Mafdet

Other   Names:

Maftet

Meaning of Name:

“She Who Runs Swiftly”

Titles:

“Slayer of Serpents”

“Lady of the Castle of Life”

A very old deity, Mafdet was believed to represent the rule of law and final judgment; in fact, this goddess’ symbol was the executioner’s staff. Mafdet was said to “rip out the hearts of the transgressors of the Laws of Ma’at and deliver them personally to Ra and the pharaoh’s feet." In the early New Kingdom she was depicted as ruling over the Judgment Hall where the enemies of the pharaoh were decapitated with “Mafdet’s Claw.” As the scratch of her claws was lethal tosnakes, so symbolically the harpoon of the king becomes Mafdet’s claws for decapitating his enemies in the Duat. In the Pyramid Texts it is said that "at her emergence the rebels are punished."

Mafdet appears to be associated with the protection of the king's chambers and other sacred places. She was also thought to protect people by killing snakesand scorpions with her sharp claws, and to help the souls of the deceased on their journey through the Duat. Mafdet was pictured as a combination of different felines, such as a cheetah, caracal, lioness, or leopard. She was also depicted as a woman dressed in a cat’s skin, her hair braided and ending in scorpion tails. At times Mafdet was shown with a headdress of serpents, rather like the fearsome Medusa. As a killer of snakes, Mafdet was sometimes associated with thegenet or the mongoose instead.

Quotes from the Book of the Dead and other sources:

An ancient Egyptian spell to repel serpents says: “O Cobra, I am the Flame which shines on the brows of the chaos-gods of the Standard of Years. Begone from me, for I am Mafdet!”