Sekhmet is a powerful Egyptian Goddess.  There are some variations to the spelling of her name – Sachmet, Sakhet, Sekmet, Sakhmet, Sekhet and Nesert.  She is also known as Sacmis, which is a Greek name.   She was the sister and wife of Ptah.  Some places have her linked with the Goddess Hathor.
Sekhmet is a Warrior Goddess and her name means “The Mighty One”.  She was also known as (One) Before Whom Evil Trembles, the Mistress of Dread, the Lady of Slaughter and the Lady of the Flame.  Her head is depicted with a lioness’ head.
She was known as a Solar Goddess and you will see many of her statues, in addition to having the lion’s head, has a solar disc on the top.   Many see her as a Goddess of War and Destruction.  She is tasked with protecting the Pharaohs when they went into battle by shooting arrows.   Sekhmet could be vengeful and could destroy by sending plagues, disease and misery to people.  However, she could easily reverse the effects, which shows the balance between her ability to destruct and to heal.
Sekhmet is part of the story “The Destruction of Mankind.”  Re, a Sun God, created Sekhmet from the fire in his eye to stop people that were plotting against him and being disrespectful.  Sekhmet was always enthusiastic about her slaying job and, once she got a taste of vengeance, she did her job so well she almost eliminated humanity.   Re put a stop to it by getting Sekhmet drunk beer that was colored to look like blood.  She was so tipsy that she abandoned her plans to finish off humanity and they were saved.
To avoid her wrath again, there were daily rituals (every morning and afternoon) performed to Sekhmet every day of each year.  Many statues will built in her honor – over 700.
Sekhmet is identified with Bast (Bastet).  She is known to wear red while Bast wore green.  Sekhmet was considered the Goddesses of the West while Bast was considered Goddess of the East.   Both had the lioness heads.
Her symbols are the lioness, cobra and Urjat (the eye of Horus).   To work with her, let her help with getting rid of anger and dealing with vengeance for a situation but it’s important not to get carried away.  Handling a situation properly will help you see the lessons of the experience much clearer than deal with problems when you’re in a temper.  She helps to transform the anger – letting you be safe to express yourself but stopping you from getting consumed by the fire.
Connecting with Sekhmet is easy – use interactive ways to do so.  Take a shamanic journey or work on doing some interactive meditations.  She is there to help you heal from your demons while acknowledging and facing them.

The scent of lemon lingers in the air. I can hear birds chirping outside in the garden as I crack open a window. My muscles feel a bit stiff, but I take pride in their ache. It’s taken me most of the morning, but I’ve finally managed to tidy up most of the house. There’s just one more chore left to do: polish the replica Athenian general’s helm on my desk & the bronze statue of Athena on my altar.

It makes sense for me to dedicate this day to chores. At what roughly corresponds to May in the modern calendar, the ancient Greeks celebrated the Kallynteria in honour of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, crafts, & battle. She is proud patroness of  Athens,  the city which bears her name.  The Kallynteria was a time when women swept out Athena’s temple &  tended the eternal flame kept there. The 2^nd day of the festival was the Plynteria & included a ritual cleansing of Athena’s statue, along with feasting & prayers in the Parthenon. To honour her I choose to start my spring cleaning at this time of year too.

Who is this grey-eyed goddess? What is it about her that captivates all who know her?

She is the daughter of Zeus. Technically her mother is the titaness Metis, whose name means wisdom. Zeus feared a prophecy that her 1^st child would be a girl, but her 2^nd child would be a boy who bore enough power to overthrow him,  just as he overthrew his father Cronus. He opted to take no chances, swallowing his pregnant lover in effort to prevent her from giving birth to a child stronger than he. Not longer after Zeus was struck w/ a terrible headache. The smithy-god Hephaestus came to his aid, splitting open his skull with a wedge. Out sprang Athena, fully grown & fully armoured.  Myth might vary in places, but one consistent point is that she quickly became her father’s favourite child. Zeus entrusted no-one else with the key to his thunderbolts & only she was allowed to wear his aegis or bear his shield.

True, she’s a goddess of war. Athena does seem to have a ruthless side. A group of conspirators once trapped Zeus &  bound him in his throne. The titaness Thetis summoned Briarius, one of the hundred-handed Hecatonchires, to free him whilst the others argued over who would now rule in his stead. He considered Hera the prime instigator & strung her from the heavens with unbreakable silver thread for 4 days.

