Sensuality and Spirituality: The Goddes of Hathor

Have you ever wondered if it is spiritual to be sensual? Are you more comfortable with your spirituality than your physicality or find yourself keeping them separate? Last year I had the great joy of going on a spiritual sojourn to Egypt with my partner, Friedemann. To my even greater delight my beloved asked me to marry him at Sekhmet’s temple at Karnak. As the paths of my sensuality and spirituality merged, I realized I had to get more grounded in my body and experience the joys that come with being physical. The betrothal ceremony and celebration that followed exceeded the wildest dreams of my inner princess— I was off to a great start.

Let me paint the picture for you. Friedemann and I danced with our group on the roof of Hathor’s Temple at Dendera, weaving an elemental spirit basket to hold us until we got married. Nicki performed a betrothal ceremony in the sky goddess Nut’s chapel with Nut’s star bellied beauty radiating from the ceiling. We exchanged cartouches and our love for one another. Then Nicki led us all on a sensual journey of dance and ecstasy with Hathor, while Friedemann and I danced in the center. During the ceremony I noticed some awkwardness, inhibitions and fear mixed with my elation and ecstasy.

When I got home I reflected on my experience of dancing in Hathor’s temple, and realized that I tended to keep my spirituality and sensuality separate and in a tenuous balance. I began to notice a similar disconnect between body and spirit in some of the people around me who were on a dedicated spiritual path. It seemed that although they were adept in the psycho-spiritual realms, they did not fully occupy their physical form. I thought of the Sufi dancers we saw in Egypt who twirled suppressed to bring divine ecstasy and joy into their physical form and realized that spirituality and physicality are meant to go together. After all, the body is a house of the spirit. I wanted more of this merging, so I set an intention to merge body with soul, and sensuality with spirituality. I asked my Egyptian guides for help so that I could learn to fully occupy my physical form.

At Thoth’s suggestion, I began to teach a class on the Egyptian Pantheon, working with a different god or goddess and chakra each month. Through the work with Sobek and the first chakra I realized that the more I am connected to my body the better I am able to connect with my divinity. The higher the frequency with which my body resonates, the more my soul is grounded in physical form and the more I can experience heaven on earth. The root Chakra is where the essence of the soul joins the human body. It is where the Kundalini energy, the nectar that feeds the body and soul, is ignited. If we look in nature we know that a tree can only grow as tall as its root system can hold. This is exactly the same as with the human form. When the soul is grounded in the body it is able to soar.

Once I was fully anchored in my body, the next step was to enjoy it. It was the goddess Hathor who stepped forward to assist me through working with my second Chakra. Originally Hathor was known as the spiritually nourishing sky goddess whose sublime image represented the celestial energies of divine love and ecstasy. Hathor as divine ecstasy eventually becomes Hathor the Earth goddess of fertility, sexuality, and love. Her high vibrational energy of love was embodied and grounded through dance, music, intoxication, joy and bodily bliss.

Early in my work with Hathor I realized that my capacity to feel joy was suppressed. Intellectually I knew I had a fabulous life, an incredible partner, a healthy body, good friends, and was blessed to be doing work that I love…but somehow fear and joy had gotten tangled up with my blessings. It was easier for me to focus on my spirituality and divine ecstasy then on enjoying the physical sensations of having a body. I committed to spend an intensive month with Hathor working on the issue of pleasure. However, whenever I tried to schedule meetings with her she suggested I take naps, baths, walks, sing, dance, make love, eat wonderful foods, see friends and play. She encouraged me to be gentle with myself and to accept assistance from others to clear my fear and blockages. I treated myself to massage, energy healing, energetic chiropractic, acupuncture, business coaching, and many clearing sessions from my guides. Hathor had me experience my senses and the joy of being in the body. Before I knew it I was truly enjoying life.

Hathor’s message to all of us at this time is clear and simple: “Love with every cell of your body. Use your body to be love incarnate— to dance, sing, move, appreciate beauty, and make love. Choose to be in harmonious relationship with yourself and the world around you. Focus on the whispers in your ears, the divine disires in your heart. Embody the vibration of love and merge your sensuality with your spirituality.

Join Danielle on an Initiatory Journey to Egypt May 9 - 23, 2010. Click here for details…

Danielle teaches Alchemical Healing and other healing arts. For more information about Danielle see our staff page.