Hathor, Sekhmet, The Book of the Divine Cow and the Legend of the Distant Goddess

Akhet Hwt-Hrw
An Educational Resoruce for
Ancient Egyptian Religion
& Esoteric Studies
www.Hwt-Hrw.com
Heru@Hwt-Hrw.com
P.O. Box 652
Hudson, NH 03051 U.S.A.

The Book of the Divine Cow and the Legend of the Distant Goddess:
Sekhmet, Hathor, and the Destruction of Humanity

One of the most important religous texts to come from Egypt is that of the Book or the Divine Cow and the Legend of the Distant Goddess. While widely presented few sources discuss the hidden meaning conained in the symbolism of this ancient myth. In this article I would like to examine this at length. I will begin with a presentation of the overall myth. The following is taken from a variety of sources all of which are registered in the footnotes:

Ra, the Solar creator, ruled as king of Egypt for many ages. As time went on he became old and his bones were like silver, his skin like gold and his hair like lapis-lazuli. When the people of Egypt saw how old and frail their king had become many murmured against him and the mummers grew into plots to seize the throne. The plotters met in secret on the edge of the desert and thought themselves safe but as Ra watched over Egypt he saw the traitors and listened to their plans.

Ra was more angry then he had ever been before. He spoke to his followers who stood near: ‘Summon my daughter, the Eye of Ra; send for Shu and Tefnut; bring Geb and Nut; and the fathers and mothers who were with me in the watery abyss; and summon Nun! But let them come secretly, lest the traitors see and escape punishment. Come with the Neteru to the palace, that they may give counsel. For in the end I may return to Nun, to the place I came into being.'

The Neteru came and lined on either side of Ra, bowing before the god, asking why they had been called so suddenly and in secret. Then Ra spoke to Nun: ‘O eldest Neter in whom I came into being, you ancestor Neteru, I wept and humans sprang from my tears. I gave them life but they are tired of my rule, they plot against me now. Tell me, what should I do, for I am searching? I will not kill them until I have heard your advice.'

The ancient Nun spoke: ‘My son Ra, Neter greater than his maker, stay on your throne! Great is the fear of you when your Eye is sent against those who plot against you.' As Ra looked out over the land he replied: ‘Look, already they flee into the desert. They are afraid because they know I will learn of their plans.' Then the Neteru answered in unison: ‘Send your Eye that she may destroy the evil. Nothing is more powerful than Hwt-Hrw (Hathor)!'

Hwt-Hrw, the Eye of the Sun, went into the desert transformed into the raging lioness Sekhmet, the powerful one. There she began slaying humanity for the evil they had done. After much killing she returned to Ra who spoke to her: ‘Welcome in peace, Hwt-Hrw.' She replied: ‘As you live, I have over powered humanity, and it is a great joy to my heart.' To which Ra said: ‘I have power over them now as their king.' Yet no matter how he tried to convince Hwt-Hrw that enough killing had been done her fury remained. As Sekhmet, the powerful one, she had found the blood of the traitors delicious and she longed for more in her quest to avenge the treachery of the evil doers.

Ra became worried. How could he save the rest of humanity? During the night he conceived a plan. He summoned swift runners that they may move like a shadow to the city of Abu and bring back all the red ochre they could find. As soon as they returned Ra ordered the High Priest of Yunu (Heliopolis in Greek) to grind the ochre while the priestesses crushed barley for beer. The two were put together and it looked just like human blood. Seven thousand jars of red beer were made that night. Ra then had this poured onto the land, where the goddess had planed to kill humanity. There the fields were flooded three palms high with the beer.

When the day dawned on the morning in which Hwt-Hrw had planed to slay the rest of humanity, "in her time of traveling south," the first thing she saw was the great pool of blood and the beauty of her own reflection in this. She drank to her heart's content becoming drunk and happy. Soon she returned to Ra, transformed into a beautiful woman, the Neteret Hwt-Hrw, sparing the rest of humanity from destruction. ‘Welcome in peace, O gracious one' said Ra. ‘From this time forth humanity will remember their escape from destruction by drinking beer and wine at of your festivals.' At this point Hwt-Hrw sank into a deep slumber.

According to some sources, the legend continues here (note that the following portion of the myth is often referred to as the legend of the "Distant Goddess"). Once Hwt-Hrw awoke from her slumber she realized that she had been tricked by the Neteru and felt humiliated. In a rage she quarreled with Ra, abandoning her beautiful appearance and transforming into a lioness once again. Angry she left Egypt and headed south into Nubia. She lived by hunting and slaughtered any creature that came near.

