Notes from "An Egyptian Bestiary"

"Though bizarre at first sight, these deities sporting the heads of falcons or lionesses on human shoulders lent physical form, in a strikingly succint fashion, both to the divine power of which the animal was the visible symbol and to its potential influence - through human agency - on earthly affairs." (p 122)

Germond ponders representations such as the goose and ram for Amun-Re: "Are they gods or sacred animals?" He refers to a stela at Deir el-Medina which shows two geese, one captioned "the beautiful goose of Amun-Re", the other "Amun-Re, the beautiful goose". "... to the layman, [the animal] was often identified with the god himself, while for the priest and holy man it was understood more as one of the possible manifestations of the god." An animal may be the "repository of the divine soul" plus "a god in its own right." (p 122) For example, the Apis bull was "the living ba of Ptah"; the sacred falcons at Edfu and Philae were the ba of Re-Horakhte; the sacred crocodile at Kom Ombo was the ba of Sobek. (p 149)

Germond notes the lack of male lion-gods, with only one example in Mahes; by contrast, there were thirty snake gods. He notes that Wadjet was associated with the Eye of the Sun, perhaps because of the burning feeling of a snakebite, and cites a myth in which Re's temporary eye is insulted when his original Eye returns, so is compensated by a place on his forehead. (p177-8)
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Germond, Philippe. An Egyptian Bestiary: Animals in Life and Religion in the Land of the Pharoahs. Thames and Hudson, London, 2001.

Bits and piece about Neith

Neith was one of the four goddesses who protected the canopic jars, along with Isis, Nephthys, and Serqet. She was also a protector of the royal house.

The click beetle (family Elateridae) has a body which resembles an Egyptian shield, which Neith is often depicted wearing as a headdress. A First Dynasty relief shows the heads and abdomens of two click beetles "incorporated into the symbol of the goddess Neith". Another First Dynasty relief shows one of these beetles holding the was sceptre. Elaterid beetles are brilliantly metallic in colour, and some are bioluminescent, reflecting Neith's association with the rising sun and as the "opener of the way" for souls in the underworld.

Neith was also associated with the fly, perhaps because of its association with the military.

ETA: Neith's recognition and influence dwindled over time, perhaps for political reasons; at first known throughout Egypt, later her importance was mostly limited to Sais. She was Khnum's consort at Esna.

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Kritsy, Gene and Ron Cherry. Insect Mythology. Writers Club Press, 2000.
Motte-Florac, Elisabeth and Jacqueline M.C. Thomas. Les "Insectes" Dans La Tradition Orale. Peeters Publishers, Belgium, 2003.
Shafer, Byron E. (ed) Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Pratice. Cornell UP, Ithaca, 1991.