Poseidon and Hermes swore to never challenge him again & were banished from Olympus for one year,  where they had to serve a mortal king as common labourers. Zeus chose not to punish Athena, saying that she played a reluctant part in events.

However,  there’s only one account of  her embracing  battle for its own sake.

Hesiod ’s The Theogony describes Athena as “The awesome, battle-rousing,

army-leading, untiring / Lady, whose pleasure is fighting and the metallic din of war.” She personifies war tempered with wisdom & a love of strategy, rather.

She often acts for the benefit of mortals & heroes alike.  Both Athena & her uncle Poseidon wanted to be patron deity of Athens. Athena gave a practical gift to the city. She caused an olive tree to spring up near the Acropolis, thus providing people with a plant that could grow in the tough Greek terrain & provide them with food, a source of oil, & things valuable for trade. Poseidon sought to outdo her by striking the ground with his trident & causing a spring of water to gush forth.  He is the ocean personified, so the water was salty. Athena’s gift to the city was considered to be more useful, so she became the city’s patron deity.

She sponsored the hero Perseus on his quest to slay the gorgon Medusa. The goddess provided him with a sword & shield. She also whispered in his ear & suggested he use his shield as a mirror to avoid looking directly at the killing gaze of the gorgon & avoid being turned to stone. Athena also aided Jason, Odysseus & Herakles in their adventures.

Despite her divine nature, she is perhaps one of the most ‘human’ of the gods. She can be vain like any other woman in her rare moments of weakness. When Eris, the goddess of discord and strife, failed to get invited to a wedding she decided to stir things up by throwing a golden apple into the crowd inscribed with the words “for the fairest”. Hera, Aphrodite, & Athena each tried to claim it, prompting the beauty contest which ultimately lead to the Trojan war when Paris abducted Helen of Troy when he claimed the prize Aphrodite offered him for choosing her.

She is capable of the same emotions as the rest of us & can be embarrassed.  Athena is given credit for inventing the flute. She was proud of her efforts & went to show it to the other Olympians. However Hera & Aphrodite laughed at her,  making fun of the way her cheeks puffed out when she played.  Athena caught her reflection in a fountain & could see their point. She then threw her creation away in disgust.

No other goddess personifies both timeless wisdom & ever-growing civilisation. Athena possesses reasoning, logic, & boundless intellect that reaches across the ages.  She asks us to use that wit, practicality, & creativity to reach our goals. Her ‘human’ side allows us to approach her when we are in need. Remember her at this time of year, & always.

As we transition to Spring, let us look at one of the biggest transformational Goddesses in Norse Mythology – Hel.  Hel is the Norse ruler and Goddess of the Underworld. The top half of her body is a woman, the bottom half of her body is only skeleton.  She is the daughter of trickster Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda.  Odin found her to be hideous and because of her appearance and the fact she was daughter of Loki, he banished her to the underworld of Hel (same as her name), also known as Helheim.  (This should not be confused with the Christian interpretation of the punishment of Hell.)  However, it seems that Hel was okay with being Queen of the Underworld and gave Odin a gift of two ravens named “Huginn” and “Muninn” (translated to “Thought” and “Memory”).  These ravens opened the passageway between both realms.

Hel ruled so powerfully that when Odin’s son Balder died at the hands of his brother Hod after being tricked by Loki, she would not return him unless everyone and everything in the world cry over him.   Only one giantess, Thokk, would not cry and so Balder was not returned.  It turned out that Thokk was actually Loki in disguise. Hel did this to prove the point that Gods are powerless over death.

When people died from illness, old age or from criminal behavior, they were brought to Hel instead of Valhalla, where people went if they died in battle.  Hel would then judge these souls to their fate.  If people died as cowards, Hel would judge them to a life in the underworld that was cold, dark, dismal and full of torture.  Life would be miserable and full of pain if you were to go to Hel based on bad behavior.  (Hel’s realm was twisted by those religions that wanted people to be afraid of going to “Hell” if they didn’t live a righteous life.)

Hel also would watch over children and mothers who died in childbirth and was also known to be a protector of children because of her caring for children of all ages.  Hel would also watch over the souls getting ready for reincarnation.  So, as much as Hel was seen as only a cold and dark place, it actually did have places that were peaceful.   She also is associated with mothering (Isis) and transition between the worlds (Hecate).

Hel would be the deity to ask for help in contacting your ancestors.  If you have a loved one who has died or who is dying, you can work with her in mediumship work, ask her to help those transitioning to the other side or do Shamanic work, since this connects ordinary and non-ordinary reality (for example, Soul Retrieval).  Stones that would be good when working with Hel are jet, obsidian and onyx.

