Selket: The Scorpion Goddess

In Egyptian mythology, Selket is the goddess of healing scorpion stings and snake bites.  She is also the goddess of protection and scorpions.  Her symbol is the scorpion.  She is often depicted as a woman with a scorpion gracing her crown.  She is the daughter of Ra and sister to Hathor, Sekhmet and Bast.  As protector against poisons and snake and scorpion bites, Selket was often said to protect the deities from Apep, the great snake-demon of evil, sometimes being depicted as the guard when Apep was captured.  As many of the venomous creatures of Egypt could prove fatal, Selket was also considered protector of the dead, particularly associated with fluids and poisons causing stiffening.  She was thus said to be the protector of the tents of embalmers, and of the canopic jar associated with poison – the jar of the intestine.