Seshat

Seshat was the Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge, writing, and measurement. While less prominent than other major goddesses like Isis or Hathor, Seshat played an essential role in ancient Egyptian society, particularly in matters related to record-keeping, architecture, mathematics, and the management of time. She was the divine scribe and a counterpart to Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing, and was often depicted as assisting the pharaoh in official ceremonies, ensuring that everything was recorded accurately and in accordance with divine law.

Seshat is usually depicted as a woman wearing a long, flowing dress, holding a scribe’s tools, such as a stylus and a palm stem. Her most distinguishing feature is the emblem on her head: a seven-pointed star or rosette, often accompanied by a bow or crescent-shaped structure above it. This symbol’s exact meaning is still debated by scholars, but it likely signifies her connection to the stars, mathematics, and celestial order.

In her hand, Seshat often carries a notched palm rib or reed that represents the passing of time and the measurement of years, symbolizing her role in keeping accurate time records. In some depictions, she also holds a scroll or a pen, further emphasizing her identity as a goddess of writing and record-keeping.

The Lady of Writing

Seshat’s most prominent role was as the goddess of writing, record-keeping, and archives. In a society where writing was seen as a sacred activity, intimately connected to the divine order of Ma’at (the concept of truth, balance, and justice), Seshat was the ultimate authority over all forms of writing. This included not only religious texts and monumental inscriptions but also administrative records, historical documents, and mathematical calculations.

As a divine scribe, Seshat was often depicted recording the accomplishments of the pharaohs, particularly their victories in battle, their offerings to the gods, or their construction projects. She was believed to have the ability to capture the pharaoh’s legacy for eternity, making her an essential figure in ensuring the king’s immortality through the written word.

While Thoth, her male counterpart, is often associated with more abstract wisdom and divine speech, Seshat’s role was more practical and technical, focusing on the meticulous documentation and preservation of knowledge. Together, they formed a complementary pair, with Seshat managing the recording of the knowledge that Thoth possessed.

The Lady of Builders

Seshat’s connection to architecture and construction is one of her most significant aspects. She was regarded as the “Mistress of Builders” and was involved in the ritual known as the “stretching of the cord,” a ceremony that marked the laying out of the foundations for temples, pyramids, and other important buildings. This ceremony was symbolic of bringing divine order into the material world through precise measurement and alignment.

Mistress of the House of Books

Seshat was closely associated with the recording of time. In many depictions, she holds a notched palm frond or reed, symbolizing the years she has recorded. This notched reed represented the passage of time, and Seshat’s role as a timekeeper made her responsible for measuring the reigns of kings, the lengths of dynasties, and important historical events. In this way, she was the guardian of the royal annals, the official record of the deeds of the pharaohs. As a guardian of sacred texts and the keeper of knowledge, libraries and archives in temples were dedicated to her, where religious texts, legal documents, and astronomical charts were stored and maintained. She was invoked in contexts where knowledge had to be preserved, whether it was for the purposes of law, education, or religion.

Thoth

Seshat is often seen as a female counterpart or consort to Thoth, the god of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. While Thoth was associated with divine speech, creation, and the abstract principles of wisdom, Seshat was more focused on the practical and technical aspects of recording and documenting that knowledge. Together, they represented a duality of divine wisdom: Thoth as the speaker and creator of ideas, and Seshat as the recorder and preserver of those ideas.

Rebirths

1st Age – Katya Alokhin