
Kebechet (Art by Hypernosis)
Kebechet, also known as Qeb-Hwt, Khebhut, Kebehut, Qébéhout, Kabehchet and Kebehwet, who is the Egyptian goddess who is the deification of embalming liquid. She was the daughter of Anubis and Anput.
Description[]
Qebhet is often pictured as a serpent or an ostrich bringing water. She was never worshipped to the degree of Isis or Hathor - or even much lesser deities - but was revered and respected and, at certain times, became associated with the Nile and cults which grew up in worship of the river. This is hardly surprising as she was always closely associated with pure, clean water.
Overview[]
Qebhet played an important role in the rituals of death in that she assured the still-living that their loved one was cared for and, furthermore, that they themselves would also be when it came their own time to stand in the hall of judgement. Further, the ritual cleansing of the body of the corpse by clean water was a vital element in the burial of the dead and Qebhet symbolized this purification.
She was also thought to play an especially vital role in the revival of the soul after death. Qebhet personally tended the soul of the dead king and "refreshed and purified the heart of the deceased monarch with pure water from four nemset jars and that the goddess helped open the `windows of the sky' to assist the king's resurrection". To `open the windows of the sky' meant to liberate the soul from the body and Qebhet seems to have come to perform this service for all the dead, not just the royalty.