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Episode 116: Egyptian Deities pt.2
380 Plays4 months ago
Welcome back, Witches! In this episode, we delve into the fascinating myths and roles of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification and the afterlife, and Hathor, the nurturing goddess of love, beauty, and joy. So get in, losers, we're exploring ancient Egypt's divine mysteries in our Egyptian Deities pt.2 Episode this week!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at [email protected]. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
References:
- Rittika Dhar, "Hathor: Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Many Names", History Cooperative, March 22, 2023, https://historycooperative.org/hathor/. Accessed June 6, 2024
- Getty. Who was Hathor?: Goddess Worship in Ancient Nubia. https://www.getty.edu/news/who-was-hathor-egyptian-goddess-ancient-nubia/
- 10 Interesting Facts about Hathor: Goddess of Motherhood. Sound & Light Egypt. https://soundandlight.show/en/blog/10-interesting-facts-about-hathor
- Old World Gods (n.d.). The Weighing of the Heart and Judgement by Osiris: An Ancient Egyptian Ritual. Old World Gods. https://oldworldgods.com/egyptians/weighing-of-the-heart-and-judgment-by-osiris/
- Joshua J. Mark (2016). Anubis. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Anubis/
- Kitty Fields (2020). Anubis Egyptian God of the Dead: 12 Ways to Work with Him. Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/anubis-egyptian-god/
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser, we're doing witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches as we discover more about the ancient Egyptian deities Anubis and Hathor.
Podcasting Evolution Challenges and Growth
00:00:43
Speaker
So you know what I was just thinking about as i was um as we were recording just now? Do you remember when we first started out and we had the intro at the top and the outro at the bottom but and we would record the intro and then we'd scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll to the very bottom to record the outro before we would actually, you know, obviously record what we were talking about. And I don't know what, maybe just think of that. But I almost started laughing reading the outro. So yeah, I thought that was really funny. Well, also, we had to do it in like separate recordings. So it would be like intro, episode, whatever. Yeah. Outro, episode, and whatever. Body, episode, whatever. And then we'd have to piece them together.
00:01:30
Speaker
Oh my god. We've learned a lot over the years. We have, yeah. Just think about how far we've come. And listen, here's the thing. Back when we first started, we were literally using my university's Zoom account. for free. yeah And then like, and it worked for a little while after I graduated too. Like it was, yeah, it worked for a while. Yeah, it took them a whole long time to kick us off that. Yeah, all of a sudden we couldn't use zoom. And one then I used the the healthier together one when I was working for healthier together. But it wasn't a paid subscription. So we only had 30 minutes. So then it would be like, intro one recording, outro one recording, body two to three recordings.
00:02:16
Speaker
And then we would edit, and we're like, which one are you? You're you're part one, part two? Okay. Yes. Literally, like it was such a hassle. It was. Just think about the dedication it took for all of those episodes, guys. Until Anthony was like, this is a gift from Podcast Bay. Here's Sin Caster. it oh hail to podcast being we love know yeah
00:02:44
Speaker
oh man I forgot that we use the university one. Yeah. Honestly, I think I blocked all of that out of my mind because the Zoom recording sessions were such a pain. They really were ah recording in progress.
00:03:04
Speaker
It got to the point that every time we hit record, we would both be like, recording in progress.
00:03:11
Speaker
Oh, God. What a mess. Here we are today. Yeah. Who does that? Much better. I'm to pour myself coffee. So listeners, this isn't
Cultural Curiosities: Coffee Pots and Japanese Innovations
00:03:24
Speaker
pee. Okay. that is i'm watching draw extra I'm actually recording from my bathroom. I brought extra coffee. I was like, it's in a double cup of coffee day. So I put it in the thermos to keep it warm because I have a German coffee pot. and you know They're all about like saving energy out here. And so it shuts off. like The warmer shuts off after it's been on for, like I think it's 30 minutes or 40 minutes. That's rude. Yeah. So if I want more than one cup of coffee, I have to like pop it in a thermos or just make one cup at a time. Yeah. Well, it's just like, okay, but here's the thing. why like I know you're about energy conservation, but
00:04:06
Speaker
if they were in Japan, they would have found a way to conserve energy and also keep your coffee warm. Come on. Right. I know. I love, I'm so jealous of like all the products that you have access to over there. Like I watch videos on like TikTok or Instagram of like all the different like technology and organizational things over there. And I'm like, I want all of it. Oh yeah. Even just the way that like i don't like they thought about It's like they think about everything. yeah yeah They have a solution for it and I'm just like, well, damn, I love this. I crack up at the like videos where it'll be it'll be like a husband and wife in bed sleeping and then look like she'll look over and see that the husband's asleep and then she gets up and she starts unpacking all these things and like organizing and cleaning and I'm like, who does this?
