4 December: Sobek

In Ancient Egyptian astrology, we're now in the sign of Sobek, god of the Nile. Here are 10 facts about him:

1. He is first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts which date back to around 2181 BC.
2. As god of the Nile, he ruled over the waters and people would pray to him whenever the waters caused problems.
3. He also ruled over the Crocodiles in the Nile and is depicted with a crocodile’s head, or sometimes as an actual crocodile. For this reason, people in Ancient Egypt used to keep crocodiles as pets and adorn them with jewels. Feeding your pet crocodile well was believed to please Sobek, who was an unpredictable and sometimes vicious god.
4. Another of his roles was protecting the Pharaoh, particularly from dangers associated with the river Nile and from dark magic.
5. Sobek was also associated with fertility and military might.
6. Personality wise, he’s thought to be aggressive and to behave like the animal he resembles. His nicknames include "he who loves robbery", "he who eats while he mates", and "pointed of teeth".
7. That said, there are stories about him in which he has behaved more nobly, for example, playing a part in healing Osiris after he was killed by Set, and helping Isis when she gave birth.
8. His mother was Neith, goddess of the source of the Nile, but stories differ as to who his father was. Some say it was Set. Others say it was Khnum, god of the source of the Nile. Others say he didn’t have parents at all, but rose from the primeval waters and created the Nile from his sweat, and the world by laying eggs on its banks.
9. His consort, equally, could be one of two goddesses: either Renenutet, the cobra headed goddess of nourishment and the harvest, or Meskhenet, a goddess of childbirth.
10. In the Assassin's Creed: Origins, Sobek is one of three gods the player can fight in the "Trial of the Gods".

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