Journey To The Temple Of Sekhmet

Our journey began as we set out in the wee hours, hoping to reach the Temple by noon. The moon rode the sky, waxing toward fullness, as clouds swirled in an accompanying dance. Our drive took us through mountains and high plateau, desert and red rock. The moon kept us company and set just before dawn, gradually deepening from white to yellow to mellow orange. Our journey was a pilgrimage, a spiritual quest to visit the desert Temple dedicated to the Goddess in all her guises and specially consecrated to the powerful Goddess, Sekhmet.

Sekhmet is the Egyptian Goddess of 4,000 names, many of her names lost through time. She is depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness and is known to be a powerful Goddess for protection, fire, and the Sun's transformational energy. Her origins are ancient and she has many attributes.

One of her legends is that she is the daughter of Ra, the Egyptian Sun God. When the Earth became afflicted with demons and evil, Ra sent Sekhmet to slaughter the demons and cleanse the Earth. Sekhmet rose to the challenge and killed these demons and evil doers in a joyous frenzy. When all of the demons had been killed her frenzy did not abate. Sekhmet was tricked into passivity by being offered beer dyed blood-red. She drank this "blood" and become soothed by the alcohol and thus her killing frenzy ended.

The Temple of Sekhmet is located in a sensitive oasis in Nevada bordered by the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, the Indian Springs Air Force Base, and the prison. Once sacred ground to the Shoshoni tribe, the area has been used and exploited for war and the practice of perfecting killing and nuclear holocaust. In fact, during our visit the air force base was engaged in war games.

The Temple was built and dedicated to Sekhmet in 1993 by Genevieve Vaughn and has been served over the years by a succession of priestesses. Full moon rituals, holy days, retreats, protests, and new moon women's mysteries are some of the ongoing activities available at the Temple. The Temple also organizes an annual lament at the gates of the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. The Temple is a work of art. open to the Four Directions, with an open top, graced with a beautiful iron lattice sculpture.

Sekhmet presides in her Temple with other aspects of the Goddess. You will see a gorgeous Earth Mother, the Virgin de Guadalupe, Bast, and many others. A table set up with handouts and a book to add prayers, greets us. A fire pit in the center of the Temple, ringed by an iron sculpture of dancing women, stands under the bright-blue sky. Many people have left offerings. The grounds around the Temple are also an ongoing work of art. Many people have crafted lovely tributes asking for peace and healing for all of Mother Earth and Her creatures.

The land around the Temple is peaceful, despite its proximity to the road and military activity. Beautiful wildflowers and birdsong greeted us in this desert oasis. Views of the surrounding mountains were gorgeous. Even when we were buzzed by an air force helicopter, the feeling of Sekhmet's protection remained. What an appropriate Goddess for such an endangered place. Beautiful Sekhmet and her sister Goddesses hold space against some of the mightiest war machines on Earth.

My pilgrimage to the Temple is an honoring to one of the wonderful Goddesses who have come to me as allies, healers, and teachers over the years. I wanted to come and pay my respects, gift Sekhmet with beautiful flowers, and make a promise to carry out a task in her name. The next part of my journey would allow me the opportunity to carry out my promised task.

After we spent time exploring, meditating, taking pictures, and enjoying the beauty, my mate and I headed out to for the next leg of our journey honoring Sekhmet. Our next stop was Kanab, Utah and a visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I had made a promise to donate money to the special needs kitties at the Sanctuary in Sekhmet's name.

Best Friends is the largest "no kill" animal sanctuary in the United States. Located in gorgeous Angel's canyon, Best Friends houses cats, dogs, horses, sheep, burros, rabbits, birds, wild friends that can no longer fend for themselves, and other animals. They are active in spear heading the "No More Homeless Pets" campaign and facilitate a volunteer network that spans the globe. Best Friends provide a loving home for many special needs animals that will never find a forever family. I knew that Sekhmet would be pleased to have money donated to some of these special friends in her name.

Our visit to Best Friends was wonderful. We were impressed by everything we saw and wished we had more time to stay and volunteer in this beautiful and peaceful place. People come from all over the world to volunteer at Best Friends. Folks walk dogs, clean enclosures, pet and socialize kitties, and engage in the many care taking responsibilities for the Sanctuary. It is a real feel good type of place. The perfect place to honor Sekhmet and other aspects of the Goddess.

After our visit to Best Friends, we finished our pilgrimage by visiting two of our National Parks, Zion and Bryce. We had arranged to meet a couple of our friends, who were up visiting from the San Francisco area, in Zion. The four of us are nature recordists and we were scheduled to do some sound research for the Park Service. We were being joined by another nature recordist and long time champion and advocate for our National Parks.

The research we were engaging involves recording and documenting intrusive man-made sounds in the National Parks. Quiet is considered one of our precious natural resources needing preservation. Air tours, helicopter tours, jets, other air fly overs, and snowmobiles are endangering our natural soundscapes. Nearby St. George, Utah, is looking to expand its airport. This means many more intrusive fly overs for our nearby, Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks.

The Nature Sounds Society, which we are members, is working with the Park Service to actively educate people and save the sound environments in the National Parks. This means volunteers to educate, develop recording protocol, and record baseline sounds. Most people are unaware of this important issue. The parks currently the most endangered are the Hawaiian Parks, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and Yellowstone, though intrusive man-made noise is an issue all over the globe. Once we lose our natural quiet in the parks and other places we may never get it back.

What a fabulous conclusion to our honoring of Sekhmet. We were able to spend time in both Parks logging man-made sound, recording and working out bugs in our logging/recording protocol. We enjoyed wonderful company, gorgeous scenery, wildflowers, wild weather, and animal/bird friends while we were there. I felt sure that Sekhmet was smiling and protecting us on the rest of our adventures and all the way home.

There are so very many ways that a Pagan Priest/ess can serve the Earth and the Goddesses/Gods/Spirit in a practical way. One doesn't have to work within the organizing of religion to do so. In fact, one doesn't have to be particularly social or enjoy people. The special part, in my opinion, of being a Pagan is being able to have a personal relationship with Spirit. Honoring all of our fellow living beings and the Earth as a living representation of Spirit is what it is all about. Now, more than ever, we need everybody to care, seek education, and get involved.

If you would like to learn more about the Temple of Sekhmet please visit:
http://www.sekhmettemple.com

To learn more about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary please visit:
http://www.bestfriends.org

If you are interested in the issue of preserving natural quiet and the Nature Sounds Society please visit:
http://www.naturesounds.org