Today we are going to discuss Ishtar, the Babylonian Goddess of Fertility, Love, War and Sex. She was likened to Venus, Aphrodite and Inanna.   Ishtar and her cult are associated with sexuality including sacred sex and prostitution.  Her symbol is the eight pointed star. Ishtar was known to have many lovers, however, she treated them cruelly.  Her love was known to tame wild animals and could be trouble for even the gods she consorted with in her travels.   Ishtar is known to be cruel and a punisher, not caring who she destroyed in her path to get what she wanted. One of the more popular myths regarding Ishtar is her decent into the underworld to get her lover Tammuz.   She was made to travel through seven gates to reach the Underworld.  At each entrance, she was made to remove a piece of clothing or jewelry.    When she finally reached Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, she was bare of everything but herself to ask for his return.   Ishtar did get Tammuz out and as she traveled back up through the seven gates, she retrieved her clothing and jewelry.  (Note:  This particular myth has many different endings – Ishtar traveling back alone, Tammuz not grieving her and sitting on a throne promising not to return and Ishtar having to chose someone to take Tammuz’s place in order to get him back.  The one I chose to highlight is the one that is the most positive.) In the story of Gilgamesh, Ishtar also tried to seduce Gilgamesh and make him her husband.  He rejected her and reminded her of her cruel and punishing behavior to those that got close to her.  She then told her father, Anu (the God of Air), who gave her the mystical bull of heaven to exact her revenge.  However, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu, were able to kill the bull and brought his head to her.  Ishtar was so infuriated she sent illness to Enkidu, which killed him.  There are two important lessons from Ishtar.  The first is to find our true selves – being stripped down and tearing our self down and rebuilding it through strength and perseverance.  It reminds us not to quit, not matter what the challenge ahead. The second lesson is to understand the consequences of your own actions.  Acting cruel and heartless can cause the same actions to be performed back at you.  It may also result in you being alone or losing people in your life you want to keep.  Remind yourself Ishtar is teaching you how to treat others in order to build relationships and keep people with you, not tear them down.

Hera was the Greek Goddess of Love and Marriage (also known as “Juno” in the Roman pantheon).  She was the wife of Zeus and the Queen of the Olympians.  She was also considered the Goddess of the Sky and the Starry Heavens.

Hera was usually depicted with a crown on her head and holding a staff with a lotus tip.  She is also seen holding a hawk or a cuckoo bird.

She is considered to embody the Triple Goddess – Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Hera as Maiden was unmarried and virginal.  She then was married to Zeus, after being raped by him when he tricked her by posing as a cuckoo bird to get closer to her.  As time went on, Hera became a jealous spiteful person because Zeus was cheating on her.  On the outside, Hera showed herself as the loving wife and mother – everything in the marriage was perfect.  But on the inside, Hera was jealous.  In private, Hera made Zeus’s consorts pay.  As time went on, Hera got tired of chasing around Zeus’s consorts.  She was getting older and decided to live her life out with being in solitude.  This was the crone aspect.

Hera’s sacred animals are the peacock (pride) and the cow.  Many pictures will show her with peacocks or peacock feathers.  The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) were dedicated to her.

Hera reminds us that we must age gracefully.  As we grow older, we grow wiser from our experiences.  Hera has been described as a bitter woman but her experiences brought her to protect herself because of the betrayal by Zeus.  She also lived in a loveless marriage but she still managed to stay strong.  Hera is telling us no matter what we are presented with, it’s important to stay loyal to our commitments.

Today, we are going to discuss Gaia (also called Gaea or Ge), the Greek Goddess of the Earth. Gaia is considered as the “Great Goddess”, “Mother Earth” and “Mother Nature”.   Her equivalent in Roman mythology is Terra Matter.  She is usually pictured as a woman with some sort of green around her. Most pictures have shown her pregnant with the world in her belly. There are others with Gaia sitting in the leaves, blowing them around off her hand and finally others of her sitting on a throne with cornucopia surrounding her. The Root Chakra, femininity, nature, fertility and spirit are associated with Gaia.
Gaia was created out of Chaos to give birth to all of earth.  When living things die, they must return to her when their lives and time on earth is over.  Gaia is known in the Greek tradition to have stretched out of the beginning of time, becoming the earth’s land. She continues to give life and sustenance to the world, even when the weather turns cold. Promises made with one hand “one Gaia’s sacred soil” are known to be irrevocable. Gaia is known for abundance, thankfulness, nature, promises and earth.

