Judge of the Dead 

Pantheon: Egyptian  

Element: Earth

Sphere of Influence: Judgement and Death

Preferred colors:Green, Black

Associated symbol: Black Jackal, Number 9

Animals associated with:Jackal , Dog

Best day to work with Wednesday

Strongest around Samhain

Suitable offerings:Green Feldspar

Associated Planet: Mercury

  

The souls of the dead are protected on their journey to the halls of judgement by Anubis, son of Osiris and Nepthys. He is the guardian of cemeteries and sacred places. Anubis, whose hieroglyphic name more closely translates as Anpu, is the Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian God of death and dying, and sometimes God of the Underworld. His mother is Hesat or Bastet with an unknown father, or Nephthys, and his father is variously said to be Set (god)|Set, Ra or Osiris. His daughter is Qeb-hwt, also known as Kebechet. In later times, Anubis was combined with the Greek mythology|Greek god Hermes to form Hermanubis. 

The center of his cult was in Cynopolis. He has the head of a jackal or some other kind of dog, and the jackal is his symbol. The jackal imagery is related to Anubis role among the Deities of Egypt, as the jackal is a scavenger and is strongly associated with death and dying. He was also know as the Guardian of the Dead. In art, he is depicted as a man with a canine head and alert ears, often wearing a ribbon and wielding a whip (implement)|whip.   

Papio anubis is the scientific name for the savannah baboon. The name is taken from Anubis because the baboon is commonly thought of as dog-headed. 

Alternative: Ienpw, Anpu, Yinepu, Imy-ut 

Anubis is worshiped today by some Neopaganism|Neopagans.

In Book xi of The Golden Ass by Apuleius, we find evidence that the worship of Anubis was maintained in Rome at least up to the 2nd century.

Anubis is closely related to Ap-uat, another god whose symbol is the jackal, and who for many years was thought to be just another name for Anubis.

Worship of Anubis is likely older even than that of Osiris. The Unas text (line 70) associates him with the Eye of Horus. In the Book of the Dead, he embalms the body of Osiris, wraps it in linens made by Isis and Nepthys, and protects the body by laying his bare hands on it.

In his embalming role, Anubis is known as Imy-ut (“he who is in the place where embalming occurs”). He guards the physical remains of bodies, as well as the tombs and necropoli.

Anubis was originally the lord of the underworld, however following the rise of the cult of Osiris he becomes the gatekeeper. In the Horus story he stands down his position out of respect for Osiris in order to allow him to take over. Anubis role as gate keeper was primarily that of either holding or watching the scales with which the souls of the dead were weighted against the feather of Maat. If the soul was as light as the feather, Anubis led the soul to Osiris; otherwise, it was fed to Ammit.