Peace to the Gods and Goddesses of the foundation;
Much love goes to New York City;
And mad respect to London;
The reason I am going down this brief crash course in the Hethorian traditions is cause it was once asked me what is the definition of a Goddess in the genuine sense.
This sent me naturally into the study of feminism, which I found to be quite hostile towards men, and while claiming to seek equality actually seemed to either seek some form of extreme separatism or some form of gynaecocracy.
From here my studies turned towards eroticism and the study of sexuality. This study allowed me to appreciate the beauty of sex and sensuality, which I touch on further in Godbody Theology.
Ultimately, though, my final deliverance would come from a study of exhibitionism, and particularly the light exhibitionism of not wearing underwear in ancient Egypt. A practice that was connected to the value they placed on sexuality, and on Hethor, the goddess of sexuality.
And as Barbara Watterson said concerning this sexuality of ancient Egypt, “Ancient Egyptian women wore their revealing dresses without much in the way of underwear” (Watterson 2013: 85).
This, combined with an understanding of ancient Tantric traditions allowed me to develop my current opinions about what a Goddess truly is.
Interestingly enough, having submitted these opinions I was instantly called a pervert and a sexist and disgusting; realities that though unexpected were definitely not unprepared for.
However, in continuing on from my previous blog An Ancient Egyptian Relation, you should recall the development of human societies across the earth and their development into civilizations.
Here social scientist and Marxist thinker Frederick Engels states: “the development of labour necessarily helped to bring the members of society closer together by increasing cases of mutual support and joint activity, and by making clear the advantage of this joint activity to each individual. In short, men in the making arrived at the point where they had something to say to each other” (Engels 1958; quoted in Islam 2019: 139).
But again, “Just as the gradual development of speech is inevitably accompanied by a corresponding refinement of the organ of hearing, so the development of the brain as a whole is accompanied by a refinement of all the senses” (Engels 1958; quoted in Islam 2019: 139).
Hence, with humanity’s social development came also their sensitive, and, indeed, sensual development.
This would form newer traditions to be passed down via the communal societies of the time; as Engels points out, “The work of each generation itself became different, more perfect and more diversified. Agriculture was added to hunting and cattle raising; then came spinning, weaving, metalworking, pottery and navigation. Along with trade and industry, art and science finally appeared. Tribes developed into nations and states. Law and politics arose, and with them that fantastic reflection of human things…religion” (Engels 1958; quoted in Islam 2019: 157).
All corresponding to that wandering of Horu till he was nurtured by Hethor and taught by Djehuti.
Here we see newer agricultural methods imported from the Egypto-Asiatics would come to bring beautiful fertility to the land allowing for food cultivation.
With the influx of more sophisticated specialist sciences like politics, economics, mechanics, mathematics, hieroglyphics (writing), and the Egypto-Asiatic forms of architecture and pyramid building came in.
However, when Horu had regained his sight and right mind from Djehuti he would later return to the tribunal of the Neteru (gods and goddesses); but some of them were vexed by this, in particular Ra, the symbol of godhood.
Then, to add insult to injury, Babi, the god of sexual potency, called Ra an old wind-bag whose temples were empty.
This caused Ra to lock himself away vowing never to return, thus turning the universal orders into darkness and chaos.
At this point Hethor entered into his secret chamber, wearing her usual finely spun linen, and performed a strip-tease sun-dance for him in which she became fully nude before him.
This sun-dance ritual performed by Hethor broke his spirit and made him forget his wrath; for which cause Hethor was given the titles: Queen of the dance, Queen of the darkness, and Queen of seduction, as she was able to break the spirit of the unbreakable Ra.
The ancient ritual of the sun-dance and of the strip-tease would also be reenacted by the ancient African and Egyptian women in their regional exhibitionist traditions. Those areas that needed rain would have the rain-dance, while those areas that needed the sun would have the sun-dance.
However, the unashamed exhibitionism of the strip-tease itself would usually be performed at special tribal events accompanied by music and exotic dances.
The lewd and sexual dances of most Black and Latin women today marks an unconscious unity with the past.
The thrill and rush of exhibitionism for both sexes, has somewhat been lost to a lot of people in our generation who count piety something unsexed and unsexual.
Exhibitionism, which is usually considered the act of exposing the private areas of the body in public for the sake of sexual self-gratification, is basically the getting off on being nude in front of others.
This sexual fetish is also continued in the act of public flashing by many different individuals (something that is not here being encouraged but was at one time sacred).
By this practice Hethor saved the world and ultimately helped her future husband Horu with his case; something also done quite often by many women in the hood and around the world.
Yet, as Tyldesley said concerning the ancient Egyptians, these “overtly sexual images … contributed to a general misinterpretation – fuelled by the apparently damning evidence of incest, polygamy, transparent dresses, sensual poetry and erotic papyri, and the complete absence of any wedding ceremony – of the Egyptians as a louche, even lewd, people.” (Tyldesley 2011; quoted in Islam 2019: 149).
But this unashamed exhibitionism of both the men and the women of our ancient cultures, along with their communal farming and animal herding cultures, ultimately lifted them out of the glacial ages and brought them to a level of civilization.
I believe without this very important factor of the ancient agriculture, civilization as a whole would not have been able to exist at all, and thus no life and no beauty, only death and darkness upon the earth.
For this cause I say one of the best ways for our Black women to become Black Goddesses is with allowing their exhibitionist tendencies to wake up the Hethor within her.
Again, the Black woman’s identity is not wrapped up in the Black man, nor should her reason for practicing exhibitionism only be wrapped up in helping the Black man.
The true cause of Black Goddesshood is her gaining knowledge of self and love of self as she is, which includes both her spiritual and her sexual sides.
Bibliography
Islam, S (2019); Black Divinity: Institutes of the Black Theocracy Shahidi Collection Vol 1; Global Summit House.
Watterson, B (2013); Women in Ancient Egypt; Amberley Publishing.