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    The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

    Ptah is the deity I consider as my patron for his role as the lord of the arts, truth, and justice. However I have also been continually fascinated by the Goddess Sekhmet who is considered his wife. I know the stories of how they supposedly met and according to them, Sekhmet was actually quite in love with Ptah from what they suggested. I feel that in order to understand my patron I must also understand the one who he married. Is there any further information as to what the marriage of Ptah and Sekhmet is believed to be like? I understand the connection between creation and destruction aspect of it, but I was wondering if anything further was said of their union other than they sired Nefertum and Maahes.

    #2
    Re: The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

    Edit: Gah, I think I briefly lost control of my computer and it went bananas. >_< I think everything's okay now.

    I've never actually heard of the story of the marriage between Ptah and Sekhmet, though I do know they're a couple.

    There's some esoteric theology behind the union, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear about my research, so I deleted that portion of my reply. The Eyes of Ra--Bast, specifically, with a bit of Tefnut, Het-Heru, and a daaaash of Sekhmet--are my focus of study, and I'm crazy about them.

    If you're interested in delving deeper into the relationship between Ptah and Sekhmet, I would recommend also looking into the relationship between Atum and Bast. Why? Because the Atum-Bast-Maahes triad has an Upper Egyptian counterpart in Ptah-Sekhmet-Nefertum. By understanding Atum and Bast, you will gain insight into Ptah and Sekhmet.

    Do be careful, though, because at some point extrapolations break down. For example, as Sekhmet and Bast are both Eyes of Ra, conclusions drawn on one can often be applied to the other; however, they are not the same goddess and therefore cannot be considered the same (even though some Egyptologists--Meeks, Malek, and Assman, I think--treat all the Eyes as manifestations of one goddess, usually Sekhmet).

    Creator deities such as Ptah and Atum are easier to compare, because surviving texts are more explicit about the various equivalences between different creators. If I recall correctly, Atum is named as a "power" of Ptah's tongue or something like that, so understanding that power will help you gain a fuller picture of your patron.

    Haha, I guess I went on longer than I intended. Hope my rambling helped you out at least a bit.
    Blog: http://thestarsafire.tumblr.com

    Kuchi wa wazawai no moto (the mouth is the origin of disasters)

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      #3
      Re: The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

      Ptah is also often coupled to Sekor as a minor personification of Ptah or as part of a trilogy of Ptah - Sekor - Osiris. Not dis-similar to how others place Bastet & Pahket as minor personifications to Sekhment and occasionally couple them to Sekor / Seker.

      With regards to Ptah and Sekhmet can't be of much help.
      I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

      Comment


        #4
        Re: The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

        Originally posted by Satu View Post
        Edit: Gah, I think I briefly lost control of my computer and it went bananas. >_< I think everything's okay now.

        I've never actually heard of the story of the marriage between Ptah and Sekhmet, though I do know they're a couple.

        There's some esoteric theology behind the union, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear about my research, so I deleted that portion of my reply. The Eyes of Ra--Bast, specifically, with a bit of Tefnut, Het-Heru, and a daaaash of Sekhmet--are my focus of study, and I'm crazy about them.

        If you're interested in delving deeper into the relationship between Ptah and Sekhmet, I would recommend also looking into the relationship between Atum and Bast. Why? Because the Atum-Bast-Maahes triad has an Upper Egyptian counterpart in Ptah-Sekhmet-Nefertum. By understanding Atum and Bast, you will gain insight into Ptah and Sekhmet.

        Do be careful, though, because at some point extrapolations break down. For example, as Sekhmet and Bast are both Eyes of Ra, conclusions drawn on one can often be applied to the other; however, they are not the same goddess and therefore cannot be considered the same (even though some Egyptologists--Meeks, Malek, and Assman, I think--treat all the Eyes as manifestations of one goddess, usually Sekhmet).

        Creator deities such as Ptah and Atum are easier to compare, because surviving texts are more explicit about the various equivalences between different creators. If I recall correctly, Atum is named as a "power" of Ptah's tongue or something like that, so understanding that power will help you gain a fuller picture of your patron.

        Haha, I guess I went on longer than I intended. Hope my rambling helped you out at least a bit.
        This stuff is really harder to find out about than I would like. I've searched all over the web and nothing. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. I've been trying to avoid going down to the library, mostly because it will be a pain to find what I'm looking for without having a specific book to find.

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          #5
          Re: The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

          Personally, I've found it's not so difficult to find the information if you have the resources to access various books. Assembling it into a useful form without straying *too* far from the sources is more challenging. You kind of have to have a grip on Kemetic thought before all the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. That's what makes Kemeticism so challenging, newcomer or not (and this topic has caused near-endless debates in the Kemetic community).

          Unlike, say, Greek mythology, where it's relatively easy to find out about a deity directly--through stories, accessible research by qualified individuals, etc--it's not so easy in Kemetic mythology, which has fewer complete sources and sometimes a sort of circular theology.

          Check out the Henadology blog if you haven't already. It's accurate and occasionally you'll get a tidbit of information that you can't find elsewhere.

          I can give you the reading list I used for Bast and Atum, if you want, but it's mostly books.
          Blog: http://thestarsafire.tumblr.com

          Kuchi wa wazawai no moto (the mouth is the origin of disasters)

          Comment


            #6
            Re: The Relationship of Ptah and Sekhmet

            Originally posted by Satu View Post
            Personally, I've found it's not so difficult to find the information if you have the resources to access various books. Assembling it into a useful form without straying *too* far from the sources is more challenging. You kind of have to have a grip on Kemetic thought before all the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together. That's what makes Kemeticism so challenging, newcomer or not (and this topic has caused near-endless debates in the Kemetic community).

            Unlike, say, Greek mythology, where it's relatively easy to find out about a deity directly--through stories, accessible research by qualified individuals, etc--it's not so easy in Kemetic mythology, which has fewer complete sources and sometimes a sort of circular theology.

            Check out the Henadology blog if you haven't already. It's accurate and occasionally you'll get a tidbit of information that you can't find elsewhere.

            I can give you the reading list I used for Bast and Atum, if you want, but it's mostly books.
            That would probably help with this endeavor.

            Comment

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