The Story of
Sekhmet's Mid Summer Sun Celebration
by SophiaLinus@hotmail.com

Tonight we celebrate the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the 
Autumn Equinox.  I call it ‘Mid Summer’ because the start of summer is the 
Summer Solstice and the start of Autumn is the Autumn Equinox and this is 
the mid point between the two, hence ‘Mid Summer‘.

In the northern hemisphere the ‘first harvest‘ is celebrated at this 
midpoint.  It is common ritual to bake special ceremonial breads to honor 
the Gods and Goddesses.

The grinding of the grain represents the harvest and death (or transition), 
adding sprouted wheat and yeast represents resurrection, and the consumption 
of the food represents the cycles of nature and new life.

In Ancient Egypt the harvesting was over and this was the time of the 
flooding of the Nile, the inundation, which fertilized the land.

This was also the start of the solar calendar, the Ancient Egyptian New Year 
when Wep Renpet, one of the most sacred festivals, was celebrated.

The heliacal rise of Sirius just before dawn was an extremely important 
event for the Ancient Egyptians.  The heliacal rise of Sirius, which is now 
August 1st,  coincided with the flooding of the Nile, the inundation,  which 
fertilized the land.  The occasion was seen as the start of the Egyptian  
solar calendar.

The birthday of the gods were celebrated the last 5 days of the solar year 
before the new year started.

The Ancient Egyptians had both a solar and lunar calendar.  The first new 
moon after the heliacal rising was the beginning of the lunar year.

The Ancient Egyptian first lunar month  from August 5, 2005 to September 2, 
2005 is Thoth. Sacred to Thoth, the ibis-headed moon God of truth, writing, 
and figuring things.

Isis is the Greek name for the Egyptian Goddess Hathor.  On many of the 
pyramid and temple walls, Hathor and Sekhmet are referenced as being one and 
the same Goddess.  Sekhmet is also referenced with the Goddess Bast who is 
sometimes portrayed as a black cat.  Bast wears a green dress.  Sekhmet 
wears a red dress.  The three Goddesses Sekhmet, Hathor, and Bast are 
sometimes considered as different aspects of the same Goddess  and all three 
Goddesses have been portrayed with the face of a lioness.
The month of Thoth is Holy to Sekhmet/Hathor  when the Festival of the Feast 
of Lights of Hathor was celebrated.

There is evidence that indicates that this Festival is the true "Festival of 
Intoxication."  Strong evidence points to the myth recounting the 
destruction of mankind as the basis for this festival. According to this 
story, in order to end Sekhmet/Hathor's bloody rampage, Re tricked her into 
drinking beer laced with mandrake and red ocher. He flooded Egypt with this 
drugged beer. Sekhmet/Hathor, thinking it was blood, consumed so much of it 
that she became drunk and passed out, and she lost interest in destroying 
humanity. The yearly Inundation by the Nile, with its rich, red silt, is the 
earthly re-enactment of this flood of beer. This feast of intoxication is 
the ancient Egyptian's "October fest."

This Mid Summer ritual will honor three very powerful Ancient Egyptian 
deities.  The Goddess Sekhmet, her consort the God Ptah, and their son 
Nefertem.  They will be invited to join us for our ritual.  We honor them 
because this is near the time for Sekhmet’s celebration.

Other Goddesses invited will be:
	North	- earth	- Goddess Uatchet,
        East    - fire  - Goddess Bast
	South	- air	- Goddess Nekhebet
	West	- water	- Goddess Sekhet

In late dynastic times Sekhet and Bast were  regarded as the Goddesses of 
the West and the East respectively.  Nekhe-bet and Uatchet were the 
Goddesses of the South and the North respectively.

Each Goddess has been portrayed or shown as a woman with the face of a 
lioness.

In this ritual in honor of Sekhmet we will be using Barley Bread and Red 
Beer for Cakes and Ale.  Non Alcoholic: The Red Beer consists of a Red Soda 
and Root Beer.

Sekhmet is a Sun Goddess shown as a woman with the face of a Lioness.  She 
is the Eye of Ra.  She is a Sun Goddess as well as the Goddess of 
destruction, rebirth, and healing.  She is called the Lady of the place of 
the beginning of time.  One who was before the Gods were.  She holds an Ankh 
in one hand and a Lotus Wand in the other; She wears a red dress.

Sekhmet's name and images can be found on the walls of the pyramids and 
temples of Egypt.  Her main temples were in the city of Memphis and was part 
of the Divine Triad there, which was made up of Sekhmet, Ptah, and 
Nefertem.  There were also temples for her in Luxor and Abydos.  The 
creation story of Memphis has Sekhmet creating everything that Ptah thinks 
and then speaks.  All other Goddesses and Gods are created by Ptah and 
Sekhmet as well as the world and everything in it.

Her Name is derived from the Egyptian word 'Sekhem', which means "power" or 
"might".
The word 'sekhem' is literally inseparable from Sekhmet and Her worship.

The mantra Sa Sekhem Sahu can be chanted to balance and increase your inner 
power.

Sa Sekhem Sahu is pronounced Sa (Sah) Sekhem (Say-Kem) Sahu (Sah-Hoo);

Sa means the breath of life; Sekhem means power or might; Sahu is the 
realized human.

She is the Goddess of protection, medicine, child birth, destruction, death, 
and rebirth.  Sekhmet is also associated with war and divine vengeance.

Sekhmet's action is always the right, or 'appropriate action'.  When She 
destroys it is an appropriate destruction or vengeance.  It is never chaotic 
or random.  It is always what is needed at the time.  She removes threats 
and punishes those who do wrong against Ma'at.

As a destroying element she plays the part of a power which protects the 
good and annihilates the wicked.   She is a protector for those who call on 
Her for help.

She is generally depicted in the form of a woman with the head of a lioness 
which is surmounted by the solar disk encircled by an uraeus, but sometimes 
the disk is omitted, and a uraeus only is seen upon her head.

The God Ptah is the consort of Sekhmet and is shown (like Osiris/Horus) as a 
man with a punt beard, wrapped up like a mummy, but with his hands free 
which grip a great staff made up of the symbols for life, stability, and 
power. Sometimes he wears a skullcap crown and stands on the hieroglyph for  
Ma’at.  He is the God of the second lunar month Paopi in the season of Akhet 
(Inundation)

"Egypt" is a Greek corruption of the phrase "Het-Ka-Ptah," which means: 
"House of the Spirit of Ptah.".

Nefertem is the son of Sekhmet and Ptah and is shown being born in a Lotus 
Blossom.  Sometimes he is shown  as a man with the face of a Lion and a 
warrior.  He is also closely associated with healers and healing.

There is a story that has the God Ra sending forth Sekhmet to punish mankind 
for disrespecting Him and repeatedly breaking the laws of the Goddess Ma'at. 
Sekhmet is sent because there is no other Goddess or God that can right 
the wrong of mankind against Ra and Ma‘at..  Sekhmet's punishment of mankind 
becomes lethal and she goes on a feeding frenzy of blood.  She is devouring 
mankind.  The other Goddesses and Gods were unable to stop her so the God 
Thoth created a mixture with pomegranate juice, beer, and perhaps some 
psychedelic substance that looked like human blood.   When Sekhmet goes to 
sleep they pour the mixture on the ground all around her.  When she wakes 
up,  thinking that this is blood, she drinks the mixture and falls into a 
stupor and passes out.   When she awakes she is transformed back into the 
peaceful Hathor.  Some stories have her transform into the Goddess Bast.

Another tale has Sekhmet becoming angry with the God Ra and discouraged with 
the people of Egypt, she goes south to Nubia taking all her abundance with 
her.  Leaving only the hot scorching sun.  Nothing can grow and the heat 
starts to devour everything.  The God Ra sends the God Thoth to convince 
Sekhmet to come back home and when she does things turn back to normal, the 
inundation begins and there are again abundant harvests.

Here in the United States there is a Temple in Cactus Springs, Nevada 
devoted to the Goddess Sekhmet.  It was constructed by Genevieve Vaughn  to 
fulfill a twenty-seven year-old promise made to the Goddess Sekhmet when she 
touched Her statue in a Temple in Egypt.  She promised that if she got 
pregnant she would build a temple for Her.  And so she did.