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Sekhmet, Bast, and Hathor: Power, Passion, and Transformation through the Egyptian Goddess Trinity

By Normandi Elis | GODDESSES IN WORLD CULTURE | 2010

Three very powerful goddesses take a single form as the oldest divine being in ancient Egypt. They are the lion goddess Sekhmet, the cat goddess Bast, and Hathor, the beautiful woman who wears cow horns. All three goddesses can be found in the Old Kingdom of pharaonic Egypt (circa 3000 BCE) and may predate the First Dynasty (5000-3150 BCE).

Hathor originated in the predynastic cult of the sacred cow, which saw the Milky Way as the body of the sky goddess. All the stars that lay therein were souls of her children waiting to be born or returning to her in the afterlife. Sometimes Hathor the cow was called Mehurt, whose breasts flowed with milk. Images of the dancing horned goddess were carved on the rocks of the Egyptian savannah as early as 6000 BE. The cow goddess appeared atop the Palette of Narmer, the first pharaoh of a united Upper and Lower Egypt. By the Fourth Dynasty, the face of the cow mother had turned into the sweet, beautiful face of a young maiden. In human form, she wore a crown of cow horns that cradled between them the gleaming disc of the moon or the sun. They called her "The Golden One." The diadem recalls Hathor's celestial home.

She was, at various times, both mother and daughter of Ra, the sun god, and the consort of many divine beings whose temples flanked the Nile. Most notably, at the Temple of Edfu, she was the consort of the hawk god Horus, who was embodied in the living pharaoh while the pharaoh's queen embodied beautiful Hathor. Through all of her incarnations for more than 6000 years, Hathor remained the most frequently seen goddess in temples up and down the Nile. In some form or another, all goddesses drew upon her attributes; even the goddess Isis, whose appearance in Egypt coincides with the cow goddess, was often depicted wearing cow horns and was, at times, called the daughter of Hathor.' Two other ubiquitous goddesses embodied the duality of her nature-Sekhmet when she manifested solar attributes. and Bast in her lunar attributes.

Bast appeared dressed in green, the color of fecundity. A nurturing presence, she exhibited those feminine qualities associated with the moon. Her presence in the niches of most Egyptian homes was a peaceful, loving one. She tended her children, fed them, bathed them, loved

them, and soothed their hurts. This cat-headed goddess was the tamed version of her bloodthirsty sister Sekhmet.

Powerful Sekhmet wore a crimson robe. Fiery, fecund, and magical-the energy of life itself--the lion goddess protected the pharaoh. More statues of her remain in Egypt that of any other divinity. On the walls of Karnak temple, the lion goddess may be seen dashing alongside the chariot of pharaoh Ramses II as he entered battle. Sekhmet was considered a great spiritual warrior. She protected the temples and borders and exhibited in female form the solar qualities most identified with the sun god Ra. When the wicked of the world wearied the god, Ra sent his daughter Sekhmet to deal with them.

The Solar Origins of Sekhmet

Sekhmet's main feast day in Egypt was celebrated when the star Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major rose prior to sunrise during the month of August. The rise of Sirius signaled the coming change and renewal that occurs each year following the "Dog Days" of summer. After the thaw of snowcaps in central Africa's mountains, the annual Nile flood begins to wend its way northward, ending the summer drought and initiating the season of inundation.

In dramatic fashion, the rising Nile waters pushed the flood from Khartoum in Sudan, down through Upper Egypt, and finally all the way to the Delta in the north. When the inundation first trickled forth, the waters looked greenish before they turned an opaque, dark ruddy color from a type of red algae pushed out of the central African tributaries and downriver by the melting snow and floodwaters. The Arabs called this the Red Nile.

The red flow soon precipitated a burst of life-generating activity along the Nile banks. It may help here to realize that the Egypt of 10,000 BCE was a different place than today's land. Rather than being primarily desert, Egypt was a lush savannah, teeming with life. Some suggest that the overgrazing of cattle and climate change may have caused the Sahara savannah to turn into desert. After this change, around 6000 BCE, life in Egypt shrank to occupy primarily the Delta and the narrow strip of arable black earth washed down into the bottomland on either side of the Nile.

One of the many festivals that celebrated the flood and opened the Egyptian New Year was called "The Inebriety of Hathor." The beer-and wine-drinking festival that followed the first sign of flood was connected to the intoxicating drink that soothed the savage Sekhmet, a solar form of Hathor. The festivities that accompany the festival of "The Ine-briety of Hathor commemorated the saving of Egypt from the ravaging power of Sekhmet.

Ra, who created all things, ruled the earth in peace for thousands of years. But as he grew old, his human subjects forgot him and no longer offered their adoration. Outraged, the god summoned his council, soliciting their advice. Nun, god of primordial waters, suggested sending forth Ra's fiery solar eye, Sekhmet. The idea of sending his lioness daughter delighted Ra, who imagined irreverent humans fleeing, trembling in terror, and cowering in the mountains.

At her father's bidding, Sekhmet began to teach humankind a lesson by devouring every man, woman, and child who crossed her path. She ravaged all the land in both Upper and Lower Egypt, through the mountains and savannahs east and west of the river. She started in Nubia and ate her way north toward the Delta. The river ran red with the blood of those she had slain (a reference to the Red Nile flood). As the fierce goddess waded through the carnage, her feet turned red with the blood of her victims.

Ra looked down upon the havoc Sekhmet had created and felt immediate remorse. The thirst of his daughter for blood knew no bounds. He tried to rein her in, saying, "Come home. Thou hast done what I asked thee to do." But Sekhmet replied, "By my life, I love the taste of blood.

My heart rejoices and I will work my will upon humankind." She would not be deterred.

Ra realized he had made a grave mistake, but neither god nor human could stop Sekhmet. But if she could not be stopped, perhaps her willful passions could be diverted. Ra turned to Thoth, god of wisdom. Thoth quickly sent his messengers to Elephantine Island, where the river burst forth from rocks. "Bring me the fruit that causes sleep," he said, "the fruit that is scarlet and its juice crimson as human blood." When the messengers returned, Thoth and Ra commanded the women in the city of Heliopolis to crush red barley and make beer. They mixed it with the juice of pomegranates and other magical ingredients, according to the recipe of Thoth. The women of Heliopolis made 7000 measures of this red beer.

At dawn, this soothing red brew was poured into a pool outside the city, where Sekhmet would find it. Thinking it was the blood of her vic-tims, the lioness lapped up the mixture until it was gone. When the potion took effect, the heart of the fierce goddess was soothed. Sekhmet lay down and purred, no longer seeking revenge. She stretched out in the field for a sweet little sleep, having transformed herself into the gen-tle, nurturing, loving cat goddess, Bast.

This myth shows for the first time the emerging dual nature of Hathor. Bast is the sensual, purring, nurturing aspect, while Sekhmet is the roaring lion, a goddess with a temper. Bast reveals the nurturing mother of her kittens; Sekhmet shows herself the protector of her pride and her cubs. When Hathor's solar qualities are the focal point, the goddess assumes Sekhmet's lion form, and when her lunar qualities are at play, she appears as Bast the cat.

The beer that soothed Sekhmet was a staple of the Egyptian diet.

Because the brewing and fermentation processes made the Nile water more potable and healthful, beer was offered at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But wine was the favored drink of great celebrations. Whenever Hathor appeared as the "Queen of Happiness" and "Mistress of Drunkenness, Jubilation and Music" in one of more than forty festivals held in her temple at Dendera, alcoholic beverages were in plentiful supply. The sacred wine that induced a trancelike state may have contained psychotropic plants, says Robert Masters, possibly including belladonna, wormwood, or opium? C. J.

Bleeker believed that this sacred drunkenness was "the medium through which contact could be effectuated with the world of the gods."

Triple Aspects of the Goddesses

Bast and Sekhmet are such tightly linked aspects of Hathor that the three goddesses were sometimes sculpted standing back to back on the handle of a cosmetic mirror. Because the ancestry of all three goddesses reaches back into the early dynasties of Egypt, they may be aspects of a single, superlative feminine divinity. The goddesses names evoke that divine being by her attributes: Sekhmet (the powerful one), Bast (the soul of mother Isis), and Hathor or Het-hor (the house or shrine of the gods."