Without beautiful Hwt-Hrw Egypt became barren and without joy, happiness and love faded away. Ra became distressed over this, not only because of his love for her but because she is his Eye, the power that defends him against his enemies. Without her he is helpless. The only way to re-establish order was to bring the Eye back to Egypt. But all of the Neteru feared Hwt-Hrw when she was in her form of the fierce lioness, the Eye of Ra. Eventually though Ra ordered Shu and Djehuty (Thoth) to find Hwt-Hrw and convince her to return.

With fear in their hearts the two begin their search. However, it was Djehuty in the form of a monkey who found Hwt-Hrw in the deserts south of Egypt and through flattery, fables and gentle persuasion he convinced her that she missed Egypt. She followed him back home as he continued to tell her stories while remaining in the guise of the monkey. As she calmed along the journey north she slowly changed into the form of a wild cat, which, although dangerous was more agreeable. As the two reached Elephantine on the Egyptian-Nubian border, all of Egypt rejoiced. There were celebrations and festivals throughout the land. There Hwt-Hrw bathed in the waters of the Nile and as the last of her anger cooled, the water turned red and she was once more transformed into the beautiful woman Hwt-Hrw. With her return the beneficial inundation of the Nile waters began. (It should be noted that in Hwt-Hrw's small temple located on the island of Philae with Aset's temple the dwarf god Bes is depicted performing music to Hwt-Hrw, to pacify her during her return trip from Nubia).

Despite the return of Hwt-Hrw, Ra was still sad about the rebellion of humanity. Nothing would be the same as it had been in the golden age before. He summoned another council of the Neteru and explained, ‘My heart is too sad and weary for me to remain as King. I am old and weak, let me sink back into the Nun until it is time for me to be born again.' Nun replied to the company of gods: ‘Shu, protect your father, Nut carry him on your back.' Gentle Nut asked, ‘How can I carry the mighty king of the Neteru?' Nun instructed her to turn herself into a huge cow with golden flanks and curved long horns. Ra mounted the Divine Cow and rode into heaven (1).

The ‘Book of the Divine Cow' is a complex and important legend as it gives tremendous insight into the nature of the goddess, especially her role as the Eye of Ra. Here we see the transformation of the goddess into Sekhmet, the fierce lioness who protects and avenges. While Hwt-Hrw is the goddess of love and joy, Sekhmet is the ‘other side' of Hwt-Hrw. Again, an aspect of Hwt-Hrw, yet separate and individual in her own right. While her nature may seem vicious, Sekhmet is the power that destroys evil and clears the way for growth. She is protection.

As you will recall the beginning of this myth describes Ra as having "bones like silver, his skin like gold and his hair like lapis-lazuli." While some students have assumed that this referred to statues of this Neter, in reality this is a reference to the spiritual nature of Ra himself.

Silver was highly prized in Egypt as relating to the moon and, through association, the calculating of time. Silver was considered to be spiritual in character. Gold is symbolic of the Sun, the divine and immortality. While Lapis-Lazuli represented the heavens, the afterlife, regeneration and rebirth. As such the legend is attempting to describe the nature of Ra in allegorical terms. In other words, Ra is seen as an immortal spiritual being who is intimately connected with the temporal world through the references to time (silver = moon = time), yet he belongs to the timeless celestial realm in which regeneration occurs (lapis). The gold in this text represents the link between these two realities. The Sun (gold) shines in the temporal world conveying energy and light, yet appears to be ever renewing. While Ra is subject to cycles of being as portrayed in the daily journey of the Sun, ultimately he returns in renewed forms.

However, what is interesting is that in the myth humanity is portrayed as seeing Ra only in a linear, temporal form. For the legend states that "the people of Egypt saw how old and frail their king had become." Yet, clearly Ra is divine and continually renewing as shown in the symbolism contained in the significance of the precious minerals described. So we see in the legend that a division occurs between humanity's perception of the divine as somehow distant and aging (Ra as growing old) and the reality that the divine is ever present and self renewing (as represented by the qualities of the precious minerals).

This mirrors the tendency of most humans today. They are inclined to be preoccupied with mundane activities and ignore spiritual reality. In such a case, many people tend to either doubt the existence of the divine and its significance in life, or else they see it as some distant being sitting in judgement. The experiencing of spirituality, that was and is such an important part of the Ancient Egyptian system, has become an alien concept outside of the paradigm of most people. However, the myth goes further. In this legend certain members of humanity begin plotting against Ra. This plotting seems to be the ultimate disconnect from the divine, for with it humanity becomes arrogant feeling superior to the very forces that brought them into being.

