As I wandered through the columns in the Hypostyle Hall in Karnack Temple, I arrived at a side entrance in the hall, along this wall the Sed festival of Seti 1 is celebrated, from here Seti invites the gods into the house.
Thoth the God of the Moon, Magic, writing and wisdom stands behind
the king who kneels beneath the tree of Life, Thoth has a lean sturdy body but his head is that of an ibis bird whose long beak curves like the crescent of the Moon, he is the scribe of the Gods who keeps all the records of the living and those in the underworld, with his reed pen he writes the kings name in a fruit that he then passes to Seti who hangs it on onto the magical Tree of Life for the regeneration of his reign. Seti is wearing the Kepresh ceremonial crown and holding a hek scepter to symbolize that he is the Sheppard and guardian of his people.
The Goddess Sekhmet stands the other side of the tree of life behind the king, her elegant body is overshadowed by her golden mane and the warm regal face of a lion; her strength and ferociousness was that of a lion, causing fear amongst both gods and men , in a rage she would punish or annihilate all wrongdoers, she was the kings protector in battle who ran before his chariot slaughtering his enemies, she preserved him from evil, she stands behind him in this ceremony holding the palm of years from which a collection of Ankhs dangle that would jingle in the breeze, this is a conduit for the divine power of life and permeates the universe.
To complete his ceremony Seti kneels before Amun holding the symbols of the Sed festival in his left hand, the God Amun reaches out to bless the king touching his Atef crown with uraei on disks all surrounding the horns of Khumn.
Seti had originally started creating the huge pylons and the Hypostyle Hall in Karnack Temple, and after his death his son Ramses the 11 (The Great) completed his works.
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