Gaia is believed to be the original deity behind the Oracle at Delphi. Depending on what different stories you read, Gaia passed her knowledge to Apollo or Apollo slay the great serpent (or Dragon) Pytho and forced Gaia out.

Gaia is the Mother Goddess. She can be worked with when looking for grounding, growth in times of trouble or finding your footing in the physical world.   Gaia’s sacred animals are the serpent, the lunar bull, bees and the pig.  In her hand, a poppy may be transmuted to a pomegranate.

Some ways you can connect with Gaia are by eating a delicious meal with elements of the earth – Lentils, Greens, Vegetables, Breads or Crock Pot meals, for example.  You can also walk on the earth barefoot.  Another way is to connect with your physical body (for example breathing deeply) and also by nurturing your dreams – make them a reality (part of the earth).

Also, the Gaia stone is associated with Gaia, coming from volcanic ash from Mt St. Helen’s and carries the “Soul of the Earth”.  It connects the Goddess energy strongly, including the Earth and Earth Devas.  It is known to heal emotional wounds and past traumas by working with the heart chakra.

When you want to make changes to your life, create opportunities to feel grounded or be a part of nature, call on Gaia to help you transmute those ideas into reality.

Freyja (also known as Freya) was one of the major goddess of Norse mythology and leader of the Valkyries.  She was the goddess of love, fertility and beauty.   She is also known as the Goddess of war, battle, death, magic, prophecy and wealth.   She could be seen as the counterpart to Rhiannon and looked upon as the Lady.  It is thought that the day of “Friday” was named after Freyja.

Freyja was married to mysterious God Od, who is sometimes associated with Odin.  One of the myths associated with this is that Od left her and as she searched for him, she cried tears which turned to Gold.  This is known to be where the world got its Gold (and also its Amber).    Once she found him, Od saw her beauty and came back to her.

As one of the major Norse Goddesses, Freyja had a lot of responsibility.  She helps with childbirth, the seasons, cats, Seers, war, death, magic, prophecy and love, holding a Venus like quality.   As much as Freyja had a softer quality, loving beautiful flower arrangements and romantic music, she also was the Goddess of War and Death.  When she rode into battle with the Valkyries, their armor will flicker with light, which became known as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Freyja could claim half the bravest souls in battle.  She would actually walk onto the battlefield to collect their souls and bring them back to permanent rest and relaxation and being a generous woman, she also invited their wives and lovers to return with them.  The other half would be gathered by Valkyries, lead by Odin, and brought back to Valhalla (the “otherworld”) to also live in rest and relaxation.
She was beautiful – described as having strawberry blond hair and blue eyes.   She had many lovers and was known as the goddess of lust, desire and sensuality.    Aphrodite’s exploits paled in comparison to Freyja.   Even though she had many lovers, she held a very deep love for Od.  (Remember, monogamy had not been established yet.)

Part of her irresistible nature was the necklace Freyja had  (the “necklace of desire”) known as the “brisling” or “brisingamen” that she received in exchange from four dwarfs who rescued her when she lost her way home in a snowstorm.    When she offered to pay them in Gold for her room and board after the storm subsided, they countered by asking her to spend the night with each one of them, who were aptly named “North”, “South”, “East” and “West”.  She usually would have turned down an offer to spend four nights with four dwarfs, however, the myth is once she saw the necklace, she had to have it and they would only accept payment of being with her.  When the storm subsided, Freyja left with the necklace.  At one point, the necklace is stolen by Loki (the “trickster”) and Heimdall (also known as Hemidallr) battles Loki to get it back for her.

Freyja also had a cloak of falcon feathers that would help her transform into any bird and also help transit between the worlds.   Cats were also sacred to her and two large blue cats that were gifts from the God Thor rode with her on her golden chariot as she went on her daily travels.

Right now, Freyja is also very important as she watches over the souls of fallen soldiers.   She can be also sent to watch over those who are at war and helps keep things in balance.

You can work with Freyja when you are working on having harmonious relationships, including relationships to a mother or children.   You can also work with her in beauty magic and ways to create self love.   Freyja also was a powerful warrior so ask for her help with your own battles.   If you have soldiers in war right now, ask for her to watch over them.   Remember, Freyja is beautiful and compassionate but also powerful and a sorcerer, you are also many aspects within the same person.  Embrace all the parts of you as Freyja has done.

