Love Goddess

[Ektor]

Hello! I am a syncretic pagan with a shamanistic conception of the world. I'm strongly drawn to representations of Goddesses in every culture, and I love reading about them, from Durga, to figures like Ceres and Venus. Particularly, I feel a very strong link with Hathor, as she's both a mother figure and a love goddess. Could you people more acquainted formally with Kemetic tradition give me interesting things to read about her? Rituals, Myths, Offerings, and so? I'd be very, very grateful if I could absorb the practices related to Hathor in my life!

[Corvus]

Re: Love Goddess

Hathor is the goddess whom I feel closest with. Her name in the Kemetic language is Het-Heret (or Het-Heru depending on if you're using a double feminine ending for her name or not) which means "the house of Heru" where Heru is the god Horus, god of the sky. By examining her name we see Hathor has a close relationship with both Horus and with the sky. This is perfectly logical as it has been suggested in the original versions of the myths that Horus was Hathor's son and/or husband. The confusion comes from the fusing of traits between Het-Heret and Aset which would eventually form traits for the goddess Isis who is really a compound of the two. The confusion between Aset, Isis and Hathor makes their traits difficult to determine. They are similar deities but distinct also.

Her name as the House of Heru gives her associations as a sky deity also where in her form as a cow she arches over the earth and her legs form pillars that hold up the sky and stars are affixed across her underbelly. This is similar to Nut who would later become the exclusive sky goddess. Nut arches over her lover the earth, Geb, and is kept apart by the god of air Shu. In some myths Hathor is Re's husband, and Horus's mother, or Horus's husband, and Re's daughter. Her origins as one of the world's oldest goddesses make exact details difficult to determine however it is important to remember Kemetic theology does not place one truth over another. The concept of multiple truths is a common one in Kemetic myths and is used to rationalize how one deity can have so many roles or how many deities can have conflicting or similar roles.

Hathor is one of Kemet's oldest deities and as such she has gathered a number of different associations. Principally Het-Heru is a goddess of love, motherhood, healing/protection and music. In the conflict of Heru and Set, Hathor heals Heru's eyes with milk after they were ripped from him by Set. People often called on her to protect mothers during pregnancy and birth as well as driving out a number of normally illnesses. Hathor's most well known symbol are her cow horns and the sistrum, an instrument resembling the cow horns. The sistrum is a direct symbol of Hathor and many Kemetic sistrums were made to look like her. As a goddess of music the sistrum is especially sacred to her, but she loves all beautiful music and many musical instruments (in my experience especially stringed instruments). I used to play classical music on my altar, though I don't know if this is a common thing, and I received many signs that this was a pleasing offering.

Hathor is one of several goddesses given the title "the eye of Re" which groups them as powerful solar goddesses. There are many goddesses with this title and nearly all of them take on a feline form at one point or another. Although Hathor is almost always a cow goddess, or a woman with bovine characteristics, she has taken on the form of Sekhmet, a fierce lioness goddess in the past. The story goes that when Re lived as pharaoh the humans began to doubt his power and plotted to revolt. Re having learned of the plot sent Hathor to destroy his enemies and any who would disturb order in his kingdom. To do so Hathor transformed into a lioness goddess and slaughtered them and drank their blood. Her bloodlust became so extreme however she nearly devoured all of humanity and was only stopped once she became drunk on beer stained to look like blood. Sekhmet is a form of Hathor but also a separate goddess in her own right. Sekhmet represents the all consuming fire of Re and also Hathor's healing properties in the form of purification (since ancient people believed sickness was caused by spirits Sekhmet would destroy the spirits and thus cure people). This fierce protective deity was also the war goddess and guardian of upper Egypt (Bast was the guardian of lower Egypt).

Her other titles and epitaphs are indicative of her myriad of roles and importance in Kemetic society. Some such titles are "Lady of the West" where Hathor guides souls to the afterlife (which lay in the west and was connected with the setting sun), "Lady of the Southern Sycamore" shows her role as a goddess of mercy and healing where the Sycamore's branches give shade and rest to those who rest beneath them. Hathor has aspects for every part of birth, life and death. She protects mothers and births, she guides lovers, inspires music, protects and soothes souls on their journey to the afterlife, and sometimes acts as a judge of those souls. She is also referenced as the "seven Hathors" in funerary texts where her names are Lady of the Universe, Sky-Storm, You from the Land of Silence, You from Khemmis, Red-Hair, Bright Red, and Your Name Flourishes Through Skill and in the magical papyri where the names of the Hathors are different. According to myth the seven Hathors appear before babies at birth and decide it's fate, are called on during life for protection and assistance and in death take on the form of cows. In the book of the dead of Ani they are referenced for some spells to protect souls from demons while journeying to the land of the dead.

Het-Heru is so much more than just a love goddess. Her history is long and expansive and it would be impossible to tell you everything about her. As is I'm sure I've made some terrible oversight. Even today Het-Heru is still one of the most popular Kemetic deities and one who is more than willing to converse with those who wish to learn of her. She is also comparatively gentle when contrasted with other Egyptian deities as they tend to be extremely blunt and shocking when they want something (I've had things break, vivid hallucinations, ect. with some others but Hathor has never been outright terrifying). She is a beautiful, loving and caring goddess and if you love her she will love you. I hope I've helped in some way.

[Ektor]

Re: Love Goddess

Thank you! The only thing I'll really contest on your post is saying that she's not "simply" a Love Goddess, to me, this is a very powerful role to take! In my view of things (I really like the multiple truths thing) a Goddess who takes over love as her power is a very powerful being, seeing that love is one of the highest things in life for me. It might seem silly, but in this multiple aspects of her is where I see so much beauty. It's true that she's not just the love goddess, but in adition of her having all those magnificent things about her, she also is the lady of drunkeness, music and loving

[Corvus]

Re: Love Goddess

She is a lady of drunkeness, music and loving! She is a lady of life. Living life and enjoying it. What are the things most people can understand? Music is one of the oldest mediums people have to express their feelings and as long as people have had consciousness they have had love (possibly before too). Hathor presides over all aspects of a person's life from birth to after death and she is a celebration of everything between. Music, love, laughter, marriage, life, dancing, drukeness; these are all Hathor. She reminds us to enjoy life and love and the wonderful things about existence but also reminds us of the dangers involved by being there to protect and heal. Through the ages she has gained attributes and adapted to every culture such that her worship is relatively strong because she so ultimately represents the things which are important to nearly everyone.

[Ektor]

Re: Love Goddess

Very beautiful, indeed