http://www.wynabbot.com/, https://youtube.com/@thewisewomenpodcasts?si=PMXUM21kc3b9dJPB

Wyn Abbot, Lancaster and Morecambe (2026)

11/08/2026

Part 4 of 4The Many Faces of the Lioness

If the Eye can be manifested through Sekhmet, Hathor, Bastet, Mut or Isis, what does that tell us about the Egyptian understanding of feminine divine power? It tells us that the Goddess doesn’t have to be one thing. The same divine power can be mother, lover, protector, destroyer, healer, and avenger. Egyptian deities weren’t necessarily fixed separate individuals in the modern sense. Gods and Goddesses could merge, overlap, manifest as one another, acquire each other’s attributes and be understood in different places and periods. Sekhmet is a perfect example. The Eye of Ra can manifest as different Goddesses depending on context including Sekhmet and Hathor. In the destruction myth, Hathor is associated with the Eye sent against humanity, and the fierce lioness manifestation is identified with Sekhmet. The same Goddess can have the gentle Hathor aspect or the terrifying lioness aspect. In the destruction myth, the fierce manifestation of the Eye is identified as Sekhmet. As the Eye, Sekhmet represents the active, outward moving power of the deity: Ra sees and the Eye acts. The Eye can therefore appear in multiple feminine forms: Sekhmet, Hathor, Mut, Bastet, Isis, Wadjet and others depending on the quality and action required for the situation presenting.

In a story often called “Isis the Fierce” Isis is pursuing Seth and his followers, the Papyrus Jumilhac tells the story of how Isis transforms herself into a hound, a uraeus serpent, Hathor, and Sekhmet, all in pursuit of and revenge of the murder of her husband Osiris. This is another example of mythic parallels, the Celtic Cerridwen pursuing Gwion Bach, transforms into a greyhound, otter, hawk, and finally a hen. Again they are not historically connected, what is fascinating is the recurring mythic pattern, and that the powerful female figure changes form according to what the moment requires.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that “fierce” Goddesses are Goddesses of war, many are protective mothers. They destroy not because they delight in violence, but because they defend life, justice, or cosmic balance. Lions are very much associated with the Goddess especially Mother Goddesses, they are protectors of the pride who are relentless when threatened. By merging or manifesting into other Goddesses, we see the Goddess utilising different aspects of the whole. The fierce lioness and the calmer feline form of Bastet can be understood as different expressions of protective feminine power.

Bastet was originally depicted as a lion Goddess herself, but over time became a cat Goddess with a more placid nature. This doesn’t mean she didn’t have a fierce side. Mut is usually seen with a vulture skin around her, was also depicted as a lion in her early forms, and when merged with Bastet becomes Mut-Bastet. Mut was also linked with Sekhmet as the Eye of Ra.

What is interesting in history and myth, is how deities and mortals alike are associated with a specific label. When we look at Sekhmet and all the other Goddesses, we start to understand how manifesting into one represents a different part of the self. A simplistic way to understand this is to look at ourselves, how would we describe our own nature? What about when we are threatened, made angry, sad, elated, all these emotions trigger a response in our inward and outward behaviour. Sekhmet in her protective rage is unstoppable, once that rage subsides she appears more like Bastet, although Bastet herself wasn’t always the cuddly cat of modern imagination. The powerful female figure is not confined to one form, she changes shape in response to the situation, becoming whatever her power requires. We have inherited a tendency to divide the feminine into acceptable and unacceptable forms, the gentle mother is welcomed, the angry woman is feared, the healer is celebrated, the destroyer is demonised. Yet Sekhmet refuses that division.

🖤She doesn’t become less divine when she becomes fierce🖤

Why is the term “Dark Goddesses” so often used as though darkness itself defines certain female deities such as Sekhmet, The Morrigan, Hekate, etc. Hera, Demeter, Isis, Aphrodite could all be fierce, vengeful, sexually powerful, jealous, or politically formidable when the myth required it. Does the label tell us more about our modern categorisation than it necessarily tells us about the Goddess?

Isis is usually presented to us as the archetypal mother / healer / protector, yet in the Jumilhac papyrus, she becomes Sekhmet and unleashes terrifying destructive power. Isis can become Sekhmet. Hathor can reveal the lioness. Bastet can carry the feline power of protection. Mut can take the form of the lioness.