00:04:53
Speaker
Right? Yeah. But also, I want all of those things. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Go ahead and give me this teeny, tiny washing machine that no one needs on my countertop. Yeah. But that I pump and then it runs. Yeah, that I pump. But what if I was at a hotel somewhere and I really need... Maybe I shit my underwear 10 times and I really need to wash my panties. This is perfect. One is worst nightmare. The power goes out. I have this little pump one. What are we talking about?
Deep Dive: Who is Anubis?
00:05:26
Speaker
We're talking about Egyptian deities. I love this Pantheon. The more like we've only done one, this is only our second, but like the more I learn about them, they're so interesting. They are. I will say though, I kind of wish we had more
00:05:43
Speaker
like documented lore on and just stories and stuff because some of the stories it's like well it could be this or it could be that but I feel the same too anytime we cover like Greek and Roman mythology because it's it's the same way where it's like it could be this oh my yeah today we're gonna be all over the place with mine because it's like is this her husband is this her son but also maybe not either like could be her uncle I don't know it's wild I'm excited about that yeah yeah it's all and there's some really funny shit in mine I cannot wait um yeah I don't know if you read through any of my notes it gets out of hand very quickly oh I love that
00:06:26
Speaker
Well, I guess without further ado, let me just kick it off. I'm going to start with Anubis, not as funny and probably not as cool, but I still think Anubis is pretty cool. I feel like Anubis is pretty cool. I looked up some of his lore too. Yes, I love it. Yeah. So, okay. Anubis, also known as Inpu or Anpu, or spelt I-N-P-W, and I don't know how to say that, so I'm just not going to... Yeah, probably. Just a you noise. A you noise, yeah. Is an Egyptian deity and the name Anubis comes from the Egyptian word for decay. So he's the Egyptian god of mummification, funerary rites, guardian of tombs, and a guide to the afterlife, as well as the patron god of lost souls and the helpless.
00:07:18
Speaker
And they're also associated with eternal justice. Anubis was a protector of the dead who made sure the dead received their rights of burial and stood by them in the afterlife to assist in their resurrection. He is one of the oldest gods in Egyptian mythology, and he may have developed with the jackal god, Wepuawet. And I looked up how to say this because I was like, there's no way it's how it's felt, but it is. That's surprising. Yeah. And he is often confused with this dude. He was a deity of funerary rights, war, and royalty as well, so I mean, obviously it's kind of... you can see where the confusion would be. Anubis was seen in royal tombs in ancient Egypt from the first dynasty of Egypt, which is circa 3150 to 2890 BCE. But researchers say that he had to have a cult following well before this to even be put on the walls for protection. So really like he just predates that time.
00:08:20
Speaker
essentially. And there's speculation that he was developed in response to wild dogs and jackals digging up newly buried corpses. And in ancient Egypt, they believed that a powerful canine god was the best protection against wild canines. So for those of you who don't know what he looked like, he is depicted as a black canine, a jackal dog hybrid with pointed ears or as a muscular man with the head of a jackal. And black was chosen because of the symbolism that the color had. Black symbolized the decay of the body as well as the fertile soil of the Nile River Valley, which represented regeneration in life. Going into some mythology and lore, the epithets associated with Anubis, he was known as
00:09:06
Speaker
The first of the Westerners, prior to the rise of Osiris, Westerners was the Egyptian word for departed souls in the afterlife because they lay westward in the direction of the sunset. They're not actually talking about like people who are from the west, FYI. um and additionally He was known as the Lord of the Sacred Land, which is referencing the area of the desert where the necropolis was located, um which was an extensive burial ground in ancient Egypt. um Also as the ruler of the Nine Boughs, which references a phrase used for traditional enemies of ancient Egypt, who were represented as nine captives bowing before the king. The dog who swallows millions, which is referring to his role as the God of death.
