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Sa Sekhem Sahu!

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My Experiences at the Sekhmet Temple (Page 3)
Warning: graphics intensive!

September 19 and 20, 1998:

We drove the 45 miles or so up highway 95 (NW of Vegas) and finally reached the Sekhmet Temple at the oasis at Cactus Springs. Or more accurately, we reached the home of the Temple Priestess, Patricia (goddesstempl@igc.apc.org). She, her husband and kitten live a short walk from the Temple (which is open to anyone anytime, but Patricia does appreciate an email beforehand since she loves to meet the folks who stop by, and to offer them a free stay at the guesthouse, and to let them know if a pre-planned ritual is coming up, especially since a few of the rituals are for women only. And personally I wouldn't think of doing a full-blown ritual at another priestess' temple without letting her know first -- professional courtesy, I guess *grin*). After a short visit (we promised her a longer one ASAP!), she showed us to the guest house, which is a LARGE mobile home across the yard from her place. It's a wonderful place for a retreat (hint, hint) -- two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a dorm room, a large living room with a wood stove, a full kitchen (pre-stocked with pots, pans, plates, etc. and even some dried goods!), an original Monica Sjoo painting,

and the "Womb Room" where Zo and I decided to sleep (no bed, but tons of pillows and teddy bears). We changed into ritual robes (we didn't worry about "mundane" clothes until we had to leave the next day *grin*), grabbed our doumbeks and headed up to the Temple just before dusk and hung out "chatting" with the various Goddesses represented at the Temple until sundown. Shockingly enough, there was no Bast statue in Her corner (at least I think of it that way since that's where She was last time I was there). Both Zo and I got the impression that Sekhmet missed having Her twin sister there, so Zo left the Bast statue that she had brought along -- we're hoping to bring a larger one next time.

Being extremely eclectic, we used a combination Wiccan/Lesser Banishing Pentagram Ritual with Khemetic deity names (Heru, Sekhmet, Ra and Bast) to cast the circle, then a modified (Fifth Way) Qabalistic Cross (thanks to Darlene/Lady Sekhmet) to center, then drumming to raise energy, then chakra/Kundalini work to mold it and finally (once the Temple was full), sent it out the open roof to the Sky (Nuit) and down through the stone slabs to the Earth (Geb). During the drumming I got the impression/visualization of many animal spirits just outside the Temple – a large lion, a reddish lioness, a hawk, and a timid jackel (He didn't seem sure if He was welcome, since (1) he's a canine and (2) we hadn't explicitly invoked Him). Once I told Him it was okay and that all who wanted to help were welcome, I got several almost at once -- I identified wolf, fox, eagle, owl and a squirrel (?!) for sure, but there may have been more. During the rest of the ritual, I could feel them circling outside. During a latter part of the drumming, I saw a large green eye looking in the open roof… it felt like it was spying and not very friendly (definitely not Ra or Heru!), so I tried to channel some energy to close it. I couldn't quite get it all the way shut, but then a large snarling/roaring lion face rushed in from the side (my left, where Sekhmet's statue was) and that was the last I saw of the eye *grin*. I was surprised that I hadn't seen Bast in Her black panther form among the animal spirits, but then when I opened my eyes during the energy work I noticed that Zo's ears were distinctly pointed and her face had a feline cast, so I'm sure She just decided to attend in a more personal way. When we finished it was full dark -- for those of you city folks that don't get away from lights often (like me), I highly recommend seeing a desert sky under these circumstances, especially near the New Moon! It's like camping, except without all those people around who don't get it.

After ritual we headed back for a meal (intense ritual always leaves me *starving*) and a visit with Patricia and her friend Nancy. After a bit, we all headed up to the campsite a short distance from the Temple for an all-to-short evening of conversation and hot chocolate. Interestingly enough, when we left the trailer we were really cold, but as we got closer to the Temple, it felt much warmer... and this was before Patricia started the fire! We felt so much at home (especially after all the weird Vegas energy) that we slept until after 10am the next day, so we had to leave right away :-<, but we did get to say goodbye to Patricia, et al, and dropped by at the Temple on the way out. Every time I closed my eyes and concentrated that morning I saw that big ole lion, so I felt that everything was doing just fine when we left.

June, 1998 (photos):

Sekhmet Temple altar Sekhmet Temple altar
Sekhmet Temple - Bast wall Me and 'Mom' Sekhmet Temple - Earth Mother wall
Sekhmet Temple - Front Sekhmet Temple - Roof

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