Heru-sa-Aset better known as Horus

Kemetic names: Heru, Heru Sa Aset, Har, Hor

Greek name: Horus, Horus the Younger

(NOTE: In addition to native variations by locality or over time, there are often several possible transliterations into the Roman alphabet used for English.)

Manifestations: Harpokrates (Heru-Pa-Khret, Harpakhrad), “Horus the child”; Haroeris (Har Wer), “Horus the elder”; Harakhte (Harakhti, Heraktes), “Horus of the horizon”; Harendotes (Har-nedj-itef, Har-End-Yotef), “Horus the saviour of His father”; Harmachis (Heru-Em-Akhet, Harmakis), “Horus in the horizon”; Harsiesis (Harsiese, Har-si-Ese, Hor-Sa-Iset, Heru-Sa-Aset), “Horus, son of Isis”; Harsomtus (Har-mau), “Horus the uniter”; Hor Behdetite (Behedti), “Horus of Behdet”

Basic Information:

Heru Sa Aset [Horus]: Solar deity. Twin brother of Bast and son of Aset and Asar. Heru Sa Aset means “Heru son of Aset” Heru was also the son of Het Heret. Heru is shown as a golden-skinned man, often with the head of a falcon.

Holy Days

Payni or Paoni: Heru is the God of the month of Payni or Paoni of the season of Semut or Shemu (Harvest or Summer), which was from approximately mid April to mid May.

Horus the Child

Horus the child was also known as Harseisis or HerusaAset (Horus son of Isis) and Harpokrates or Herupakhered (Horus the Child or Horus the Younger) while still an infant. He was the child of Isis and Osiris who was conceived after the death of Osiris at the hands of Set. He was brought up in secret by Isis and took up the battle against Set when he had come of age. As Herupakhred, he was depicted as an naked infant wearing the side-lock of youth with one finger held to his lips. In this role he represented both the royal heir and newborn sun. He is often depicted with his mother Isis in a pose which later became iconic for the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus in Christian art.


HerusaAset was thought to protect the deceased along with the "four sons of Horus" who protected the vital organs removed from the body and placed in canopic jars during mummification. Each of the four were associated with a point on the compass and a patron goddess as well as the specific organ they protected.

While as HerusaAset he fought Set to avange his father's death and to regain the throne of Egypt. Once installed as King, he was known as Harnedjitef, ("Horus the savior of his father") in recognition of the fact that he successfully avenged his father´s death and regained the kingdom. At Nag´el Madamud (north of Luxor) the war god Montu was worshiped along with his consort Raettawy, and their son Harpokrates (Horus the Younger)

Horus

The name Horus is Greek. In Ancient Egypt he was known as "Heru" (sometimes Hor or Har), which is translated as "the distant one" or "the one on high"(from the preposition "hr" meaning "upon" or "above"). He was considered to be a celestial falcon, and so his name could be a specific reference to the flight of the falcon, but could also be seen as a more general solar reference. It is thought that the worship of Horus was brought into Egypt during the predynastic period.

He seems to have begun as a god of war and a sky god who was married to Hathor, but soon became considered as the opponent of Set, the son of Ra, and later the son of Osiris. However, the situation is confused by the fact that there were many Hawk gods in ancient Egypt and a number of them shared the name Horus (or more specifically Har, Heru or Hor). Furthermore, the gods Ra, Montu and Sokar could all take the form of a falcon. Each "Horus" had his own cult center and mythology, but over time they merged and were absorbed by the most popular Horus, Horus Behedet (Horus of Edfu).

He was the protector and patron of the pharaoh. As Horus was associated with Upper Egypt (as Heru-ur in Nekhen) and Lower Egypt (as Horus Behedet or Horus of Edfu) he was the perfect choice for a unified country and it seems that he was considered to be the royal god even before unification took place. The Pharaoh was often considered to be the embodiment of Horus while alive (and Osiris once he was deceased). The Turin Canon, describes the Predynastic rulers of Egypt as "the Followers of Horus", and the majority of Pharaohs had an image of Horus at the top of their serekh (a stylised palace facade in which one of the king´s names was written).

However, Sekhemhib (Seth Peribsen) chose to place Horus´ opposite and enemy Set on his serekh while Khasekhemwy placed both Set and Horus above his serekh. As a result, some scholars argue that the mythical battle between Horus and Set was once a real battle between the followers of Set and the followers of Horus. If this was the case, it would seem that the followers of Horus won as Horus remained a popular emblem of kingship while Set was gradually transformed into a symbol of evil. The Pharaoh also had a name (known as the "Golden Horus" name) which was preceded by an image of a sacred hawk on the symbol for gold which specifically linked the Pharaoh to the god. However, it is interesting to note that Set was also known as he of Nubt (gold town), so the symbol for gold could in fact relate to him.

