( Extract from the book - "Heka - The Practices of Ancient Egyptian Ritual & Magic by David Rankine - for more information on this book click here)

Anubis (or Anup or Anpu) means Royal Child, probably referring to the myths of his birth from the adultery of Nephthys and Osiris, the King. This was a later attribution however, as earlier texts have Anubis being the child of either Bastet or the cow goddess Hesat. Anubis was usually depicted as a jackal or wild dog-headed man, or a reclining black jackal. Anubis was the great protector god, guiding the soul through the underworld. He was also the Lord of embalming, and through this is connected with incense and perfumery.

In the New Kingdom Anubis was seen as being in charge of legions of thousands of daemons, and could be appealed to for protection against negative magic, especially curses. He also punished those who violated tombs or gave offence to the gods. In later depictions he was sometimes shown as a warrior with a serpent's tail instead of legs, and wearing armour. Along with Isis, Sirius was also sacred to Anubis as the Dog Star, though it has been suggested that Sirius B represented Anubis, and Sirius A was Isis.

Originally Anubis was the ruler of the underworld, a role which was taken over by Osiris. However his significance was never fully lost, hence he has titles such as Hery Seshta (Master of Secrets) and Wer-Hekau (Mighty One of Magic).

( Extract from the book - "Heka - The Practices of Ancient Egyptian Ritual & Magic by David Rankine - for more information on this book click here)