Tribute Of The Witches

"Life, truth, balance." Maat, the Egyptian goddess of justice. This card features the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut and her mortuary temple. Her official name as Pharaoh was Maat-Kare which means "Maat is the Ka of Re." "Maat" was the goddess of justice, truth, and balance. "Ka" means "the soul", as gods and animals were all seen to have a soul in ancient Egypt. Lastly, "Re" was the sun god that brought creation and regeneration. Put altogether, Hatshepsut's name meant that she would bring creation and regeneration to her people and to the land of Egypt  and she did. Her rule had been a time of peace and prosperity, filled with magnificent art and ambitious building projects. As a woman, she was able to become a pharaoh because she had two important power bases: the noble (she bought them with generous donations) and the priests of Amun (the main Egyptian god) (she was a high priestess of Amun in her younger years). After her death, Hatshepsuts name was defaced and erased from history, and her temples were appropriated by other pharaohs. This was probably because later rulers didn't want to set up the precedent of a female pharaoh. Her mortuary temple represented here was "rediscovered," excavated, and restored in the 20th century.  Card: Balance and justice. 