ANCIENT TRADITIONS OF GODDESSESS AND HEALING CRYSTALS THAT HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH THEM

All ancient cultures have been associated with Goddesses, as beings of protection and compaction, looking after mankind and its needs.

Ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians for example, had great reverence for two feline Goddesses, named Sekmet and Bast, the ancient Hindu Goddess Lacshmi, is today revered as the Goddess of abundance and prosperity, while the female Budha Goddess Kuan Yin of Asia is much loved as the Goddess of Compassion and Protection of humans.

Another interesting factor is that all of them are also related to healing and to gemstones.

Gemstones are also in high esteem in the Bible, in the Old Testament stones such as Amethyst were prominent on the breast plate of the High Priests.

Some of the traditions and myths related to the Goddesses are the following:

a) Bast

The Egyptian Goddess with the body of a beautiful young woman and the head of a cat. Bast held many, roles, held at the same time, or in the same place.

Bast is the Goddess of cats, the rising sun, the moon, truth, enlightenment, sexuality, physical pleasures, fertility, bounty, birth, plenty, the household and protector of the civilization, creation, the arts: music and dance, battler of serpents which attack the sun god. She represents the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess. The benevolent side of the lioness-goddess Sekhmet.

Name Variations: Bast, also spelled Ubasti, Bastet (usually when in full cat form), Pasch, Pasht, Ubasti, Ba en Aset. Sometimes considered to be the Egyptian version of the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana.

Bast was the daughter of Isis and Osiris, the twin sister of Horus, and possessor of his “eye” the sacred and magical “utchat”. As time went on, the utchat became more associated with cats.

Many modern names for the cat are derived from the word utchat: cat, chat, cattus, gatus, gatous, gato, katt, katte, kitte, kitty, etc. Bast was also married to of Ptah and mother of the lion god Mihos.

B) Sekhmet

Sekhmet (AKA Sekhmet, Sakhmet, or Sekhmet the Destroyer) is the Goddess of sunset, destruction, death, rebirth and wisdom. She is also sometimes defined as a warrior or huntress goddess. The cycle of life and death was created when the primeval Goddess Sekhmet-Bast divided into two sisters, Sekhmet and Bast. Another legend regarding her origins is that she was created by Ra from the fire of his eyes as a creature of vengeance to punish mankind for his sins. Later, she became a peaceful protectress of the righteous, closely linked with the benevolent Bast. The lioness-goddess, worship was centered in Memphis.

Sekhmet is typically shown as a black skinned woman with the head of a lioness. Her eyes and hair are often orange or red.

Sekhmet represents the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess.

Today many women view Sekhmet as a source of strength, independence and assertiveness, and commune with her frequency when these attributes need to be augmented or instilled. To some Sekhmet has become the symbol of the modern woman. Later, as noted above, the creation goddess Mut, the great mother, gradually became absorbed into the identities of the patron goddesses, merging with Sekhmet, and also sometimes with Bast.

She is approached as a healer, bringer of justice and as a guardian or protector, but the emphasis has shifted. It seems a natural progression that Sekhmet has transformed from what was almost a force of chaos into an icon of immanent female power.

C) Lakshmi

Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word ‘Lakshmi’ is derived from the Sanskrit word “Laksya”, meaning ‘aim’ or ‘goal’, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual.

Lakshmi is the household goddess of most Hindu families, and a favorite of women. Although she is worshipped daily, the festive month of October is Lakshmi’s special month. Lakshmi Puja is celebrated

One of the forms of the Mother Goddess, is the goddess of fortune and wealth and the consort of Vishnu. She is commonly called “Shri” a title given to many gods and saints but especially to Lakshmi. She is associated with the festival of Divali as the bringer of blessings for the new year.

As goddess of good fortune she is depicted with four arms. Two of her hands hold lotus flowers and a third pours out wealth in the form of gold coins. Her fourth hand is held out in the gesture of blessing. But she is also the goddess of beauty and as such is shown as a young and beautiful goddess decorated with jewels and with only two arms.

