Goddesses of Ostara - Goddess Isis, Egyptian Goddess of Rebirth, Fertility, Magic & Sovereignty

Written By Danielle Chivers

“Isis is very much alive, for [this] reason which remains true today: that she is without doubt the most complete and many-sided image of the Goddess that [human]kind has ever conceived” - The Witches’ Goddess, Janet & Stewart Farrar

Isis is an enormously multi-faceted, all-encompassing and all-supreme Goddess, being worshipped as a Goddess of fertility, marriage, motherhood, healing, rebirth, magic, love, sovereignty, animals, divination, beauty, the Moon, domestic skills and many other things. With her sister Nephthys, she was protectively present at childbirth and accompanied the journey of death and was known as the Mother of Life and the Crone of Death.

She was seen to encompass the magic power of all other deities and therefore was known as ‘The Lady of Ten Thousand Names’ or as Isis Panthea - ‘The Universal Goddess’ or ‘the Goddess of everything and everywhere’. It was her many-sidedness that spread her fame, and her worship, throughout the known world. 

Isis is the Greek form of the Egyptian Aset or Wset meaning ‘throne’ or ‘Throne Mother of the Gods’, making her the embodiment of Sovereignty. Her symbolic headdress was originally the tall throne, hieroglyph of her name, though gradually she became more and more depicted with the solar disc between the cow’s horns, like Hathor. 

Pharoahs used the metaphor of “sitting in the lap of Isis”  in order to bequeath from her their own desired majesty and divinity (hmm where have we heard this before? There’s a remarkably similar use of kings sitting “in the lap” in the Arianrhod myth in the Mabinogian - “the lap of the virgin” referring to the recognition of the female principal of sovereignty).

Of any Goddess she is also perhaps one of the longest lasting: being worshipped in Ancient Egypt for over 7,000 years and with established temples and priesthood,for at least 3.5 thousand of those years - nearly twice as long as Christ. For the first 2,000 years or so Isis was entirely Egyptian (though with overlaps with neighbouring Goddesses such as Ishtar and Astarte who share a similarity with her name Aset), however there was an explosion of Isis worship following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC, spreading her worship throughout the wider Mediterranean and beyond. At the peak of her global worship, she was found as far apart as the Black Sea, Morocco, the Rhineland and York. Her verbal communication - in ancient Egyptian texts, no deity speaks more than Isis - was a pivotal factor in the development of her cult as the world’s first universal religion (1) 

Isis herself, in addition to her role in the annual-fertility myth (see below) as Goddess of regeneration, came to symbolise the ideal of a loyal and loving wife and mother. She played a central role as spiritual teacher and mother to the great leaders of the Ancient Egyptian civilisations. She was also known as the ‘Great of Magic’. Central to her story was her magical revival of her murdered husband (see more on this in the Myth below).

Her magical function, in alliance with Thoth, god of Wisdom, was seen as inseparable from her function as Mistress of Healing. She was regarded as the inventor of many healing drugs, as an expert in medical science and as taking pleasure in healing mankind. She also gave healing dreams, particularly to those who spent nights in her temples - the practice of ‘incubation’ followed by Egyptians of every class, and later in her overseas temples even by Roman Emperors. Egyptian medicine (including its priestly psycho-therapy) was rightly famous throughout the ancient world, and Isis was its Queen. 

Significantly, her temples tended to avoid the ‘high places’ of more remote deities - they were almost always where the people lived and worked - in palaces, private homes and market places.

For the worshipper, her magical power was something which could be appealed to directly. She was the compassionate, protective, motherly Goddess who understood suffering from her own experience and who could be asked to bend the rules in one’s favour when a problem seemed humanly insurmountable. A characteristic later taken over (like so many other Isian attributes) by the Virgin Mary and a role (as the merciful, compassionate, caring Ultimate Divine Mother) mirrored in other cultures with Goddesses like Kuan Yin (Buddhist) and Yemaya (Yoruban).  

By the peak of her worship, Isis became ‘Isis Myrionymos’, ‘of the countless names’ - a title still used by Greek Orthodox Christians for the Virgin Mary. It was only one of the Isian features which Mary was given, due to the Church’s need to fill the vacuum created by its banishment of Isis. The Madonna and Child statues also directly echoed those of Isis nursing her infant Horus, and some of them were actually Isis repainted. 

As the Goddess of Rebirth and Fertility, she fits within the scope of Ostara themes* of rebirth, renewal and fertility. Also, as we’ll see from her myth, her connection with the myth of the dying-and-resurrecting solar deity her brother-husband Osiris, has overlaps with the myth of the rebirth of the Sun / Son / Light half of the Year in the Wheel of the Year (and indeed the rebirth of Christ that, much later, Easter came to celebrate). 


HER MYTH

Isis and her husband Osiris (whose Egyptian name Asir also means throne), a solar vegetation god, who was also referred to as her brother, were King and Queen of Egypt. The pair were beloved and seen to be all-powerful. 

