Heka (god)

In Egyptian mythology, Heka (also spelt Hike) was the deification of magic, his name being the Egyptian word for "magic". "Heka" literally means "activating the Ka", which Egyptians thought was how magic worked, the Ka being an aspect of the soul which embodied personality, but more significantly also power and influence, particularly in the case of the Ka of gods.

The hieroglyph for his name featured a twist of flax within a pair of raised arms, however, it also vaguely resembles a pair of entwined snakes within someone's arms. Consequently, Heka was said to have battled and conquered two serpents, and was usually depicted as a man choking two entwined serpents. Medicine and doctors was thought to be a form of magic, and so Heka's priesthood performed these activities.

As the one who "activates" Ka, Heka was also said to be the son of Atum, the creator of things in general, or occasionally the son of Chnum, who created specific individual Ba (another aspect of the soul). As the son of Chnum, his mother was said to be Menhit.