Those that are familiar with deified ancestors among the Afrocentric worldview will understand the concept of a real women who becomes titled as goddess as time goes on. Some call this early representation of Seshat as practice of ancestor worship. I view it as recognizing with high esteem those who have made great accomplishments. Honoring those that have come before us. Those who have left such an impression on life that their influence lives on and remains relevant. Similar to the recognition of dead presidents and military generals we see often in art, murals, statues, text, etc.today in the United States and worldwide.
One primary difference I see that I think earlier Egyptian scholars considered to be "worship"among the ancient Egyptians is that Africans, and many indigenous cultures for that matter, would pray to these great people for assistance in the areas they were masters in. I will discuss this later in greater detail as I show examples of students asking Seshat for assistance in learning, as recorded in the Book of Thoth and the Book of Proverbs in the Holy Bible. Praying, calling out, invoking, or any other term one would use to describe bringing up an image or thought of something not here physically. This "action" of recalling those from the past who were great in a craft was used as a tool to bring that energy here to this realm, if one were lucky enough to get their attention. Kind of like a child's hope that their letter and nighttime prayers really makes it to Santa. The act of getting Seshat's attention for wisdom vs gifts became a ritual over time.
I live in a world of tooth fairies that are thought of when a child looses a tooth. And Santa Claus who comes to make sure the children have gifts under the tree. Both understood to be images that represent themes, not real, and certainly not Gods. So we must be careful not to think that because someone used the term God or Goddess in translation that it carries the same concept of "God" in its treatment as displayed in our culture. They are more aptly described as deified ancestors; someone who may have existed at some point but has taken on other more grandiose characteristics over time. With the American Santa we are talking a period of centuries with attributes taken on from similar icons before him along with myth, in Egypt we are talking a period of seven thousand years or more. When we practice the ritual of Christmas I would hardly think of us as invoking the God St. Nik with spells of "have you been naughty or nice", or chants (chorals). Or are we?
While I am not equating Seshat with the Fairy God Mother or Santa, I think this topic should be raised for discussion as we delve into research of an ancient culture rich in images and writing, but only translated with our limited worldview and understanding of their language. Moreover the possibility of errors in the thought processes of later writers who attempted to describe what the ancients were conveying.
The story of Seshat is told by people who recognized her. People who called to her image, theme, and energy to enhance their abilities to master the art of writing so that they too could learn and read the great books of mathematics, architecture, medicine, and history. This behavior of calling on ancestors represented over 5,000 years ago in Egyptian hieroglyphs is still practiced today among Africans.
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