00:09:53
Speaker
The Master of Secrets, as he knew what awaited beyond death, he who is the place of embalming, which is signifying his role in the mummification process, and foremost of the divine booth, referencing his presence in the embalming booth and burial chamber, so he had a lot of epithets. As far as parentage and origin
Modern Witchcraft: Honoring Anubis
00:10:15
Speaker
it's pretty murky because there's a couple of different stories and some more he was considered the son of raw and i looked everywhere trying to figure out how to say this and people kept or not people google kept trying to auto correct what i was typing and.
00:10:32
Speaker
And I'm like, I don't know how to say this. So I'm just going to say, Hesset or he sat. I don't know. yeah um But also associated with Hathor, which I thought was a cool connection because I wasn't expecting to read that. Nope. We do this all the time. We sure do. um So that's one of his like origin stories. But the other is that connected to Osiris. And so he was said to be the son of Osiris and Osiris's sister-in-law, Nephthys. In this origin story, Nephthys was the wife of Osiris's brother, Set, and she was super attracted to Osiris. And so the story goes that she transformed to appear to Osiris as Isis, who was Osiris's wife. And Osiris slept with Nephthys because he thought
00:11:23
Speaker
She was his wife, and she became pregnant with Anubis, but soon abandoned him when he was a baby, as she was afraid so I would find out. Isis found out about the affair and went searching for the infant. And when she found Anubis, she adopted him as her own and said, I know, right? That's kind of sad, but also sweet that, you know, you've got a mom. Also, a lot of Isis crossover in mind. Interesting. We're talking about her a lot today, too. Yeah. Set, though, he eventually found out about the affair, and this was said to be part of the reason why he murdered Osiris. And in this lore, Anubis is seen as Osiris's protector and right-hand man, which is also another epithet. And he protects Osiris's body in the afterlife and would assist in Osiris in the judgment of souls and mummification. So Anubis is the earliest Egyptian deity depicted on tomb walls for protection of the dead.
00:12:23
Speaker
and usually depicted tending the corpse of the king, presiding over funerals or mummification rites. He is also seen standing next to Osiris and Thoth at the weighing of the heart of the soul and the hall of the truth in the afterlife, which is like a really long fucking sentence. intense So this was part, this whole like weighing of the heart of the soul in the Hall of the Truth is part of this whole ancient Egyptian afterlife system that they had. So they believed that the body and soul were separated and judged in the Hall of the Two Truths by Osiris.
00:12:59
Speaker
And judgment was based on the heart of the deceased, which was weighed against the feather of Maat, the goddess of justice and balance. And if the heart was pure, the deceased would achieve eternal peace in the afterlife. But if the heart was heavy with wrongdoing, the heart would be devoured by Amet, which ended in eternal death. So Anubis would hold the golden scales that would measure the weight of the heart and help with the judgment that way. So his daughter is said to be Kebit who brings water to the souls of the dead in the Hall of Truth and comforts the newly deceased, which I thought that's kind of fucking cute. I mean, yeah sweet, I guess. I don't know if cute would be the correct word there. But yeah I love that like while he's depicted so much with like death and um the underworld and things like that, knowing that like essentially it's not bad, like it's like
00:13:56
Speaker
he's watching over and protecting. yeah that So looking into how they worshiped Anubis back in ancient Egypt, the priests of Anubis were often male and they often wore masks of the god made of wood while performing rituals. Anubis' cult center was in Upper Egypt in Sinopolis, which was the city of the dog, but there were shrines of him throughout ancient Egypt and he was worshipped and revered throughout the area. He does not appear in many major
00:14:29
Speaker
myths within ancient Egypt. But even still, he was very popular and the legends and lore and just myths that he is associated with have lived on. And he was also associated with gods and other lands as well. So for an example of this, In ancient Greek mythology, they tied Anubis with Hermes, who guided the dead to the afterlife, and he was seen as a super-canid who offered people assurance that their body would be respected in death and their soul would be protected in the afterlife and would receive a fair judgment.
