autumnsnaketongue:

Egyptian Warrior Goddess: Sekhmet

My patron Goddess, Sekhmet, also known as Sakhmet, Sekhet, or Sakhet is best known for being the warrior goddess and the healing goddess for upper egypt.  Most often depicted with the head of the lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the egyptians.  It is said that her breath created the desert.  She is a protector of pharoahs and led them into war.

Sekhmet is a solar deity, sometimes called the daughter of Ra and often associated with the goddesses Bast and Hathor.  She wears a solar disk on her head which links her to royalty and Wadjet.

To pacify Sekhmet festivals would be held after battle and so that destruction would come to an end.  Another festival called for intoxication.  Egyptians would dance and play music and drink until they could barely walk.  It was said that this stopped her wrath from destroying humankind.  This relates to the early year floods that cause the nile to become red with silt and they believed that Sekhmet had to swallow the excess to save humankind.

paganearth:

Sekhmet

Lady of the Place at the Beginning of Time
One Who Was Before the Gods Were
Mother of All the Gods

Basics
Sekhmet is the lion-headed solar goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, and the Crone aspect of the trinity of Hathor-Bast-Sekhmet. She is also part of the Triad of Memphis, along with the god, and her consort, and their son Nefer-Tem. Ptah is often called the Creator God, and their son Nefer-Tem is known as the God of Medicine. Ra, the Sun God, was her father. The name Sekhmet comes from Sekhem, which means strong, mighty, powerful, and violent. She is a solar goddess, directly related to the creative and destructive powers of the sun.

Most commonly seen Myth
At one point in time humans conspired to overthrow the pantheon of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Even the priests and magicians plotted against the gods, using the powers given them against these gods. Ra heard of this, and called together the most powerful and ancient deities. It was decided that Sekhmet, the “force against which no other force avails” (Masters) should stomp out the rebellion. She would punish all those who had evil in their hearts and minds. So Sekhmet went out and slaughtered the humans, drinking their blood. Soon, the land was so bloody, and so many were dead, that Ra and the gods feared no humans would remain on the earth, so something had to be done to stop Sekhmet, who was intoxicated on human blood and craved even more. Ra sent for a brew to be made from beer, blood, and certain plants – probably containing belladonna and opium – in order to calm and stop Sekhmet. 7000 huge jugs of the brew were prepared, and this bloody-looking liquid was poured over the ground in a place where Sekhmet was sure to go. When Sekhmet came to this place, she thought she saw blood, and drank it all up. Then it is said that “her heart was filled with joy” and her rage and slaughter was ended. After that, Ra praised Sekhmet in order to further soothe her, calling her “the One Who Comes in Peace,” and “beautiful, charming, graceful.”

Hathor-Bast-Sekhmet
Hathor is the mother, and Sekhmet is the crone aspect of this trinity. Hathor and Bast, in their solar aspects, are sometimes called the “female Ra.” Bast, in her lunar aspect, is the moon goddess who is the twin of Sekhmet, the sun goddess. There is a strong duality between Bast and Sekhmet, so that when lunar qualities are dominant, Bast is manifest as the gentle, nurturing cat-headed goddess. When solar qualities are emphasized, Sekhmet manifests as the lion-headed goddess. In terms of the Blood Mysteries, gentle Bast represented ovulation, while fiery Sekhmet represented menstruation!
Sekhmet is transformative power, and we can use her energy in a positive way by learning how to release and express it appropriately. Sekhmet is a guardian of the world against evil. Bast is often depicted as a guardian of the home, though she usually wears a lion-headed emblem as a reminder of her Sekhmet aspect – a warning that the gentle, mother Bast can become the fierce lion-headed Sekhmet if necessary! Sekhmet is also sometimes associated with the snake. The serpent is a sign of the Healer, High Priestess, Shamaness, and Visionary. Snake power is a radical power, both dangerous and transformative (Ellis). Sekhmet is guardian of the gates of life and death. Each month through the menstrual cycle, a death occurs. Either the ovum is shed, and death occurs that way, or the ovum is fertilized, and a different sort of death occurs – the death of the virgin phase, and a birth into the mother phase of life. Every birth must create a death, and this is the domain of Sekhmet, who wisely chooses what to create and what to destroy.

sadighgallery:

Ancient Egyptian Sekhmet Statue. Carved black basalt Sekhmet, the bloodthirsty and violent Goddess of war and divine vengeance. Mounted on a base. Ptolemaic. 305-30 BC (14” x 9”).

My altar so far, it’s not complete but I’m getting there. I have no protection under the candles at the minute because this is the first time I’ve lit them and I see no threat just yet. I got three little air tight jars but I hope to plan on getting some more when I see fit, I also got some myrrh resin (which I placed inside one of my jars. I need to label it), small cauldron, sage incense, tiger’s eye stone (iron type so no water allowed) and some smokeless charcoal to burn the myrrh on.
I burned some dragon’s blood incense alongside the two candles beside Sekhmet and meditated for a minute or two, I found the experience quite comforting after feeling so sad today.