Nephthys is one of the Egyptian goddesses in the Ennead of Heliopolis, a group of nine ancient Egyptian deities believed to be responsible for creation in one of the most popular Egyptian creation myths. The sister of the popular goddess Isis, she was in many ways her dark mirror image.
Nephthys is the goddess of liminal spaces, including night, darkness, and dangerous frontier spaces, such as the edge of the eastern desert. She also has power in the space between life and death. She was also linked with the underworld through her role in the resurrection of Osiris.
Though less prominent than Isis, Nephthys was also a powerful magic worker and often called on for protection. Her protective powers extended to the divine realm, and she was sometimes among the gods who protect the barge of the sun god Atum-Ra from Apophis, along with her brother-husband Seth.
An Ancient Goddess with Many Temples
Egyptian religion changed and evolved over time, but Nephthys was present fromancient times. Her cult can be traced back to the pre-dynastic period of the 4th millennium BCE, and she continued to be popular in Ptolemaic Egypt (323-30 BCE).
Her temples were mainly located in border towns, where the Black Lands of the Nile valley met the Red Lands of the desert. Often, separate temples for both Nephthys and her brother-husband Seth, the god of the desert and chaos, were found close to one another. Both temples often had oracles that served the local population. Major temples of Nephthys have been identified at Heliopolis, Senu, Hebet, Per-Met, Re-Nefert, Hek-Sekem, Punodjem, Supermeru, and Herakleopolis.
Her cult at Punodjem was so popular that one of her priests complained about his heavy workload. During the New Kingdom under Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE), she had a grand temple at Supermeru. Discovered in the 1980s, it was close to a temple of Seth. It was one of the few places where she was linked directly with the pharaoh on her own, without being part of a triad with Isis and Osiris.
Along with Ptah-Tanen, Nephthys was often used to represent Lower Egypt, while her sister Isis and the god Khnum represented Upper Egypt.
Goddess of the Ennead of Heliopolis
According to the Heliopolitan creation myth, in the beginning, there was nothing. But soon a primordial mound known as the ben-ben emerged from the chaos, and the god Atum (or Atum-Ra) was standing upon it. The god soon became lonely in the isolated nothingness and so mated with his own shadow to produce two children, Shu, god of the air, and Tefnut, goddess of moisture. Other versions of the story suggest that he created them with his spit or semen. In any case, he reproduced alone.
Shu and Tefnut mated and created Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. This brother and sister soon fell deeply in love and became inseparable. Shu decided to separate the pair, inserting himself in the middle and holding Nut up above Geb, allowing the world to exist in the space between. Nut was already pregnant and gave birth to five children: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder.
According to the priests at Heliopolis, Atum placed Osiris, along with his sister-consort Isis, in charge of the realm of reality. Together, they taught mankind how to live and care for themselves, creating an Egyptian society that prospered and flourished.
Death and Resurrection of Osiris
There are various versions of what happens next in the myth, but they agree that Seth soon grew jealous of the position of his brother Osiris and coveted it for himself. According to some versions, Seth convinced his sister-wife Nephthys to seduce Osiris. For this purpose, the goddess used her magic to take on the appearance and scent of her sister and lured him into her bed chamber. When he left the next morning, Osiris left behind a flower that he wore in his hair, providing evidence of his “betrayal.”
Seth then tricked his older brother by creating a beautiful coffin-shaped casket that was richly decorated and perfectly sized for Osiris. At a party, he said that he would give the casket to whoever it fit best. When Osiris entered to check the measurement, Seth killed him, slammed the casket shut, and threw his body into the Nile River.
Seth assumed Osiris’ position as absolute monarch with Nephthys as his consort.
Isis went in search of the body of her husband and eventually found it. She confided in her sister about where she had hidden the body. Seth suspected that Isis would do this and convinced Nephthys to tell him where Osiris’ body was. He then found the body, chopped it up, and hid the pieces all over Egypt.
Regretting her role in this, Nephthys then helped Isis retrieve the body parts and reconstruct the body of Osiris. She then helped Isis conduct the required magical rituals to bring Osiris back to life.
But as Osiris had already passed, he was restored to a kind of half-life, which is why he appears with green skin. The sisters had to create the afterlife for Osiris to dwell in. This also became an afterlife for the Egyptian people.
But Isis was also able to mate with Osiris and produce a son, Horus. He eventually challenged his uncle Seth, and the pair engaged in a series of challenges to be judged by the other gods to determine who should rule Egypt. It took 80 years, but Horus was eventually declared the winner.
While Horus became the ruler of the Black Lands of Egypt, Seth was given dominion over the Red Lands of the desert as compensation.
Liminal Goddess
Due to her connection with Seth, Nephthys was also associated with the more dangerous places in the world. But she was also closely linked to her nephew Horus and was often depicted as his wet nurse. Her ability to walk in both of these worlds associated her with the liminal spaces “in between.”
Often depicted alongside her sister Isis, Nephthys was sometimes considered her dark mirror image. While Isis represented light and order, Nephthys was the shadowy unknown. This led to an association with the sunset, and prayers to the goddess were often made at this hour.
She was also associated with the night, which led to a connection with the moon. She was also linked to the unseen. Texts at Edfu say that she lets the pharaoh see things that are hidden by moonlight.
