Serket- Egyptian GodDeity"She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe"

She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe

Serket's title refers to her power over scorpion stings and snake bites, which caused the throat to swell shut. She could inflict this death and she could prevent it. She was depicted as a woman with a scorpion on her head, or sometimes as a scorpion with a woman's head. The scorpion was one of Egypt's most feared creatures, lurking in dark corners, under rocks, and in clothing left on the floor. Its sting was painful and potentially fatal, particularly to children. Serket controlled all of it.

Protector of the Dead

Serket was one of four protective goddesses, alongside Isis, Nephthys, and Neith, who guarded the corners of sarcophagi and the canopic jars containing the deceased's organs. She protected Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed Son of Horus who guarded the intestines. Her gilded figure from Tutankhamun's canopic shrine, arms outstretched, still stands in the Egyptian Museum. Serket also helped guard the bound serpent Apophis in the underworld, her power over venomous creatures extending to the greatest serpent of all.

Healing Magic

Serket's priests, called "conjurers of Serket," specialized in treating venomous stings and bites. They combined invocations to the goddess with practical remedies. The Brooklyn Papyrus preserves detailed treatments under her patronage. Magical stelae called cippi, inscribed with healing spells, were believed to cure those who drank water poured over them. Beyond the healing chamber, Serket was invoked during childbirth, sought by desert travelers, and her scorpion amulets were worn throughout Egyptian history.