00:15:02
Speaker
So let's look at some ways to work with Anubis and to honor him if you are so inclined. Anubis is a popular deity to work with among many witches and pagans because of his association with life after death, judgment, and protection. Kitty Fields from Otherworldly Oracle lists many different ways to work with and honor Anubis, and I have her article linked in our show notes, but here are a few of the ways she suggests. The first is to read about Anubis. Go back and do your own research about Anubis and read more about his lore and mythology. While I mentioned earlier that Anubis isn't featured too much in many ancient Egyptian myths, there are many books about the Egyptian pantheon, blogs, and even novels that talk about Anubis.
00:15:49
Speaker
It's also recommended to read the Egyptian Book of the Dead to get a better understanding of the funerary practice that he was so closely linked with as a way to honor him and to work with him. Next, what you might want to do is set up a sacred altar space, and for this you'd want to set up a space for him to include things like an altar cloth, black and gold candles, and a statue or a drawing of him and incense would be a great way to start. And then if you wanted to add any offerings, and you can show him gratitude and your desire to work with him with regular offerings and some of the things that he liked relate to the mummification process. so
00:16:27
Speaker
things like mummified dolls and figurines and anything dog-related such as dog toys and collars, which I thought was cute. That is cute. And then additionally, you would want a fresh bowl of water and incense like frankincense, myrrh, and kaifi. And kaifi is an incense used in ancient Egyptian religious and medicinal practices and it consists of copo resin, palo santo mixed with yerba santa, lemon, verbena, cinnamon, and vanilla. And then- That sounds delightful. Doesn't it? Yeah. Sounds like it would smell so good. Yeah. I wonder if, like, I'm sure there is, like, because there was, like, instructions on how to make it online. I'm sure you can even buy, like, I'm sure there's sellers that that that make it, and so I want to get some. And then also another great offering for most deities is beer and wine, but that works as well.
00:17:22
Speaker
Also a great way to work with him is to use his real name when you are calling to work with him. So I mentioned above that his name originated from the ancient Egyptian word for decay which is the word anpu and this is what his name is in ancient Egypt. Like that's that's what they called him. The name Anubis though came from the ancient Romans And so it said, like if you really want to honor him, don't use the Roman version of his name. Use the Egyptian version of his name. But you could also refer to him by any of the epithets that I mentioned earlier. So for those of you who don't remember, this is First of the Westerners, Lord of the Sacred Land, Ruler of the Nine Boughs, the dog who swallows millions, Master of Secrets, he who is the place of embalming, foremost of the divine booth, or the right hand of Osiris.
00:18:12
Speaker
And what you would also want to do, and this is something that you know working with any of these deities, obviously it should be a very personal practice, but one thing I love about this work, if you're wanting to connect with Anubis, is the fact that it is all of these things that I've mentioned are things that anyone can do, and it's very easy. so The last thing that I have on here is to engage in regular shadow work. As Anubis is the god of death and the underworld and aids in the soul's judgment in the afterlife, he calls us to face the hidden aspects of ourselves. Our fears, traumas, dislikes, and anything else about us that is hidden from plain sight. And he can help guide you in your healing work because of, I guess,
00:18:55
Speaker
what he's tied to when it comes to judgment and the afterlife and you know the shadows and secrets and whatnot. So all that being said I think Anubis would be a great god to work with if you feel so inclined and there are many ways that you can also connect to him outside of the
Exploring Hathor's Mythology
00:19:14
Speaker
things that I mentioned. These were I think just a few of the things that I felt more, it felt like it was easy to do and very much within reach of anyone regardless of what your practice looks like, you can find something to connect with him with. So that is a little bit about Anubis.
00:19:32
Speaker
I love that. He seems like such a almost like calming God. Yeah. or Like a wise deity who isn't quick to like, you know, cause some of these deities are like, Oh yeah, I'm going to fucking, you know, be, I don't know, like quick to not just judge, but quick to like shame you or something. If you, they're not doing something that they, or you're not doing something that they agree with or like, yeah you're not honoring them correctly. It feels like he's a pretty cool fucking dude. Yeah. well Well, buckle up because we're about to talk about Hathor and it's going to be a wild journey. um I love it. ah So just a heads up. There's a ton of information about the goddess Hathor. So this is just going to be like a very small but still deep dive into this deity. Her lore is
00:20:22
Speaker
all over the place. She's tied to so many things, deities, mythology, and her history literally dates back to 2300 BCE, so there's a lot out there on her. Should you be interested in Hathor, you have a ton of information to look through, but this should give you like a baseline to get you started at the very least. So Hathor is a goddess of many names, so get ready for this list because she's known as the Primeval Goddess, Lady of the Holy Country, Lady of the West, the Distant Goddess, Lady of the Volva, the foremost one in the Bark of Millions, Lady of the Southern Sycamore, Hathor of the Sycamore, Hathor of the Sycamore in all her places,
00:21:04
Speaker
the Hand of God, the Mistress of the Desert, Mistress of Life, Mistress of Heaven, Mistress of the Offering, Mistress of Turquoise, Woman of Delights, Mother of Mothers, and Lady of the Stars. So if you come across any of those names in any research you're doing, it's all Hathor! yeah Jesus Christ. My favorite fun fact about a couple of her names is that the names Hand of God and Lady of the Volva were supposed to refer to the act of masturbation. I'm obsessed with this. I love this so much. She's my favorite God.
00:21:39
Speaker
ah's How can I work with her? She is so funny. I can't wait. So she's considered one of the more important deities within the Egyptian pantheon and her name means estate of Horus or the house of Horus, which in a way makes sense because she has a lot of ties to Horus in her mythology. But that part gets like super, super murky. So depending on what source you're reading, Hathor sometimes identified as the wife of the god Horus and the mother of the pharaohs, while other times she's said to have been the mother of Horus, who is the god of the sky and Ra, the sun god. While there's even some sources that say that she's the daughter of Ra and is referred to as the eye of Ra, and that's a title that she is said to share with Bast and Sekhmet. So and like it just depends on what source you're reading on like who she is in the story.
00:22:29
Speaker
And one explanation that I found to some of this confusion is that if you take the literal translation of Hathor, meaning house of Horus, the house would be considered the womb. So meaning the womb of Horus, making her Horus's mother. But that's only like half of the scholars that study her believe that. So I don't really know. There's a lot of different, just a lot of different stories that have her playing each of these roles. So I guess honestly, it just depends. That explanation made the most sense to me, though. Hathor has been depicted in many roles, but one of the most important roles that she took up was being the queen of Egypt. She was often tied to royalty, and many Egyptian kings were sometimes depicted as suckling from the goddess, as the mother of the pharaohs, like both in her human and cow forms. Her role as the mother of all pharaohs also puts her in the category of a creator deity, but there's going to be a lot of conflict there. She has a lot of conflict in her history.
00:23:27
Speaker
So, she is known as the goddess of love, lust, beauty including cosmetics, music, movement, dancing, sensuality, maternity, motherhood, queenship, fertility, love, emotion, joy, wine, drunkenness, and pleasure, as well as the protector of women and the protector of the dead as they cross over. Her role in protecting the dead during their crossing also puts her in the category of a death deity, which is completely opposite of her being a creator deity, though I learned that she often contradicts her own abilities and roles with her other abilities and roles. She's also considered the patron saint of miners, and she's had various minds named after her. Hathor is often depicted as a cow in Egyptian art, but her most common depiction is of a woman wearing a cow's horns or their ears,
00:24:17
Speaker
And there's also a sun disk that appears between the horns in her human form, and a lot of times this is depicted as the eye of Ra. It's also said that she was known to take the form of cats, lions, serpents, and a sycamore tree, and geese, though cows were the most common outside of her human form. But no matter her form, she was said to have portrayed spectacular beauty, and this also earned her the right of the patron of cosmetic art. Hathor was said to have two sides to her personality. The first side was a softer and more nurturing side, seeing as she was the goddess of motherhood, love, sexuality, beauty, joy, etc. And the other side was said to have been vengeful, as she has been noted in some versions of her lore to have been the protector of Ra, as well as the goddess who helped souls transition to the afterlife. Her duality specifically is thought to be what ancient Egyptians considered to be the epitome of femininity, which I thought was really cool.
