SESHAT- MY FAVOURITE EGYPTIAN GODDESS

So over recent years, with my quest to understand Feminine energy and powers, I’ve come into seeking knowledge about ancient Egypt and the Gods and Goddesses who hold power and place in this land.

While I ‘ve got BIG respect for Sekhmet, Isis, Hathor and ALL the power archetypes they represent, I have taken a liking and reverence to a lesser known and I guess humble goddess called Seshat. Mainly because of her role she holds as the goddess of the written word in ancient Egyptian mythology; the keeper of knowledge and wisdom. She plays a big part in education and learning, leaving her mark on ancient Egyptian literature and science. Her role ensures that knowledge is preserved so it can be passed down, which is super important for the intellectual and cultural growth of ancient Egypt.

She’s the daughter and consort of Thoth - one who guards over writing and record-keeping, making her the go-to deity for scribes and scholars. Thoth had given the gift of writing to humanity, so it was a mortal's responsibility to honour that gift by practicing the craft as precisely as possible. Ancient Egyptians believed that writing made permanent that which had passed out of existence. It made the transitory world of change into an everlasting and eternal one. They also believed that if something were committed to writing it could be repeatedly "made to happen" by means of magic, which is actually truth if you even take a tiny bit of time to look at English SPELL-ing, which is a form of manifestation right? Words do Create your Reality.

Also, Seshat’s choice of fashion is something I’d definitely bust out in myself, as I spent a lot of my 20’s in leopard print; she’s regularly depicted as a woman wearing a leopard skin draped over her robe with a headdress of a seven-pointed star arched by a crescent in the form of a bow. Also head gear I’d probably roll around in if it was currently available!

What I also find intriguing is another role which she would help Thoth with, she was known as the “Mistress of Builders” and her participation in this ritual ceremony of "stretching the cord" which measured the dimensions of the structure to be raised. The floor plan of the temple was laid out through the "stretching the cord" ceremony after an appropriate area of land had been decided upon. So although Seshat never had a temple of her own, she was the foundation of all temples and guru of measurements..

She also presided over the “House of Life” - which was essentially a hangout place for writers, a combo of institute of higher learning, writer's workshop, print shop/copy centre, publisher, and distributor, which sounds like places I know in South London really. The Egyptians name for this bohemian sounding institution was Per-Ankh (literally "House of Life")

Houses of Life were located in temples or temple complexes and were presided over by Seshat and Thoth no matter which god the temple was dedicated to. Ancient Egyptians believed that what was done on earth was mirrored in the celestial realm of the gods. The daily life of an individual was only part of an eternal journey which would continue on past death. So Seshat’s role was important and her presence was solid in the concept of the eternal life granted to scribes through their works. When an author created a story, inscription, or book on earth, an ethereal copy was transferred to Seshat who placed it in the library of the gods; mortal writings were therefore also immortal.

Which I find utterly magical and think of as an eternal ethereal dream library somehow.

Hope you’ve fallen in love with the gorgeous Seshat as much as I have. Will introduce some other Egyptian goddesses soon as this feels like it will be my Winter hobby!

Bless for reading and do share thoughts below…