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Isis, the Great Goddess of Egypt
Jason Teichman
The origin of the name `Isis' is lost in time. The original meaning of Her more
authentic name, Ast or Aset, is also unknown. Her symbol has always been the throne,
though few understand the significance of this. In qabbalistic terms, it is clear. The key
is Khorsia, Hebrew for `throne.' Khorsia is the title of the third world, Binah
(Understanding), on the Tree of Life. All great Goddesses are attributed here. In the
dynastic periods, Isis symbolized the Great Mother and womb of all life. She represents
the creative, feminine and intuitive principles, all qualities of Binah. She is the
giver-of-forms and the wife of Asar, also called Osiris.
Headdresses identify the Egyptian deities. The throne that typically crowns Isis
identifies Her specifically. Sometimes She wears a vulture headdress or even the solar
disk and double feathered plumes. Often the horns of a cow with the solar or lunar disk
between them are Her crown. Isis always wears the sacred symbol of divinity and wisdom,
the Uranus. She bears this even when in human form, for She knows the sacred Words of
Power.
It is unclear what powers that Isis symbolized during the predynastic period. It is
clear that She is wife of Osiris, at that time a Water god. He presides over the Nile and
other bodies of water. As Wallis Budge suggests in his massive two-volume work The Gods of
the Egyptians, She must have had attributes of a similar nature. The Egyptians' early
association of Isis with the moon may have been because of its relationship to the tides.
Isis was always a favorite of the Egyptians, for She represents a faithful wife and
loving mother. Isis represents many different facets of the feminine principle. She is an
Earth Goddess (Usert), Star Goddess, Corn Goddess (Tchefau), Water Goddess, Moon Goddess
and the great Goddess of the Underworld (Thenenet). As the Harvest Goddess, She is called
Renenet. As the Goddess of springtime, She is called Sekhet and sometimes Ankhet. She is
also the Goddess of the Words of Power—magical power. She learned these secrets from
the God of the Words of Power, Tahuti (Thoth). Isis created and cares for the animals,
humans and plants of the Earth. She loves the abundance of life and is protectress of the
life principle in all things. Isis is the Great Goddess of Nature and none stand above
Her.
Isis is the original madonna and She was traditionally depicted sitting suckling Her
baby (Horus). This seems to have been the basis for the Virgin Mary suckling the baby
Jesus. In this context, Jehovah is Osiris and the Savior and Avenger is Horus. Satan, the
`bad guy,' is Suti (Set), the god who killed Osiris. Interestingly enough, Suti was
originally a god of love and later a god who opposed all creative processes. But, as Satan
opposed Jehovah, so did Suti oppose Osiris.
Gerald & Betty Schueler point out in Coming into the Light, that "the Chaldean
form of Set was Had or Hadit, which later became Shaitan and the Satan of the
Christianity." They later goes on to say that "Set is the spiritual current of
magick that opposes all manifestation in matter." Thus, Isis represents the creative
Holy Spirit and Set/Satan is that which destroys the beauty that She creates.
According to Wallis Budge, the stars called Sept and Sah (Orion) were symbols of Isis.
Orion was where the soul of Isis was supposed to dwell. The star Sept appeared towards the
beginning of the Egyptian New Year. It marked the Nile's bringing its abundance.
Isis was a giving Goddess and all that knew Her came to love and worship Her. The
Egyptians often prayed to Isis. They assumed the role of Her child Horus, or called
themselves `a child of Isis' so that when they died, they too would have the protection
and blessing of Isis. For She not only personifies the Mother and Nature, but is also the
great restorer who graciously gives life to the dead. Wallis Budge points out, that Isis
was "regarded as the giver of life and of food to the dead . . ." the Great
Goddess above and below.
Invocation to Isis
Isis, Mother of my soul!
Flow through the gates of my mind.
Exceed the bound of my ego and thought.
Fill my body within and without.
The waters of the two great lands
Flow outward and fill this humble body.
The scorpion's tail I wield as my wand.
The beetle climbs through my soul as Ye descend.
You are truly beautiful, Lady within the veil.
With gentle arms you embrace me,
And with your hands you restore my vitality.
And the sunsets and to the north I kneel
and await your breath.
The waves of voice echo within me,
Shattering all that is untrue.
I am one with Thee in the gold of my body.
Ye are the lover of my Spirit.
Come to me Isis—I have opened the way.
Protect me and speak with me words of truth,
For I am your child, The son of your efforts.
Fly unto me and teach me Your sacred ways.
So mote it be!
Suggested Reading:
The Gods of the Egyptians, vol. I&II, E.A. Wallis Budge
Coming into the Light, Gerald & Betty Schueler
The Secret Teaching of All Ages, Manly P. Hall
The Way of the Cartouche, Murry Hope
The Egyptian Book of the Dead, E.A. Wallis Budge
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