00:25:10
Speaker
Hathor wore mini hats, and often these roles and attributes tended to contradict each other like I said earlier, but somehow they still worked together. and So while she was not a deity that had like a minor domain, she was actually the preeminent goddess of the early Egyptians, playing a role in the lives of all people from birth up to their travel into the
Honoring Hathor: Rituals and Joy
00:25:31
Speaker
afterlife. So she's just like kind of a deity of everything essentially. And so like she's part of the fertility and motherhood and like that whole process. And then you go through your life and she's part of like joy and sexuality and feeling and having fun and drunkenness and like all of these things. And then she's also a goddess of crossing over into the afterlife. So she does a little bit of everything, which is crazy. She's like the epitome of like, God is a woman. Like, yeah, honestly, that is amazing.
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah, so her equivalent in Greek mythology is said to be the goddess Aphrodite, but she also shares basically all of her physical attributes with the goddess Isis. Hathor was worshipped across ancient Egypt and Nubia from royal temples to domestic family altars, being considered one of the most important divinities in ancient Egyptian and Nubian pantheons, where the oldest evidence of worship can be found in Egypt in the Old Kingdom or the earliest period which was around 2300 BCE. Her depiction was often found on jewelry throughout most of ancient Egypt's history, and many pieces from this era like found in museums today have her image on them. It was also noted by Salange Ashby, who is a scholar of ancient Egyptian and Nubian pantheons, that worshipping Hathor could be described almost as an ancient Egyptian rave.
00:26:49
Speaker
Hathor was honored through singing, dancing, sexuality. I thought it was weird that they threw childbirth in here. I don't know what childbirth has to do with raves, but it's on the list. Maybe like and they would dance themselves into childbirth. I mean i just i don't know. I don't know, yeah but childbirth and drunkenness in both spiritual and physical forms. Temple ceremonies dedicated to Hathor often included singing and dancing, and there are depictions of rites and ceremonies carved into many temple walls. These ceremonies would be playful, sensual, and sometimes explicitly sexual. Due to a piece of information that I'll be sharing in the next section, the practice of showing your vulva was part of worshipping her,
00:27:33
Speaker
as well, and this practice is also found in the Greek world too, and it's known as anasirma, or the exposure of genitals as part of religious rituals or humor. And one of the most common forms of worshiping Hathor was thought to be wearing cosmetics, so like putting on makeup. So a little bit about her mythology and lore. Hathor is tied to so many myths and legends. There's so much lore surrounding her, and some of the most popular are the following. So often in the times of the New Kingdom of Egypt, Hathor and Isis were worshipped as one goddess, and the reason goes a little like this. Basically, Horus is said to have gotten furious with his mother Isis over one of her conflicts with his uncle Seth. So while she was sleeping, Horus cuts off Isis's head. And upon waking, because beheading doesn't kill her apparently, she puts on the first head that she finds, which is a cow's head, thus the image of Hathor was born.
00:28:31
Speaker
Another story states that Hathor is a reformed version of Sekhmet, but this one is kind of all over the place too. So in this version, Ra is basically over humanity, so he unleashes Sekhmet to destroy and punish them for their wickedness. After having destroyed most of humanity, Sekhmet takes a break to have a drink, thinking that it's human blood but it's actually a red beer. She passes out and when she wakes up, she's Hathor, which is like the complete opposite of her former self. This is what ties Hathor to being the goddess of joy and drunkenness.
00:29:03
Speaker
There's also another version of this story where Hathor was transformed into Sekhmet by Ra to wreak havoc and that it's the red beer and sleep that transforms her back to her, like, fun-loving self again. And so, like, I don't really know. Her mythology is all over the place. another story which this is hilarious to me but also a little weird. So apparently Hathor would cheer up Ra whenever he was like feeling down or mad by showing her her Volva. She would basically just flash her Volva at him. But it's also a little weird considering she's probably his mom or maybe even his daughter depending on which version of the lore you're reading.
00:29:45
Speaker
right? ah But it says that like, those are problematic. She would do this in humor. Essentially, she'd be like, ha ha, here's my vulva. And he'd be like, oh I feel better now. The magical vulva. Yeah. Oh my god. I was cracking up reading this. But then I was also like, okay, this is a little bit weird. Like Paul CPS. Okay. Yeah. And then some stories claim that Hathor was the personification of the Milky Way, that she basically was the cosmos, and that in her cow form she produced a milk that became the sky and the stars flowing out of her udders, which I thought was a really cool explanation of the Milky Way. Yeah, I like that.
