Monday, May 30, 2011


If I were an Egyptian goddess I would be the one you see above, called Seshat. Also known as Sesheta and Sashat, she was the goddess of writing and the wife of the god Thoth. Seshat is associated with the sacred Persea tree where all the royal names of the king were written at the time of his coronation. Seshat means "Female Scribe" and was also called "The Mistress of Books" Most likely indicating that she was in charge and also took care of Thoth's library of spells and scrolls. Seshat was seen as the goddess of writing, historical records, accounting and mathematics, measurement and architecture to the ancient Egyptians.

The Egyptians believed that Seshat invented writing, while Thoth taught writing to mankind. She was depicted as a woman wearing a panther-skin dress (the garb of the funerary stm priests) and a headdress that was also her hieroglyph which may represent either a stylised flower or seven (or nine) pointed star on a standard that is beneath a set of down-turned horns. (The horns may have originally been a crescent, linking Seshat to the moon and hence to her spouse, the moon god of writing and knowledge,Thoth.) Seshat was thought to be linked with the goddess Nephthys who was given the title 'Seshat, Foremost of Builders' in the Pyramid texts where it is said that she helped the pharaohs set the foundations of temples with indication that she set the axis by the aid of the stars. She was also identified with Isis. Safekh-Aubi (Sefekh-Aubi) is a title that came from Seshat's headdress, that may have become an aspect of Seshat or an actual goddess. Safekh-Aubi means 'She Who Wears the Two Horns' and relates to the horns that appear above Seshat's standard.
Other names assocated with Seshat is The Enumerator, Lady of writings, Head of the House of Divine Books (Archives).

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