The boundaries between these Goddesses were not always walls, sometimes they were doorways. Perhaps we should stop asking whether a Goddess is light or dark, and start asking what is she protecting, what is she destroying, and why

I hope you have enjoyed this latest in my mini series: there will be more on Ancient Egypt, Greece, Celtic & Norse to come. All my series will be available on my website shortly so if you missed Baba Yaga, or Following the Peacock, you can still see them (they are still on this page also if you fancy a scroll)🙏

Text & Artwork by Wyn Abbot ©️

10/08/2026

Part 3 of 4 The Lioness Who Heals

The Egyptians lived in a world where water, heat, and disease were intimately connected. The Nile was the source of life, but the environment around it could also bring illness. Parasites, contaminated water, infectious disease and the extremes of the heat were all part of the reality of Egyptian life. The Nile could give life…but that same environment could also bring sickness.

Egyptian medicine didn’t have one single explanation for disease, some illnesses were understood through observation of the body and treated with practical remedies; other were attributed to supernatural forces, including hostile beings, ghosts or divine agency. What we would now separate in medicine and magic often existed side by side…and Sekhmet’s role often comes into play here.

She was not simply the Goddess who caused illness. Her destructive power could be seen as the source of the disease itself. Egyptian texts talk about the “arrows of Sekhmet” as bringing illness and pestilence. There is a striking parallel much later in Greek literature. In Homer’s Iliad, Apollo sends a plague against the Greek army at Troy. His arrows carry disease through the camp. Yet Apollo is also a God of healing, and through his son Asclepius becomes intimately connected with medicine. The imagery is different, the cultures are different, so we can’t assume a direct connection, but the underlying idea is remarkably familiar. So if the divine power, Sekhmet could send the disease, who better to ask to take it away. Her power was both feared and sought.

Protective spells, amulets and rituals could invoke powerful Goddesses, and Sekhmet could be approached alongside other manifestations of divine feminine power, including Hathor, Bastet, and Mut. To the Egyptian mind this wasn’t a contradiction, if illness could come through divine power, then divine power could remove it. Sekhmet could therefore stand on the threshold: plague and protection, disease and healing, destruction and restoration.

During his reign Amenhotep III commissioned over 600 statues of Sekhmet from his monumental programme. These have been interpreted as invoking Sekhmet’s protection and appeasing her dangerous power. It is thought that Amenhotep was ill or feared being ill, and the statues formed part of a wider programme of protection, however, the sheer scale is remarkable, this was not a Goddess people simply wanted to keep away, her power was actively sought by people.

Next we encounter the Priests of Sekhmet. Egyptian healing was not divided neatly into what we would call “science” and “spirituality”. Medical knowledge existed alongside incantations, protective rituals, and religious practice. Physicians could prescribe treatments for the body while addressing the unseen forces that might also be involved in the illness. Priests of Sekhmet formed part of this sacred world of healing, protection, and ritual purity, and Sekhmet’s temples themselves became places associated with healing. Sekhmet the fierce lioness holds the ankh…the symbol of life.

🦁The Goddess who could bring plague also carries life in her hands🦁

In part 4 we follow Sekhmet beyond the familiar lioness and into the extraordinary fluidity of Egyptian Goddess traditions…Bastet, Hathor, Isis, the Eye or Ra, and the many faces of the feminine divine power.

09/08/2026

Part 2 of 4 Sekhmet: Blood, Beer, & Transformation

Ra had grown old.

His bones were said to have become silver, his flesh gold, and his hair lapis lazuli. Humanity began to look upon their ageing ruler differently and plotted against him. But this was not just a rebellion against an old God. In the Egyptian understanding of kingship, the ruler was connected with the maintenance of divine order. To turn against Ra was therefore to threaten something far greater than a king, it was to threaten Ma’at itself…truth, justice, harmony, equilibrium, the order that held the universe together. And so Ra called a council of the Gods to ask: what should be done?

It was agreed that the answer was for Ra to send forth his Eye. In the book “The Heavenly Cow” the Eye is associated with Hathor, who is sent against humanity. But the fierce Goddess who emerges from this divine power becomes Sekhmet…the Powerful One… The lioness. And, once unleashed, she is terrifying. She moves amongst humanity slaughtering all those who have rebelled. But the punishment does not stop there, the killing continues, spreading far beyond those who had originally plotted against Ra. The Eye has become a force that could not easily be recalled. When Ra begins to realise that something has gone terribly wrong, the very power he sent to restore Ma’at now threatened to destroy the world that Ma’at was meant to protect. The balance had tipped too far.

