Episode 182: Irascible Immortals: Ammit

The folklore of Ammit in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2025 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about Ammit here.

Get the transcript here.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Newsletter: https://ronel-the-mythmaker.kit.com/671d4c97de
• Audiobooks of the podcast: https://payhip.com/RonelJansevanVuuren/collection/faeries-and-folklore-podcast-audiobooks
• Irascible Immortals books: https://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series/

Learn more about the author and her writing here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Irascible Immortals series, available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. They’ve been alive forever. They’ve been bored for some time. And now they’re showing it. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series for more.

We’re continuing our exploration of the Immortals.

Today’s immortal: Ammit

Folklore in a nutshell by Ronel

Ammit is a goddess from Egyptian mythology tied to the afterlife. She is usually found in her animal form which comprises of the head of a crocodile, the upper body of a lion and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. Her job is to devour the hearts of those who fail the test against the feather of Ma’at on the scales of judgement. The test is for the heart to not weigh more than the feather, thus not belonging to someone who did bad things in life. She’s not a goddess to be worshipped, just to be feared once one enters the Duat (the Underworld of Egyptian mythology). She’s the goddess of divine retribution of wrongs committed during life. The Ancient Egyptians called her “The Devourer” or “The Devourer of the Dead”.

Origin of the fae: Ammit

Ammit is everything scant mythological sources have to say about her: able to swallow a human heart in one gulp; has the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus; is merciless to evildoers. But she is also able to transform into her human form, which is just as formidable as she is an excellent fighter. Though she is connected more to Osiris in mythology, she is actually best friends with Anubis and they hang out together when not working. Neither enjoy being worshipped by mortals and both are ignored and despised by the other gods in equal measure. She prefers to stay in the Duat and in her animal form.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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