Sekhmet

Egyptian Goddess of War, Destruction, Plague and Healing

Often pictured as a woman with the head of a lioness, Sekhmet was known as a fierce huntress. Though her reputation was primarily as a violent goddess, she was also a remarkably skilled healer. She could issue pestilence to those who wronged her, but also provided cures and healing.

She was closely associated with Hathor and Bastet, and was one of Ra’s daughters. Her husband was the creator god Ptah and her son Nefertum, god of sunrise.

The Eyes of Ra

Sekhmet was dedicated to the teachings of Ma’at, and was an arbiter of justice for Osiris. She was closely associated with the pharaoh and his kingship, and protected him in times of war.

She acted as the vengeful manifestation of Ra’s power, one of a group of other goddesses known collectively as the Eye of Ra. Sekhmet was said to breathe fire, and the hot winds of the desert were likened to her breath. She was also believed to cause plagues (which were called as her servants or messengers) although she was also called upon to ward off disease.

Her most enduring myth is a prime example of why the Atharim rose up against the gods. It goes as follows: Ra, angry at the waywardness of man, ripped out his eye and threw it down to earth. Thus was Sekhmet born to exact justice upon mankind. But her bloodlust was great, and Ra realised his mistake; soon there would be no men left. But none could calm her. So Ra filled a lake with beer and pomegranate juice, tricking her into believing it blood. Sekhmet drank the lake and fell asleep, the next morning awaking docile once more.

Though some versions of the tale state that she was so enraged by the deception that she left Egypt, diminishing the power of the sun. This threatened the power and security of the world—thus, she was persuaded by the god Thoth to return and restore the sun to its full glory.

During an annual festival held at the beginning of the year, a festival of intoxication, the Egyptians danced and played music to soothe the wildness of the goddess and drank great quantities of beer and wine ritually to imitate the extreme drunkenness that stopped the wrath of the goddess—when she almost destroyed humanity.

Other Lives

Her soul is the archetypal protector, and she often pledges to figures in authority; kings, queens, and leaders of men. Often her deeds are remembered heroically.

1st Age: Morven Kinnaird, former ER doctor currently serving the Ascendancy’s Nine Dominions.

3rd Age: Devika Sirideán, Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah