Aker

An ancient spirit of the Earth, Aker protects the Sun's passage between day and night. He is the guardian of the gates of the underworld and dawn. His energy seals, defends, and renews the eternal cycle of life.

Aker is the guardian of the cosmic thresholds: he protects the passage of the Sun through the underworld during the night and ensures its rebirth at dawn.
He is the symbol of the continuity of the life–death–rebirth cycle and of the stability of the Earth itself.

Aker is one of the most ancient cosmic deities, already mentioned in the Pyramid Texts.
He represents the stretched body of the Earth and its two extremities — the East and the West — from which the Sun enters and exits each day on its eternal journey.
He is often depicted as two lions back to back, or as two leonine heads emerging from the ground, facing East and West, with the solar disk or the hieroglyph of the horizon (akhet) between them.

The two lions are called Sef and Tuau, meaning Yesterday and Tomorrow, and together they symbolize the continuous flow of time — the past and the future united in the awareness of the eternal present.
In this duality, Aker guards the passage of the Sun (Ra) during the night within the Duat, protecting it from the serpents of chaos — especially from Apep, who seeks to devour the light.

Aker is also an initiatory guardian, the keeper of the gates of consciousness.
Those who wish to enter the Mysteries must first be recognized by Aker, for he protects the access to the inner realms of being.

In his earthly aspect, he represents the stability of the material world and the solidity of creation — the foundation upon which all things rest.

For the priests, Aker was invoked in rituals of protection, especially during funerary ceremonies and prayers for the rebirth of the deceased into the eternal morning.
His name was inscribed on amulets and temple thresholds to ward off the forces of chaos and to ensure the safe passage of souls through the Duat.