Another Goddess duo in ancient mythology is Wadjet and Nekhbet. A hybrid animal goddess, Wadjet is usually depicted as a cobra snake with wings.
She represents the power of the Eye of Ra, and also the Crown of Pharaohs, a sun disc encircled by a cobra. Her partner Nekhbet appears as a vulture, and represents the Crown of Queens.
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In an Eye of Ra role Wadjet can be a bloodthirsty Goddess wreaking vengeance and punishment on disrespectful humans. In this compacity she may target the enemies of Buto. Another influential Goddess associated with the Eye of Ra is Sekhmet, Egyptian Goddess of War and Medicine.
In the pre-Dynastic period, Wadjet is patron Goddess of Lower Egypt. Her major cult center and sacred city is Buto on the Nile Delta. Annual festivals on 25 December and 21 June, as well as smaller occasions, celebrate the Goddess Wadjet.
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Nekhbet the vulture goddess is a tutelary deity for Upper Egypt, the southern part of the Nile. An ancient protector goddess, her image or artefacts are associated with the burial of the Egyptian Queens. The cobra aspect of Wadjet is used for Kings.
She's often depicted coiled upon the head of Ra. Always present in the uraeus, the serpent sun disc, she acts as his protector. Another early depiction of Wadjet is as a cobra entwined around a papyrus stem (c. 3100). It's thought to be the first image showing the snake coiled around a staff, which would later become the Staff of Aesculapius, a symbol of medicine.
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Below, the unification of Egypt from c. 3100. Wadjet (right) wears the red grown of Lower Egypt and Nekhbet the white crown of Upper Egypt. The two Egypts combine in the crown of Ptolemy.
Wadjet becomes a divine duo with Nekhbet. Here both Goddesses wear vulture crowns beneath their headgear, representing the women as Queens and possibly sisters.
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The color green relates to vegetation, fertility, health and divinity. It also corresponds to papyrus, the sacred plant of Wadjet, which grows along the Nile.
On the flip side, in Egypt green is associated with death. Underworld God Osiris is often colored green, as are gods, sometimes, who dally in the Land of the Dead. Thus Wadjet relates to life, health, prosperity and the realm of death at once, bringing all factors of nature into play.
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The snake shedding its skin is a symbol or regeneration. Snakes are commonly associated with both medicine and poison. The winged snake figure is also seen in the German dragon, the Lindwyrm, and the alchemy glyph Ouroboros.
The snake hybrid form of Wadjet is shown various ways. She might be a snake with a woman's head, or a woman with a snake's head. She may or may not have wings.Together with the Sun Disc, Wadjet the cobra creates the uraeus, or crown of kings. It's often worn by kings in Egyptian art, along the beard of divinity.
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The beard is false, a sign of rank and link to the gods. Ptolemy wears one, above. Keeping with tradition the ruler is expected to appear in public clean-shaven.
At first in history, the cobra surrounds the head of the Pharaoh like a crown. Later, she wraps herself around the solar disc representing Sun God Ra. The wings of the cobra symbolically embrace the ruler, while the motion of the wings creates pure essential air. This air can be breathed in the afterlife.
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In mythology Wadjet is nurse to the infant Horus. In the Nile delta she protects Horus and his mother Isis from Set, who is trying to kill them. Later Wadjet is associated with the Eye of Horus. Horus is god of kingship, protection, healing, sky and sun, one of the major Egyptian Gods.
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