the Five Gifts of Hathor
Venus Day blessings. We are here in the midst of what will be remembered as some of the most potent astrology of our generations. We are living in the middle of revolution and a cultural renewal. What a blessing!
In the midst of great transformation, it may be very easy to focus on the challenges and the struggles. Have you taken a moment recently to count your blessings? To give gratitude?
Most likely you may know that I am at the tail end of a program through the Sophia Centre in the UK to receive a MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology. This journey through the sky, alongside the pilgrimages I steward, has brought me to the ancient land of Kemet. I find myself learning something new each day about this ancient culture that crafted so much beauty.
As I was doing research, I found myself unexpectedly coming across the Five Gifts of Hathor last night. I feel these gifts are incredibly timely, and wish to share them here with you. Hathor is an ancient goddess, whose roots travel back through time, emerging in predynastic Egypt, going to Neolithic times. She is primordial, connected to the Sun. She represents the great expanse of the sky. Her symbol is often connected to the cow, to the fertility of the Earth, and the Land itself. She is a goddess and protector of women. She is a goddess of fertility, childbirth, beauty, dance, and joy.
The five gifts of Hathor is a practice of gratitude that was said to be a ritual of the Egyptian people, particularly peasant farmers. This is for the people at large, and in these times of 2020 as we find ourselves shedding again, and again, finding gratitude brings us back to center. When one stops feeling grateful, darkness covers the psyche with disbelief, bitterness, and resentment.
No matter what is going on in any person's life, there is always a time to be grateful. A light heart of gratitude is nectar for the Otherworld, and in turn, allows one more to reap.
To practice this gift of Hathor, name five things you would miss the most if you were to die right at this moment. After you have named your five gifts, then raise your left hand in front of your face and look at each finger as representative of the gift. These are the five gifts of Hathor. Each day, you have at least five things to offer up gratitude to. If for some reason you should lose one, no matter, as there will always be another. As you go about your day, notice that each time you look to your left hand, the five digits remind you which you are grateful for.
The gifts are abundant! I imagine you could easily count on each hand and foot, and find twenty. However, the plus one brings us to the sistrum. Have you listened to my podcast yet? In episode three, where I discuss the overarching astrology of 2020, I also speak of the sistrum. The sistrum is a rattle associated with goddess Hathor. Here is this year of 2020, we have the great blessing of being shaken awake.
Wherever we have fallen asleep, the sistrum of Hathor is shaking us awake, both individually and collectively. It is ultimately for a great reward, once we commit to the path of that which lies ahead. May the sistrum shake you awake, so that you hear the mighty call of your Ancestors! You have great work to do. May you look to the fingers of your left hand as a constant reminder of all that is good, all that is important, and all that is worth living for.
In the words of one of my most beloved mentors, Vaughn Benjamin, may you love the life you live, may you live the life you love!