Celebrate in joyful peace. Be contented with what you have. Dance, sing, love, and create without anxiety. It is time to rest and to cease driving forward for a time.

One of the most loved of the deities in ancient Egypt was the goddess Hathor. If you visit the most famous temples and tombs, you will see that the cow-horned, crowned Hathor features widely in sculpture and painting.

Hathor is quite an easy deity to identify among the many in the Egyptian pantheon – She is often pictured as a beautiful woman with the ears of a cow or wearing cow horns with the sun itself balanced between them. In later depictions, she is seen with the entire head of a cow. The cow symbols are a hint at her area of influence.

Think of the animal – it’s soft eyes, it’s contented demeanor, it’s role in fertility and maternal nourishment. Ancient Egyptians considered Hathor a mother and sky goddess in her earliest forms and believed she was the mother of the human pharaoh on earth at the same time, her influence extended to all things that give joy – music, dancing, and art!

Hathor is often depicted carrying and ancient sacred instrument, a sistrum, and musicians would carve the likeness of the goddess onto their instruments. Her title Great Menat referred to a necklace, worn by both women and men, signifying fertility and virility. Menats also doubles as musical instruments; Hathor’s priestesses used them in rituals and dances to invoke and draw the goddess.

The temples of Hathor were joyful places, full of songs and beauty. There were even small temples placed in her honor outside other major deities’ temples, so that people could get into a happier mood before worshipping in other temples. The Egyptians clearly believed that having a positive or relaxed state of mind assisted in making a strong spiritual connection.

Call upon Hathor when you most need to find joyful peace in your life. When you are feeling chaotic, ungrounded, or unhappy, her energy brings a steadying influence and contentment. If your schedule is too hectic, you are being pulled into too much drama, or you have a busy and loud household filled with family members, you may seek some peace and contentment. Hathor’s energy is loving yet strong, and it celebrates the idea of being grateful for what we have. If you feel very driven all the time, like you must always excel, you may find sanctuary within her influence.

If you would like to bring more peace and contentment into your life you might try this invocation.

You’ll want to gather four small pieces of turquoise or lapis lazuli (or four blue stones of any type – you could even paint other stones blue in a pinch!), some small bells to jungle, and a white candle.

Light the candle.

Hold the stones in your hand. Breathe in and think about a happy time in your life – a time when you felt peaceful and contented. Breathe in again and pump up this feeling. When it is very strong within you, say:

Hathor, Lady of Amenity, the dweller in the Great Land,

Give me joy!

Hathor, cow-eyed, mother of pharaoh,

Give me happiness!

Hathor, the Lady of Ta-Tchesert, the Eye of Ra

Grant me contentment!

Bless these stones I have in my hand; bring your blessing of joy, love, nourishment, and satisfaction to them and allow them to be a talisman of good fortune.

Place one stone in each corner of your home or room, thanking Hathor and jingling the bells as you leave each one. This will grid your space in her energy.

Snuff out the candle with thanks.

Reading from “Goddesses and Sirens” created by Stacey Demarco

https://www.worldhistoryedu.com/egyptian-goddess-hathor-story-depictions-importance/