ISIS – the All-Goddess

In May, we celebrate Mother’s Day.  This is the perfect time to honor the great mother Isis, Goddess of healing and magic.  Known by her Greek name Isis, her Egyptian name was Aset, which translates to “Queen of the Throne.”  Her wings symbolize birds of prey, representing both power and the mourning cries of distraught women.  She is the ultimate distraught woman, having roamed the countryside gathering pieces of her husband’s body to reassemble and breathe life back into his body.

Isis represents fate.  She holds the key of life in her left hand.  In her right hand, a three flamed torch representing the past, present, and future.

What are her super powers?

A Goddess who could cast spells on Ra!  Isis had great powers of healing, protection, and magic.  Isis is a role model for women – as a wife, mother, and healer.  A steadfast image of reassurance, Isis is a maternal figure able to solve life problems.  As a Mother Goddess playing many different roles, she has influenced both Egyptian mythology and Christianity.  She was able to wield her power through words – creating and destroying life with an exact pronunciation of a word.

What’s numbers got to do with it?

Many people view seven as a magic number.  Ever wonder why?  Seven scorpions guarded Isis as she searched for her husband’s body pieces.  And why is 13 considered unlucky? Isis’s husband, Osiris, is killed and dismantled into 14 pieces.  Isis searches all of Egypt, but can only find 13 pieces.  The missing piece is his “manhood.”  To save her love, she constructs a replacement pillar, made from gold.  Is a gold penis the reason we have the golden rule?

Thanks mom.

Isis was the daughter of Geb (the earth god) and Nut (the sky goddess).  She was the wife of Osiris, a king of Egypt.  She taught Egyptian women to bake, weave, and brew beer.  One of her most important roles was as mother, to Horus.  After her husband Osiris had been murdered and she re-assembled his body, making him whole again and breathing life into him, only then does she conceive a son, Horus.  She is considered a virgin Goddess, as Horus was conceived through magical means.  Because of this, Isis is also a fertility Goddess.

May Day

And speaking of fertility, May 1 is May Day! Remember the seeds you planted in your used k-cups? Don’t forget to give them as gifts today!

(Bender, Sierra. Goddess to the Core. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2009.)