00:30:28
Speaker
There are a ton of other like crazy wild lore and mythology sound surrounding her, so if you are interested in Hathor, definitely do some research because I could have talked about that all by itself as a single episode. She has some of the funniest stories. She has to be one of the funniest deities. So if you want to work with Hathor, some correspondences that would be good would be for colors, gold, bronze, copper, and turquoise. For metals, surprise, surprise, gold, bronze, and copper. For stones, another surprise surprise took place. Animal correspondences would be cows, cats, lions, cobras, or serpents and geese since these are all forms that she takes on herself.
00:31:15
Speaker
Symbols are mirrors, sycamore trees, any of the animals already mentioned, and she's often tied to the sky, stars, and sun, just not the moon. um And then another fun fact, the sycamore tree is said to have been tied to Hathor due to the milky sap that it produced, and the sap being this sap came to represent fertility because it looked like jizz, apparently. lovely yeah i ah So stick and more trees if you're if you're into those. Pretty much all musical instruments, but if you're wanting to get like extremely specific, the systrum is a favorite of hers, and apparently these are like a rattle-like instrument.
00:31:54
Speaker
um For offerings, just remember she's known as a goddess of drunkenness, so wine, um red beers specifically, but basically any alcohol is considered like a good offering to her. um Also offerings of mirrors or cosmetic palettes were some of the most common ancient offerings given to her. ways to honor her. So basically celebration in all forms. Like she is a party goddess, essentially. She's the goddess that enjoys a good celebration. So if you're someone who kind like consumes alcohol, have a drink, put on some music, and dance.
00:32:31
Speaker
Applying and wearing makeup, she's known as the patron of cosmetics and a goddess of beauty. So if you really want to honor and work with her, just spend a little extra time in front of the mirror applying your makeup. Apparently this is one of the most common practices in ancient Egypt for those that honored and worked with her or worshipped her. Oh, that's really cool. Yeah, I thought so too. I was like, what an easy, accessible thing for anyone. And again, it's one of those things like if you're in the broom closet and you don't want, you know, your family or anyone knowing that you are, you know, worshiping a deity or working with a deity, nobody's gonna question you putting on makeup. ah Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
00:33:11
Speaker
um Worship of Hathor and her temples in Egypt was all about the unrestrained joy of life that involved copious amounts of drinking and dancing. To work with and honor Hathor, you'll need to be able to like to embrace this, but obviously like do so responsibly and safely. You could also simply just hold a feast with those that you feel your most free and authentic self with so that you're not trying to hold back. Rather, you're able to just let go and have a great time. Get comfortable in your sexuality and your sensuality. Spend time exploring them and expressing them. If you have a partner, you can do this together, obviously. Many of Hathor's ancient worshippers and religious rites were said to be explicitly sexual, so just really embrace what that means to you. But again, like do this safely and only do what you're comfortable doing.
00:33:59
Speaker
And because she was such a nurturing deity, acts of care and service to others that are in need would be a great way to honor her. This could be things like caring for a loved one, volunteering at a shelter, a senior center, a nursing home, etc. Like just anywhere that you could spend time caring for others and helping people in need would be a great way to honor her. And really, at the end of the day, just embracing and finding joy within your life because she was all about just joy, fun, sensuality, sexuality, like whatever makes you happy, that is a way to work with her and honor her.
Closing Thoughts and Listener Engagement
00:34:34
Speaker
Yeah, wow. And that is a very small but still deep dive into Hathor because man, you could read for days on her. I was falling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. She sounds awesome. I love her. Yeah, she sounded like so much fun, but also like so nurturing and caring. Yeah, my kind of goddess.
00:34:55
Speaker
We had some really great gods and goddesses this episode. It wasn't anyone that's like, I'm going to strike you down. Right? Or like, but this one is fun. That's why I just sound like a great time. Yeah. And Anubis just sounds so like calm and collected. He's like a chill daddy. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Love it. What a great episode. I know. But that's it.
00:35:27
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a 5 star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and obtain exclusives, like getting episodes early, shoutouts on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GiddinWitches, or email us at we'redoingwitchcraftatgino.com. Join us next week as we most likely scare ourselves with a much needed and very much crisp, spooky episode of MLM for most witch witches.