Her name means 'She who causes to breathe' and refers to her power of protecting from, or curing poisonous stings of scorpions and serpents. The reason for this might lie in the fact that those who have been bitten tend to breathe too fast and too shallow because of the poison. She is depicted with a scorpion ready to strike above her head or as a woman with a sorption's head. In ancient Egypt her priesthood was connected to the healing of poisonous bites and she was frequently appealed to for protection from venomous bites.

She is mentioned already in the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts as one of the four goddesses (Aset (Isis), Nit, (Neith) Nebt-Het (Nephtys) and Serket who protects the canopic jars. Sometimes she is thought to be an aspect of Aset (Isis) as a protector of the child Heru (Horus) and thereby also to all children and even the king. She is also sometimes associated with the sunīs scorching heat.

Together with Neith she watched the sky so that noone would disturb Amon and his wife, thus becoming a protector of the marriage union. She helped the deceased orient themselves in the Underworld, and she was said to bind the Apophis snake. She was also a patron to healers and magicians, and a protectress against venomous bites and poison.

There was a priesthood to Serket in the ancient days but if there were temples and shrines built especially for her they seem to have gone without leaving traces.

Festivals: (exact dates not historically verified)

23th October - 7th Koiak - Festival for Serqet (Selket)

Article by Mirjam
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