In later times, the Ptolemaic Greeks (circa 300 BE linked Hathor with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Their reasoning is easy to follow, for Hathor's consorts were many. She was consort to Horus the Younger, the falcon god. She was linked as well to a number of gods, among them the crocodile Sobek, the ithyphallic Min, and the solar Ra. She shared her power equally with the gods but remained independent of the Goddesses

The festival of "The Inebriety of Hathor" calmed that inner rage and provided Egypt's general populace with an outlet for their pent-up emo-tions. "Similar festivals were celebrated at the end of battle, in order to pacify the goddess of war, so that there would be no more destruction.

On such occasions, the people danced and played music to soothe the wildness of the goddess."

The Blood Mysteries

Together Hathor, Bast, and Sekhmet create a unified image of the divine feminine as maiden, mother, and crone. The three goddesses represent the stages of the blood mysteries that rule a woman's life as she moves across the roles of lover, mother, and elder. Beautiful Hathor is the consort of Egypt's gods and the perfect embodiment of the queen partnered with the pharaoh who embodies Horus. Bast is the mother protector of children, surrounded by her litter of kittens; she is also the bridge between the sensual young adult woman and the older, but still sexual wife and mother.

Sekhmet embodies the cyclical blood that flows at birth and death; the blood that flows from mother to child in the womb; the blood on battle-fields, and the menstrual blood or the blood of circumcision that separates the budding young adult from childhood. It is the cyclical red flood of the River Nile that became equated with the red, renewing menstrual blood that cleanses and prepares the way for renewal and regenesis. This blood is a kind of communion, in which humankind partakes of the divine drink of the gods. That is the mystery of transubstantiation.

Blood held within was called the "wise blood," and menopause marked a time for women in ancient Egypt when the inner Sekhmet produced divisions and created magic. The red henna (or Egyptian privet) that adorned the heads of women in Egypt was a tribute to her and was said to be her "magic blood." Heads, hands, and feet were dipped in the colors of the goddess. Cheeks and lips were brushed with her paint. Even mummy cloths were sometimes dipped in henna as a sign of rebirth from the blood of the goddess.

To the left of the 'Temple of Karnak sits a small temple dedicated to the great trinity of Memphis Ptah, Sekhmet, and their offspring Nefertum.

During the Eighteenth Dynasty the pharaoh Thutmose III refurbished the temple to honour the trinity. He made his annual harvest festival offering of "Feeding the Gods" at that smaller temple rather than at Karnak. To this day, inside that temple resides a large, black basalt statue of Sekhmet, who was said to be "great of magic." In fact more statues of Sekhmet can be found at Karnak than at any other temple and more statues exist in situ than any other divinity.

Thutmose III beseeched Sekhmet by calling her Mut, a word used to mean both "mother" and "death"; its hieroglyph of the vulture symbolized both. Not only does the vulture lay eggs, but it eats the dead. On a higher level, nurturance often demands sacrifice. The goddess feeds her people, who in turn feed the goddess. Thutmose III provided thrones of gleaming electrum for Ptah, Sekhmet, and Nefertum. He filled their temple with vessels of gold and silver, with "every splendid, costly stone," with fine linens and "ointments of divine ingredients." On the day of her feast, Thutmose stood before the altar and made the sacrifices that restore Egypt to "life, prosperity, and health." His gifts line the offering table: many jars of wine and jugs of beer, ducks and geese, a multitude of loaves of white bread, bunches of vegetables, baskets of fruits, and "offerings of the garden and every plant."

The Healing Arts

The healing arts were part of the magical power of a wise woman, and Sekhmet was known as an important healing divinity. Inside one of the ten side rooms that surround the inner sanctuary at the Temple of Edfu, a medical library was kept, and in this place the healing priests, called wab sekhmet, conducted healings." On the left side of the doorway was inscribed the magical, repeating image of a lion-headed cobra. A serpentine Sekhmet seemed to unwrap herself from seven coils and rise out of a shallow basket, her lioness head held high, her eyes glittering, and her tongue thrust between her teeth. Here the goddess appears as the life force itself.

While the priests and priestesses of Bast were adept at soothing jangled nerves and easing depression with herbal potions and music, the healers who were "great of magic" were more often high priests and priestesses dedicated to Sekhmet. They wore leopard skins to link them to her powerful feline energies. Because these goddesses understood the powerful visions brought by intoxication, both Sekhmet and Bast were said to bring healing dreams.

The Beneficent Role of Bast

The cat Bast offered the image of a kinder, more nurturing feline form.

She often appeared as a woman with a cat's head carrying on her arm a basket with a litter of kittens. Mythologist Robert Briffault remarked upon the cat's great adaptability to motherhood and her ability to love substitute children equally with her own. Typically, cats who have lost a kitten willingly adopt the kittens from another litter.' In this area, Bast and Isis share the role of surrogate mother. Before Isis begat her son Horus, she mothered the jackal-headed god Anubis who had been abandoned in the desert.

A number of Egyptologists cite Greek sources that describe Bast as the "Soul of Ra"; like a cat that had nine lives, the sun god Ra had nine divine beings under his command. These nine primordial gods, called the Great Ennead, were generated from Ra's light substance. Other ancient Egyptians identified Bast with Isis as the true mother of all, whether she was mothering her own children or the abandoned children of others. Nearly every household with children had a wall niche devoted to Bast. Before her were laid fresh flowers, cups of milk, or other offerings. Statues of Sekhmet may have been the appropriate energy to guard the temples, the borderlands and the pharaoh, but Bast was the welcome guardian of the home. Little cat figurines of Bast with round head and pointed ears were produced in great quantities for private devotion. Families often owned a number of cats.

Affectionate and graceful, they made great companions, and they kept away mice and snakes. When a cat died, it was mourned as a beloved family member, mummified in great ceremony, and buried with honour. Fifteen centuries later when the Suez Canal was being dug, workmen had to stop for weeks at a time to clear away the multitude of cat mummies they had uncovered in ancient pet cemeteries.

The cat goddess sometimes wore a necklace bearing the healing Eye of Horus, called the wadjet. At other times she wore on her breastplate the lion's head of her sister Sekhmet, a reminder of her fierce other self and of the mercurial ability of the feline goddess to change from lap kitty into warrior in the blink of an eye.

The dual nature of the goddess-her loving nature on the one hand and her wild anger and abandon on the other are nowhere more tightly woven than in the myths of Bast and Sekhmet. Prayers to Hathor are quick to praise both aspects, lest one offend the other. This Hymn to Sekhmet-Bast appears in The Egyptian Book of the Dead:

Mother of the gods, the One, the Only. Sekhmet is th name when thou art wrathful. Bast, beloved, when thy people call. (Sekhmet) daughter of the sun, with flame and fury. . .. Bast, beloved, banish all our fears. Mother of the gods, no gods existed Til thou . . . gave them life.

In the Nile Delta Bast retained her stature from prehistory down to the reign of the Ptolemaic Greeks (343 BCE. According to the histories of Manetho, Bast's sacred city Bubastis, was active as early as 2925 BE and influenced the theology of the priests of nearby Memphis, Heliopolis, and Sais." During the Fourth Dynasty, pharaohs Khufu and Khafre kept laborers busy refurbishing and adding to Bast's main temple, in addition to building the pharaohs' grand pyramids. One royal inscription found on the Giza Plateau near Khafre's pyramid reads: "Beloved of the Goddess Bast and beloved of the Goddess Hathor."? Such an inscription linking Bast and Hathor is remarkable, since no other inscriptions of any kind occur elsewhere on the site.

During the Twenty-Second Dynasty, pharaoh Sheshonk I elevated Bast from local patron to the stature of a national heroine, chiefly because his lineage descended from her sacred city of Bubastis. By 930 BE all Egypt adored Bast. King Sheshonk I, who considered himself a son of Bast, boldly moved the capital city from its long-standing home in Thebes to his hometown in Bubastis.

