Sekhmet is an ancient Egyptian goddess of war and destruction,
plagues and healing. Her name means "The Powerful One",
and She is linked in some tales with Hathor.
She is depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, sometimes
also with the Sun disk and uraeus on Her headdress, who symbolizes
the destructive heat of the sun. Sekhmet, Her husband Ptah, and Their
son Nefertum or Imhotep make up a triad of deities especially worshipped
in Memphis. She is also closely connected with Bast, the cat-headed
Goddess of pleasure and luxury.
The tale is that Ra, the old King of the Gods, became angry with
wayward humankind and in His wrath He ripped out His own eye and
threw it at mankind. This divine eye became the Goddess Sekhmet,
who in the form of a lioness set about slaughtering humans, butchering
them and drinking their blood. Ra, seeing this, realized that at
the rate She was going no one would be left on Earth and tried to
calm Her. But She refused to listen, joying in killing. So Ra then
filled a lake with a mixture of beer and pomegranate juice, and Sekhmet,
thinking it blood, drank the whole thing. . .and then fell asleep.
When She woke the next morning, She was much calmer, though She had
a terrible headache!
Sekhmet, though sometimes a violent goddess, was however also known
as a healer who set and cured broken bones. She is said to cause
epidemics when She is not honored properly; but when She is, She
can stop them as well.
Sekhmet is the wife of Ptah, the patron of artisans, and their
son is Nefertum. Later the deified architect Imhotep was named Her
son. Imhotep was a real man who worked under the third dynasty pharoah
Djoser and was responsible for building the Step Pyramid, the very
first pyramid. After his death He was worshipped as a god, and became
the patron of doctors. Miraculous cures were His specialty.
Sekhmet in a reading indicates issues of revenge and anger, and
a warning not to get carried away. In this situation it is very easy
to go too far and let things get out of control. Or it can indicate
that old grudges and patterns are getting in the way of needed change.
Let these things go, and work on forgiveness. Remember, Sekhmet's
tale of massacre is sometimes told of Hathor,
meaning that when we can let go of our anger and forgive old hurts,
joy and celebration are waiting for us.
Alternate spellings: Sakhmet, Sekhemet
