Sekhmet, Lioness Goddess of Egypt

Sekhmet is the lion headed, Egyptian Goddess of war and healing. Her name is said to mean "The Powerful One". She is also a solar Goddess and wears a sun disc crown upon her head. Daughter to Ra, the Sun God, Sekhmet was said to be a fierce Goddess. She is a misunderstood Goddess quite frequently. She represents the lioness, and they are fierce creatures, especially when it comes to the protection of their cubs. Sekhmet also is the fierce mother, and has the wildness of a lion.

In her myth, the sun God Ra, is said to be the creator of all things, including mankind. He started to hear, that mankind was making fun of him and saying bad things of him. This enraged Ra, so he decided to set out Sekhmet to dispel all the bad humans, who were speaking evil things against him. So Sekhmet started on her rampage of slaughtering humans and drinking their blood, so much so, that Ra feared there would be no more humans left. So he devised a plan to trick Sekhmet. He ordered his men to make seven thousand jugs of beer, containing blood and mind altering herbs. They brought the red beer out to the slaughtering fields and poured it everywhere. Sekhmet, thinking it was blood, drank it all up and became so intoxicated she fell asleep and the massacre was over.

There was a festival held every year in honor of this story. It is said that her priestesses drank red wine laced with mind altering herbs, like Sekhmet did, to appease her wildness. This would be a great festival and thousands were said to have attended. They would all drink and become intoxicated to mimic Sekhmet in the myth, and then dance, sing and make love to soothe the Goddesses fierce nature. As a result of this, Sekhmet is also a Goddess associated with sexuality. She was also associated with the Goddesses Hathor and Bast.

Sekhmet represents letting go of anger, and letting go of the things that hold you back from starting a new life or enjoying the one you have. She teaches us to move past old hurts and to forgiveness. She is also known for her healing qualities and can be called on for these matters as well. Being that she is a lioness, she can also be seen as a Mother Goddess, possibly a dark Mother Goddess. You may also call on her for matters of becoming a stronger person, and also for sexuality.

On your altar to Sekhmet, have colors of red, orange and yellow, crystals of citrine, tigers eye, ruby or garnet, herbs of myrrh and catnip, a picture or statue of Sekhmet, representation of a lioness or a snake, and red wine.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the fierce Lioness Goddess of Ancient Egypt!





Photo courtesy of Stuart Littlejohn