Although only a few crumbling walls remained in Bubastis, Sheshonk restored the Old Kingdom temples and erected new temples to honor the cat goddess. According to Herodotus, who visited the city around 600 BCE, no other temple compared with the grandeur of that of Bast. It was built in the very heart of the city, situated on an island enclosed by two divergent streams of the Nile that ran on either side of a single pas-sageway. Each stream seemed 100 feet broad, and on the banks of the river were "fair-branched trees, overshadowing the waters with a cool and pleasant shade." A tall tower could be seen clearly from every part of the city. Inside the enclosure wall a beautiful garden of trees shaded the priests who carefully tended it. Part of the temple was said to have been built around an ancient sacred persea (avocado) tree. At the center of the temple stood a beautiful golden statue of the goddess Bast.

Throughout the Delta in general, and at her sacred city Bubastis in particular, Bast was adored for her sensuality, congeniality, and loving nature. The Greeks especially loved her, and Bast festivals were never more popular than during the Graeco-Roman period. When migrating Libyans appeared in the Delta around 100 BE. the nonulation of the city soared once again.

Herodotus calls the "Great Festival of Bast at Bubastis" (April 15) one of the most important festivals in Egypt. At times bawdy, at times ecstatic, the festival celebrated Hathor as the consort, while it also celebrated Bast and her sister Sekhmet. The three were never found far apart. This may have been a result of the wine- and beer-drinking that accompanied nearly every feast day in Egypt, all the more so when one is reminded of the mystery of blood that transformed the ravaging Sekhmet into the purring Bast.

During the Great Festival visitors came from far and wide, clattering through the streets, clustering along the riverbanks, and crowding their boats onto the Nile. The festivals often drew over 700,000 people_-including men, women, and children-and the days were filled with dancing, music-making, love-making, and wine-drinking. Drinking wine was viewed as a high religious sacrament, for its color was reminiscent of the blood of the divine and a reminder of spiritual renewal. Bubastis was the wine capital of ancient Egypt, its rich Delta soil providing large pharaonic estates bearing the choicest grapes. The white wines of Lower Egypt were called the Wine of Bast, while the red wines of Upper Egypt were called the Wine of Sekhmet.

Bast's island temple could only be reached by the crowded little ferry-boats that plied the waters of the Nile. Some of the larger boats filled with richly adorned noblemen and women sailed down river all the way from ancient Thebes. As they approached the little towns along the Nile, villagers heard the swelling strains of music coming from the flute players and the women playing castanets. They heard the songstresses and sometimes trickles of laughter. Long before Bubastis was reached, the wine and beer had begun flowing. As the boats neared town, the villagers came down to the edge of the water to greet the entourage. If the boats stopped in town to freshen supplies, even more people crowded aboard to join the sailing party.

Herodotus said that more wine was consumed in Bubastis during the festival than at any other time of the year. Delicious foods included honeyed breads, raisin cakes, pomegranates, figs, roasted fowl, and meats.

The streets fairly writhed with dancing, music playing, and singing all day and night.

Hathor: Goddess of Dualities

The ubiquitous goddess Hathor who reigned in heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife was the patron goddess of all women in whatever stage of life, but she is most beloved as the consort or divine wife. Her name Het-hor literally meant "the house" or "the shrine" of Horus, the falcon god. That shrine was her sacred womb.

In older myths, Hathor was the mother of Horus the Elder when he appeared as the solar child that the sky mother birthed onto the horizon.

In later myths, Hathor became the beloved of Horus the Younger, whose mother was Isis. Whether she was connected to the elder or younger Horus, Hathor remained always eternally youthful and beautiful, even though she was older than Isis.

Her temples were found at Memphis, Thebes, the Sinai, and elsewhere.

She was honored at Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Esna. The most important and well known of her temples was the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, which in its present condition is a Ptolemaic temple built around 332 BCE, but its inscription says it was built upon the previous site where the Fourth Dynasty King Cheops erected a temple to the goddess.!* Its most famous attribute is its dramatic astronomical ceiling with symbols of the zodiacal signs that can clearly be recognized as the twelve familiar constellations.

And yet, its pole star is not in Ursa Major but in Draco, the constellation that it would have appeared as pole star around 4500 BE, an age that predates the temple having been built by Cheops. This representation of the sky and the temple of the sky goddess Hathor seems to point to the dawning of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

In her temple Hathor's statue was venerated and venerable, adored and adorned for thousands of years. Thus, the statue acquired the power to heal, to speak, and to bring dreams to her worshipers. Pure Nile water poured over the base inscriptions of her statue could heal diseased bodies, minds, and spirits. The pilgrims wrote stories of their miraculous healing in prayers, poems, and inscriptions through the Dendera temple.

As the oldest goddess in Upper Egypt, Hathor was assimilated into nearly every other goddess. Isis the mother and Hathor the consort become interchangeable. Wherever there was a temple that honored Hathor, there was also a smaller temple that honored Isis, and vice versa. In the Temple of Isis at Philae, the inscribed "Songs of Isis" praise the beauty and majesty of Hathor.

Oh, Lady of the Beginning, come thou before our faces in this her name of Hathor, Lady of Emerald, Lady of Aset, the Holy!'S Because there were so many temples devoted to Hathor, many more women than men served in priestly offices engaged in her service, a custom unlike that of other temples in Egypt. At daybreak the pharaoh engaged in a ritual in which he broke the clay seal on the door of her shrine in order to gaze in silent adoration upon the beautiful face of the goddess. To the mistress of heaven he offered incense, the menat necklace, the sistrum rattle, and maat, the image of truth. 'These were among the pharaoh's gifts to his beloved, for Hathor was the goddess of the queen and thus coming before her was the culmination of a love story.

The sacred marriage of the pharaoh (as the embodiment of Horus) and the queen (embodiment of Hathor) was celebrated in May, during one of many harvest festivals. The festival began at the Temple of Hathor in Dendera and lasted about fourteen days, ending in Edfu at the

'Temple of Horus. During the festival, the statue of "The Golden One" was carried along the Nile by boat amid music, dance, and song. The union of the two most important lights in heaven was the culmination of the meeting of Hathor and Horus in Edfu. Their marriage took place precisely on the day of the new moon, when the sun (Horus and the moon (Hathor) met in heavenly conjunction. The ancient Egyptians called this "The Day of the Beautiful Embrace."

On the inner face of the east pylon of the Temple of Edfu is a description of the annual festival of the sacred union. The ritual marriage took place privately inside the temple where the divine couple remained for three days, consummating their holy marriage. Meanwhile outside the temple walls the entire population of Edu continued their celebration: drinking, feasting, singing, and dancing.

One song performed for the wedding celebration was called "Hymn to the Golden One." It was sung in chorus by several priestesses while the pharaoh enacted the offering rituals:

The pharaoh comes to dance. He comes to sing for thee. O, mistress, see how he dances! O, bride of Horus, see how he skips! ... He offers thee This urn filled with wine. O, mistress, see how he dances! O, bride of Horus, see how he skips!!?

The first record of a celebration of the sacred marriage appeared during the reign of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhet I, around 2000 BE. Linked with the harvest season rites, it commemorated the first fruits of the field and was held in honor of the ancestors.

In the union of the god and the goddess, all life had its regenesis. Of all the festivals in Egypt, this truly was Hathor's day. It was a festival in honour of the bride, for it is she who becomes mother of the holy child.

The hierogamos or sacred marriage was a union of opposites. In this pair, Hathor is the divine mother, the sky, and Horus is the falcon god and the earthly king. It is a sacred marriage of sprit and flesh, heaven and earth. Every royal couple who ever lived reenacted the marriage sacrament as much for the renewal of the land and their people as for themselves.

Three days after the hierogamos was celebrated, the festival of the "Conception of Horus" occurred, which celebrated the seed that means the renewal of life. This was also considered the conception day of the pharaoh and of the child who would succeed him. From lovemaking came the heir to the throne. Here, father and son were merged into one.

