Lioness of Ra

I was raised to believe in a single masculine creator God in a misogynistic mythology that made no room for the divine feminine. I became agnostic for years, seeing no need for a creator or gods.

A girlfriend had an Eye of Ra tattoo, so I looked up its meaning. The Eye of Ra symbolized power, fury, and violence. It was the embodiment of the sun god Ra's daughter. Ra sent his daughter to punish his disrespectful followers, leading the eye to be associated with power and violence.It was also her job to bring the Sun god back to life every morning after he died each night.

Having discarded a belief system that disempowered women, I found the Egyptian concept of the divine feminine refreshing, and something about it attracted me.

The Eye of Ra is often associated with the goddess Bastet, who is often pictured as a cat or lioness. The eye in this painting is a blending of my friend’s amber eyes and that of a lioness.