Red wineCinnamon incenseActs of defenceProtecting the householdLioness imagery
Invocation Approach
Tone
Hot and direct
Address
MenhitThe LionessSlaughterer
Relationship
The heat at the door
Warning
She is a goddess of the slaughter of enemies not a household pet
Resonance
Those defending a household those with a fight they did not choose
Symbols
LionessKnifeSolar diskSpear
Mythology Summary
Menhit is a lioness war goddess who came into Egypt from Nubia, and her name means 'she who sacrifices' or 'she who massacres'. Her main Egyptian cult was at Esna (Greek Latopolis), where the Ptolemaic and Roman temple decoration makes her the consort of Khnum and the mother of Heka, and where she is a solar and tutelary goddess as well as a fighter. She is one of the many lioness deities — with Sekhmet, Bastet, Mut and Neith — with whom late Egyptian religion increasingly identified her.
Modern Practice
Menhit is called for the defence of a household and for the heat that is legitimate in a fight someone else started. Her practice is protective and local: the door, the child, the boundary of the house.