Seven Scorpions- Egyptian GroupCollective"Guardians of Isis"
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Description
When a wealthy woman slammed her door on the disguised Isis, the scorpion Tefen slipped beneath it and stung her son. Seven supernatural escorts whose venom served divine justice and whose story, recited over scorpion-sting patients, became a healing spell used across Egypt for centuries.
Mythology & Lore
The Journey Through the Marshes
The Metternich Stela preserves the story. When Isis fled through the Delta marshes, pregnant with Horus and hunted by Set's agents, Thoth dispatched seven scorpions to guard her. He instructed them to obey the goddess and keep their faces downcast so as not to attract attention. Three scorpions, Petet, Thetet, and Matet, went before her to clear the path. Mestet and Mestetef walked beneath her litter. Tefen and Befen guarded the rear. Isis warned them to speak to no one during their secret passage.
The Wealthy Woman's Door
A wealthy noblewoman slammed her door in Isis's face, refusing the disguised goddess shelter. Tefen crept under the door and stung the woman's young son. The child fell deathly ill. Meanwhile, a poor marshwoman had offered Isis hospitality, and the goddess blessed her. When the wealthy woman's cries reached Isis, she could not let an innocent child die for his mother's discourtesy. She spoke the child's name and commanded the poison to leave his body.
Healers recited this story over patients suffering from scorpion stings, invoking Isis's power to command the venom to depart.
Relationships
- Guards