29 September: Horus

In Ancient Egyptian astrology, the sign for people born between today and 27 October (or April 20 – May 7, August 12 – 19 according to an alternative system) is Horus. 10 things you might not know about the Egyptian god Horus:

1. The name Horus is Greek. In Ancient Egypt he was known as “Heru” which means “the distant one” or “the one on high”.
2. He is usually pictured as a man with the head of a falcon wearing a Red and White crown.
3. Horus was revered as the god of kingship (he was the guardian spirit of the pharaoh), the Sky, hunting, war, and the patron of young men.
4. His origin story is as follows: he is the son of Osiris and Isis. His mother’s brother, Set, murdered Osiris and dismembered him. Isis managed to collect together all her husband’s body parts except his penis which had been eaten by a Catfish. Undeterred, Isis used her magic to make him a new penis so she could get pregnant. Knowing Set would be out to get her child, she fled to the Nile Delta marshlands to hide.
5. Horus and Set were continually at odds with one another. Horus was the patron of Lower Egypt and Set of Upper Egypt and they battled to control the whole country. Eventually the gods sided with Horus allowing him to win. Hence Horus became revered as a god of war.
6. According to some myths, Horus was the sky and the Sun was his right eye and the Moon his left, which meant the storytellers had to explain why the sun is so much brighter than the moon. They said that Set gouged out Horus’s left eye. Set didn’t come out of it unscathed, however – he lost one of his testicles in the fight.
7. The Eye of Horus became a symbol of protection. Amulets were made to protect the pharaoh both in life and in death. The symbol, also known as wadjet, was painted on the bows of boats by sailors to ensure a safe passage.
8. Another tale from the Horus/Set conflict involves Isis, who had the chance once to kill Set but loyalty to him as her brother won out and she didn’t do it. Horus was so angry with her for letting Set live that he cut her head off. Isis, however, wasn’t deterred by this either and simply grew a new head, that of a cow. This may be why in some myths, Hathor is said to be the mother of Horus.
9. In other myths, Hathor was his wife. Horus fathered four sons – Qebehsenuef (hawk head), Hapy (baboon head), Duamutef (jackal head) and Imsety (human-head). They were protected by powerful female deities and became important figures in the mummification process. The organs removed from a corpse were placed in jars made in the shapes of the four sons of Horus.
10. Horus was also known as Horus the Elder, Horus the Child, Horus the Uniter, Heru, Hor, Harendotes (Horus the Avenger), Harsomtus, and the Lord of the Two Lands. When the Greeks conquered Egypt under Alexander the Great, they made Horus into one of their own gods, Harpocrates meaning "Horus the Child"). He would be pictured as a naked boy with a finger in his mouth sitting on a lotus with his mother.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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