The ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet is a mother goddess of many things including war, vengeance, and healing. Find out how a relationship with Sekhmet goddess of many things can happen in your life and what it can mean for you.
One of the most recognizable goddesses of ancient Egypt is the lion headed goddess, Sekhmet. Representing so many things that ancient and modern people alike value, this goddess rose from being a minor goddess to becoming one who was memorialized in hundreds of statues by one pharaoh alone. Who is this powerful goddess, and how is she important today? Join Mysticsense to learn about the goddess Sekhmet. Learn who she is through her myths and if she is the same as the lion headed goddess Bast. Most importantly, find out what you can learn from her and how to communicate with her.
Who is Sekhmet?
Sekhmet is an Egyptian goddess whose worship began at least as early as the Old Kingdom, 2613-2128 BCE. She is a goddess of war who destroys enemies of the sun god Ra. Her fiery breath is likened to the mighty heat of the desert and the scorching power of the sun. She is known as the Wedjat, or the Eye of Ra, yet she is so powerful, even Ra cannot control her or keep her with him. She is a goddess of plague and is called upon for healing and protection from disease. She was called upon to protect not only the god Ra, but also the royalty of Egypt, and even ordinary non royal people.
She is one of many goddesses whose worship changed over time, and is believed to be an aspect of the goddess Hathor. Worship of her was held at a temple to another lion headed goddess at one time, and hundreds of statues of her have been found in Egypt, showing how widespread her veneration was. She wears the Eye of Ra on her head, and on that is the Uraeus, a cobra figure symbolizing her connection with Ra and the royalty of Egypt. She is venerated by people today, seen as a powerful manifestation of the glory of goddesses, and is called upon by women especially for strength, to aid in their own healing abilities, and as a fierce inspiration to be a protector. Read about another goddess, the Cailleach here: The Great Celtic Goddess of Winter
Sekhmet’s Myths
What better way to get to know this goddess than to learn about the stories that were told of her? One story talks about how she almost destroyed humanity and another discusses how she became the Eye of Ra. Some stories talk about how she met her husband, and others talk about her children.
The Eye of Ra
Sekhmet is one of the daughters of the sun God Ra. She was created to stand against those who would go against Ra. The image of the Eye of Ra appears in iconography on top of Sekhmet's head. It is a great red sun disk surrounded by a golden cobra. The sun disk is called the Uraeus, and it appears on top of other deities heads including the god Ra. Anything that goes against the sun god Ra is considered to be a chaotic force that threatens the perfect order of the universe that he has created. The Eye of Ra is one of the few things that can counter powerful forces like the serpent Apep, who threatens to destroy the very universe itself. Apep creates thunderstorms and earthquakes, and the Eye of Ra subdues Apep. Multiple goddesses work together to be the Eye of Ra, and Sekhmet is one of them.
Sekhmet Almost Destroyed Humanity
Once, some human beings conspired against Ra, so he sent Sekhmet to destroy those people. She fought a mighty battle, and at the end of the battle, her anger was not satisfied. She went on a rampage of unfettered rage that laid all of Egypt to waste. The gods were terrified that she would destroy all human beings on earth, so they found a way to stop her. They filled a lake with beer and dyed it with red ochre so that it looked like blood. Bloodthirsty in her anger, she drank every last drop of the red beer, and fell fast asleep. That is how the gods saved human beings. Some say humanity is destroying the earth, but we can help prevent that. Find out how here: Environmentalism: How to Save the Earth
Sekhmet’s Husband
In some stories, when Sekhmet awakened from being drunk on the red beer, she was so angry that she was fooled into drinking the beer that was not blood, she left Egypt. The power of the sun immediately weakened when she left, which threatened the existence and survival of the entire world. Thoth, god of wisdom convinced her to return. In some stories though, after Sekhmet awakened from drinking so much beer, she saw the god Ptah, and fell madly in love with him. They became lovers and some stories said they got married. Read about why we get married here: Will You Marry Me? Why Getting Married Matters
Sekhmet’s Children
Sekhmet and Ptah had beautiful children together. Nefertum, called “he who is beautiful” and “waterlily of the sun” was one son they begat, and images of him were carried by devotees for luck. Sekhmet and Ptah are also the parents of the god Maahes, a lion headed god of war who was called upon for protection and to devour enemy captives. Interestingly, Maahes was sometimes considered a son of Ra and the goddess Bastet. Some people identified Maahes as Nefertum as well. Read about mother goddess here: Embracing Divine Feminine Spirituality
Is Sekhmet the Goddess Bast?
Some people believe that every goddess is her own goddess, but some experts say that Bast and Sekhmet are the same goddess. Some experts also point out that as the Eye of Ra, Sekhmet emerged as an aspect of the goddess Hathor. There were also other goddesses who worked as The Eye of Ra. These goddesses are named Raet-Tawy, Menhit, Tefnut, and Mut. Tefnut, Mut, and Bastet were feline headed goddesses like Sekhmet and some say different aspects of her. Read about Oya, Yoruba goddess of transformation here: Oya, Goddess of Transformation
Sekhmet’s major center of worship was in Lower Egypt, and Bast major center was in Upper Egypt. Some say that Bast and Sekhmet were the same goddess, worshipped by different names in different places. It is true that originally, Bastet was a lion headed goddess, and later, she was depicted as having the head of a domestic cat. Bastet was the daughter of Ra, and Isis and also had relations with Ptah, and was known as the mother of Maahes. However, while Bast was part of the Eye of Ra, like Sekhmet, Bast was goddess of fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth.