She is often depicted seated on a lotus being showered by two elephants who are pouring pots of water over her head. The lotus is a symbol of fertility and purity as it grows with both power and beauty form the mud. In India with its lack of a constant dependable supply of water, water is a symbol of plenty.

Lakshmi is depicted as a beautiful woman of golden complexion, with four hands, sitting or standing on a full-bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud, which stands for beauty, purity and fertility. Her four hands represent the four ends of human life: dharma or righteousness, “kama” or desires, “artha” or wealth, and “moksha” or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.Cascades of gold coins are seen flowing from her hands, suggesting that those who worship her gain wealth. She always wears gold embroidered red clothes. Red symbolizes activity and the golden lining indicates prosperity.

Lakshmi is the active energy of Vishnu, and also appears as Lakshmi-Narayan – Lakshmi accompanying Vishnu. She leads to both material and spiritual prosperity.

On the full moon night following Dusshera or Durga Puja, Hindus worship Lakshmi ceremonially at home, pray for her blessings, and invite neighbors to attend the puja. It is believed that on this full moon night the goddess herself visits the homes and replenishes the inhabitants with wealth. A special worship is also offered to Lakshmi on the auspicious Diwali night.

Lakshmi’s vehicle is a white owl.

D) Kuan yin

Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin, Quan Yin, Kannon, Guan Yin, is the Compassionate Goddess of the East. Likened to the worship of Mary in the West, she is an image of Compassion, a motherly figure said to bestow children on the faithful, protect those at sea, protect all children and be there for anyone in need of her compassion and love. She hears all prayers .

Her full name Kuan Shih Yin literally means “The one who listens, looks on or hears the cries of the world”.

Legend says Kuan Yin, a princess, having forsaken marriage, lived her life in a convent much to her father’s anger and dismay. She was a Buddhist Bodhisattva, a mortal who achieved enlightenment and earned the right to enter Heaven or Nirvana, when at the gates of Heaven, she heard someone on Earth cry, and turned back, vowing that she would stay on Earth to do all she could to ease human suffering. She would not enter Heaven until everyone could go there with her.

The traditional mantra of OM MANI PADME HUM, Goddess Ways, use of the Lavender Flame, or simply our own way help us to call upon and invoke her.

A Kuan Yin picture or statue in our house brings good luck and protection to our household and family.

Kuan Yin is the Goddess of Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness

She directs the Flame of Mercy and Compassion

She is a member of the Karmic Board

Lord Guatama Buddha was her Master

Her flower is the five petaled Lotus

“Any living being who calls my name or sees me will be free from all fear and danger”.

“I am cultivating this method of Great Compassion and Hope to save all living beings”.

“I will activate that being’s spiritual awareness and maintain it forever”.

In China Kuan Yin(Avalokitesvara) came to be most frequently worshipped in female form as the Goddess of Mercy. This transformation from an originally male deity into a female one seems to have occurred sometime during the Northern Sung dynasty (960-1126) and is reflected in Kuan-yin’s miracluous appearance in human form in the legend of Miao-shan.

Before then this monastery had been known for its splendid statue of Kuan-yin as the Great Compassionate One (Ta-pei) with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes. The legend recorded by Chiang identifies the Fragrant Mountain Monastery as the location of Kuan-yin’s manifestation, where she revealed herself in her Great Compassionate form with a thousand arms and eyes, neatly joining the Miao-shan legend with the image of Kuan-yin enshrined in the monastery. It went on to claim that the relics of Kuan-yin were enshrined in a stupa, thus making Fragrant Mountain Monastery a popular pilgrimage center. An inscription of 1185, commemorating the restoration of the Fragrant Mountain Monastery, noted that since around 1100, “the abbots of this monastery successively built it up on a magnificent scale and with increasing extravagance. Because the bodhisattva’s relics were there in the stupa and many miracles were wrought, every spring in the second lunar month people from all parts would come, regardless of distance.