Set, also spelled Seth, is an ancient Egyptian deity known through myths, royal symbolism, inscriptions, and images. His place in Egyptian religion includes conflict and disorder, but cannot be reduced to the Christian category of a devil. The stories involving Set belong to a different religious world.[1]

Set and Horus#

The conflict between Set and Horus is a major part of Egyptian myth. Museum objects preserve references to that relationship in protective images and divine symbols. A wedjat eye, for example, can invoke the healing of Horus's injured eye, connecting a mythic event with an object's protective purpose.[2]

Set's animal has a distinctive form in Egyptian art. It should not automatically be identified as an ordinary modern species. Recognizing that conventional figure helps distinguish depictions of Set from those of other animal-headed gods.

Modern Setian interpretation#

The Temple of Set gives Set a central place in a modern religious philosophy. Its public writing links the name with the development of individual consciousness and the word Xeper. Don Webb's essay interprets the myths of Set through the practitioner's experience of transformation.[3]

This modern use is an important subject in its own right. It is also separate from the reconstruction of ancient Egyptian belief. The Church of Satan's symbolic Satan and the High Satanic Church's theistic Satan provide further comparisons, but none should be assumed to be simply another name for Set. A shared image of opposition can serve different religious purposes.

See also#

References

  1. British Museum, Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
  2. British Museum, wedjat amulet EA29222 (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
  3. Don Webb, Xeper: The Eternal Word of Set · Modern Setian interpretation, to be distinguished from ancient evidence. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
setegyptian religionsetianismspirits

This encyclopedia covers traditions beyond the High Satanic Church. Church doctrine is identified as such when it appears.