Being associated with domestic cats, who protected the house from rats, mice, and other creatures considered disease carrying vermin, Bast protected people from disease and creatures that could threaten their food. At Bast’s temple at Bubastis, up to 700,000 people attended annually, enjoying music, dancing, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol in what was known as a feat of drunkenness. It is entirely possible that Bast and Sekhmet were aspects of the very same goddess. Read about another goddess, Aphrodite, here: Aphrodite, Deity of Love and Beauty
What Can We Learn from Sekhmet?
The importance of using anger to your advantage is an important lesson this great goddess teaches. Anger can either be a tool that is beneficial or destructive. Moderating our anger is a lesson that the goddess teaches us. She was tasked with punishing those who would go against the god Ra. However, she momentarily lost control of herself, allowing her anger to drive her mindlessly. After she awoke from being redirected, she immediately shifted her attention to something good- love. Your anger and the way you love might both be part of your shadow self and you can read about embracing the shadow self here: The Unconscious Self: Embracing the Dark Side
When you become angry, it might be justified. Taking up for yourself when you have been disrespected or hurt is very important. Expressing to those who have done this that they are wrong and what your expectations are going forward is crucial. Some people won't communicate until they have calmed down when they've become angry. Even if this is how you choose to handle situations that make you angry, allow your anger to inspire you to action. Just make sure that you maintain complete control of yourself, and you don't let your emotions rule you. Express how things make you feel and don’t stifle emotional expression. Read why that is important here: Inability to Express Emotions Can Cripple Us
Communication with Sekhmet
Communication with Sekhmet is the best way to welcome her into your life. You can always pray to her and wait for her to answer you. You can do healing deeds in her name, balance your anger in her honor, and host a cocktail party for her.
Prayers to Sekhmet
Any time you want to establish a relationship with a goddess or god, a simple prayer can be used to reach them. It is always best to speak from the heart, but if you have difficulty finding words, you can say a prayer like this one- “Sekhmet, lioness of the desert, you who protect the gods, kings, and all who call upon you, come into my life. Hear my voice and speak to me. Inspire me to get in touch with my inner protective spirit and teach me how to follow my passions unapologetically. Visit me in dreams, inspire me through thoughts, and empower me to heal, strengthen, and tolerate nothing intolerable. Sekhmet, hear me!”
Provide Healing for Sekhmet
Healing comes from many sources. Good healthy food can heal our bodies and keep us strong. Emotional support can heal emotional hurt. Medicine and preventive care can heal the body. Not everyone practices medicine, but everyone can provide healing. If you know someone who is sick, offer to cook for them so that they can rest and do this in honor of the goddess Sekhmet. If you know someone who is hurting emotionally, offer to sit and listen to them and give them advice if they ask for it. This will honor the goddess by healing them emotionally. Even if you're not a doctor, you can help someone to get medical treatment. Give a ride to someone who needs help getting to a doctor or pick up their prescription from the pharmacy for them. All can be done in honor of the goddess. Read about energy healing here: All You Need to Know About Energy Healing
Balancing Your Anger in Her Honor
Everybody gets angry sometimes, even those of us who are not powerful goddesses. The question is, how will you react to your anger? It is true that upsetting things happen all the time, but the way that you react is your decision. If the lore is correct, Sekhmet almost destroyed humanity once, not multiple times. That means that she found a way to control her anger when it flared up. We can all take a lesson from the wisdom of the goddess and balance our anger by choosing our actions wisely.
Next time you are angry, in honor of Sekhmet, do not act immediately. Instead, take a step back and think about what has happened. Sometimes you just need a moment to collect yourself, but other times you may need a day, a week, or longer to decide what course of action you're going to take in response to what happened. The more upsetting the event, the more important it is for you to choose your response wisely. Remember that the person who upsets you is responsible for what they did, but you are responsible for the choices you make in response.
Host a Cocktail Party for Sekhmet
In ancient times, at the beginning of the year, at Mut temple in Luxor, Egypt, a great party called Sed Festival was thrown in Sekhmet’s honor. Tens of thousands of people at a time would attend. The festival commemorated Sekhmet’s near destruction of humanity, and she was given sacrifices, dances were done in her honor, and she was given songs and prayers. In honor of how the goddess was given beer in excess to make her so drunk she did not destroy humanity, some attendees would become gloriously drunk. Many attendees drank alcohol in her honor, even if they stayed sober.
In honor of Sekhmet, throw a cocktail party. Invite as many powerful individuals whose strong tempers can flare, and serve them the way you would serve the goddess, appeasing their wrath- or appetite- with delicious alcoholic beverages and good food. Beer tinted with red ochre was given to Sekhmet by the gods to make her think she was drinking blood to quell her wrath. A beer cocktail is the perfect thing to serve in her honor.
Sekhmet’s Spiced Beer
6 cups apple cider
6 cups beer
2 whole apples, chopped
2 whole oranges, sliced
¼ of a fresh pineapple, chopped
1 whole lemon, sliced
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
A few drops of red food coloring
Combine everything in a large pan and heat until boiling. Reduce the heat, and simmer on low until the fruit is soft. Ladle the first serving into a special mug for the goddess Sekhmet, and place it in a position of honor for her. Drink a toast in her name, and enjoy! Make sure to eat the fruit too! Food is magical and you can read all about that here: The Magic of Food
Protection, healing, and vengeance are all things Sekhmet is goddess of. She was worshipped by thousands of people in ancient times and a relationship with her can happen for you today. Heal people in her name, balance your anger with right action, and have a cocktail party in her honor!
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