TurquoiseMalachiteFrankincenseBreadBeerThe first light of dawn
Invocation Approach
Tone
Crisp and vigilant
Address
SopduLord of the EastFalcon of the Eastern Desert
Relationship
The watch kept on the eastern edge
Warning
He is a border god and favours those who actually guard something
Resonance
Those guarding a threshold travellers of deserts and foreign places
Symbols
FalconEastern horizonSceptreTurquoise
Mythology Summary
Sopdu is the falcon god of the sky and of the eastern border regions, 'Lord of the East', whose cult centred on Per-Sopdu in the Delta and whose protection was sought in the Sinai mining country; he is the husband of Khensit. He is attested from the Old Kingdom, and Middle and New Kingdom inscriptions in the eastern desert invoke him as the guardian of Egypt's frontier against the Asiatics. His name is close to, but not the same as, that of Sopdet (Sirius), the star goddess, with whom he is constantly confused in modern lists.
Modern Practice
Sopdu is called for border work — guarding an edge, going east, working stone or metal — and for the watch kept at a threshold. The practice is to actually stand the watch rather than to ask to be protected in the abstract.