Hathor's love was sexual, maternal and spiritual. These triple aspects represent the deep passion for love, life, and light that runs through all her cosmic creation. Her powers generated "constant and ceaseless becoming." Her love for humankind was eternal.

Notes

Normandi Ellis, Feasts of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of a Woman's Life Based on the Egyptian Goddess Mysteries (Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1999), 144.

Robert Masters, The Goddess Sekhmet: Psychospiritual Exercises of the Fifth Way (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1991), 44.

C. J. Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1967), 91.

Ibid., 132.

Masters, The Goddess Sekhmet, 44.

See the "Cannibal Hymn of Unas" in Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, The Old Kingdom (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975), 36-38.

James Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906), 2:225-248.

Normandi Ellis, Dreams of Isis: A Woman's Spiritual Sojourn (Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1995), 178.

Robert Briffault, The Mothers New York: Macmillan, 1927), 594.

Margaret Murray, Egyptian Religious Poetry (London: John Murray, 1949), 103.

E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians New York: Dover, 1969), 1:445.

Marilee Bigelow, "Bast," Khepera 2, no. 2 (March 1991).

Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians, 1:449.

Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth, 76.

James Teackle Dennis, The Burden of Isis (London: John Murray, 1918), 55.

Lucie Lamy, Egyptian Mysteries: New Light on Ancient Spiritual Knowledge New York: Crossroads, 1981), 80.

"Hymn to the Golden One," in Bleeker, Hathor and Thoth, 99. Reprinted with permission.

Bibliography

Bigelow, Marilee. "Bast." Khepera 2, no. 2 (March 1991).

Bleeker, C. J. Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1967.

Breasted, James. Ancient Records of Egypt. 5 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906.

Briffault, Robert. The Mothers. 3 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1927.

Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians. 2 vols. New York: Dover, 1969.

Dennis, James Tackle. The Burden of Isis. London: John Murray, 1918.

Ellis, Normandi. Dreams of Isis: A Woman's Spiritual Sojourn. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1995.

Ellis, Normandi. Feasts of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life Based on the Egyptian Goddess Mysteries. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1999.

Lamy, Lucie. Egyptian Mysteries: New Light on Ancient Spiritual Knowledge. New York: Crossroads, 1981.

Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature. Vol. 1, The Old Kingdom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.

Masters, Robert. The Goddess Sekhmet: The Way of the Five Bodies. New York: Amity House, 1988.

Murray, Margaret. Egyptian Religious Poetry. London: John Murray, 1949.

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smaller-comfort · 4 months ago

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27. Share a piece of lore you made up for the Outshine the Sun early years wip and/or Consort roleplay wip?

I think the only lore that really goes with the concubine roleplay wip is general snecrontyr stuff that I've already covered elsewhere. That story is really just an excuse for Zahndrekh to dress Obyron up in sexy lingerie and make him beg to get fucked while Zahndrekh fingers him with his gloves on. At least, thats the plan, but we'll see how out of hand that one gets once I start working on it more.

For OtS- I've made up a fair amount about the Solstice religious order! It's a powerful institution with a lot of political power within the empire, although the Temple tends to be at odds with the Imperial Court on a lot of issues. Children born on the solstices don't get taken; parents can choose to dedicate their children or not, as they please. Officially dedicating a child to the temple does entitle parents to certain privileges and tithes in exchange, though, plus it means your kid gets an education and a pretty decent life. It's more like sending your kid off to be apprenticed; most children do keep in touch with their families, and they have the option to leave once they reach the age of majority.

There are, of course, children who are abandoned as newborns; Solstice orphans aren't uncommon, so there are children of all ages living in the temple cloisters.

The following is full of spoilers for the basic premise of OtS. I think it's pretty, though.

He laughed. “Absolutely not. The Elders said I had no potential, anyway. You'd have no use for me.”

-----

She touched his shoulder. “You have no desire to be a Solstice Priest now, do you?”

“You were a child; there was no way to truly know what potential you might grow into.” She stood, and now she was no longer Sister Anais, who had been so kind to the children in the cloister; she was Solena incarnate, with the light of the sun shining from her eyes. “You have the right to that particular truth. Come.”

He took her hand, and she led him to the center of the courtyard. The midmorning sun was harsh above them. “We are the children of the sun. But after the longest day, the light begins to die. Never forget what our birth signifies.”

She raised one arm, fingers outstretched towards the sky, and time stopped. The sun wheeled backwards in the sky, casting the courtyard in darkness; the moon rose, set, rose again, and the unforgiving light of the solstice flooded the courtyard.

And between the outstretched fingers of her hand, he saw the cosmos: the orbits of the moons and the planet's axial tilt, leaning towards the sun at the height of the solstice; the stately revolution of the planet around the sun, and the entire cohort of the solar system, with its concentric circles of planetary orbits and asteroid rings.

And beyond: stars, of which their sun was but one of a multitude, each spinning around the black hole at the center of the galaxy, and the galaxy itself moving in its slow and ponderous way outwards from the center of the universe, where all things began, and ended, and began again.

She closed her hand into a fist, and time resumed. Her eyes were the blackness of an eclipse, outlined in a corona of solar fire. The sun set; the moon rose, and set, and rose again; the sun rolled back into position where it belonged.

He reached for her, feeling the force of gravity and its counterforce, the dizzying centripetal motion of the universe. He held the sun in his hands, and through it he could see- the pane of glass in his mind was not a barrier at all. It was a prism, refracting the light.

Resh'an blinked. A globe of white hot fire spun in the palm of his hand like a tiny star. He flexed his fingers, and it dissipated with a curl of smoke. It made sense now. He called the fire back, feeling the way the prism in his mind brought forth the spectrum of light and magic; the movement of the universe in space and time, repeated over and over again across the Sea of Stars.

The globe of fire sputtered out, suddenly, and he staggered. Solena caught him as he fell, and her touch flooded him with sunlight- not the white hot starfire, but the gentle warmth of a sunrise. “Have a care not to burn too brightly- this is why we need Luana, for balance, to keep ourselves from burning out.”

“I was never going to have that.” He thought of Aephorul, and the sister he never knew; he was sure he would have loved her, too. The thought was nearly enough to stagger him again, with the weight of that loss finally realized. "You knew from the start- it was why you sent me away."

-----

(The premise: Resh'an is a Solstice orphan, who was taken from the temple before he finished his training. Aephorul has a dead twin sister, and never developed anything more than a rudimentary grasp of Lunar magic. Immortality ultimately corrupts their souls to the point where their own innate Solstice magic becomes poisonous.)

(Aephorul's sister has actually already made an appearance in the fic I've posted! She gets another cameo in Save Scumming, too.)

#nattering #literacy was a mistake

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vxidlight · 1 year ago

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( verse ); main This is the Visionary’s main timeline following her story as it is written in her about. Involves all of her first eight incarnations. If the story calls for it, sub-verses may branch off this one.

SUB-VERSES TO MAIN ( verse ); star trek The Visionary (6) is an ensign medical officer. Marooned with a damaged TARDIS, she decides to blend in. She sends a message to Earth/Starfleet who in return offered her a temporary commission as ensign.

( verse ); the force within (star wars 2.0) The Visionary (7) lands in a Galaxy far far away where her TARDIS is stolen and she meets a Jedi. While searching for her TARDIS she is taken on a journey and learns about the Force. Initially sceptical, she learns there's more to it than initially thought.

AU's

( verse ); seer This is an alternate version of the Visionary that lived on a Gallifrey that never encountered the Time War (in their timeline the Doctor was never sent to interfere with the creation of the Daleks) and Iota Two chooses to remain with the Castellan’s Guard and rose in ranks. Gallifrey was eventually invaded by an infection that stopped regeneration and Time Lords began arguing among themselves. Her fifth incarnation (Olivia Wilde) was still part of the Castellan's Guard, however, worked to help find a cure which was later found by her Prime Self. After she left, this Iota chose to keep the cure a secret and tried to take control of the parallel Gallifrey under the name of the Seer. Save for small differences, her faces mirror those of Prime!Iota, the Seer is colder than her counterpart and desires to do what is most beneficial for her. She is vindictive and believes in justice above all else.

