Selket

In Ancient Egypt, the goddess Selket (also spelled Serqet or Selqet) was revered as a powerful and protective deity, most commonly associated with healing venomous stings and bites. Her name is thought to mean “She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe,” a reference to her role in safeguarding against poisons that could cause suffocation. She was believed to have dominion over scorpions, snakes, and other dangerous creatures, and thus people prayed to her for protection from such threats, especially in desert regions and during the hotter months when scorpions were most active. Mothers, children, and travellers were among those who commonly sought her divine aid.

Selket was often depicted as a serene and graceful woman with a scorpion poised on her head, arms outstretched in a gesture of divine protection. Her image adorned amulets and magical texts designed to ward off harm, and she played a crucial role in funerary religion. In particular, she was one of the four goddesses who guarded the Canopic jars of the deceased, protecting the intestines and aiding in the soul’s journey through the afterlife. Worshippers called upon her not only for healing in life, but also for safety in the realm beyond death, making Selket both a guardian of the living and a protector of the dead.

The worship of Selket (Serqet) can be traced back to the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, around c. 2600 B.C., although it is likely that her origins lie even earlier in local or pre-dynastic beliefs related to scorpion magic and desert protection. She does not appear to have had a large, independent temple cult in the way that major gods such as Amun or Horus did. Instead, Selket was venerated in a more domestic and magical context, particularly through protective spells, amulets, and healing rituals. Her role was crucial in safeguarding people from scorpion stings, snake bites, and other venomous threats common in the Egyptian landscape.

Selket’s cult grew in importance during the Middle Kingdom and reached particular prominence in the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 B.C.), when she became closely associated with funerary rites and the afterlife. She was one of the four protective goddesses of the Canopic jars, entrusted with guarding the intestines of the deceased, paired with the protective deity Qebehsenuef. Her presence is notable in the Valley of the Kings, where she is depicted on the walls of royal tombs or accompanying sacred shrines, stretching out her arms in a gesture of protection over the king’s body and soul.

Worship of Selket likely took place through spoken prayers, household shrines, and apotropaic rituals (designed to ward off evil). People may have carried amulets bearing her image or invoked her name in spells from medical papyri, particularly those dealing with venom and breathlessness. Though she had no major temple, her role as a divine healer and protector ensured her worship was deeply embedded in both everyday and funerary religious life.