the meaning of this image is quite easily seen when you are aware of the fact that "hathor" was the egyptian goddess of dance and was seen as the living soul of trees...
hathor was one of the forty-two original state gods and goddesses of ancient egypt, and one of the most popular and powerful...she was also one of the most important and complex goddesses of ancient egypt. a mother goddess who created and maintained all life on earth, hathor was also worshipped as the ruler of the heavenly vault, the living soul of the trees, the goddess of beauty, music, and dance, alcohol, pleasure, love, and fertility...
even though it's strange and contradictory, in egyptian mythology hathor is thought of as the mother, wife, and daughter of the sun god ra...
the name "hathor" roughly translates to "the house of the heavens" and she was the mother or consort of the sky god horus and the sun god ra, both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the symbolic mother of their earthly representatives, the pharaohs.
hathor is depicted as the mother of the sun god ra, as hers is womb from which he was originally born, and continues to be reborn each morning. and also the same womb to where ra goes to rest each night at sunset. hathor's seemingly contradictory roles as mother, wife, and daughter of ra reflected the daily cycle of the sun. at sunset, the sun god entered the body of the goddess hathor, impregnating her and fathering the deities born from her womb at sunrise: himself and the eye goddess, who would later give birth to him. ra gave rise to his daughter, the eye goddess, who in turn gave rise to him, her son, in a cycle of constant regeneration...
hathor was one of several goddesses who acted as the eye of ra, ra's feminine counterpart, and sometimes seen as his wife, and in this form she had a vengeful aspect that protected him from his enemies. her benevolent side represented the trees, music, dance, joy, love, sexuality and maternal care...she was the protector of women, though men also worshipped her.and she acted as the consort of several male deities and the mother of their sons. these two aspects of the goddess exemplified the egyptian conception of femininity. hathor crossed boundaries between worlds, helping with both childbirth as well as deceased souls in the transition to the afterlife.
when seen as ra's daughter, hathor was one of several goddesses believed to assist deceased souls in the afterlife...once known as the mistress of the west, hathor was responsible for guiding souls to the afterlife. because as a sky goddess, it was her duty to assist ra the sun god in his daily rebirth. thus she had an important part in ancient egyptian afterlife beliefs, which held that all deceased humans were reborn like the sun god...
as a goddess who transcended life and death, hathor was widely worshipped and came to be identified and known as the distant goddess. this is a goddess who abandons her father and assumes the form of a wild feline to elude any attempts to find her or catch her. hathor wears the bracelet of forty-two stars to keep the demons of the dark realm of chaos from pursuing her
as the goddess of love, music and dance, hathor is desirable to everyone who lays eyes on her. she possesses the ability to manipulate any man or woman, whether they be mortal, god or beast to do her bidding. when she uses such an ability, her eyes will glow a brief gold and she will say "i command you"
hathor was often depicted as a cow, symbolizing her maternal and celestial aspect, although her most common form was a woman wearing a headdress of cow horns and a golden sun disk. she could also be represented as a lioness, cobra, or sycamore tree.
"seduce me at sunrise, dance with me barefoot in the dew on the grass, make me wet and warm, and loved" ― bodhinku, dance with me