Venus Direct: Aphrodite, Hathor

I am thrilled to share with you my recent "rediscovery" of Venus and Aphrodite, as embodiments of the earlier Egyptian Goddess Hathor. 

This podcast covers some history about Hathor. Hathor is the Egyptian goddess of joy, pleasure, fertility, and all things feminine. She was one of the most important goddesses in ancient Egypt and popular among royalty and common people alike. Hathor personified the principles of love, beauty, music, dance, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. She was worshiped over several thousand years, from the early years of the ancient Egyptian religion (c. 4000 BC) until its end (c. 500 AD).

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"Hathor was the golden goddess who helped women to give birth, the dead to be reborn, and the cosmos to be renewed. This complex deity could function as the mother, consort, and daughter of the creator god. Many lesser goddesses came to be regarded as "names" of Hathor in her contrasting benevolent and destructive aspects. She was most commonly shown as a beautiful woman wearing a red solar disk between a pair of cow's horns."

​(Pinch, G. Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, 2004. Page 137) 

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To the left is the head of a statue of Hatshepsut, the first woman to rule with the powers of a male Pharaoh. Here Hatshepsut is wearing the horns of Hathor and the sun disc atop her mortar crown. This is all we have left of a bronze statue of the extraordinary queen-king of Dynasty 18. It is the exquisite femininity of this sculpture that makes it so exceptional. Sometimes, but extremely rarely, Queen Hatshepsut was portrayed not only with the fine facial features of a woman, but as a woman as we see here. It is wonderful to remember that this female Pharaoh was known to worship the Goddess Hathor and sought to embody Hathors energies. 

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Below is Hatshepsut's temple at Dier el-Bahri:

Below are images of Hathor on the columns at Dier el-Bahri:

Finally a video recording from the first Goddess Gathering. There is still time to join us on the journey! More information about the course can be found here.