Welcome to TwoJackals.com — one Practitioner’s devotional work to their beloved Ancient Egyptian Deity: Wepwawet. Throughout this website, I will provide a culmination of 20+ years of knowledge, research, and personal practice. I hope you enjoy walking with me.
“Wepwawet, Who loves the enjoyment at the execution of good works for His temple“
Wepwawet (wp-w3w.t, Wp-wAwt, Upuaut, Wepawet, Apuat, Apuaut, or Greek: Ophois [please note, not Ophis]) is a Kemetic deity (Ancient Egyptian), whose name means “Opener of the Ways” (or: “He who cleaves open the paths” [Terence DuQuesne], “He who parts the paths”, “Opener of the roads” [Le Page Renouf]).
Wepwawet is one of the oldest / earliest Egyptian Gods, dating back to the predynastic period, and His name is made up of the verb wpi (open, divide, separate, cleave) + w3wt (plural: ways, roads, paths).
He is most often depicted as a standing or passant Jackal (full animal form, standing on all 4 feet) atop a standard, or less commonly as a Jackal-headed God in physical similarity to Inpu (Anpu, Greek: Anubis); however, it is important to note early that Wepwawet is not Anubis, and vice versa. Wepwawet’s coloring is primarily black in nature, though various interpretations over time have led to a more modern association with grey or even white.
His cult was originally centered in Asyut, where the primary and largest temple would have been for him (with smaller monuments for Anubis or other deities), though the Temple of Wepwawet is not preserved today, and Asyut itself lies under the footprint of a modern city, limiting excavation. He also has close ties with Abydos (particularly a region called Šn-Ḥr [Shen-Her]), and He was known as protector of both the common-folk and the King. The earliest evidences for a priesthood of Wepwawet date back to the 2nd and 4th Dynasties.
Wepwawet is strongly associated with royalty and the King (where His standard and imagery is included or precedes royal processions, including the Heb Sed / Sed Festival), military roles related to warfare and victory (particularly in the crushing / smiting of enemies for or of the King), and as a funerary God including that of a Psychopomp (Greek: guide of souls / the dead). Wepwawet’s earliest depictions place him alongside the king, often within Horus’s entourage, where he serves as a vigilant guardian during hunts.
His title as the Opener of the Ways includes guiding all who call upon Him to appropriate paths and the removal and mitigation of obstacles both by peace and by force. He takes his place at the front of the solar barque, wielding his might against the fores of Ra in the underworld. He is considered to be a skilled Champion (of the King and of the people), and his imagery can reflect this with the inclusion of bows and maces.
He is sometimes dual-aspected or divided between Upper and Lower Egypt with slightly different roles. His origins begin in the south of (or Upper) Egypt but by the Old Kingdom, He can be seen as a God of Lower Egypt (to the north) as well, and ongoing as a Protector of the Two Lands (one of His epithets). There is an uncommon factor worth noting in Wepwawet being both a local deity in addition to having both an Upper and Lower Egyptian aspect, and standards representing both Upper and Lower regions were carried during the Sed festival.
With his strong relationship to Royalty, it may seem Wepwawet is a less-approachable deity, when in fact Wepwawet was and is an extremely available God to all who seek him out, regardless of social status. A particular Votive Stela from Asyut shows the Chantress Ta-aiy (sometimes seen as Chantress Tajay) reaching out to Wepwawet to overcome some unidentified act of “mischief”, and to grant understanding, grace, and longevity (see below). His guidance and assistance are also equally available to both the living, and the dead.
Chantress of Wepwawet (Ta-aiy)
Praise to Your ka Wepwawet, Lord of Asyut.
Kissing the earth for Your beautiful face.
May You give life prosperity and health
To the ka of the Chantress of Wepwawet
Lord of Asyut Ta-iay, triumphant.
Be gracious, O Gracious One.
A servant is inclined to mischief: a Master
inclined to graciousness.
Be kind to me O Wepwawet.
I am the child of Your cow, who was born in Your stall.
Come to me so that You may make a firm place as You have said,
Give praise to Wepwawet the Compassionate God
Who creates on the winds.
Be propitious, O Propitious One.
May You give a good lifetime in the following of your ka
To the ka of the Chantress of Wepwawet Ta-iay.
Inspection / Votive Stela, Ramesside period (note: some words above are originally uncertain but I have not marked them in this copy). Cited in: DuQuesne, The Salakhana Trove, Wheatley Opening the Way
Overall, in terms of personal practice, two distinct sides are seen emerging, though we must be cautious about limiting categorization too strictly as Wepwawet’s function spans infinite potential:
1) A God who helps and guides all who call upon Him, opening the ways, revealing the paths free of obstacles or showing us the better route. He is kindness and He is Joy. He is a celebrant and a benefactor. He rejoices, and He loves. He is intelligence and He is wisdom. He is a decision-maker and a fair adjudicator.
2) A God who comes to arms in warfare or battles smiting hostility in all forms. He is strength and He is power. He is a divine protector and He is victory. He clears the path of obstacles, by force. He is ferocious and devoted. He is a leader, but also a hunter. If He is ever a soldier, He does so only for truth and justice (Ma’at).
Oracle Poem
Hail to Wepwawet!
Opener of the Ways, God of Eternity,
Lord of Strength, Honored Father.
The feet which walk the paths of life
may stray abroad,
But Your hand, Your voice,
Brings us to the path once more,
Or perhaps brings the path to us.
“Your destiny lies among these trees,
The path is not always beaten or trod.
Where you think you stray, you are not lost.
This is your Way; Open your eyes!
Look around, see where you are.
Always here, with Me.
Open your eyes.”
(c) Nesiwepwawet 2001
Published in Lord of the Ways: An Anthology for Wepwawet