IncenseBreadBeerThe first step of a journeyClearing an actual pathStanding at the front
Invocation Approach
Tone
Brisk and formal
Address
WepwawetOpener of the WaysForemost
Relationship
The scout who walks ahead
Warning
He opens the road he does not promise the road is safe
Resonance
Those beginning travel those at a gateway
Symbols
StandardJackalMaceBowThe open road
Mythology Summary
Wepwawet means 'opener of the ways' and he is the jackal — or, to the Greeks, wolf — god of Asyut in Upper Egypt, shown on the first standard of the royal procession and at the prow of the sun barque, clearing the road for the king and for Ra. In the Osiris mysteries at Abydos he goes before the god, and that role in the funeral procession makes him a guide of the dead as well as a scout for the living. An inscription in the Sinai records that he 'opens the way' for King Sekhemkhet's victory, and his standard led the procession in life and in the funeral.
Modern Practice
Wepwawet is called at the beginning of things that need a road: journeys, new work, the first step out of a stalled position, and at funerals. The practice is literal — clear a path, make the first move, and let the god walk in front rather than asking him to carry you.