The Goddess Sekhmet is the most adored female character in Egypt, her passage through history was essential and her legacy of power, strength and kindness is still in force in the new generations. This story is not about stones, and that will probably fall on you like a jug of cold water. It doesn't matter because today we will be the voice you need to change. The data was obtained from the ancient Egyptian script "The Sacred Cow".
In the year 2400 BC, when the God Ra was king of the earth, he had already reached old age and people began to lose respect for him. His people conspired against him and rejected his power, they were ceasing to see him as a deity. Ra, for his part, who never imagined that someday he would be afraid to lose his power, was for the first time fearful of losing control of what he himself had created.
Filled with fear and disappointment, the god Ra was willing to sacrifice humanity, to which he had given life, as a method of punishment for his betrayal. He preferred to kill them rather than lose his power. However, he needed to be consented to by the primeval gods.
Who's Sekhmet?
The mother of the pharaohs
Ra's daughter was known by many names, one of them was "The mother of Maahes", which was nothing more and nothing less than the Lioness Goddess, the great patron of the pharaoh and the texts of the pyramids. She was also called " the mother of the pharaohs", as many pharaohs approached her to feel protected when they were about to go into battle. One pharaoh in particular: Amenhotep, was very obsessed with the goddess and is one of those responsible for the hundreds of statues of her distributed around the world; the goal of the pharaoh was to create so many statues, that people could honor her every day of the year with a different one.
Yes, Ra's daughter was the goddess of destruction, but she also protected the pharaohs at all cost.
During Egyptian civilization, the goddess was highly revered in Memphis, throughout the Delta region, Letoplis and Luxor. Her ferocity was insatiable and often resembled the floods of the Nile River.
Sekhmet dedicated herself to spreading diseases, pests and all sorts of epidemics in Egypt, and she drank the blood of every human that she wanted. "Anger is part of my power as a woman," expressed the goddess.
When the goddess ingested the blood of her victims, she would tear them apart without giving the least importance to their corpse, which was lying on the ground. The goddess' ambitions were always very ambiguous because while destroying her environment, she also offered herself as a pharaoh and protector on the battlefield.
Declarations of the goddess:
"I learn to transform my anger to be heard." "I make anger my ally."
A passage from Sinue, a famous Egyptian novel says:
The King's terror ran through all the lands like Sekhmet during the plague."
The Slaughter
The goddess had a clear purpose on earth and would not allow herself not to carry it out, so she unleashed such a voracious slaughter.
After so much thirst for revenge and death at the hands of his daughter, Ra decides that she must stop.
The god Ra is the only existing being who can control her, because he knows that the desire that dominates the thoughts of the goddess is the desire for blood; therefore, the only way to calm her was to show her what she wanted to see.
This is why he seeks a way to deceive the goddess so that she feels satisfied and stops causing deaths. With the help of his disciples, Ra manages to create a special drink to quench the thirst of the goddess. It is a sleepy drink based on beer and red ochre from elephantine. The drink, because of its appearance, could easily be confused with human blood. Ra flooded the roads that Sekhmet traveled, and she marveled at that liquid that looked like human blood,and decided to ingest it. The lioness goddess fell completely asleep, intoxicated, and this was the only way to calm her. Once the goddess slept, she finally managed to forget humanity.
Energy doesn't die, it just transforms
Sekhmet finally fell asleep, and upon awakening she was turned into a noble kitten who was called Bastet. The goddess's nap is the representation of transformation; upon awakening she could notice all the damage caused and dedicated herself to mastering her anger just like a wild beast: "I learn to transform my anger, and it strengthens me and fills me with energy".
Bastet healer
The goddess in peace, is usually represented in the form of a domestic kitten or also as a beautiful woman with a cat's head. She always wears an ankh, which is a symbol of Egyptian life. Sometimes, she also wears a musical instrument known as sistrum, as it is said that she liked it when humans played and sang, and she was very happy.
This beautiful cat was, since then, synonymous with protection for humans. The priests believed faithfully in it to heal and protect from all the diseases, plagues, and eye ailments that had spread across the river Nile. Bastet was also a symbol of fertility.
They also call Sekhmet " the Lady of the West " and Bastet "the Lady of the East" (of the west, because that is where the sun dies, and of the east, because life is born).
Their virtue, as professed by Bastet, is altruistic and 100% committed. Bastet's children understand that the only way to evolve is to learn to practice patience while working for what you want.
