This weeks #wildwisdom #soulstory based on the Tuesday #treeteaching and forest bathing meditation is centred around the Egyptian goddess Sekmet.
This at first sight, is a curious goddess to appear. Known as a warrior, and called “The Devouring One, this primordial goddess is one of the oldest known in Egypt.
#Sekhmet was also known as “The One who was Before the Gods Were,” as “The Lady of the Place of the Beginning of Time.”
So here she appears as the #blossom appears. What has this delicate pink blossom to do with a #goddess associated with war and destruction?
As the Protector of Ma’at (Justice), Sekhmet is known as “The one who loves #Maat and detests evil.” One of her stories is about rage and how she almost destroyed the world. Her Father, Ra, became angry that the people were not upholding and honouring Ma’at. Ra sent Sekhmet to punish humanity. Sekhmet went on a rampage of destruction. On witnessing this rampage Ra and the other god’s prepared beer stained with pomegranate juice so that it looked like blood. When Sekmet saw this she was entranced by it and when she drank it she became intoxicated. So much so that she fell asleep for three days.
Notice that Sekmets’ anger was diffused by distraction. Righteous anger is good but left to burn on without end has the capacity for great destruction as we see in the story. The distraction creates a space and what steps in to take its’ place?
Now, as we know, three days in a myth story is not necessarily three human days. It could be that Sekmet was asleep for many months. We should also note that it is not by force that Sekmets’ power is tamed but by intoxication. Ra greets Sekhmet upon her awakening with the words “Twice welcome in peace, O Charming One”. Now that is quite a greeting and we will consider this for our tree blessing this Sundays’ minisTree. A wrathful goddess welcomed as charming.
When she awakes she immediately fell in love with #Ptah God of creation. How many times have we seen in our own lives or in those around us, #love as an intoxicating force?
Sekmet is also known as “The Beautiful Light”. The tree teaching spoke of the light and the warmth returning melting away the ice. The dark barren trees making silhouettes against the sky now bring blossoms forth. It is an interesting contrast made even more apparent by the cold weather still present. This death goddess is also the harbinger of life. Intimately associated with the river #Nile and its’ floods, she is both the flooding of the land and then the fertility following the floods. One cannot help but compare this myth with the current events of flooding across the UK and the spread of the Corona virus across the world. Perhaps righteous anger at human destruction of nature has manifested itself in these ways and who better to embody this than Sekmet?
Despite the dark frosty nights here in #Europe, the light is getting ever stronger. It is the #light shining through the petals of the flowers that makes them so translucent, appearing to glow from within. It is the light making them so vibrant and pink. The returning light brings new #season blossoms that later in the year will bear fruit just as the Nile floods bring fertility. Yet another name for Sekmet is “The Great One of Healing.”
The tree teaching spoke of the sticky centre of the flower attracting insects. In Egypt scarabs were placed on the chest of the deceased, manifested the revitalizing powers of the #sun, aiding transformation of the dead. Often the scarabs where made of red carnelian.
A passage from The Egyptian Book of the Dead says, “Mine is a heart of carnelian…I am the phoenix, the fiery sun, consuming and resuming myself.”
In the meditation there is a call for the heart to open. Once again coincidence calls and here we have a goddess intimately associated with the heart. Sekhmets priests were famed as healers and surgeons. One of the few surviving Ancient Egyptian medical books, the Papyrus Ebers, contains many spells written expressly for the use of the clergy of Sekhmet. For them the heart reflected the solar attributes of regeneration.
As I have said before, I don’t plan the teachings or anything else in advance. I write directly what arises in the moment in the #naturalworld. I did not know when I wrote the #meditation that this weeks’ wild wisdom soul story would centre around Sekmet, yet here she is.
Remember the audio #forestbathing #meditation?
….”Open,
To wonder,
And curiosity.
Let your heart
Love what it sees.
Let love open the flower of your heart.”
When Sekmet awoke she immediately fell in love with Ptah God of creation. Something we might read as when love meets the creative instinct it bears new life.
In this form Sekmet speaks of the love of creation and life lived from the heart. Last week we saw a glimpse of wonder. This week it has turned to love.
Blessings
Amanda Claire x
I offer the #treeteachings, #wildwisdom #soulstories and this site for Free for people and #planet. If you think that everyone has a right to access nature and its wisdom for free you can conTreebute and ....
About these wild wisdom soul stories.
You take this as you wish as a mythic exploration, spiritual gift, positive psychological programming whatever … but I offer it to you in the hope that it will serve you some good purpose.
The tree teachings, #forestbathing #meditations and wild wisdom soul stories are not pre-planned, I don’t have the year ahead mapped out with neat little diagrams and to do lists and pre-prepared old last years’ materials. No ... these are the fresh green shoots of inspirations sent forth from the trees. I don’t care what your belief system is … in times of mass extinction, and #climatechange , my conviction is that if we connect personally with trees and nature this can only serve both us and the #earth well … I hope you agree.
Each being and story featured each week is of course a brief glimpse. If you feel drawn to a particular one you could study it in greater depth and pay homage to the culture within which it arose.