Sekhmet the Goddess of Vengence and Hathor the Goddess of
Love
When Ra rose from the mists, he created night and day, and Apophis, the
Dragon of Evil formed in the darkness of the night vapours and tried to spoil
all that was bright and good. Apophis was the enemy of the good rule of Ra as
Pharaoh, and as Ra grew old, Apophis reached into the hearts of the people of
Egypt and many followed his false promises of power and rebelled against Ra.
Ra called a counsel of his children, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut and Hapi. He also
called on Nun who ruled the spirit of the primeval waters. And he asked them all
what he should do about the evil among the people of Egypt.
"They gather in Upper Egypt to go greater evil even as we meet here," he
said. "Should I strike them all down with a burning glance of my all-seeing
Eye?"
Nun, the eldest, spoke first. "Pharaoh do not turn your eye upon Egypt, for
you will destroy every being and every thing. Destroy only the evil men and
women and spare the good."
Ra nodded and spoke the word Sekhmet and a mighty lioness sprang into the
counsel circle. She circled the floor and finally stopped in front of the throne
of Ra. For many moments Sekhmet looked at the face of Ra, then she twitched her
tail and turned and leapt out of the circle and sped to Upper Egypt.
The mighty jaws and claws of Sekhmet slaughtered the evil doers in Upper
Egypt until the Nile ran red with their blood. Her hunger was endless and every
day she stalked the men and women of Upper Egypt, and hid by night licking her
paws and dreaming of new prey in the coming morning.
But Ra did not want to destroy mankind, only the evildoers. He decided to
trick Sekhmet to stop her slaughter, but said, "I will not humble her for she
has done what I asked, but I will give her a far greater power over men so that
she will not be dishonoured." But first he had to catch her.
So to trap Sekhmet he sent messengers to Elephantine Island at the First
Cataract of the Nile, telling them to bring red ochre.
He sent the ochre to Heliopolis to the priest of the Temple of the Sun, Ra's
temple. He commanded the priests and all the royal court to make beer and to
mingle it with the red ochre so that it was red as blood.
"Quickly, carry the blood red beer to Upper Egypt and spread it on the land
to trap Sekhmet," commanded Ra.
When Sekhmet came out in the morning to feast on the wicked, she saw no men,
but instead saw what looked like pools of blood spread over the land.
She found she was thirsty and she drank the blood until she was drunk and
helpless. And Ra called to her, "Come my pretty one," and she staggered down the
Nile to Heliopolis.
Ra met her and lay his hand on her head, "Sekhmet, you have come in peace, so
peace be with you, and a new name.You will no longer be Sekhmet the Slayer; you
will be Hathor the Lady of Love. You will no longer rule man by terror, but will
rule them by the passion of love. For Love is stronger than Hate and Terror, and
all men will grow weak with love and be in your power."
"And I decree that on the first day of every year that the priestesses of
love will mix the ochre of Elephantine with the beer of Heliopolis at a great
festival to Hathor."
And the evil of Apophis was stopped and the bittersweet gift of love was
bestowed on mankind.
The Secret Power of Ra
Ra the Shining One rose out of the mists that covered
the waters. Nun the spirit of the waters floated above him.
Ra was all powerful and his power came from his
Secret Name. This gave him the power to create a thing just by calling its
name.
He said "I am Khepera at the dawn, Ra at noon and Tum
in the evening." And the sun rose in the east and traveled across the sky to set
in the west.
Thus he created the first day.
He then named Shu the keeper of the wind, and Tefnut
the spitter of rain. "Geb" he spoke, and the earth rose up from the sea. Nut was
named and she stretched her body across the sky from one horizon to the other to
form the arch that held the stars and path for the sun and moon. Hapi he named
last and the River Nile flowed through Egypt bringing life to the land.
He named all things on earth and lastly named Man and
Woman, and they multipied to live in prosperity on the banks of the Nile.
How Ra Ascended to the Heavens
Osiris and Isis married when they grew up, as did Set and Nephthys. But Ra
was still Pharaoh, though he had grown older and older and his hand shook with
old age and the spittle dribbled from his lips.
Isis, who was the greatest magician that Egypt had ever known, devised a plan
to trick Ra to leave his throne so that Osiris might become Pharaoh. Thoth told
her that she could not succeed unless she learned Ra's secret name. Only with
his hidden name could she gain power over Ra.
While only Ra could create living things, Isis used her magic to steal some
of this power from Ra and create a cobra of clay. Each day Ra passed by Isis on
his way to Upper Egypt. As he passed on the road, the spittle from his lips fell
into the dust. Isis gathered this spittle and dust and with her magic made the
first cobra and lay it beside the path of Ra, for it had form but was lifeless.
When Ra next passed along the road his eye fell on the lifeless cobra and it
came into being. It reared out of the grass and bit Ra on the heel as he passed
and then the cobra slithered away.
Ra sat down beside the road holding his heel and soon a great pain shot
through him and he cried aloud. All the gods came swiftly to help him in his
anguish, and Isis was among them.
Isis cradled Ra's heel in her hand and asked him how they could help him in
his agony. Ra replied that all those who knew magic and had wisdom must be
called to help him. So one by one they came, and none could help.
The last who came was Isis.
Ra's pain had grown greater, he shivered and his eyes grew dim. "Help me Isis
for you are the greatest magician in Egypt. I do not know what poison attacks
me, or what snake bit me, for I did not make it."
Isis bowed before Ra and whispered that she had great magic, but she must
have extra power to cast out this strange poison that came from no snake that Ra
had made; a snake that no one in Egypt had known existed. "I must have the power
of your secret name, Divine Father."
Ra was cautious and told her many of his names of power, but Isis shook her
head and told him he must tell her his secret name. Finally the pain burned more
powerfully and Ra relented. But before he told her his secret name he made her
promise that she would tell no one but the son that she and Osiris would bear.
She must tell no one the secret name but Horus their son who would rule after
Osiris.
Isis swore this oath and Ra whispered his secret name. With that name Isis
chanted a spell of extraordinary power that drove the poison out of Ra's body.
Ra's pain ended, but he was tired and felt very old. He knew that Osiris was
destined to reign after him, and his grandson Horus would follow as the third
God-Pharaoh. So Ra left the earth and took his place in the heavens as the
Burning Eye. He crossed the sky daily and passed under the earth in the twelve
regions of the Duat nightly.
Osiris became Pharaoh of Egypt and Isis was his Queen. They built their
capital at Thebes and ruled wisely.
Nicole Cappello, 16, volunteered at the Allegan County Animal Shelter to help socialize with the rescued dogs and make them more adoptable.