A Jedi Verse; to be tagged Born on a world that was sparsely populated, Iota and her twin brother would run across the grasslands all day -- careful to avoid the wastelands. They were told it was full of radiation and toxic waste because that was easier than telling them that monsters lived there. She and her brother were found, unaffected by the creatures of the Dark Side that lived there, by a Jedi Master who later took them to be trained. Throughout, her training, Iota received several visions of a dark hand eclipsing the Light. Iota later completes her training and builds a yellow-green lightsaber. Her powers are similar to a Jedi Consular Sage from SWTOR. This verse is very vague so it can fit in with all eras of Star Wars. Uses 7’s face.

Guardian (from Destiny by Bungie) Verse; tbt Iota is a Warlock who focuses on using her light to fight over her weapons. Not to be mistaken for a pacifist, when provoked she is a master of destructive void and powerful healing solar light. Sharing her love of adventure and insatiable curiosity, is her ghost, Ip (to her dismay, lovingly known as Ippy). Uses 6’s face.

#( iota verses );#( iota );

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synastry-rp · 1 year ago

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THE FIRST HOUSE rose out of the ruins of late stage capitalism, built on the bones of long-gone corporations and megacities. Evidence of catastrophe still lingers in the rising oceans and submerged coastlines, but the reformed earth also shows the Grand Trine’s earliest and most naive hopes — in the first years after the resurrection of the solar system, forests crept back into cityscapes and animal populations flourished. Magic, the incarnates naively believed, could be used to keep nature and civilization in balance together. What they are learning — now, a thousand years later — is that nature has never been fond of taking orders.

(I gave you magic, and this is what you did with it?)

#synastry rp #jcink premium #site buzz #lore previews #sci fi rp

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dogopower · 3 months ago

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Kabbalah RA !

Do not be surprised if you hear much about Kabbalah now and in the years to come. This is because we are leaving the Piscean Age, which was the Age of Darkness, and are now entering the Age of Aquarius, referred to as the Age of Light. You can hide things in darkness, but as soon as the light comes in everything is revealed. In other words, all that was hidden before is now being revealed.

The Kabbalah is the foundation stone of the Western esoteric mystery tradition and is frequently associated with the Judaic mystic tradition, but it was originally practiced by the ancient Egyptians. The Hebrews learned it when they were held captive in Egypt and then incorporated it into Judaism.

Although the outer teachings of Kabbalah are being revealed to the masses, you must look for the inner teachings. For this you must look to the Sun. Most people have not yet realized the Sun is a source of power that can work for us.

Most of the ancient tribes in all recorded history venerated the Sun more highly than we do. Some of those civilizations devoted almost their entire accumulated wealth to building and decorating temples and even holy cities to the worship of this “Fire of Heaven”. Even the Egyptians were worshipping the Sun, which they referred to as RA.

Working with the Sun is the highest practice of Kabbalah. It will give you understanding of the mysteries of life and reveal to you the splendor of the inner Kabbalah which bestows the secrets of heaven earth.

The Sun is the mathematical center of our solar system and all the planets spin around it with absolute harmony. In other words, it is the heart of our universe and there would be no life on earth if it were not for the Sun showering us with pranic life force. In Kabbalah, the sphere that corresponds with the Sun is located exactly at the center of the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a mighty symbol of the soul and universe created by Rose+Croix Kabbalists.

As a result of meditating on the Sun, we gain understanding which invariably brings forth certain powers. The location of the Sun in the Tree of life corresponds to our heart center, which is the balance point in the body. In other words, our heart center is a reflection of the Sun in us. This is the center of higher consciousness where experiences of all our incarnations are recorded. It is the location of our higher self which lasts for as long as it takes us to be liberated from the cycle of life and death.

Whereas, our lower self symbolized by the three spiritual centers located below the chest, only lasts for one human incarnation. Upon death, the Sun in us, our higher self, records the essence of all our experiences and sends a projection of itself into the world to balance our incurred debts. Meditating on the psychic Sun will connect you to your higher self. It will open your heart and bring you happiness. It is a practice, which positively strengthens the life force in the body, resulting in improved health and well-being on all levels.

It is through the heart that humanity can manifest his highest destiny. Therefore, by relating to the Sun, it will rise in your heart and the universe will assist you in all your endeavors. As Kabbalists, yogis or spiritual individuals, if you want to have understanding of life, you must model yourself on the Sun. The best way to know God is through the Sun. The light of the Sun is the living spirit. By working with the Sun, all the dormant qualities and virtues in you are brought to full life and start producing beautiful deeds. Like the Sun, you will be able to warm and light up everyone you meet, touch or with whom you speak.

Practice Kabbalah of the Sun in the spirit of love and light to heal yourself and uplift others. By doing so, you will possess the glory of the brightness of the whole world, and all darkness will disappear from your life. The Sun will give you the elevation of spirit to gracefully overcome challenges of time and space.

to heal the Earth, yourself and loved ones. Lumen de Lumine (light of light) — for opening the heart, touching the soul, and bringing in the light. Lumen de Lumine is a sound vibration that opens the heart and surrounds those who chant with a blanket of light. Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung — to heal and /or maintain balance and health. This mantra is like a rare diamond, which connects you with the pure healing energy of the universe. It purifies the aura and consolidates mental projection to focus towards your health.

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metaphysicalpistolsoraclemine · 4 months ago

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New Aeon

The pinnacle of the Ascension Cycle marks the end of the 3D collective timelines on the earth. As the planet is moving into higher frequencies that are located in a future time-space, it is shifting the planetary consciousness into a future dimensional octave. This skips the entire planetary consciousness field, therefore the collective human consciousness, into future timelines that resonate with much higher dimensional frequencies. Many of us on the ascension timeline have already transcended these lower dimensional timelines. What is important to discern is that this is a planetary event that is impacting everyone on the earth and beyond.

During the Lions Gate opening, the planet endures the next stage of bifurcation, whereby there was another major event with the Separation of Worlds between the Lunar Matrix distortions of the 3D zodiacal calendar positions and another new formation with corrected Sun-Star Networks aligning the 5D zodiacal calendar positions.

The corrected Solar Calendar Positions for the ascending timeline zodiacal alignments have now begun, there is no turning back. These are the higher timeline positions of the Sun-Star Networks that have been anchored into the trifurcated section with the triple solar copper-rose-gold failsafe Solomon Temple and Solomon Chalice Grail platform with three Solomon Maji Grail Red Kings holding the Krystal Star of Azoth(Krist-Krystallah) connecting into the Cosmic Clock central clockshield that was generated for supporting the Aton God Body.

The corrected Solar Calendar Positions generates a morphogenetic blueprint barrier between first density creations in the third dimension running on the Lunar Matrix Zodiac and its Artificial Timelines, and the second density creations in the fifth dimension running on the Solar Matrix Zodiac and the organic timelines. Thus for many, this Bifurcation split from Lunar Calendar to Solar Calendar in the timelines has generated a new position within the timelines, shifting the Transduction Sequence and zodiac imprints from incarnation and igniting intense solar activations and miasmatic purging of foreign materials or alien hybrid overlays. This includes the Enki DNA Skins made from the long history of assorted alien intruder genetic hybridization programs.

For those on this particular ascension pathway in the genetic lineage of the Cosmic Elohei family, others may suddenly react strongly to your presence, as those who are still hooked into the lunar zodiac birth imprints may not enjoy the major consciousness shifts when in the energetic presence of a person with newly activated Solar Zodiac Imprints.

This field alteration is returning the planetary consciousness access all the way back through multiple time matrices that reorient our particular location in this time and space, to the coordinates recorded as density 1-2, quadrant 4, corridor 4, and spectra 3. Then finally going all the way back to the 1st God World Creation by witnessing a sequence of opening interdimensional portals that begin to correct the Universal Time Matrix alignment with the original source fields of the Cosmic Clock.

