Snakes seem to follow me in my life, they have appeared in my garden 4 times in 2 years. They pop up unintentionally in my paintings and frequently appear in my dreams.
For me, snakes are all about transformation, about shedding my skin and becoming a new version of myself. I look forward to these transformations, however tough and scary they may seem at the time.
 
How do you view transformation?
Are you someone who gets hung up on these challenges and asks “Why Me?”, or are you thankful for the lessons learnt and the growth you have been able to achieve? Or are you somewhere in between?
 
Goddess Wadjet has been a challenge for me. I have worked on her for a year. It is the longest I have ever spent on a painting. I doesn’t mean to say I have put a full year of work into her, I mean I have hung her up and admired her progress on my wall and added to her as I felt like it.
I kind of didn’t want to finish her for some reason. I wasn’t ready for the closure. Maybe I hadn't finished my transformation?
 
I started off with a reference photo of a girl and painted her my way. Then I thought she needed a snake around her neck, not in a strangling way, more as an accomplice. She is at ease with her equal. They both have lessons to learn from each other.
 
I am intrigued by ancient Goddesses as you may have seen with some of my other paintings.
I long to understand what it meant to worship the feminine in ancient times and the attributes people connected with.
 
I want to bring those attributes into our time and help people reconnect. I don’t believe the things these Goddesses stood for will ever expire.
 
So, who is Goddess Wadjet?
To start with, she is an Egyptian Goddess revered as the goddess of childbirth, and protector of children, and in later years she became the protector of kings. Wadjet’s role was often seen as a forceful defender, while her sister, Nekhebet, was seen as the motherly defender.
 
Her sacred animal was the cobra.  
She was inextricably linked to the symbol of the uraeus , which is a representation of a rearing sacred serpent, an emblem of supreme power, worn on the headdresses of ancient Egyptian deities and sovereigns.
She is said to have brought about the first human beings from her tears.
 
Wadjet heals, protects, and punishes via the power of snake venom. She has the powers of a goddess, not just a plain snake). Her other weapons include heat and fire. She is invoked for protection from snakes and from poison deriving from any source. Wadjet protects devotees against enemies.
 
Wadjet’s attributes included:
The Uraeus
Great Serpent
She of the Fiery Eye
The Lady of Devouring Flame (the creative force of the sun-god).
Noble Serpent who flowed forth from the Eye
The Wedjat Eye
Serpent Mother
Protector of Horus (and the reigning king)
She who brings Truth and Justice.
The Lady of the Flaming Waters
Mistress of Fear
Goddess of the Placenta
Mistress of the Atef-Crown
The Lady of Spells
Mother of Creation
Queen of the Gods
She who loves silence
The Eye (of Maat Horus, Ra, Ptah, Thoth or Amun depending on the dynasty)
 
My modern Goddess is a reminder that life isn't static. There is always change and it is up to you how you cope with it. Are you going to be a victim or are you going to prevail, a stronger, wiser woman? 
 
There is so much more to learn about Godddess Wadjet, she is worth googling.
 
This is an A3 print only.
 
There are 2 options:
1. Wadjet artwork
2. Wadjet in the Garden