Anubis is one of the most important Gods of the Egyptian pantheon and the Primary God of the Underworld until Middle Kingdom. His name is the Greek version of what Egyptians pronounced as Anapa or Anpu. The etymology of the word Anubis is under discussion. Some suggest that it derives from Royal Child, Putrefy or even Puppy.
Anubis, the Gatekeeper of the Great Beyond
According to the Ogdoad system, Anubis is the son of Ra, the creator. At this time, he is considered the absolute ruler of the Underworld. In later scripts, ‘the Jackal-head God’ is the son of Nephthys Goddess of Household and Domestic Affairs and Set (Seth) God of the Deserts and Darkness. According to many other myths which are the most dominant he is the real son of Osiris the Great King of the Underworld. These myths narrate that Anubis mother Nephthys, disguised as Isis seduced Set’s brother, Osiris into making love and this is how Anubis was conceived.
Anubis is married to the Goddess Anput, invoked as the Mother of Light and the Lady of Magic and has a daughter the mysterious Goddess Kebechet, she who purifies and revitalizes the Waters. We will get back to these Goddesses in a future posts.
Anubis in any version of the story remains the Gatekeeper and Ruler of the Underworld. In ancient Egyptian invocations Anubis is invoked as the Guardian of the Veil (of the afterlife). Egyptians pray to Anubis in order to help and guard the Spirits of the Dead loved ones and also to help the Lost Souls to find their way in afterlife and be guided by his Divine Power. Anubis is believed to help even the ones who were forgotten and not buried properly.
The God of Funerals
As the Counter (Weighter) of the Hearts, he is the primary God called to bless funerals as he is the one who stands before the Divine Booth, meaning the process of Embalming. He is also the one in change defining whether a soul is pure or not. In a story, when Osiris was murdered, Anubis was the one who embalmed his body with the help of Nephthys and Isis.
Symbols of the God
Anubis is usually depicted as a black Jackal or Jackal-headed Man. Black symbolized the Death and Rebirth for the Ancient Egyptians. It is also considered highly likely that ancient Egyptians adopted both Dogs (especially Black Dogs) and Jackals as the symbols of their God. After all, he rules the Dog-star. Jackals and Dogs were also consider psychopomb animals, in other words they were considered guardians and escorts of the Dead. In later Hellenistic and Ptolemaic years the center of the Cult of Anubis was called Cynopolis, the city of Dogs.
Another aspect of Anubis comes from what Egyptians called him “Opener of Roads”. He is said to unblock our path and elevate blocks in our way. He is also called as the “One who Stands upon the Mountain” meaning that he observes all and guards. Interestingly, he os also invoked to aid in Oracles. This is probably because of his later association with the Greek God Hermes (Mercury in Latin), but probably it derives from the fact the he observes all.
See here more about the Zodiac Sign of Anubis. Are you under his influnce?
The Jackal Masks
Priests of Anubis is said to wear Jackal Masks in order to channel the forces of the God, as many tribes do in order to channel the forces of each totem animal or God / Goddess or other forces.
Tip! If you want to establish a better contact with the Spirit/Force you call or invoke or pray to, try to incorporate its form or symbols in what you wear. I understand that’s it’s rather difficult to walk in your Boss’s office wearing a Jackal Mask but you can have charms, secret charms in the form of the Spirit’s Symbol. On the other hand, if you perform a private ritual or a spell where no one will interrupt you, try to wear a mask or something equally fancy. This is how Shamans channel the power of each totem animal too. We will give more information soon!
Invoke Anubis and ask for his help:
- For Protection
- To contact the Dead
- To help lost Souls find their way to the Light
- To ease the passing from this Life to the Other
- For Reincarnation spells and Recalling of Past Lives
- To Unblock your path, to lift the unbearable weights of some problems
- For Divination Spells
You can find more in a site devoted to Anubis http://www.yinepu.org/