The reunion of some of our Cosmic Christos family members in the hierogamic template of Golden Aeonesis is resetting the event horizons and timelines that were being held in place as the twelve Dark Aeons.

The Aeons are always born in male-female pairs, each of which is in itself a divine principle, yet, at the same time represent one aspect of the Godhead. The Aeonic Pairs comprise the totality of the Godhead as the two divine principles which merge and unite as the third principle, becoming the Three in One.

This cosmic shift in the Solar System is being synchronised into a new Aeon. This New Aeon is equal to a new measurement in cosmic time as well as the creation of a new cosmic entity. The New Aeon describes the horizontal measurement of time as having been adjusted by the Cosmic Clock, by the hand of God.

#cosmic clock #neweon #new earth #solar zodiac #lions gate #jeminthehologram #godsovereignfree #metaphysicalpistol #oraclemine #gsf #ascensionglossary #ascensionmechanics #energeticsynthisis #ascension

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thevisixnary · 1 year ago

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AU's

( verse ); genshin impact

Iota and her twin brother, Ganymede, grew up in Sumeru where they were inseparable. Their father was in the Matra and their mother was a scientist and together they encouraged their children's intelligence. Both Iota and her brother were curious about the world around them and attended the Akademiya together, however, studied different things. Iota found herself studying medicine in the Amurta Darshan. It was due to her deep aspiration to help others that she gained her hydro vision.

After the Akademiya, Iota decided to open a medicine clinic in Sumeru city. Iota took training lessons to learn to fight with a catalyst and use her vision to protect herself while gathering herbs.

#( verses );

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scarletskye · 1 year ago

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Melody the Maid | A Maiden Epic Voyage of a Lost Girl and her Travels through the 7 Lands Between (Part 2)

Lines 106-214 | Prelude | 10/18/2023

Prelude | Little Maid, Little Maid, where are you? (cont.)

…

That her little feet thumped in surprise

When the dove spoke like the sunrise

And it was a soft sweet voice that rose

And with a flurry of heat, it leapt up close (105)

“Little maid, little maid, how do you do?

Little maid, little maid, nice to meet you.

I am but a dove with a silent turbulent flight.

And for a while I have had you in my sight.”

Melody’s eyes shrunk in desolate fear (110)

And cower she did, fast but near

She held her hands above her head

Has she lost it?; against this she pled

The dove in an instant realized the mistake

And with great effort sought to wake (115)

Within itself the softest echo

To bring across the saddest memo

“Little maid, little maid, where are you?

Little maid, little maid, how do you do?

I didn’t mean to cause any alarm. (120)

Nor do I come and mean any harm.

I come to you with a question to ask.

It’s nothing more than a quiet little task.

Would you indulge my single petty need?

Or is there another call that you heed?” (125)

Melody looked up from her bush

And had a momentary spring blush

Her eyes filled with a momentary wonder

At the dove that spoke with passionate sunder

“Little dove, little dove, I see you. (130)

Little dove, little dove, I shall indulge too.

White as a cloud and soft as down.

Your urgent tone has made me frown!”

The dove fluttered momentarily with relief

And set upon the nearby rose’s soft leaf (135)

To recount to Spring’s childish incarnation¹

A story filled of magical incantations

“Little maid, little maid, I’m sorry to present…

Little maid, little maid, how I lament!

The magic of the tree has begun to perish; (140)

The one single thing I lovingly cherish.

It would be natural if winter was the cause,

Of its demise, though it isn’t; I notice your pause!

It may seem plausible to believe.

But it’s not; allow me to grieve! (145)

This tree is a child of magic and love.

For it was within Springs’ glowing glove

That with a tender treasured touch made it bloom.

And has stayed alive, no matter what would loom.

And the cause for this death is unknown. (150)

Even when this tree’s magic is renowned.

To never falter even in the face of crisis.

Even that of the unbearable Solar Apocalypse².

So I implore upon your childlike complexion.

That you investigate this pitiable situation.” (155)

And Melody nodded with acceptance

As she believed her charity a penance

For a single glass vase she broke some time ago

And with this heeded call, she may let it go

Little dove little dove, what may I do? (160)

Little dove little dove, show me the move!

I am ready to be of serviceable help.

I will go and aid, all without a yelp!

From her hiding place she heard a call

And for this surprise, she took a fall (165)

She tilted her ear to hear the familiar tone

Which to her called without a hint of scorn

“Oh little maid, little maid, how do you do?

Oh little maid, little maid; how we need you!

This is quite urgent; the lady calls! (170)

For there is cleaning needed in the halls!”

Melody ducked her small little head

Following the white little dove, which away led

Towards the tree which once she contemplated

Now so close; she herself for it could’ve consecrated (175)

For even with the hit to its divine posture

She could still see its lovely composure

The velvet violet of the leaves had faded

But it’s mystic tendencies had not eroded

And so she reached a phantom hand to caress the petal (180)

Of a flower for which even the pickiest of girls would settle

Its perfect colors bloomed and shone in the sun

And her heart in a microscopic instant was won

“Tell me tell me, you innocent dove!

Tell me tell me, you bearer of love! (185)

How may I help this ailing tree,

In a single moment of necessity?”

The dove shook its wing in the high sun light

With a move that promised everything would be alright

The dove looked at her, demanding attention (190)

Begging from her mind an effort of retention

“Little maid, little maid, you may be so small.

Little maid, little maid, yet you seem so tall.

Unafraid you are, if only to help others.

As if you and I were sisters or brothers.” (195)

To help with this task you must take up,

A leaf in your hand; take the form of a cup.

And you must speak this magical incantation,

‘I come to the land of nonexistent lamentation!’‘

The little maid understood, and said the phrase (200)

And felt her tiny shoulders slowly raise

And while the others in the castle sat to laze

She began to glow in a manner worthy of praise

And over the tree she continued to hover

A portal opened, green as a midnight clover (205)

And she gasped a breath as she readied herself

To be dropped into the Mystery portal itself

And with a quiet sighing beat of breath

The little maid fell, quite surely to her death

For inside the tree she knew she would (210)

Forever lose the world she once knew

And so the little maid began her journey so soon.

So early; it wasn’t even half past noon!

And the little maid’s journey had begun.

Helpful Vocabulary:

¹Spring’s Childish Incarnation [Derived]: Another name for a young girl, typically one that is less than 60 Fyra old. Derived from an ancient scripture that details the old Wind Goddess’s descent to live among mankind, taking the form of a young girl to life amongst people and learn more about them, their culture, and their way of thinking. She lived normally, aging about 32 Fyra in the forests in which Lynx resides, a place with a greater understanding and respect for life-force. She later decreed all people blessed, and ascended back into the lands beyond, to watch over mankind. She has not returned since then, at the very least to the knowledge of all current scholars and literary analysts.

²The Solar Apocalypse’s [Generalization/Event]: Refers to both the 1st and 2nd Solar Apocalypse, which were events where the sun was destroyed on 2 separate occasions, plunging the world into insufferable cold and darkness that wiped out much of the world’s population, both of which were caused by the Hel Blade wielded by the bearer of the same name; Hel. On both occasions she invaded the heavens and plunged the world into catastrophic situations that threatened the extinction of the entire world. It took coordinated efforts in the heavens to take her down, and acts by the Gods on the surface to keep people alive through the harshest of times.

#poems and poetry #poetry #adventure #couplet #narrative poetry #fiction

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cryptcreechur · 2 years ago

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Deity Blurb 01 - Sunna

Sunna/Sól is the heathen goddess of the Sun. She is both the Sun incarnate and the charioteer of the Sun.

Sunna's brother, Máni, guides the moon.

Her origins, in the myths, are disputed. Snorri writes that she and Máni were born of a human man named Mundilfæri, who in his pride named them after the Sun and Moon. When the Æsir heard of this they took the children and set them up in the sky to drive the Sun and Moon until Ragnarök. In the Völuspa, it is said at the beginning of the creation of the cosmos that Sunna and Máni did not yet know their roles.

