Thoth was the ibis-headed Egyptian god of wisdom, writing, magic, the moon and knowledge — the divine scribe who invented writing and recorded the judgement of the dead, the arbiter of the gods, and the master of all learning, magic and sacred lore. The patron of scribes and the keeper of the cosmic record, he is the very embodiment of wisdom and the written word.
The God of Wisdom and Writing
Thoth (Egyptian Djehuty) was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis (a long-beaked wading bird), or as a baboon — both animals sacred to him. He was the god of wisdom, writing, knowledge, magic, science, the moon, and time. The Egyptians credited him with the invention of writing itself (the sacred hieroglyphs, the “words of the gods”), of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and all the arts and sciences — he was the source of all learning and the patron of the scribes who were the literate elite of Egypt. As the god of the moon, he measured time and regulated the calendar; as the master of magic and sacred words, he was the supreme magician among the gods.
The Scribe of the Gods
Thoth was the divine scribe and record-keeper, the secretary of the gods who wrote down their words and kept the records of all things. In the judgement of the dead, while Anubis weighed the heart, it was Thoth who stood by and recorded the verdict, noting down the result of the weighing and declaring the fate of the soul — the impartial cosmic accountant of every life's final reckoning. He was the keeper of the divine archives, the author of sacred books of magic and wisdom, and the god whose word was the authoritative record of truth.
The Arbiter and Healer
Thoth was renowned as a wise arbiter and peacemaker among the gods. In the long and violent Contendings of Horus and Set, it was often Thoth's wisdom and counsel that helped resolve disputes and reach just judgements. His magic and knowledge could heal: when Horus's eye was torn out by Set, it was Thoth who magically healed and restored the Eye of Horus, making it whole again (the wedjat, the symbol of healing and completeness). When the goddess Isis needed magic to protect the infant Horus, it was the spells and knowledge of Thoth that she drew upon. He was the god to whom the other gods turned for wisdom, judgement, healing and the resolution of impossible problems.
The Keeper of Knowledge
Thoth endures as one of the most important and beloved gods of ancient Egypt — the ibis-headed lord of wisdom, the inventor of writing, the scribe of the gods, the recorder of the judgement of the dead, the master of magic and all learning, the wise arbiter and healer. He embodies the Egyptian reverence for knowledge, writing and wisdom, and the profound idea that the written word and sacred learning are divine gifts; later ages, identifying him with the Greek Hermes, made him the legendary Hermes Trismegistus, the supposed source of all hidden wisdom. He remains the great patron of scribes, scholars and magicians, the keeper of the knowledge of the gods.
He invented writing, measures the moon and time, heals with magic, and records the verdict on every soul — the ibis-headed scribe who is wisdom itself among the gods.