Red wineCinnamon incenseCarnelianActs of fierce protectionStanding between the predator and the preyLion imagery
Invocation Approach
Tone
Fierce and guarded
Address
MaahesGreat LionLord of the Slaughter
Relationship
The lion at the gate not the lion in the house
Warning
He is the guardian who eats the enemy do not call him for private revenge
Resonance
Those defending something smaller than themselves
Symbols
LionKnifeLotusSolar barque
Mythology Summary
Maahes is the lion-headed god of war whose name means 'he who is true beside her' and who is the son of Ptah and of the feline goddess — Bastet at Bubastis, Sekhmet at Leontopolis — sharing their lion nature. His cult centred on Taremu (Greek Leontopolis) in the Delta and on Per-Bast, and he is shown with a knife and a lotus and called the protector of the sun barque who devours the enemies of order. His mythology survives largely as epithet and iconography rather than as narrative: the lion who guards the god and the king.
Modern Practice
Maahes is invoked as the guardian who stands between a predator and its prey — protection work with teeth in it, and anger put to a just use. His practice is protective rather than aggressive: he is not the god to call to win a quarrel.