Seshat is the Egyptian Goddess of writing, wisdom, architecture, geometry, astrology and books. Her name translates to mean "She Who Scrivens" or "She Who is the Scribe". Seshat was married to the God of wisdom and writing, Thoth. Together they had a child named "Hornub" which literally means "Gold Horus" so Sheshat was often associated with the Goddess Isis. It is said that Seshat invented writing and that her husband Thoth taught writing to mankind. Sometimes Sehsat is considered to be the feminine aspect of her husband Thoth.
Seshat was the royal scribe to the pharaohs recording all their life achievements, battles, treasures and captives from battle. She really was in many ways a Goddess for royalty. Since she was viewed with such importance among the royal family, Seshat was also involved in the "Sed Festival" which was held in honor of a pharaohs thirty year reign. This ceremony was held to celebrate the continued success of the pharaoh. The scribe Goddess was depicted wearing a leopard skin dress and a papyrus plant as her headdress. She is also seen holding a palm stem which she uses to record the passage of time, especially the time allotted for the life span of the pharaoh.
Seshat also took care of Thoth's library of scrolls and was given the title "Mistress of the House of Books" and is known as the patron Goddess of librarians. Also referred to as "Mistress of the House of Architects", Seshat was said to be involved in a ritual called "stretching the cord" which related to laying out foundations of temples and other important structures. This would determine sacred alignments and precision of the dimensions.
No temple was ever found in her name although her main sanctuary was in Heliopolis. Seshat teaches us that the best way to prepare for the future is to learn from the past so keeping record of events and time is important. She helps writers with their latest writing endeavor and she guides mathematicians and architects. Seshat is also a beneficial Goddess for historians to call upon.
Thank you so much for sharing! This was really interesting! I am a writer myself, so now I know of one Goddess to call upon for inspiration and motivation :-) Thank you!
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