Yesterday I bought another book. I can't help myself, when I pick up a book that talks to me, I have to have it. While driving home I was thinking about my love of books and remembered my grandmother telling me, "Books are your friends, always cherish them". She was so right. They are always there for me patiently waiting for the day when I will pick one of them off the shelf to give me the enjoyment, information or the inspiration I need.
I certainly don't have all the books I ever bought or that were given to me. Some were lost, loaned out and not returned, or given away gladly to someone who needed a particular book to get through a difficult time or sometimes given simply to share a book that inspired me.
There are books in every room of my house. On shelves, stacked on tables and always there are a few by my side in my sanctuary. I even have a kindle, which is very handy for traveling. I often carry it in my purse just so I'm not without a book. There is nothing, however, that compares to holding a book in my hands, turning the pages and savoring the written word.
Last night I picked up one of the books I read daily, "Goddesses for Every Day" by Julie Loar, and the Goddess for today, January 13, is the Egyptian Goddess Seshat.
Ah, sweet syncronicity! How appropriate... Seshat is the scribe.
The Ancient Egyptian Goddess of writing, the guardian of books.
She rules the written word in all it's forms. She was known as the Mistress of the House of Books as she was the Deity whose priests oversaw the library in which the scrolls of the most important knowledge were assembled and spells were preserved. She is the record keeper of the Gods, the Goddess of History, and the creator of hieroglyphics and mathmatics. Seshat is the Goddess of architecture, astronomy, astrology, building and surveying. And she assisted the Pharoah in the "stretching the cord" ritual which was the precise surveying and measurement related to laying out the temples and other important structures to determine and assure their sacred alignment with the stars when their foundations were laid.
She was believed to assist the pharaoh in important royal duties and it was she who kept a record of his life. She recorded the time allotted to him by the gods for his stay on earth. It was stated by Pharoah Tuthmosis III (1475-1425 BCE) that "Seshat opens the door of heaven for you".
Later, when the cult of the moon deity, Thoth, became prominent and he became identified as a god of wisdom, the role of Seshat changed in the Egyptian Pantheon when counterparts were created for most older deities. The lower ranks of her priestesses were displaced by the priests of Thoth. First, she was identified as his daughter, and later as his wife. However, as late as the eighteenth dynasty, in a temple constructed during the reign of Hatshepsut, there is an image of the pharaoh directing Thoth to obtain answers to important questions from Seshat.
Seshat is one of the most important Deities in the Egyptian Pantheon, what made future rulers deny her rightful place? Another deception in history, where the patriarchy changed the facts to boost their egos. How many more of these will we discover?
Here's a contemplation from the book Goddesses For Every Day,
As I lay the foundation for what I desire to build, I set my sights on the stars.
Jai Mata Di
No comments:
Post a Comment