Heket is an Egyptian Goddess of childbirth. She is depicted as a woman with a frog’s head or as a frog itself, a symbol of life and fertility. Heket helps to form the child in the womb and then presides over the birth. Midwives were known as “servants of Heket”. Variations on her name include Heqet, Heka, and Hepat.

Satis is the Egyptian Goddess of the Nile floods and fertility. She is associated with the star Sirius, which the Egyptians called Sothis, because its return to the night sky heralded the beginning of the flood season. Her temple at Elephantine was built to align with the position of the star. Satis also protected the southern border of Egypt; her name means “one who shoots” and the hieroglyph for her name included an animal skin pierced by an arrow. Her association with fertility comes from the fact that the Nile floods resulted in very fertile soil. Her name is also seen as Satet, Sates, Sati, and Satjit.

Pakhet is an Egyptian Goddess of the desert. Her name means “she who scratches”, corresponding with her representation as a lioness. She was also called the “Goddess at the entrance of the wadi“, referring to the lion’s habit of frequenting the watering holes at the edge of the desert. As with other lioness Goddesses, hers was a protective role.

Waset is an Egyptian Goddess who personified the city of Thebes. Her name, sometimes written as Wasret or Wosret, means “the powerful female one”. She was often depicted with a bow, arrows, and an axe, symbolizing the military might of her city of Thebes. She can be recognized by her headdress, which consists of a sceptre with a feather on top.

Nephthys is the Egyptian Goddess of the dead. She is the youngest daughter of Geb and Nut, sister to Isis and Osiris, and sister and consort to the God Set. In myth, she is always supportive of Isis; she helped her sister to find and reassemble the body of Osiris, and does not take the side of her husband Set. Nephthys is depicted in human form, usually with Isis. It is said that Nephthys stood at the head of the deceased, with Isis at the feet. This arrangement carried from death to birth as well—Nephthys stood by a laboring woman’s head to comfort and assist her, while Isis stood at the woman’s feet as midwife.Other names for her include Nebet-het (“mistress of the house”), Nebt-het, Neb-hut, and Nebthet.

Hatmehyt is an Egyptian Goddess of fish, whose name means “she who is before the fishes”. This suggests either that she was the first fish or that she is predominant over other fish deities. She was worshipped primarily at Mendes, and was the consort of that city’s ram God, Banebdjedet. She is usually depicted as a woman with a fish emblem on her head, or in the form of a fish. Her name is also seen as Hatmehit.

Neith is the most ancient of Egyptian Goddesses. She rules over war and weaponry, weaving, and is seen as the creator of both Gods and humans. She is “the eldest, mother of the gods, who illuminated the first face.” It was said that Neith wove the world on her loom. Her emblems of a bow and crossed arrows show her status as a a warrior Goddess; hunters also asked her blessing on their weapons. Neith’s rule over weaving led her to a function in the underworld as well—she provided the bandages and shrouds used in mummification. She was most often depicted in human form, but could also take the form of a cow (symbolizing the nursing mother) or a serpent (representing a protector of the king). Epithets associated with Neith include “mistress of the bow“, “ruler of arrows“, “the great cow“, “the great flood“, “the nurse of crocodiles“, and “mistress of Mendes“.

Kebehwet is an Egyptian serpent Goddess. She is the daughter of Anubis, the God of the dead, and played a role in funerary rites. Kebehwet poured water on the heart of the deceased to refresh and purify it. This practice was at first only identified with kings, but was eventually extended to all people.

Renenutet is an Egyptian Goddess of the harvest and protector of children. Her name means the “snake who nourishes”, for she was depicted most often as a rearing cobra. When depicted in human form, she sometimes had a snake’s head, and held a nursing infant in her lap. The apparent contrast between her nurturing disposition and her outward form is explained by the fact that serpents were often used to protect crops and stored grains from rats and mice. Renenutet also came to be associated with fate, and it was said that she was present at the births of children to determine their destiny. Her epithets include “lady of the fertile land“, “lady of the threshing floor“, “lady of the granaries“, and “lady of justification“.

In Egypt, each hour of the night was represented by a protective Goddess. Collectively, the Goddesses strengthened the sun God Re through the night and witnessed his rebirth every morning. The hour Goddesses were shown in human form in two groups of six on either side of a depiction of the underworld, usually containing a huge coiled snake. They did not have names as such, but were referred to by their epithets: “Splitter of the heads of Re’s enemies“, “The wise, guardian of her lord“, “Slicer of souls“, “Great of power“, “She on her boat“, “Proficient leader“, “Repeller of the snake“, “Mistress of the night“, “Adorer“, “Beheader of rebels“, “The star, repulser of rebels“, and “Beholder of the beauty of Re“.