The images were not meant to represent actual forms; they were references to a higher idea of the divine. For that reason a particular force could have multiple images, traits, and descriptions, each of which referred to any or all of its numerous mysterious aspects. The image that the individual saw or read about was the only the essence of the actual power it represented; the power, however, could be manifest in the image.

PP 16 – 17, Divinity and Deities in Ancient Egypt by David P. Silverman (from Religion in Ancient Egypt edited by Byron E. Shafer)