Horus and Set were always placed in opposition to each other. However, the exact nature of their relationship changed somewhat over time. Set was the embodiment of disorder and chaos while Horus was the embodiment of order. Similarly, Horus represented the daytime sky while Set represented the night time sky. However, in early times the two were also seen as existing in a state of balance in which Horus and Set represented Upper and Lower Egypt respectively. They were often depicted together to indicate the union of Upper and Lower Egypt and there is even a composite deity named Horus-Set, who was depicted as a man with two heads (one of the hawk of Horus, the other of the Set animal).

At this stage Horus was often considered to be Set's brother and equal and the fight between them was thought to be eternal. However, the rise in importance of the Ennead resulted in Horus being cast as the son of Osiris and thus the nephew of Set. This changed the nature of the conflict between them, as it was now possible for Set to be defeated and for Horus to claim the throne of Egypt as his own.

The "Eye of Horus" was a powerful protective amulet and when it was broken into pieces (in reference to the time Set ripped out Horus' eye), the pieces were used to represent the six senses (including thought) and a series of fractions.

Horus was also the patron of young men and was often described as the perfect example of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man. However, this is perhaps debatable in the light of one of the stories concerning his fight with Set. The mother of Horus (Isis) was a great magician who most certainly had the power to destroy Set. However, when her chance came she could not take it. Set was, after all, her brother. This angered Horus so much that he chopped off his mother's head in a fit of rage! Thankfully, Isis was more than able to handle this insult and immediately caused a cow's head to grow from her neck to replace her head. Luckily for Horus, Isis was a compassionate and sympathetic goddess and she forgave her vengeful son his aggressive act.

The Egyptian God Horus was usually depicted as a falcon, or a falcon-headed man. He often wore the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. In anthropomorphic form Horus appears as both an adult man and a child, wearing the sidelock of youth (as the son of Isis). There are also numerous depictions of a Horus the child hunting crocodiles and serpents and amulets known as "cippi" were inscribed with his image to ward off dangerous animals.

Heru-ur; Horus the Elder

Heru-ur (Har-wer, Haroeris, Horus the Elder) was one of the oldest gods of Ancient Egypt. He was a sky god, whose face was visualised as the face of the sun. As a result his name ("Heru") was sometimes translated as "face", rather than "distant one", and was sometimes modified to "Herut" ("sky"). He absorbed a number of local gods including Nekheny the Nekhenite (a hawk god) and Wer (a god of light known as "the great one" whose eyes were the sun and moon) to become the patron of Nekhen (Heirakonpolis) and later the patron god of the pharaohs. Nekhen was a powerful city in the pre-dynastic period, and the early capital of Upper Egypt. By the Old Kingdom Horus had become the first national god and the patron of the Pharaoh.

He was originally considered to be the counterpart and enemy of Set. While Horus represented Lower Egypt, Set represented Upper Egypt, and the two were locked in a battle which would not be won or lost until the world ended and everything slipped back into chaos. This myth evolved and soon it was thought that Horus and Set fought for eighty years before the Council of the Gods ruled that Horus should rule Egypt. It may seem strange that Horus was associated with Lower Egypt and yet he is associated with Nekhen, in Upper Egypt.

It has been suggested that Horus actually originated in Upper Egypt (as Horus Behedet in Behedet) and that his cult spread north with the unification of the country under Narmer or Hor Aha

He was worshipped in the composite temple of Kom Ombo with Sobek (who was in turn associated with Set).

He was described as either the son or husband of Hathor and was considered to be a creator god and the archetypal king. His right eye was the sun and his left eye was the moon and images of the "Eye of Horus" were considered to be powerful protective amulets. His speckled feathers formed the stars and his wings created the wind.



Offerings to Heru-sa-Aset: (Greek: Harsiese; Horus son of Isis)-

Some of these are attested in ancient sources while others come from my own (or other people’s) personal experience giving offerings to the God.

Liquid Offerings
Water
Milk
Beer
Pomegranate-Wine
Wine
Coffee
Tea

Food Offerings
Bread and Barley
Fruits and Vegetables
Figs
Dates
Fig Newtons
Pastries; cookies and cakes
chocolate; chocolate with nuts

Meat Offerings
chicken or duck
beef

Non-Food Offerings
Scents: myrrh, frankincense, Kapet (Kyphi)
Flowers: Roses, blue flowers
Light: Blue candles; beeswax candles; lanterns
Colors: Blue,
Jewelry: Gold, solar colors; silver, bronze

Taboos
pork
fish; any seafood

Disposal of Offerings
1) Eat them
2) With wine or water, you can leave it to evaporate on the Shrine or pour it out as a libation when done.

Sacred Animals
Falcon
Hawk
Bull
Lion

Sacred Symbols
Udjat Eye
Moon
Sun

Aspects
Heru pa Khered: (Greek: Harpocrates; Horus the Child)
Heru nedj itef: (Greek: Harendotes; Horus, Savior of His Father)