Bastet is interpreted by the Egyptians as the contrary personality of Sekhmet.
Statues of Sekhmet
Thirteen years ago, on March 13, an important team of Germans and Egyptians found 17 life- size statues of the goddess Sekhmet. This happened in the temple of Amenhotep III, in Luxor. A few days earlier 6 more figures were found.
They were mass-produced and arranged in different temples on the western and eastern shores of Thebes. Statues of human size have been found, between 1,70 mts and 1,80 mts, but figures of almost the double of natural size were also found. The figures found are made in black granite and are considered superior to all the other existing statues of the pharaoh and of the divinities of this civilization. The goddess is observed sitting 2 meters high, with a very strict bearing and a couple of symbols that allow us to analyze the story.
In her left hand for example, she carries the typical Egyptian cross. This symbol is an attribute of a divinity creator of life. Also observed in the figure of Sekhmet is part of the cobra Uraeus, which represents its power and protection to the pharaoh.
Rituals to the goddess:
After Sekhmet became a small cat, protector of diseases and epidemics, Egypt was never the same again. For the rest of its history this civilization lived in fear that the goddess would again wake up with evil eyes.
The Bastet festivals ended many times in orgies, and after a long time they were considered as a symbol of fertility.
The followers and believers of Bastet continued coming to the sanctuary of Bubastis. It became one of the most visited. Those who visited it claim that it was full of kittens.
In the temple of the goddess appeared the following text:
" I'm only asking you to come into my house with respect. To serve you I do not need your devotion, but your sincerity, nor your beliefs, but your thirst for knowledge. Enter with your vices, your fears and your hatreds, from the greatest to the smallest. I can help you dissolve them. You can look at me and love me as a female, as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, but never look at me as an authority above yourself. If your devotion to any God is greater than your devotion to the GOD WITHIN YOU, you offend both of them and offend the one"
For history, this message of 5000 years ago left to us by Ra's daughter speaks of several topics at the same time:
A message of respect and acceptance of one's neighbor is exposed, the divine part of our being is spoken more directly, alluding to the fact that God lives within us. Finally, it is important to highlight the feminine energy that the goddess manifests, perhaps unwittingly.
Goddess Sekhmet today:
The goddess Sekhmet is a symbol that tells a woman "Be strong, you are strong, you are probably stronger than you think. You're so strong that if you don't control your power, you can become dangerous."
The image of the strong, intelligent, capable and independent woman has long been little accepted by the society in which we live. Today, more than ever, is a time of rejoicing for each one of us, because finally the woman can demonstrate her power without hiding it.
The revelation of the woman is symbolically presented in ancient civilizations. In the ancient Egyptian, Sekhmet, this lion-faced woman is the manifestation of power. She proved in Egypt that she was not a submissive goddess and that one should not play with her magic. She was sent to unleash anger and defend her father, and that she did. Sekhmet today is the woman who struggles to be heard, and for her ideals to be fulfilled; it should be noted that not in a literal sense, but in a symbolic one. Murdering and sending pests to the world is not the best way to convey your opinion.
In the story of the goddess, we appreciate a journey from evil to almost instantaneous good, and although in real life it is a progressive work, its change leaves a teaching to all of us: you can demonstrate who you are through love and healing. By healing ourselves and making ourselves great.
Yes, Bastet's figure will always be charged with the most beautiful healing energy and is still used today to cure diseases; but Bastet is also a reminder of who she was, of her goodness. Within us reside the two personalities of the goddess; let Bastet out and show her to the world that needs her today more than ever.
The goddess Sekhmet manifests that your results are conditioned to the force employed, it makes no sense to blame external factors or external conditions for what you receive. The goddess Sekhmet tells to stay away from victimhood.
At the same time, it is the representation of one of the most important transformations in history; it went from being the problem to becoming the solution. The company of the goddess Sekhmet will help you attract the new light you need to move forward, to change your life in a miraculous way. Your strength has all the potential to sow light.
Which of the two personalities of the goddess do you identify with and what has been the greatest transformation you have experienced? The maxim of the goddess Sekhmet is: Do not deprive yourself of feeling real and genuine emotions (however difficult they may be), but first of all, be very strong.
Originally Post "Sekhmet: Una oda al poder femenino″
Translated by Oscar Moreno