The following myth deals with the goddess Sekhmet and is found on the walls of the tomb of Seti. This myth has several different versions, the one presented here comes from "The Goddess Sekhmet, Psycho-Spiritual Exercises of the Fifth Way" by Robert Masters, published by LLewellyn Publishing; copyright 1991.


The Myth of the Destruction of Mankind

There was a time in ancient Egypt where "humans entered into a conspiracy to overthrow the Gods. They blasphemed against Ra, king of Gods and men, and heretical priests and magicians plotted ways to turn against the Gods for their destruction, using those very powers the Gods had given to men that they might flourish and grow great upon the earth.

"Ra, hearing of this plan, called to meet with him the most ancient and potent Deities, those who had been with him in the primeval waters before the time when with his eye, the sun, he had made life. The Gods counseled together and it was decided that Sekhmet, the force against which no other force avails, should manifest on the earth and quell the rebellion. Sekhmet would manifest and punish all those who had held in their minds evil images and imagined wicked plots.

"Then Sekhmet walked among men and destroyed them and drank their blood. Night after night Sekhmet waded in blood, slaughtering humans, tearing and rending their bodies, and drinking their blood. The other Gods decided that the slaughter was enough and should stop, but they could find no way to stop Sekhmet, who was drunk on human blood.

"As the carnage went on, the Gods recognized that Sekhmet, Her rage sustained by intoxication, would implacably proceed with the killing until the last human life had been extinguished. Then Ra had brought to him from Elephantine certain plants which have been said to be the Solanaceae family and which can be brewed as powerful mind-altering drugs. Those plants, and possibly also opium or hemp, were sent to the God Sekti at Heliopolis. Sekti added these drugs to a mixture of beer and also human blood, until seven thousand great jugs of the substance had been made. The jars were taken to a place where Sekhmet would pass and there were poured out onto the ground, inundating the fields for a great distance. And when Sekhmet came to these fields and perceived what She thought to be blood, She rejoiced and drank all of the liquid. Then "Her heart was filled with joy," Her mind was changed, and She thought no more of destroying mankind.

"After that, Ra addressed Sekhmet as the One Who Comes in Peace, praising the beauty and charm of the Goddess.”

Sekhmet is one of the oldest deities in the world. She is known as the daughter of Ra but is also described as older than Ra. She was a deity who was imported from another culture but it is not known which culture. She has over four thousand names, some of which hint at the other origins. Some authors have linked her with the “Goddess of the Kundalini energy constellation…..which is often improperly attributed to the Indian Tantra.” Egyptologist Sir Wallis Budge comments that the name Sekhmet is connected or comes from the word sekhem which means to be strong, mighty & violent.

Sekhmet is the goddess most often depicted with the head of a lioness, occasionally with the sun disk. There are more large statues of Sekhmet than of any other deity. Like many deities, the Goddess Sekhmet was a Lady of many contradictions. She is the bringer of disease & the Great One of Healing. She is the Goddess of War and the Goddess of Love. She is also an underworld deity, known for her destructive tendencies. She has the power to completely destroy not only human bodies, but also their souls - total destruction. She, additionally, is the protector of the dead in the underworld. To become an initiate in the temple of Sekhmet, candidates were actually put to ‘death’ where they had to deal with its horrors. These ‘horrors’ included facing “fiends and vampires.” Those who did not succeed in overcoming their fears, if they survived, were disqualified. Unfortunately, no other reference to the Egyptian beliefs in vampyres could be located. Her priests & priestesses were considered to be extremely powerful – both as physicians and as practitioners of magick who had the power to destroy and command demons. The demons of Egypt were divided into two categories: those that serve Sekhmet & those that are of the underworld. Sekhmet’s demons were dispatched to send disease, chaos & pestilence. The demons of the underworld were considered to be worse as they stole body parts from the dead & would eat the hearts of the “undeserved.” Celebrations for Sekhmet included wild orgies, which earned her the additional titles of Great Harlot & Lady of the Scarlet-Coloured Garments. Those celebrations also included the drinking of the exact substance given to Sekhmet to quench her thirst – sans the blood according to several authors.

There is only the one myth that discussed the blood lust of Sekhmet. It would seem that any additional information of this has been lost, not yet uncovered, or contained in resources not available to this author. Of her four thousand names, only a few hundred have survived. Some of the hint at a possibly deeper connection to the realm of the vampyre: Lady of Transformations, Enrapturing One, Giver of Ecstasies, Mother of the Dead, Lady of the Bloodbath, Devouring One, & Terrible One.