The Earliest Priestesses and Goddesses of Kemet
The Deep Feminine in Prehistoric and Pre-Pharoah Egypt
Hi beautiful community,
I have been diving deep into the pre-history of Egypt these last weeks, as I prepare to take a trip there next month.
You can read more about my personal journey of closing our gatherings, and receiving the invitation to visit these sacred lands here - and, you can still join us if feeling the call. Look to the end of the article for the many depictions of priestesses on the traditional sailboats on the Nile. This made me feel very moved as we will be traveling for several days on the tradional felucca sailboats on our trip!
Today, we are exploring the pre-dynastic and pre-pharaoh Kemet (Egypt). Where the focus is on the life-giving, and abundant Goddess and Mother, before the shift to domination, slavery and symbols of hierarchy become more present with the first Pharoah’s in Dynasty 0 (also known as the beginning of history).
We can also track the continuation of symbolism into the Goddess Nun, Neith, Bat, Hathor and Isis (and many others)- all facets of a divine source, revered throughout each dynasty to today. We’ll look to this in part 2.
Many of these ancient deep feminine archeological findings have been overlooked and ignored by many historians, who don’t know what to make of a central mother goddess, or civilizations that orient themselves around the feminine principal.
As Jared Rubalcaba states ‘so many scholars are working hard to even justify her (the goddesss’) existence. But, in Egypt she is front and center.’
A Symbol of the Goddess Revival
This vulture-headed figurine, bird goddess, priestess in invocation and/or symbol of the cow goddess Bat (later Hathor) became famous as a symbol of the 1980s feminist Women’s Spirituality movement. Additionally, she often represents the pre-historic period of Egypt, from the Naqada period, site el-Ma'mariya.
She is also part of a continuation of vulture-headed women with arms raised like wings, priestesses represented in ceremony with their arms raised in invocation, and also symbolic of the horns of the cow. Both the vulture and cow are revered as mothers, and represent strong symbols for women, who were believed to guard the gateway to birth and death.
She is also one of many female figurines shown in white linen skirts, where the legs come stylistically to a point - perhaps making her easier to hold in ceremony.