In my personal experience and understanding of Sunna, she is neither Æsir nor Jötunn, nor is she Human or Vanir. She is ancient and powerful, and was given her role by the gods, but she is not in their service nor commanded by them. She is of her own right.

Offerings to Sunna may include:

burnt offerings

sun water

dandelions, sunflowers, yellow roses

wheel or round shaped objects

white or yellow sand

music

paintings/drawings

poetry

One may decorate an alter to Sunna with yellow, red, orange, or white candles and ribbons, buttons, solar herbs, an open bowl visible to the Sun, a sun wheel or idol, tiger's eye, sunstone, amber, and/or citrine.

Devotional acts to Sunna may be to sunbathe, take afternoon walks, wear sun themed jewelry and warm colored clothes, live brightly full of warmth and passion.

Spellwork calling on Sunna could specialize in abundance, positivity, confidence, energy, and perhaps healing.

Hail Sól!

#heathenry #witchcraft #norse paganism #magick #pagan witch #paganism #baby witch #heathen #sunna #sun goddess #hail the sun #sól #deity work #deity blurb

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abbidavisart · 3 years ago

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The Sailor Quartet aka The Asteroid Senshi aka Crystal Tokyo’s Sailor Scouts! As always, infodump below the cut

AIGHT So I know the popular idea is that the Asteroid Senshi (Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas) kind of take the place of the Solar Senshi (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus) with an older Chibi Moon acting as Leader/Princess BUT because the Solar Senshi are still around in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo I see them less as stand-ins and more as an independent team fulfilling a similar role like the Shitennou. In conjunction I don’t think Chibiusa will take on the Sailor Moon moniker as is; rather I think she would take on a variant that’s more unique to her. I haven’t really decided what her title would be though. I also think she’d develop a color scheme closer to Usagi’s because while All Pink works for a kid character I don’t think it holds up as well for an Adult Chibiusa. (I also haven’t settled on a color scheme for her though lol woops. Maybe something with violet as a reference to King Endymion?) As for Chibiusa’s powers, I know she’s supposed to be basically just like Usagi, but she’s got two parents gdi and I think she’d have several of her dad’s traits as well. I can see her with some rose themed attacks, and being an empath like Mamoru. Physically while she is mostly like Usagi I think she’d be slightly taller and ever so slightly leaner; as well as wearing glasses like her dad. Also shes in dating both Helios AND Hotaru fite me

Vesta (red) is the second in command after Ceres (pink). If Ceres is the Venus of the group Vesta is the Mars; Juno (Green) and Pallas (Blue) are thus the Jupiter and Mercury, respectively. Pallas is the least similar to her Solar counterpart; rather than being an intelligent tactician she’s more of an emotional anchor. Of the four she’s the least like an “older sister” to Chibiusa. Like Jupiter, Juno is the heavy hitter and is more “delinquent-like” than the other girls, but she doesn’t have the same girlish side that Makoto does. I gave her a darker skin tone and made her hair a combination of braids and afro-puffs, mostly cause I thought it’d be cute. Vesta is hotheaded like Mars, but with less “lady-like” elegance. She’s straight forward and blunt. Ceres acts as Chibiusa’s body double on the odd occasion they ever need one, so I’ve made her just taller than Chibiusa with a slightly slimmer figure and a similarly pale skintone. I’ve made their Sailor Fuku slightly more individualized, bringing in elements from their Amazoness outfits as well as a few details I thought would fit them. Hotaru is Chibiusa’s goth girlfriend. She’s a death themed lesbian to Chibiusa’s life/heart themed bisexual. She was raised by her 3 queer parents and something something time shenanigans so she and Chibiusa can be grown together. Helios is also there he’s in the background being the malewife to Chibiusa and Hotaru’s girlboss or something idk I just don’t think he’s super interesting ok I didn’t add her to this lineup, but I also headcanon the next incarnation of Sailor Pluto (Not a Setsuna reincarnation, a new girl to inherit her powers after her death in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo) to join the team as their younger “senshi in-training” counterpart.

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rachaelmayo · 2 years ago

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Here I am, back in 2006, fumbling my way through some simple narrative illustration (with accompanying narrative below...). This piece is called To Touch the Heart of a Star.

The core idea stems from the Distant Star illo series (all kinds of stars, all kinds of phoenixes). In this case, I've deviated from my source idea and made the personification of the star an anthropomorphized phoenix-person. They have their own phoenix friend/familiar.

Here's my little foray into myth-making:

<MYTH>

Back in the early days of the New Creation, before Earth and Sky and Sea, the stars roamed the cosmos freely and without all those kid-planets tagging along. Even the Phoenix was young back then, in its first true incarnation: the dream of a star as it rose from its slumber, brought to life by a quirky Yahweh (who happened to have a thing for solar flares). The Phoenix travelled as freely as the new stars, cavorting with them as they danced and twirled. But it made the most aweful racket whenever it opened its silvery beak! It squawked and honked and yakked and wrakked, and none of the stars could stand it, so they sent the little Phoenix away.

The Phoenix missed the stars and it was sad because it could only watch their dance from a great distance. It opened its beak again to give voice to its grief, and lo! No squawks or honks came forth; instead, the Phoenix mourned its loss with a beautiful music that came from deep inside its molten heart. It sang thus sadly for it knew not how long, for this was in the time before Time, and it was impossible to tell one day from the next when three thousand exhuberent stars were wheeling overhead and underfoot. But a length of something did pass, and after the Phoenix had brought forth its music into the New Creation it did finally cease its song. Indeed, it discovered that it was no longer alone!

An ancient star, one who was among those to wake at Yahweh's first crazy cock-crow, had come up behind the little Phoenix to better hear the lovely song. The star, to show its favor to the Phoenix, did shape its firey substance into a like shape. It opened its own new-made beak and hummed a soft counterpoint melody to encourage the Phoenix to sing again, to make this wonderful sound again for all to hear! The Phoenix, honored and unafraid of the ancient one, did perch daintily on the star's outstretched arm and the two sang in twain for a long, timeless time.

In those moments at the beginning of all things, the Phoenix had learned to sing a song it shares with brave and loyal heroes to this day: A song that touched the heart of a star.

</MYTH>

#phoenix art #starlight #sunlight #anthro #good birbs

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moon-lixie · 3 years ago

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a guide for people who are too afraid to love, scared of getting their heart broken, or simply don't know where their heart can rest.

or alternatively: in which you rate all the boys that have made their way into your heart according to how safe it was to love them.

word count: 2.367k

genre: fluff

song: Bubble Gum - Clairo

Yang Jeongin — 3.5 stars out of 5.

Jeongin, at the age of five, was already a heartbreaker despite having only broken your heart.

Looking past his dimpled smile, raven black hair and adorably expressive eyes had been a task that proved to be even harder than keeping your hands from getting sticky after an hour of spontaneous crafting.

In your head he had been nothing short of a prince charming, which looking back to, seemed like exaggerating since you would never dare call someone that again, except for a particular tall boy whose rating you will get to in a bit.

Soaked in childish infatuation you had gathered all your courage and walked to him on a particular hot day after school.

Both waited to be picked up from school, carrying your all too small school bags on your back as if they were the biggest burden in the world, with hands sweating and minds daydreaming of a cone of ice cream to quench the thirst of having played without restrain all day.

A couple of steps kept you away from him and you were quick to send them all flying into oblivion as you stood next to him and took his tiny hand in yours.

Round cheeks of his were pushed downwards as his eyes opened wide in surprise, only to go back to their respective place when the kid broke out in wails that left you… horrified, there was no other word to describe how you felt.

At the age of five he broke your heart as he cried his eyes out for what seemed like hours after you had just slipped your hand in his. Of course it hadn't been on purpose and that’s why you wouldn’t dare give him a bad rating because of it.

The low rating was the result of the particular mix of that distant memory to which you both laughed amused whenever it came up in a conversation, and the many times that he hadn’t even noticed your eyes glued to his hand that only wished to hold his hand on yours one more time.