Yemaya is the Goddess of the Ocean and is also known as the Great Mother and the Mother of All Creation.  She is also the Protector of Children and women, especially pregnant women.    She is the Mother of the Fish and the Goddess of Surrender.  Yemaya is an Orisha, which is one of the Gods of the Yoruba religion, which was brought to America from Africa.  One of the theories is that she traveled from Egypt to Africa and her name changed from Isis to Yemaya.  Yemaya is associated with the river of Ogun, because this river is known to cure infertility.
Yemaya has many other names. Known as the Star of The Sea in Brazil, In Macumba, she is known as Ocean Goddess of the Crescent Moon. In Haiti, she is Agwe. New Orleans women worship her as La Balianne. And, in Cuba she has three names, depending on which part of her personality you wish to speak with: Yemaya Ataramagwa, The Wealthy Queen Of The Sea, this is her stern persona. Yemaya Achabba, violent, and, the overpowering, Yemaya Olokun who is said to only be seen in dreams.

Yemaya is associated with many aspects of the sea – ocean, the moon, stars, conch shells, and the female mysteries.  One of Yemaya’s stories is that her first gift to the mortals was a conch shell so their voices could be heard.  This is attributed to the idea of holding a conch shell to a person’s ear to hear the ocean, which is Yemaya’s voice.

Another story of Yemaya is that she was raped by her son, Orungan.   In order to escape further trauma, she falls and from her burst fourteen Yoruban Gods and Goddesses.   One of the other stories is that after she is raped by her son, she decides to end her life on a mountain peak.  As she dies, she not only gives birth to the fourteen Yoruban Gods and Goddesses but from her uterine waters the oceans of the world were created.   From her bones, the first mortals were created.    This lends to the idea that from tragedy comes great creation and birth to something new.

Yemaya is someone you can work with in the matters of home, fertility, family and love.  She is a mother and represents any issues with children, trying to bear children and mother and/or women issues.  She is also concerned with the Healing of Mother Earth so she can be invoked when doing rituals for healing mother earth.

Everybody is at least roughly familiar with the story of Persephone.

Her father’s Zeus, the all-powerful king of the Olympian Gods. Her mother’s Demeter, the grain Goddess. To make a long story short, Hades, lord of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone  & abducted Her. Eventually she came to terms with her new living arrangements. Demeter, being the ultimate overprotective mother, was consumed by grief & decided to spread it around. No plant would grow & the earth suffered biter cold. Zeus sent his messenger Hermes to reason with his brother. However, before Persephone left the Underworld she ate 3 pomegranate seeds & by doing so bound herself to her husband’s realm. With Zeus arbitrating a compromise was reached. Nothing could be done to free her forever, so she would remain part of the year with Hades & part above ground with her mother. In the time she’s away, the earth would know the cold that comes from a mother’s sorrow. When Persephone returns in the spring, life would return once again & green things would flourish.

Most sources tend to agree that She was quite unhappy about Her forced marriage, but what if this wasn’t the case? What if She actively chose Her fate & ate of the pomegranate of Her own free will? Persophone is typically depicted as a young maiden poised on the brink of adulthood. The Wheel of the Year turns as it does, & at some point a girl will seek to cut herself free from her mother’s proverbial apron strings. This, too, is part of the Cycle.

It’s less about Hades abducting Her & more about Persephone finding Her own voice in the Darkness. What if She had begun longing for a way out? Hades provides Her with an opportunity, a means to get what She craved. Sure, it came in a form She might not have chosen for Herself, or at the least in an unexpected manner.  Her apparent unhappiness w/ Her new life Underground might’ve just as easily come from being frightened of change at 1st.  Her choice would’ve been quite confronting, as it is for anyone who actively seeks to take responsibility for himself.

Ultimately Persephone’s story is one of letting go.  The New Year has begun at Samhain, so the time is right to embrace her lessons. Old ties that no longer serve, old habits that have become destructive. Let them fall away as the Wheel turns. As the world prepares to rest in November’s embrace, follow her down into the Underworld & learn to find your own voice Below as she did. Hers is also a lesson in balance. She’s kept the best aspects of her past & melded them with her present. In a place of the dead she learned about life & how to define her own identity. She is both Kore the Maiden & the mighty Queen of the Underworld. Half the year she spends with her husband in his kingdom & the other half is spent with her mother in hers. She manages to retain a sense of self & share what knowledge She’s gained. Each of us will face his or her own personal Underworld, a time of darkness & uncertainty. However, Persephone shows us a way through. She teaches us that it’s possible to go through the dark & come out the other side a little stronger than before.