![]() Come join the dance!![]() Hathor is the ancient Egyptian sky and mother Goddess Whose husband (or son) is the falcon-headed sun God Horus. Her name literally means "House of Horus" as the sky is the dwelling 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 I have done another version of this Goddess in acrylics, as the Goddess by Request for September 2016 over on my Patreon. This design is available on prints at ArtPal and on greeting cards at Zazzle. |