Also called Sothis (to the Greeks), Sepdet, Isis-Sothis, the Dog Star.
Their story
Sopdet was the star Sirius, whose first appearance at dawn after about seventy days of invisibility announced the new year and the coming flood. The Pyramid Texts describe the dead king joining her in the sky, and she and Sah, Orion, were said to be the parents of the god Sopdu. By the later periods she was closely identified with Isis, and the Greeks called her Sothis. The Ptolemaic Canopus Decree of 238 BCE refers to the rising of the star of Isis in its attempt to reform the calendar.
Best times to give to them
- Wepet Renpet
- the heliacal rising of Sirius in late summer
- before dawn
What they like being given
- water
- incense
- bread
- a candle lit before dawn
How to honour them
- Rise before dawn in late summer and look for Sirius low in the east.
- Mark her return with a simple new year offering and a wish for the year ahead.
How they can help you
- new beginnings
- hope
- timing and planning
- renewal
Symbols
- five-pointed star on the head
- woman in a boat
- cow lying in a boat
Her identification with Isis is strongest in Ptolemaic and Roman sources.
Sources
- Pyramid Texts
- Canopus Decree (238 BCE)
- Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
More Egyptian goddesses
- Isis Great of Magic, mother of Horus
- Bastet Protector of the home, lady of joy
- Hathor The Golden One, lady of love and music
- Sekhmet The Powerful One, healer and protector
- Maat Truth, balance and right order
- Nephthys Lady of the House, comforter of the grieving
- Taweret The Great One, guardian of mothers
- Amunet The hidden goddess of the primordial eight