c. 700 BC; lion’s head component, Egypt, probably New Kingdom
Amethyst and gold, Overall: 3.5 x 2.9 x 2.7 cm
This pendant consists of two parts: a superbly carved lion’s head in amethyst that has been set into a D-shaped gold base consisting of a platform surrounded by eight seated baboons. The lion’s head is an heirloom from the New Kingdom, most likely a gaming piece, that had been adapted in the Napatan Period to serve as an amuletic pendant. This procedure was fairly common in antiquity as a means of recycling precious stones. The importance of leonine deities in Nubian religion was obviously the motivating force behind the creation of this spectacular ornament.
Well, maybe. Maybe not. Here are some little things that may help you figure out if it was really a grand message or not! The more of these you have, the more likely it is.
🦉It’s unusual. Let’s say you saw a deer. Sweet! That’s cool, but if you live in a wooded area and deer are really common, it’s really not that profound. It could be a message, or it could just be a deer.
🦉You asked for a sign. If you asked the universe or a certain deity for a sign, perhaps this is the follow through! For this type of thing, it’s usually good to ask for something specific enough that you couldn’t expect it every day, but not so much that it’s impossible. (My go to is a rose or a purple feather.) That way, you know that X thing is your sign without worrying too hard about it!
🦉It felt… different. Maybe the event isn’t terribly wild on its own, but it just really hit you, or the feeling was incredibly profound. Especially after doing research, and seeing how many things are symbols, your brain will make connections really quickly. That means sometimes we make something out of nothing. A strong emotional response is a good sign of a sign.
🦉It immediately felt like a sign. Let’s say you see a rainbow, and it’s really pretty. You enjoy it for a few minutes then go back inside. Later, you think, “Hm, that could have been a sign.” Maybe. But it also could be your brain going hey, I know things associated with rainbows! (In my opinion, this is the most important one. I feel like if you have to wonder if it was a sign, it wasn’t a sign. You might not know what it’s a sign of, but you will know it’s a sign. That’s just my UPG, though.)
🦉Any post-research lines up. If you get a neat vision and run the details through Google, you may find details that line up with certain lore. Maybe you knew this before, maybe not. If you didn’t, and connections keep happening with surprising accuracy, it’s a pretty good indicator!
🦉Think of why you want it to be a sign, if you do. There’s a big narrative that everybody involved in magic, Paganism, etc. is constantly having these profound religious experiences. This simply isn’t true. There’s no shame in wanting a story to share, or to feel special, or to “fit in” by getting signs from the universe. Sometimes we want signs for the sake of receiving signs, so if you’re trying to manufacture them by pulling on every little thing, you’re distracting yourself from enjoying the world exactly how it is. Don’t worry about signs and enjoy yourself. Animals and rainbows and all that are still pretty great even if every little thing doesn’t have a personal meaning.
Altogether, the Daughters of Ra are pretty tight-knit group of siblings. The five sisters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, and Bastet) are fairly independent in the own right, but also very comfortable around each other as a group, having grown up together as the High King’s daughters and as extensions of his power.
The sisters mesh well together for the most part, and seem to understand how each other tick better than most, having seen each other at their best and their worst. They’re also really protective of each other; if someone were to hurt or upset one of them, they’d be bound to hear from the other sisters (and not all of them would be as lenient or forgiving). On the flipside, they often confide in each other to seek advice every now and then – or to speak some reason into each other when needed.
There have, of course, been times when the sisters may not always get along, or need their distance from each other, as well as moments when one sister will envy the qualities/abilities of another – especially when they were younger and still coming into their own as individual goddesses. But this has faded with time, and aside from the occasional spat, they genuinely support each other, and they understand the value of each other’s unique roles in the pantheon.
For a more extended answer with more detailed headcanons on their interactions and relationships, I’ll place those under the cut because they got… long winded… again >> It might be nice if I went into detail for each other separate one day, but I’ll save that for another time o)7
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