Lions, The great cats (tell me more)

[Ratha]

Since there are sooooo many people here maybe you all can help me out with a little side quest I'm working on.

Learning to shapeshift is what I'm working on a lot now (also working with fire through lions) and I wanted to know a bit more about lions and paganism. Now I look online and don't really find much. Not even when I look up big cats and paganism. Cats are all nice, and I own a few myself, but its the large cats that attract me, lionesses mainly. I found when I started shapeshifting int a snake I couldn't do it. It was hard to get the feeling and the body was alien to me. I love my beloved large snake allie, but he told me shifting into a snake wouldn't work well with me. Not that type of preditor.

So I though for a while and looked up pictures of large cats. Lynxs drew me a bit, but when Ostara came around....something took over me...and um well I 'attacked' my boyfriend...in a way...>.> don't make me spell it out, I think you all know what happened...let just say he was left laying on the floor sore, panting, but a very happy pagan man. After that day when I tried to shapeshift again and thought 'large cat' it was easy and I shifted into a lioness. I felt the paw pads, her soft but tough fur, and the way her body moved on all fours. I loved everything about it.

This is where I want to know more about lions/big cats with paganism. What does your path say about them? What are their meanings? Any shamans out there know why I turn more to the lioness then a horse or a snake or wolf (who are my allies)? Any Gods or Goddesses linked to lions or lionesses?

Sorry me being a young one is I'm always asking questions.

[antiquitas]

I don't really have anything to add aside from some of the Greek pantheon associated with lions are: Hera, Rhea (mother goddesses); deified Herakles; and the town of Mycenee was protected by lions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenae).

[SilverEyedScarab]

Well, I love answering questions so I'll give it a whirl...:hahugh:

*Kemetic hat on*

Many big cat species (of which lions are the most infamous and prevelant) were incorporated into Ancient Egyptian symbolism. Along with Sekhmet, who is one of the more well known goddesses associated with the image of the fierce lioness, Bastet, Hathor, Mehit, Mut, Tefnut, and Wadjyt among others are pictured with the same iconography. There were male deities associated with big cats as well. Mahes was a popular lion god, and Set could sometimes be embodied in a male leopard or black panther. There are also more mythic representations of big cats, including lion-like griffins and, of course, the sphinx. There was even a more obscure reference to a two headed "double lion" god named Ruty who guarded the place on the horizon where deities and kings were regenerated in the after life.

As a general rule, lions were considered divine guardians and the ones best suited for carrying out divine retribution. One temple ritual has the body of Osiris being guarded by four lioness goddesses. In the Pyramid texts, Mafdet, in the form of a lioness, aided the dead king by clawing out the eyes of an evil snake that meant to attack him (she was also depicted in other texts in the form of a cheetah or lynx).

On a humorous note, a later Greco-Roman tablet from Egypt warns Egyptain men of the following: "Women are like a friendly cat when you can give them what they want, and like a raging lioness when you cannot." Which is actually in keeping with many of the myths.

*UPG hat on*

The gods in Kemetic myth step into many different manifestations, called Iru, some of which were animal in form. In a sense, they were shape-shifters. Animals themselves were not worshiped in Egypt (despite popular misconceptions) but were more commonly worshiped as manifested gods and goddesses, who were understood to have a variety of other forms. (Ra had something like 72 different Iru in one myth) I personally think shape-shifting is not out of place in Kemetic faith, though little exists that has been written on the matter.

The Iru that a god takes on are part of their many names, facets of their identity. I think it may be similar for mortal shape-shifters. I can shape-shift most easily into animal energies which align with my soul's characteristics. But just because I only shift into energies which complement the patterns of my inner self, doesn't mean I can't have allies among other patterns of energy which are more of a yin to my yang, so to speak. In fact, I think it's likely. In my opinion, it's a good thing to have allies whose strengths help compensate for my weaknesses.

[Ratha]

SilverEyed@ Its nice to hear a lot about the Eygption side of worship and matters on shapeshifting. I'm not really into Eygption, but I think their deities are colorful and amazing. I think it has to do with my blood and how I am that just draws me to something else. Still have the highest respect for them though.

antiquitas@ I didn't know the part about Hera. I will have to look into that more. Seems very intresting.

Thanks so far for these insights on big cats.

[Æon Flux]

SilverEyed@ Its nice to hear a lot about the Eygption side of worship and matters on shapeshifting. I'm not really into Eygption, but I think their deities are colorful and amazing. I think it has to do with my blood and how I am that just draws me to something else. Still have the highest respect for them though.

antiquitas@ I didn't know the part about Hera. I will have to look into that more. Seems very intresting.

Thanks so far for these insights on big cats.

Your blood? It has to do with... your blood?

[antiquitas]

Ratha, I'm not very well versed in Hera, but I'm sure the lioness association has to do with her being a mother goddess. but I'm not sure where that association began. The only myth I'm familiar with is the Nemean Lion (with Herakles).

[Ratha]

Your blood? It has to do with... your blood?
My bloodlines are from Germany, France, Ireland and Wales. I say that meaning I connect to gods and customs of those regions better then say from Eygpt. I've tried to look to an Eygption Goddess but it ended up not working so well. Lost in translation I bet. Its funny though I connect to a lioness when there are no lions in those places, but I think there are large wild cats there.

I just want to know a well rounded lore of lions and large cats in myths and paganism.

[SilverEyedScarab]

My bloodlines are from Germany, France, Ireland and Wales. I say that meaning I connect to gods and customs of those regions better then say from Eygpt. I've tried to look to an Eygption Goddess but it ended up not working so well. Lost in translation I bet. Its funny though I connect to a lioness when there are no lions in those places, but I think there are large wild cats there.

I just want to know a well rounded lore of lions and large cats in myths and paganism.

I can totally understand that. For me it was just the opposite: I tried, but wasn't able to connect with the faiths normally associated with my German bloodline.

BTW: found a neat power point presentation you might be interested in--it's called The Lion and the Goddess: Big Cats and the Divine Feminine in Ancient Iconography. The first third of it is Egyptian/Mesopotamian but there is a section on Europe, so maybe that will yield some useful information for you. (I don't know how good it is, but it looks like the presenter may be a college professor, so it could at least be a good starting point.) Linky here (though it is a download link, so you may have to Google it if you can't get the link to work in your browser):

www.rabbitmurmurs.org/Presentations/TheLionandtheGoddess.ppt (http://www.mysticwicks.com/www.rabbitmurmurs.org/Presentations/TheLionandtheGoddess.ppt)

[~Runa~]

Maybe you should look into both Therianthropy and Werecat.

[hewhowatches]

All I can say about lions and paganism is that it involves naps, wanting scritches and shiny things. Oh, and small things that move quickly. *bats around a bouncy ball*