Let's Talk About Set, Baby
The Egyptian God Set, or Sutekh, is one of the most misunderstood deities. The brother of Osiris and Isis, Set is best known for murdering his brother and later battling his nephew, Horus, over the throne of Egypt. Modern neo-pagans as well as Christians equate Set as the evil god of chaos and destruction, one to be avoided. However, through my research and interacting with Him I have discovered something different and more nuanced about Him.
I have a history of attracting misunderstood deities - Medea, Dionysus, and Hekate, for example. Set was one of the first deities to appear to me (my first was Medea), and demanded I work with him. Not asked, demanded. When I began my research (as a 20 year old, fairly new Wiccanesque pagan), all I could find in the contemporary pagan sources was that Set was a god of evil. I shied away from Him. Nevertheless, he persisted. It wasn't until I started looking at the original sources, as a budding Classicist, that I began to see the whole picture regarding Set, and got over my fear of working with Him. He was coming to me for a reason.
While Set is the god of chaos and destruction, he is not a god who wants to watch the world burn - save that for figures like Apep (Apophis in Greek). Set's destruction is like the Tower card in the Major Arcana - he destroys things that are not useful so one can rebuild with a firm foundation. Without destruction, there can be no rebirth. In the earliest dynasties of Egypt, Set was a god of love and plenty, heavily worshipped. It was only later that Set became associated with destruction, the Red Sands of Upper Egypt, chaos, and foreigners. While it is not spelled out in the ancient sources, my opinion is that this myth was created due to a battle between the followers of Horus and the followers of Set for rulership of Egypt, a motif that can be found in Set's mythology. One of the visions I have had (which I believe to be a past life vision) involves this battle.
Even then, Set was not demonized (this would happen during the Third Intermediate and Late Periods due to oppressive foreign conquests), although the myths associated with him paint a confusing picture. On the one hand, he was the chosen of Ra to defend the sun barge from Apep during its nightly descent into the underworld. Here Set represents valor and strength, while Apep represents true destruction - Apep just wants to watch the world burn.
On the other hand, one cannot forget the myth surrounding the death of Osiris and subsequent battle with Horus. The Pyramid Texts depict the earliest versions of this myth, and portray two different variations of the myth. In the first, Horus is Set's nephew; in the second, Horus and Set are brothers. The battle between Horus and Set is brutal; while Horus is successfully able to appeal to the majority of the deities, the creator god Ra is firmly in Set's court. While the battle begins as a series of contests (which Horus initially seems to win), it quickly turns violent. Horus loses one of his eyes, and when his mother Isis tries to harpoon Set, she misses and harpoons her son Horus instead (Horus decapitates Isis and replaces her head with that of a cow). Set sexually assaults Horus (in some accounts, he asks to have sex with him, and Horus consents, so long as Set agrees to give him some of his power), and in the process loses a testicle.
How does one work with such a controversial, indeed adversarial, force? I have found Set to be one of those misunderstood deities, and those that work with him can utilize that to their advantage. For example, are you an activist? Then you are trying to overthrow a system that is outdated, and are trying to help those who are marginalized in some way. Set is great to call on for such things. Set's energy is like the Tower card in the Tarot
How does one work with such a controversial, indeed adversarial, force? I have found Set to be one of those misunderstood deities, and those that work with him can utilize that to their advantage. For example, are you an activist? Then you are trying to overthrow a system that is outdated, and are trying to help those who are marginalized in some way. Set is great to call on for such things. Set's energy is like the Tower card in the Tarot, in that he helps to tear down that which is no longer useful and bring about drastic change. As God of foreigners (and outsiders), Set is great when aiding the marginalized. Indeed, he can be used as a God of revolution.
The fact that Set has some discrepancy over his corresponding planets is telling. One would think that the God of chaos and destruction would have Mars as his planet - now, this is one possible correspondence. However, he also has the planet Mercury as his corresponding planet. This makes sense, as Set is a God of magic, weather, and transformation. I would personally place his time at the cusp between Tuesday (the day of Mars) and Wednesday (the day of Mercury). Like Hekate, I view Set as a deity of the liminal. He traverses all the realms, can teach harsh lessons, but working with him is ultimately transformative to your core.
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