But how do you stop a Goddess whose power is greater than anything humanity can withstand? Rather than confront her, Ra devised a deception. Thousands of jars of beer were mixed with red ochre until the liquid resembled blood, the red beer was then poured across the land. Sekhmet seeing it, and believing she has found more blood, drinks, and drinks until she becomes intoxicated, falls asleep and her destructive fury subsides. But something much deeper has happened here, Sekhmet has not been defeated, her power has been transformed, she was not sent as chaos, she was sent because chaos threatened the established order. Her violence had a purpose, but even righteous power can become destructive when it loses its limits, and in this case the Goddess who was sent to restore Ma’at, had herself become a threat to Ma’at.

🦁Sacred power without wisdom can become destructive even when its original purpose was just🦁

There are fascinating parallels in here with the Hindu Kali. In some traditions, Kali’s battle frenzy becomes so overwhelming that her continuing dance threatens the cosmic order itself. The two stories are not historically connected, and we cannot assume that one developed from the other, but the similarities are striking. Both are fierce manifestations of divine power; both become unleashed against a threat; both become so formidable that the Gods must intervene; and in neither tradition is the Goddess simply evil. The question is not whether such feminine (or any) power should exist, but what happens when that power becomes unrestrained.

Across cultures we find fierce Goddesses whose power protects life, but if left unchecked, can threaten the balance they were created to defend. Yet history also shows us that societies have not always been comfortable with women who embody power, rage, autonomy and authority. Over time “fierce” Goddesses have been softened, diminished, demonised, or recast as dangerous. Sekhmet gives us something different. She does not ask us to choose between the gentle Goddess and the fierce Goddess, she asks us to understand that both belong to the same whole. The lioness drinks the blood red beer, and the destroyer becomes the healer.

Following Sekhmet’s drunkeness transformation, every year on the 1st day of the Egyptian calendar, people would celebrate in the Festival of Drunkeness. Which basically meant drinking lots and getting drunk and falling asleep, then being woken up by drums and music where they would worship Hathor. It was a sacred event taking place by shrines and in temples. There would be dancing and lighting of torches, and as many of the ancient celebrations, was orgiastic in nature.

…..In Part 3 we turn towards the side of Sekhmet that is perhaps less familiar: Sekhmet the Healer, the Goddess of plague and medicine, the priests who served her, and the
Egyptian understanding of healing.

08/08/2026

Part 1 of 4 Sekhmet: The Lioness & the Eye of Ra

She was the burning eye of the sun…Sekhmet was a Goddess who brought plague but was called upon for healing…the destroyer and the protector….this sounds like a contradiction, but as we see so often in myth, she had a dual nature, she represented two sides of the same coin…balance. She is not the Goddess of darkness, but the Goddess of necessary fire. For the ancient Egyptians, Sekhmet was never simply a Goddess of War, her name comes from Sekhem: power, might, authority. Sekhmet was a force to be reckoned with, fierce enough to terrify the Gods themselves, yet powerful enough to be called upon for protection and healing. The earliest evidence of Sekhmet emerges around 2686 – 2181 BCE in the Old Kingdom, but her veneration flourished particularly during the New Kingdom. Amenhotep III commissioned hundreds of statues of Sekhmet, people actively sought her presence not only as a warrior Goddess, but as a bringer of healing, she was seen as both destroyer and restorer.

Sekhmet leads us into one of the great complexities of Egyptian religion, the Gods did not belong to one single theological system, at Heliopolis, creation was seen through the solar theology of Ra, at Memphis, Ptah was the creator, bringing the world into being through thought and speech. In Memphis Sekhmet was consort to Ptah, in other traditions she could be described as the daughter of Ra. Different windows into the same divine world. In one of the great myths associated with Sekhmet, she is unleashed because of humanity’s rebellion against Ra. The ancient Egyptians watched the natural world, and the lioness was a hunter, protector, and the guardian of the pride.