Protector of Atum-Ra
In a myth that dates back to the Old Kingdom (2613-2181 BCE), the ancient Egyptians also believed that Nephthys and her brother-husband Seth protected the barge of the sun god Atum-Ra from the serpent god Apophis, who attacks it each night at sunset. They battle throughout the night as the barge passes through the underworld. Seth is often depicted as a protector of the barge, sometimes called the son of Ra and considered one of the few gods strong enough to face Apophis. Nephthys sometimes appears by his side.
Funerary Goddess
In the story of Osiris, while Nephthys is initially a bit of a villain, she eventually redeems herself by helping Isis restore Osiris. This made Nephthys a very important funerary deity. Rituals conducted to ensure that the pharaoh – and later anyone who could afford it – successfully passed over into the afterlife involved replicating the magic conducted by Isis and Nephthys. The priests working the magic would often call on the goddesses for help, and priestesses would assume their roles as mourners of Osiris, imitating the goddesses.
Nephthys seems to have been particularly associated with the removal of the organs as part of the embalming process. She is one of four goddesses depicted in the tomb of Tutankhamun to protect his canopic jars along with Isis, Selket, and Neith. The linen used to embalm the dead was known as the “tresses of Nephthys.”
As Egyptian beliefs around the afterlife expanded, the idea that the dead had to pass through a dangerous realm and then pass a test known as the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony before they could join Osiris in the afterlife emerged. Magic spells were devised to help the dead make that journey, and Nephthys featured prominently within them.
The Late Period Berlin Papyrus 3008 is a personal copy of the magical spells of the Book of the Dead written in Hieratic Egyptian script. It records the Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys to ensure the resurrection of Osiris. Professional mourners in ancient Egypt were often known as the “hawks of Nephthys.” In the text, Nephthys is described as the eternal bodyguard of Osiris, pointing to her role as the protector of those in the afterlife.
Milk Nurse of the Pharaoh
But Nephthys’ role in the myth does not end with the resurrection of Osiris. She also acts as a milk nurse to the young Horus. In some stories, Nephthys is also the mother of the funerary god Anubis, but in others, she is barren and therefore completely dedicated to her nephew.
Through this life-giving milk, Nephthys nourished Horus. Since the Pharaoh is the human embodiment of Horus, the goddess therefore also nourishes the Pharaoh, making her an important patron of the Egyptian royal family. This associates her with the complete lifecycle. The goddess nourishes new life with her milk and accompanies a person as they transition from this life to the next.
Protective Goddess
Nephthys was a protector of the dead, a protector of Atum-Ra, and was also called on for protection by the living. For this reason, she was known by the Egyptians as the “helpful goddess.” Many amulets in the shape of the likeness of Nephthys survive in the Egyptian archaeological record, and the goddess is summoned to provide aid by many Egyptians using magical papyri.
While Nephthys is benevolent, she is also ferocious. According to some texts, the goddess is capable of incinerating enemies with her fiery breath, and she is one of the few beings who causes demons to tremble with fear.
Lady of the Temple
While Nephthys is the name most used for the goddess today, it is the Latin version of the ancient Egyptian language name Nebet-hut. Her name means “Lady of the Temple,” and she was often associated with temple rites and the role of the priestess.
She represents the pylons that guard the gateways of temples in ancient Egypt, as she is also the goddess of thresholds and passageways. The goddess often appears with a pylon on her head, and the hieroglyphs for her name, a combination of the symbol for sacred temple enclosures, hwt, and the symbol for nb “mistress”.
During certain rituals, Egyptian priestesses would assume the roles of Nephthys and Isis, the divine priestesses. The priests of Egypt called on the two goddesses to sanctify spaces at the start of their rituals.
Nephthys the Witch
Nephthys’ magical powers in general, her association with ritual magic, and her association with liminal and sark spaces mean that she has often been associated with witchcraft in modern paganism. While Isis represents the formal magic of the established order in Egypt, Nephthys works on the fringes, like the hedge witch.
The ancient Egyptians believed in magic. Initially, priests were the only respected magical practitioners, and they worked on behalf of the Pharaohs. But by the time of the New Kingdom, private witches and magicians were also common.
Witches and magicians worked magic by linking themselves to a certain god or goddess. This granted these human beings power usually reserved for the divine. This manifested in a variety of practices, including spell casting, amulets, alchemy, astrology, astronomy, and the creation of herbal medicines.
Written spells were considered the most powerful since the Egyptian people were broadly literate, and these spells could be consulted and passed on to others. This is why we see copies of the Book of the Dead written in the common script.
Nephthys and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was created in the 19th century by modern magical practitioners. They draw many of their beliefs and ritual magic practices from ancient Egyptian traditions.
Within this ritual magic tradition, Nephthys represents power in the form of an Imperatrix. Her colors are red and green, and she bears a red phoenix wand or a red sword. Members of the Order would adopt the forms of various Egyptian deities, especially those of the Ennead of Heliopolis, during their grading ceremonies.
In the Archangel Oracle Tarot and the Anubis Tarot, inspired by the gods of ancient Egypt, Nephthys serves as the High Priestess in the Major Arcana.
She is described as a hidden or veiled goddess who serves as the intermediary between different worlds. She is highly intuitive and often brings realizations in dreams, flashes, and visions. She is considered a virgin, despite being the mother of Anubis.
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