Seshat The Egyptian Goddess

Areas of Influence: Seshat was associated with the written word.

She invented writing and kept the records of the ancient Pharaoh’s. Recording details of the spoils of successful foreign campaigns, noting the number of captives and treasures taken from the conquered lands.

The scribe Goddess took care of Thoth's library of scrolls and spells. For these duties she was given the title of Mistress of the House of Books and even today she is considered the patron Goddess of librarians.

Astronomy, astrology, geometry, architecture and accountancy are other areas of expertise that this Goddess shared with mankind.

She combined these gifts to calculate the days of life the Pharaoh had to live and to work out the dimensions of his temple and tomb, ensuring his immortality.

As a funerary Goddesses was described in texts as being pregnant with the deceased, as she was responsible for keeping the memory of the dead alive by writing down accounts of their life.

To date no temple has been discovered that was dedicated solely to this Goddess but her main sanctuary was sited at the Heliopolis.

Other spellings of this Goddess of wisdom include Seshata and Sesheta.

Origins and Genealogy: She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, her siblings included Osiris, Isis and Seth. In Egyptian mythology there are confusing accounts as to whether Thoth was her brother or her husband, in reality he may have been both.

Strengths: Clever and logical. 

Weaknesses: Not in touch with her emotions. Too busy recording life to be able to be fully present in the moment.

 Symbolism

She was often depicted in a leopard skin robe and carrying a palm stem with notches cut out to record the passage of time.

There is some debate over the symbolism of her headdress, some historians see it as upside down horns others say is represents a crescent moon a bow or even a rope.

Sacred Animal: Leopards because their coats were associated with the stars.

Sacred Plant: Papyrus as writing paper was made from this plant.

Seshat's Archetype

The Scribe

The Scribe records information about people and events so it can be preserved. Much of the work involves copying information that is already available rather than being free to express personal opinions or develop an individual style.

Shadow scribe uses the information for there own benefit, distoting facts to suit to support their own ideas. Shadow scribe may also claim other people's work as their own.

Seshat is often described as the Scribe Goddess as she was the record keeper for the Pharoah and the dead. However she did not just copy information provided by others, she was an author in her own right.

Please follow this link to the Archetypes page to discover which other Goddess Archetypes resonate with you.

How To Work with This Archetype

The Scribe

This may be one of your Archetypes if you enjoy compiling information as part of your job or even as a hobby, for instance you may be involved tracing your family tree.

The Shadow Archetype asks you to look at how you are presenting your material. Are you altering the information to support your view of the world?

The Shadow Scribe also reminds you not to get so wrapped up in recording events that you forget to experience the moment.