This portion of the myth is significant in that the ‘rebels' can be seen as representing Isfet, those forces outside of Ma'at that seek to overturn cosmic order and harmony. It is isfet that threatens the manifest world, seeking to plunge this into chaos, disarray and ultimately non-existence. At the same time the myth is warning of the consequence when we create an imbalance by willfully ignoring our spiritual origins. In such a case an imbalance occurs, isfet. Thus, the myth shows that when humanity loses its sense of spirituality it finds itself disconnected from the divine, without meaning or direction.

Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. When an imbalance occurs it is natural for there to be a reaction which attempts to bring things back into harmony. In this incident Hwt-Hrw transforms into Sekhmet who is unleashed upon the rebels. This is symbolic of nature using its force to remove that which is causing the imbalance. Like the immune system in the body fighting a disease that has created an imbalance and thus an unhealthy state of being, Sekhmet is the force of destruction used to bring harmony back to creation. It is interesting to note that in Egyptian medicine and magic Sekhmet is seen as a great healer precisely because of this quality to destroy that which causes the illness.

The feminine power to destruct is vital and needs to be understood. For it is the ‘darker' side of the feminine, the intense power the Goddess, that brings a point of transition through crisis. It is this power of destruction that opens the doors for transformation. The Goddess Sekhmet is this force. She removes that which is harmful. Through this ability to destroy she creates the opportunity for change. On a personal level frequently it is she who causes those experiences which are later viewed as ‘major life changing events'. On a larger mundane scale she represents those events that lead to major alterations in the way people think and live. Frequently it is this type of event that helps to bring harmony and order back into the manifest world.

Yet, in the legend the Goddess appears to go too far! In her aspect of destroyer she slaughters for the sake of destruction. Humanity is brought to the brink of extinction. This shows that extreme actions (the rebels plotting against Ra) result in extreme responses (Sekhmet's over zealous destruction).

Unchecked this power of blind destruction goes far beyond creating the opportunity for transition and new growth. In the extreme this can lead to the very state of imbalance that it was meant to cure. Harmony, Ma'at, is only arrived at when a balance is found. In this case Ra, as the spiritual center, intervenes saving humanity by causing the Goddess to become drunk.

Keep in mind that drunkenness in Ancient Egyptian religion is in itself a metaphor representing states of ecstasy that were achieved through activities related to ritual. For example, it was often through the shear joy of dance, music and chanting that ritual participants in the temples of Hwt-Hrw slipped into altered states that allowed communion with the Goddess. In this respect the legend indicates that it is through this intoxication that Sekhmet returns to her form as the loving Goddess Hwt-Hrw.

In symbolic terms this legend is almost entirely about extremes and the consequences that occur when situations are allowed to move out of balance. Hwt-Hrw/Sekhmet in particular embody's this. On the surface no two deities could seem to be more in contrast to each other. Yet, it is important understand that the differences between things seemingly diametrically opposite to each other are merely a matter of degrees. Pairs of opposites are in essence identical in nature but separated by stages. Where Hwt-Hrw is the power of love, joy, sensuality, and regeneration; Sekhmet is the power to destroy, bringing fear and loathing. These two are opposite ends of the same spectrum. The legend shows that both are essential. Yet there must always be a balance between the two extremes.

Perhaps what is most interesting is that both of these Goddesses can be seen as carrying at their center the internal strength of the other. While Hwt-Hrw is a loving, caring, sensual Goddess she still is always respected and to some extent feared for the awesome power within her. For if angered she can easily release her destructive side.

Sekhmet, too, carries within her the caring nature of a mother protecting those under her charge. Hence we see her as healing the ill, as well as protecting Ra and those faithful to her. While the means through which these acts are performed are often violent, the motive is one of protecting those she loves. This is a very Hathorian act.

So this legend teaches many different concepts to those who can understand the symbolism. From a lesson on Isfet and Ma'at, an understanding of the nature of divinity and humanity's relationship with this, the need for balance in all things, to several clues into the constructive and destructive nature of the Goddess. This legend is rich in esoteric teachings.

Lastly this legend is also significant as it contains several clues as to the timing of Hwt-Hrw's mysteries. Throughout this there are references to Hwt-Hrw's journey south and then her eventual return north. Without a doubt this is an allusion to the annual cycle of the sun in its apparent north - south journey from the summer solstice to the winter solstice and back again. This is supported by the reference to Hwt-Hrw bathing in the Nile at Elephantine, causing the water to turn red. Elephantine sits almost directly on the Tropic of Cancer, the northern most point that the sun travels each year. This event coincides with the beginning of the rising of the Nile. Interestingly it was reported that when the Nile river would begin the flood the waters each year would, for a short while, turn a reddish brown color from the rich nutrients being carried from Central Africa. This myth plays a central role in many of the religious practices connected with Hwt-Hrw.

References