Hathor is the Ancient Egyptian sky- and mother goddess, who is the wife
(or mother) of the falcon-headed Sun god Horus. Her name literally means
"House of Horus", as the sky is the house of the sun. Cows as
emblems of nourishment are sacred to Her, and She usually is shown with
some bovine attributes: either a cow's head on a woman's body, or cow ears
(like at right), and long horns on Her head that enfold the sun disk, like
the arms of the sky embracing Her beloved.
Hathor is also goddess of women, love and joy, music, dance, celebration
and beauty. She protects women and is present whenever they beautify themselves.
She blesses women with fertility, and many of the ritual objects associated
with Her--such as the sistrum and menat-necklace--also have an erotic significance,
and in fact the Greeks identified Her with their Aphrodite.
As the Primaeval Mother, Hathor is shown as a cow who emerged from the
reeds at the beginning of the world when the primal floods receded. The
first day of the year, July 19th, was celebrated as Her birthday with a
great festival at Her temple at Dendera. Before sunrise Her statue was brought
to the roof, where the rays of Her husband Horus the sun-god shone upon
it, symbolising the sacred marriage of Sky and Sun.
Hathor saw both the newly born and the newly dead to safety--at the birth
of a child, seven Hathors came to give the child its fate; and She is said
to welcome the dead to the Gates of the West with bread and beer.
She is also, however, linked to the goddess Sekhmet,
and the legend of Sekhmet's bloody revenge on mankind at Ra's behest is
sometimes attributed to Hathor; in the Middle Kingdom a temple in the Delta
at Kom el-Hisn was dedicated to Sekhmet-Hathor.
Drawing this card indicates a space of celebration and beauty, with great
joy welling up and becoming evident, like the sun rising. You are coming
into a time of happiness and comfort, safety and relaxation.
Titles: "Mistress of Turquoise", "Queen of the West",
"Lady of the Sycamore", "the Gold of the Gods", "Mistress
of the Entrance to the Valley", "Lady of All the Gods"
Alternate spellings: Athyr, Het-heru
