no one there to take care of him, she set him to her own breast and nursed him as if he were her own. She returned him to his mother when Isis came out of hiding, but forever after was considered to be foster mother to Horus despite his actual parentage.

If you find your sense of hopefulness waning under everyday pressures, light a candle honoring Nephthys today, and every day, until you sense a difference in attitude. Try to choose a candle whose color represents hope and change to you (sprout green is one good choice). Inscribe the candle with a symbol of what you most need to turn things around so that this Goddess can shine dawn’s revitalizing light into your heart and begin relieving some of that heaviness.

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