Wadjet was the patron Goddess of Upper Kemet and was represented as a cobra with spread hood, or a cobra-headed woman. She later became one of the protective emblems on the Kings crown once Upper and Lower Kemet were united. She was said to ‘spit fire’ at the Kings enemies, and the enemies of Ra.

Sometimes referred to as one of the eyes of Ra, she was often associated with the lioness Goddess Sekhmet, who also bore that role. Wadjet Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet, Edjo, Buto was one of the oldest Kemetic Goddesses. Her worship was already established by the Predynastic Period, but did change somewhat as time progressed.

She began as the local Goddess of Per-Wadjet (Buto) but soon became a patron Goddess of Lower Kemet. By the end of the Predynastic Period she was considered to be the personification of Lower Kemet rather than a distinct Goddess and almost always appeared with her sister Nekhbet who represented Upper Kemet. The two combined represented the country as a whole and were represented in the “nebty” on of the Kings names, also known as “the two ladies” which indicated that the King ruled over both parts of Kemet. The earliest recovered example of the nebty name is from the reign of Anedjib of the First Dynasty. Wadjet and Nekhbet with Ptolemy VIII at the Temple of Edfu copyright Olaf Tausch.

In the Pyramid Texts it is suggested that she created the first papyrus plant and primordial swamp. Her link to the papyrus is strengthened by the fact that her name was written using the glyph of a papyrus plant and the same plant was the heraldic plant of Lower Kemet.

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