Tirza Schaefer: Romance Author & Goddess Facilitator
Mut
The Grand Mother of All
Goddess Mut is an Ancient Egyptian Deity whose name means mother in the Egyptian language. She is the archetype of the primal waters from which the world, the universe, and all of creation was born through a self-fertilising process. Mut existed before everything, Egyptian texts tell us and thus, she is the energy that has not yet been given form, the dark matter that has not yet become manifest.
In the Bible, it says that there was a word or thought in the beginning of the creation story, but before there is a word, there has to be a thought and thoughts are made of energy in motion. Once energy is in motion, it is given form. Mut is the energy, the unfulfilled potential from which everything is born.
She is the ultimate mother, often called grandmother or crone as well. Some of her titles are World-Mother, Eye of Ra, Queen of the Goddesses, Lady of Heaven, Mother of the Gods, and She Who Gives Birth, But Was Herself Not Born of Any, the last relating to the fact that she did not procreate through insemination, but created life by herself alone and that she was not born from another source, but was in existence before all.
Rebirth & Purification
The animal Goddess Mut is most commonly associated with is the Vulture, a symbol of motherhood, Egyptian royalty, rebirth and purification. Sometimes she has also been shown in association with, or indeed as a cobra, a cat, a cow, or a lioness. She was widely worshipped, adored as Amun’s consort during the Middle Kingdom, and until today, temples of her have remained throughout Egypt and Sudan. Her temples were solely run by priestesses and the Great Royal Wives or Queens, and the female Pharaohs were her High Priestesses.
Mut was worshipped in daily religious rituals that were related to the Divine Feminine Creatrix aspect. Her main centre of worship was at Karnak, even though, together with the God Amun, she was the patron Goddess of Thebes. In the 18th Dynastie, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut brought the Goddess back to a central place in the Egyptian pantheon, strongly identifying with her and considering herself a descendant of hers. As she had served as a very successful warrior earlier in her reign, she also identified herself with Mut's more ar-like leonine aspect Sekhmet.
A Nurturing Leader
Through this, it is clear that Egyptians saw deities as aspects of the Great Divine, the personification of certain traits and characteristics that are universal to the human psyche. A deity is not existent outside of you, a higher being at whose mercy you are, but the personification of a set of traits and certain wisdom inherent in the collective psyche that the un- or superconscious can access.
In human visions and spiritual experiences, this manifests often in the form of a humanoid or animalistic form. In the case of Mut, like a woman or a vulture. Mut is the grand mother, mother of all and therefore, she speaks to our creative, life-giving and purifying instincts, our will to nurture our children, protect them and grow them into bright adults, to nurture and impart wisdom on those we love and care for and in whose lives we have taken on a motherly role.
This can also be as a teacher, summer camp director or boss of a number of employees. When you have a certain power over others and thrive to do your best to bring out their light and talents to the benefit of the greater whole, as well as the individual, this is the energy of Mut.
Through her association with water and also the vulture, who is a scavenger, eating the leftovers of others’ prey, and thus cleansing the environment like a natural garbage removal service, Mut is seen as ruling rebirth, cleansing and purification as well. The energy of Mut is gentle, loving, caring and full of ancient wisdom.
Realising Potential
In my romance novel Her Badass Bikers, Ava cares for her men and children in her community without abandoning herself. She teaches them to value themselves more and to follow their dreams. This continues in Fromance (Full Edition) when she supports one of her men to not only make his dream a reality but also takes active steps to bring opportunities his way that he might have missed out on, thus connecting two people who needed each other without knowing to help both to fulfil their needs and realise their potential.
That in turn frees up more time and mental space for her to concern herself with other things, creating a winning situation not only for these three, but also creating a ripple effect that has more positive outcomes far beyond what anyone would have been able to imagine.