So, if one looked to make their heart ache in a subtle yet tender way, then Jeongin’s obliviousness was the best option.

Lee Felix — 4 stars out of 5.

With Felix there’s not much risk of getting your heart broken, that’s something that could only happen as often as a solar eclipse.

When the boy wasn’t leaving everyone blind with his smile and seemingly infinite cheerfulness, he was uplifting the rest of the world with sweet words and kind actions.

If only, the only thing you could risk with the sunshine boy was getting a toothache from how awfully sweet his existence was; that was if you didn’t fall in love.

The tricky part of having such a loyal and attentive friend was that hearts are foolish, and yours was the foolishest one of them all; the longer you stayed by his side the faster you fell for him without him having to do anything apart from being himself.

At one point his platonic hand holding turned into something that would only make your heart beat faster, and his hugs turned into a weapon that made your knees weak and your cheeks to try imitating the shade of roses he gifted you for your birthday once.

Felix was and is a safe place to leave your heart at, if you understand from the beginning that you will ever just be friends. Because he can break hearts if you give him yours with the wrong intention, even if he doesn’t mean to.

Seo Changbin — 4.8 stars out of 5.

The first thing that made you stare at him from across the classroom was how awfully sincere his smiles are; the way that his eyes were pushed by his round cheeks and the loud laughs that would escape his lips, were both things that made you want to be around him.

Changbin being the friendly and warm person he is, accepted your presence in no time, wasting not even a second in including you in all the plans he had with his friends and always going an extra mile for you to feel as comfortable with him as humanly possible.

It was no wonder that your heart developed a special fondness for the boy after a semester spent practically solely by his side, evolving into an unbreakable adoration after those months turned to years.

Passionate, dedicated, easy to distract, goofy, terribly adorable, honest, sweet and attentive were some of the words you would use to describe the boy who turned into your best friend without making too much of a fuss.

And it had been exactly his passion what drove him kilometers away from you, literally.

You still vividly remember when you hugged him goodbye on the gloomy day he moved away. His hug was warm and draped over your figure like a blanket of comfort that to this day you could still conjure if only you closed your eyes tight enough and concentrated.

Changbin was the best friend you could’ve ever asked for and the only time he made your heart ache was when he drove away to pursue his dreams; lucky for you he fixed it right away with his silly texts and visits on Christmas that almost tempted you to give him five stars, if only he didn’t annoy you so much.

Han Jisung — 5 stars out of 5.

Han Jisung, also known as the owner of your first kiss, had made you fall hard and fast.

You seemed to have a certain something for round and squishy cheeks because yet again there you were, falling in love with a boy whose cheeks would most probably function as pillows and in that case you would love to sleep there.

He was awkward and shy but when you got to know him that faded away only to leave space for his confident self to appear and leave you in awe.

There wasn’t a moment you could recall in which your perspective of him shifted, all you were aware of was that the boy that one day had been just a friend quickly turned into your last thought at night and the first one right after you woke up.

Lucky for you he had seemed to experience the same as you as without a warning he had held your hand in his with a confidence that made you feel at ease and never want to let go.

His laugh filled your mind and your heart, the mole on his cheek turned into your favourite place to plant your goodbye pecks, and his hands became your anchor to happiness.

It had been the night of prom in which he had kissed you so softly and tenderly that you felt like you could die from it, melting in between his hands and ascending to heaven.

The lame excuse of being bothered by the music that he had been excitedly dancing to mere seconds ago had slipped his lips and you didn’t think much of it, not even when he took you to the back of the school gym and gave you a shy smile.

His hands were cold in yours but that’s something you had gotten used to a long time ago, and without a warning he told you he loved you; Han jisung could never be a heartbreaker, not in your books.

Seconds later after you confessed your love for him he had asked you for permission to kiss you and even though you were nervous beyond words you had given him permission because with his hand in yours you always felt safe.

Just as expected the first kiss had been a little bit of a mess, neither of you were quite sure of what you were doing but seemed to quickly get the grasp of it the second time and that was one of the memories you would always keep close to your heart about the person who had been your first love.

Time passed and even though you would never say you fell out of love, things dissolved until what was left of it were memories and a fond smile that the two of you would share when you found yourselves alone and in utter silence.

Jisung, the most tender first love, a safe place to let your heart rest from the outside world.

Hwang Hyunjin — 3 stars out of 5.

Hyunjin, or should you say, prince charming incarnated.

Three, four, five stars would never do him justice and still you settled for less because everything you had left of him were the memories and a million questions.

It was at the beginning of college and in a party so grand that caused half of the people there not to even know who the host was, you included.

From afar you had caught sight of him and felt yourself not being able to move after it; he was —or is— one of the most breathtaking people you had ever had the pleasure to witness in real life. And when he returned your smiles from across the room and finally walked up to you, there was no denying you felt like you were floating.

His hands were like fire against your skin while still having a tender aura to them that warmed your heart. His mouth had been your end and your beginning and to this day you would still go back to it contentedly if given the chance. His eyes had disappeared behind a smile more times that you could count, creeping his way to your heart perhaps forever.

If one night was all it took to give someone your all then that’s exactly what you had experienced that time by his side.

Sadly for you, words didn’t seem to come out the way you wanted and hesitation had turned into a lot of regret as time went by.

You parted ways and weren’t brave enough to ask for his number or at least suggest that he walked you back home; back then and today you wished you had been as brave as your five year old self and just walked a couple steps towards him to grab his hand.

But you didn’t and with that Hyunjin turned into a face you never had the pleasure to see again.

Lee Minho — 2 stars out of 5.

You were going to give him one and a half stars but he agreed to buy you a chocolate muffin this morning while you went with him to buy coffee.

In all honesty, the two stars were just for you to be able to laugh; if there was someone who definitely did not deserve a low rating it was your trustworthy and always responsible roommate Minho.

He had saved you from the hell of staying in the dorms when he offered three months, and three months only, of sparing you from paying rent to stay with him in the two bedroom apartment. Of course you had to start paying after but at least he had made the moving process easy for you and your broke student self.

Through it all he stayed, always present and as annoying as the day before. Someone who cooked for you when he wasn’t feeling lazy, the owner of three cats that more often than not thought it was okay to steal your bed, your support when you weren’t having a great time.

Minho didn’t look friendly at first but god was it a privilege to have a friend like him. You couldn't think of the possibility of ever letting him go and he never showed signs of wanting to leave.

Kim Seungmin — 3 stars out of 5.

When it comes to how safe and easy it was to love him then you do have to settle for a big and round three, because he could be seriously hard to deal with sometimes.

You would give him the most annoying coworker award of the year but that would make him scowl which wasn’t at all the purpose.

At first when you both began working it felt like a competition that nobody agreed upon but ended up taking place nevertheless, and so you began sending defiant looks across the room and laughing silently when victory grazed your actions.

It had been easy to get annoyed at his attitude but once you looked past that and really got to know the guy of the puppy like excitement, there was a sort of alliance that surged.

He would help you when you weren’t helping him, bringing coffee for the other or just a small snack became routine and then before you knew you were leaving work together and hanging out from time to time.

Seungmin goes to show that you can find a friend even in the competitive person you want to defeat or in any other situation or person that looks unlikely. And even though it wasn’t always easy, you thought it was lovely to banter and tease each other.

Bang Chan —

Last but not least is the man that you can’t rate just yet, because even though you are well aware that you love him you’re still not sure how things could develop.

Still, he feels like the last person on your list, as in the last person, ever.

It had something to do with the sweet giggles he would let out while embarrassed, his habit of hugging you out of nowhere and staying there as long as it took to melt your heart into a puddle, the way he hums in content when you press a kiss on his forehead or simply anything else that made him himself.

After what felt like a whole life lived you found him, rogue curls dancing with the wind and a smile that created two endearing pools in his face, and you fell in love, slow and steady.

And even though you’re not sure how safe it is to leave your heart in his hands, you are more than eager to discover it as time passes by.

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