Sekhmet is often depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a lioness, crowned with the solar disc and uraeus serpent. Often referred to as the “Eye of Ra”, she represented his active power, the force that could go out into the world, so she was one of the manifestations of his divine eye. (Egyptian myth is very fluid, and the “Eye” can appear not only as Sekhmet, but as Hathor, Bastet, or other Goddesses.) But Sekhmet was the blazing heat of the sun, the desert wind, scorching rays, and the force that destroys corruption and protects creation.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the universe depended on Ma’at: truth, justice, equilibrium, and the proper order of things. Sekhmet’s role was not about spreading destruction, but to defend the natural order when it was threatened. For example, we see the sun as life-giving, but that same sun that ripens crops can also bring drought and scorch the earth. This was the fierce aspect that Sekhmet embodied.

All too often we see Gods & Goddesses divided into good and evil. Sekhmet is exactly the kind of Goddess who shows why the term “Dark Goddess” can be misleading, because she is associated with destruction, plague, and divine wrath. But this is a modern label and only tells half the story – she was not malevolent, she was a protector of cosmic order, and a fierce power that restored balance. There came a time when even the Gods feared the power they had unleashed. When harmony is threatened, the Eye acted. Like the blazing sun, Sekhmet could nurture, purify and sustain, but could burn with a fierce intensity that demanded respect. In her we see a world where power was not something to be feared or worshipped blindly, but understood as a sacred force that demands wisdom, balance, and responsibility.

🦁This is a four part series, in part two: 🩸Blood, Beer, & Transformation: we explore the story of rebellion, blood, and a river of red that would change Sekhmet forever……….

07/08/2026

All that Glitters is not Gold:
The Paris Witch Trials

So many witch trials have blighted our history, some more famous and memorable than others, but all equally tragic. Salem, Pendle, Germany…. Why are some more “famous” than others? Europe saw some of the worst examples, and one witch hunt in particular took place in France.

Behind the glittering splendour of Versailles, inspired by the Greek Sun God Apollo, lay one of the darkest scandals in French history… the Affair of the Poisons, a web of poisonings, fortune tellers, alleged black masses, court intrigue and accusations of witchcraft that reached the very heart of the court of Louis XIV, the legendary Sun King.

A witch hunt or a political scandal fuelled by fear, ambition and the abuse of power? This is another example of where mythology, religion, and politics converge to create a toxic dangerous outcome….and as for the “Burning Room”🔥…….let us tell you about that.

The Wise Women podcasts explore the extraordinary reign of the Sun King, the symbolism of Apollo and divine kingship, the rise of La Voisin, the role of magic and poison in 17th-century France, and how ancient archetypes of sacred authority continued to shape the Christian monarchy. 🔱 The Wise Women Podcasts with Wyn Abbot & Kathy Hodges: YouTube. Links in the comments.

06/08/2026

🦁 Four part series on Sekhmet this w🦁🦁end on Facebook

Often remembered simply as the lioness Goddess of war, Sekhmet is so much more than that. Together we’ll explore her role as a manifestation of the Eye of Ra, her connection with divine justice, healing, transformation, and the delicate balance between creation and destruction. We’ll look beyond the familiar myths to discover what they may have meant to the ancient Egyptians and why they still resonate today.

As always, my aim isn’t simply to retell the stories, but to delve deeper into the symbolism, history, and connections that reveal the rich tapestry of ancient belief.

🦁🦁The series will be posted here on the main page starting with Part 1 Saturday 8th Sept, no need to search as I’ll pin it to the top🦁🦁

04/08/2026

Sedna: Goddess of the Frozen Deep

Deep below the Arctic ice, the sea is dark, silent and cold, and it is the home and kingdom of the Inuit Goddess of the Ocean: Sedna who lives amongst all the creatures of the sea. There are different versions of Sedna’s story, but they all share a common thread…Sedna is betrayed.

As a beautiful young Inuit girl, Sedna had many suitors, but she rejected them all. Finally her father forced her into an unwanted and what was to be an unhappy marriage to a handsome stranger ….under duress, but once she reached his home, she discovered that he was not a man, but a bird spirit disguised as a human. Rather than the rich life he promised her, he takes her to a cliff overlooking the sea where she endures cold, hunger, and isolation, with only fish to eat. Her father, hearing her cries of anguish, attempts to rescue her by canoe, but her enraged husband summons a violent storm by beating his wings. Fearing for his own life, her father throws Sedna into the freezing sea. As she clings desperately to the side of the boat, he tries to beat her off with the oar, cutting her fingers off in the process.

