Although Set is most commonly described as a God of chaos or war, His role is in fact more correctly that of individualism and unbridled self-expression. A good example of this is the life of Ramses II, himself a member of a red-haired family trained as Sethian priests. Ramses' reign saw the Egyptian Empire expand it's borders to a degree never before seen, although he was repeatedly told by his advisors that battles such as Khadesh were "unwinnable".

All the myths of Set show traits of extreme self-confidence and a desire to live his life his own way. Every goal he set himself (pardon the pun!) he achieved, and assumed the responsibility for the consequences of his own actions.

As mentioned earlier, he was also viewed as the God of foreigners. This is commonly believed to be due to the fact that the Egyptians believed foreigners to be outside the natural order of society and "different". In fact, it is now being theorised that historically Set was an Aryan or Celtic mercenary which would explain the "foreign" tag. This would also seem to lend credence to the role of God of War, and the physical decription of Set as being red-haired and pale skinned.

Set has been vilified both in history & in more contempory times due to His being the basis for the image of the Christian Satan. However, Set is far more complex than this, being revered for his good side, as well as being the namesake of some of Egypt's most illustrious Pharaohs, many of whom took such titles as "Beloved of Set".

If surviving catastrophy does strengthen us mentally, then Set's recognition as a God of strength and aggression does indeed make sense from a psychological perspective. This aspect is dealt with in more detail later in the site.

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