Feast of Sekhmet

As AMANI RA aged, human beings began to plot against him. When Ra saw this, he summoned his divine Eye, in the form of the goddess Hathor. He also sent for Shu, Tefenet, Geb, Nut, and the eight primeval gods.

Ra asked Nun, the oldest of these primeval gods, for advice as to what to do about the rebellious people. Nun and the other gods counselled the sun god to send his divine Eye to destroy humankind. Ra agreed, and the Eye goddess was transformed from Hathor into Sekhmet, the raging lioness, who slaughtered some of the people and waded in their blood.

Ra decided to save the remainder of humanity. In order to distract Sekhmet from her orgy of killing, he ordered the high priest of his temple at Heliopolis to make 7,000 jars of beer and to dye it red. When this had been done, the beer was poured out on the ground so that it looked like a lake of blood.

The Eye goddess saw the lake and her reflection in it. She lapped up the dyed beer and became so drunk that she forgot about slaughtering the rest of humankind. The Eye goddess was transformed from the savage Sekhmet back into the beautiful Hathor, but although humanity was no safe from the lion goddess's rage, plague and death had now come into existence.

pour libations for this oracle...