Defeated, Sedna sinks beneath the waves, but her story is just beginning, her severed fingers are transformed into the seals, whales, dolphins and walruses that sustain humanity. As Sedna herself descends into the depths, she is also transformed, becoming the Goddess, the Sovereign of the world beneath the sea.

When hunters fail or famine strikes, Inuit shamans journey spiritually to Sedna’s underwater realm. There they gently comb her tangled hair, something she cannot do herself because of her missing fingers. This act of care calms her grief and anger, allowing her to release the sea animals once more.

Sedna is a myth of profound transformation. Out of betrayal comes power. Out of suffering comes abundance. She is a reminder that the forces sustaining life often emerge from pain that has been acknowledged rather than forgotten.

Sedna’s story also reflects a deep understanding of humanity’s relationship with nature. The sea does not belong to us, and its gifts are never guaranteed. They must be approached with humility, gratitude and respect.

Sedna is not just a Goddess of the Arctic Ocean, but a reminder that when we wound the natural world or each other, the consequences reach far deeper than we imagine.

03/08/2026

Moving house is exhausting 🥱 but nearly there and my office come studio space is nearly finished, enjoying getting my books, tools, pictures, and magical items out… some of us needed more help than others 😂hopefully back to painting and writing shortly ☺️

31/07/2026

🌽Lughnasadh: (Lammas)The Wise Women Podcast 🌽

As the first grain is cut and summer begins its slow descent into Autumn, we explore the ancient festival of Lughnasadh. Who was Lugh, and why is this festival named after him? What sacrifice did Tailtiu make to feed her people and who was she? Why were games, legal assemblies, marriages and trade woven into this sacred season? Why did it become known as Lammas?

From the story of Tailtiu to the symbolism of the dying harvest, from the Goddess pregnant with the young God to the ageing God waning towards his winter death, we discover the deeper meaning behind Lughnasadh and reflect on how ancient cultures understood humanity's relationship with the land as the Wheel of the Year continues to turn.

There is so much symbolism here, our ancestors celebrated it differently- after a year of hard work, they prepared the harvest and celebrated. The Harvest God is dying and the preparations for winter have begun. However you celebrate Lughnasadh or Lammas, remember its roots, remember its meaning, and celebrate the turning of the wheel. (Link in the comments)

30/07/2026

Place names fascinate me, where they come from, some are more obvious than others. How often do we dig that bit deeper and look at the history of the name.

We have just moved to an area called Golgotha, the name comes from Aramaic which means “Place of the Skull”, where Christ was crucified. In fact we moved on the Full Moon in Aquarius, so it feels especially significant 🌕

So..Golgotha is an unusual name for a Lancashire hamlet, probably given because it was associated with ex*****ons, sounds grim… it was, but it’s not now, however I can’t help but feel for those who were executed in the area most probably no good reason, the gallows were eventually moved to Lancaster Castle to be in permanent situ. Their stories live on and their memories live on the land.

When Golgotha was a tiny hamlet and fewer buildings it was know for its windy and bleak atmosphere, laundresses built their businesses here as the wild and windy landscape was perfect for their job.

The Pendle Witches were connected to the site in 1612 after being tried at the castle. Whether their ex*****ons took place at Golgotha has been debated for years, without doubt it was in this area but the exact location is not known, but it has become part of that powerful memory…so I will honour those who lost their lives unnecessarily, particularly those accused of witchcraft.

During the seventeenth century, many Quakers were imprisoned in Lancaster Castle for refusing to conform to the established church. George Fox himself was imprisoned there in 1660. Their story reflects another side of persecution, not for alleged witchcraft, but for religious conviction. They have a strong connection with the area

Long before Christianity, hills used for ex*****ons often occupied liminal spaces, places between settlements, on boundaries, or overlooking roads, such as those associated with Hekate. Archaeologists and folklorists note that many ex*****on sites later accumulated ghost stories, tales of restless spirits, and traditions of haunting. I don’t feel any atmosphere of unease here, more one of reverence and peace.

Look at the names where you live, what is the history? I’d love to know.

Wyn Abbot

11/08/2026

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