White Moon Gallery

The Goddess Sekhmet has many qualities. She is known as the Goddess of fertility, war, death, protection, strength, and willpower. She can be a powerful ally and can help you to develop specific characteristics about yourself. Given that Sekhmet is considered to have great power, it is advisable that one establish a relationship with her before working with her. This page will provide you with some insights into how to begin such a relationship through the use of prayer, ritual, and magick.

There are some useful tools and symbols that you may wish to have that can help you connect with Sekhmet in prayer, ritual, and magickal settings. Symbols of Sekhmet include a lioness and the cobra. She is associated with the colors red, orange, and yellow. Stone such as tiger’s eye, amber, basalt, bloodstone, hematite, obsidian, and garnet can also be used to establish connections with her. You may choose to place these items on your altar when working with Sekhmet or you may wish to include them in rituals and spells.

One way to connect to Sekhmet is through prayer. Prayer beads can be made that represent Sekhmet’s sacred colors and symbols. To create your beads, you will first want to select stones from the list given above. Each of these stones represents qualities that are found in Sekhmet and that she can help you to promote. Therefore, you will want to read up on the stones before you select them.
Sekhmet’s sacred numbers are seven and five. You can apply these numbers in a variety of ways in thinking about your prayer beads. For example, you may want to select five different stones and include seven of each kind. You could make something smaller by simply using twelve stones total (7+5=12). You may wish to add a charm on the end of your beads such as the lioness or cobra.

Sekhmet is traditionally associated with banishment. She can help you to banish such things as enemies, bad situations/habits, and your own fears. Sekhmet is a Goddess of action. When you seek her help expect a response that is appropriate and that responds in the manner you requested. Therefore, it is important that you are explicit and clear about what you need when you interact with her.
Spells for Sekhmet typically work best under a full or a waning moon. If you choose to light a candle for your spell, you may use one of Sekhmet’s traditional colors (red, orange, or yellow) or you may use black, the traditional candle for banishment. I have always used black and found it to work very well.

Rituals involving Sekhmet can be performed for multiple purposes. You may design a ritual intended to ask Sekhmet for help with a problem, or you may construct a ritual because you wish to get to know Her better. In the rituals I have done involving Sekhmet, I have found her to be very responsive. I have always been able to sense her presence. For example, during one ritual I heard the words, “I’m here,” pass through my head. Towards the end of the ritual I heard, “I’m leaving,” go through my head. When I looked down, the candle I had lit to honor Sekhmet had gone out.

Some sample rituals for working with Sekhmet can be found online. This ritual, called, “A meeting with the Goddess Sekhmet,” (http://members.aol.com/MahesBast/Rituals/Sekhmet.htm), gives you detailed instructions for engaging in a meditation designed to help introduce and connect you with the Goddess. A second online ritual can be found here: http://moonpathcuups.org/rituals/lammas02.htm. This ritual is designed for those seeking Sekhmet’s help in making transitions in life.

Sekhmet can also help you in developing your masculine self. Qualities of the masculine self include understanding and accepting your ego, acknowledging that you love yourself, expressing your own charisma and essence, and being assertive (http://www.astrologymatch.com/woman7.htm). Sekhmet embodies many of these qualities and can therefore assist you in developing them yourself. Therefore, I have designed a ritual intended to help you connect with Sekhmet for these purposes.

Purpose of Ritual: To develop one or more masculine qualities.
Moon Phase: Full
Materials: The materials in this list are suggestions. They are here to provide you with ideas. You should use more or less depending on what you are comfortable with. I have done rituals with Sekhmet were all I have used is one white votive. My interactions with Sekhmet suggest that intentions, rather than actual materials, are what is most important when engaging with her.

1 Sage incense
2 Lighter
3 Candles (red, orange, or yellow). You should use as many as you would like. I don’t recommend black for this ritual since you are not banishing.
4 Statue or symbol of Sekhmet
5 Prepare in advance the quality that you would like to develop. Write this out on a piece of paper.
6 Burning dish

Outline of Ritual
1 Begin by cleansing yourself and your ritual space with sage incense.
2 Place your candles around the edge of your circle.
3 If possible, turn off all other lights in the room.
4 Cast the circle
5 Light your candles
6 Invite Sekhmet to join you. You might say the following:

“Goddess Sekhmet, I ask you to join me this evening
I respectfully request that you lend me your wisdom, guidance, and support.”

7 Pause for a moment and spend some time in silence. You may wish to meditate on the quality you would like to develop or you may simply sit and focus on your surroundings. I have found that this moment of silence helps me to recognize the presence of Sekhmet. It is possible that she may present herself to you in a different manner.
8 When you are ready, present your paper to Sekhmet. Read it aloud. An example of it could be:

“Goddess Sekhmet, I respectfully request you assistance in helping me to become
more assertive in my life. I ask that you provide me guidance and support in learning
how to develop this quality in such a way that it is beneficial to me, but harms no one.”

9 Burn this paper and release the energy you have put into your writing to Sekhmet.
10 Pause again for a moment of silence/meditation. Ask Sekhmet if she can provide you with one way to begin developing the quality you have requested. You may hear the answer in your head, it may come in a dream that evening, or it may appear over the next several days. As you meditate, visualize yourself enacting this new quality in a positive, beneficial manner.
11 Thank Sekhmet for attending your circle. My experiences suggest that Sekhmet is a very busy Goddess. She will show up for the meat of the ceremony, but when the significant part is over she may leave. You should thank her even if she has left.
12 Take down the circle.

References from the web
http://members.aol.com/MahesBast/Rituals/Sekhmet.htm
http://moonpathcuups.org/rituals/lammas02.htm
http://www.astrologymatch.com/woman7.htm
http://www.tattooheaven.com/Sekhmet.html
http://www.sekhmettemple.com/templexx.html
http://www.teenwitch.com/DEITY/KMT/SEKHMET.HTM
http://www.geocities.com/wulfwuman/sekhmet.html

Graphic Sources

www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/4821/index.html
http://worldzone.net/arts/rugosab/
http://members.tripod.com/~gwendolyn2499/pgs/egyptianimages.html
http://graphics.elysiumgates.com/index.html