However Osiris’ evil brother, Set, was jealous of their power and plotted to usurp Osiris’ position. 

One day Set calls Osiris to a banquet ostensibly to celebrate him. However at the banquet he comes up with a cunning trick to lock Osiris away by betting that he can’t fit into a wooden chest. As soon as Osiris falls for the bet and gets in the chest, Set has him nailed in. He then takes his brother, has him killed, chopped up and scatters his limbs all over the kingdom to make sure his body cannot be found and buried. 

When Isis discovers Osiris is missing she is distraught and mourns deeply. Refusing to accept he’s dead she goes to the ends of the earth to try to find him. Together with her sister, Nephthys, she is able to patiently search for and gather up all his missing pieces except his phallus, which, being a magical Goddess, she simply fashions herself. 

With her magical and healing powers she is able to integrate all his pieces back together and magically reconstitutes his body, regenerating him back to life temporarily. 

She is impregnated by him and later gives birth to a son, Horus. Once impregnated with Horus, the falcon-headed god who has a moon for a left eye (symbolic of Isis) and a sun for a right eye (symbolic of Osiris), Osiris descends to the Underworld and becomes King of the Underworld and God of the afterlife and death. The trio became ‘the Holy Family of Egypt’. 

Despite the fact that Horus is now the true inheritor to the throne, Set tries to argue that as Osiris’ brother, he is the rightful ruler of Egypt. Horus takes umbrage to this, rightly so, and becomes Set’s enemy. Horus eventually defeats Set, thus avenging his father and assuming the rule. In the fight, Horus’s left eye (which was seen as the moon) was damaged - this being a mythical explanation of the moon’s phase - and was healed by the god Thoth. The figure of the restored eye (the wedjat eye) became a powerful amulet 𓂀 and is thought to embody healing power and symbolise rebirth. 


HOW TO WORK WITH HER

Soul Reintegration, Healing & Rebirth

In the Goddess Power Oracle deck, the Isis ‘Rebirth’ card, talks about the process of soul retrieval, resurrection, and rebirth as the theme recurrent through the stories of Isis. As Colette Baron-Reid says - “when Isis comes to you be prepared for a powerful awakening to see what you thought you’d lost [or even parts of your soul you may not have consciously realised you’d lost] go through a process of regeneration to live again.”

When we’ve been through any type of trauma or intense suffering, parts of our soul can split off from our self. Particularly if we’ve been through many cycles of trauma and distress we can end with a fragmented soul and a dilution of our personal power. This can happen very subconsciously and can be accumulative - both throughout our current incarnation and from previous lifetimes (and, to an extent, through the generational bloodline - in the case of families who have undergone slavery, witch persecution or Holocaust survivors for example). 

The more we’re victimised by others, subjected to trauma or severe abuse, fall under the grip of destructive addictions or unconsciously give our power away in the myriad ways we are often subconsciously conditioned to do so, the more parts of our soul can fragment off. ‘Trauma-splitting’ is also a concept in psychology - a phenomenon experienced by those suffering from PTSD/CPTSD, but deals with the split at the level of the psyche. 

Without even needing to be able to sense someone’s spirit or even ‘energy’, most people can easily tell when someone has likely been subjected to severe trauma, abuse and/or addiction left unhealed - there’s often a very contracted and shut-down posture and aura and a lack of any spark or light behind the eyes. This can be a physical manifestation of significant soul or psyche fragments being split off.  

Either way, if we have gone through any type of intense loss or suffered from any pain or experience that has fragmented our spirit, psyche or body in any way Goddess Isis can support us to face these fragmented parts of ourselves that may have been wounded, that feel broken or that have been suppressed out of self-protection. 

Just as she patiently worked with her sister to retrieve each and every part of her beloved husband Osiris’ after he was killed, she will patiently work with us to retrieve each of these parts of us that have been shut down, to heal and reintegrate them, bringing us back into an increased sense of wholeness and resurrecting ourselves after loss, pain or a significant ending with a stronger, more powerful sense of self. 

Magic & Manifestation 

As the Goddess of Magic and Alchemy she can support us with the seemingly magical process of manifestation. 

A story is told of Isis coming down from the constellation of Sirius to rule and secure the present seed race in the Land of Khem (Chem), which is present-day Egypt. The word ‘alchemy’ is thought to be derived from Khem, tying Isis inextricably with the experience of magic and manifestation. 

The Isis card from the Goddess Spirit Oracle, encapsulates this aspect of Isis: 

Goddess Isis: Magic - Manifestation - Self-Mastery

Tarot [card association]: The Magician

Isis, Goddess of magic, teaches you about your power to manifest dreams. Anything is possible with the power of belief. When you visualise your dreams and set intentions, you can make them come true. 

You are a powerful magician, and it is now time to connect to your magical talents. You have a deep potential for self-awareness and the ability to recognise, develop and channel your abilities in a very concrete and practical way. With visualisation, belief, connection and intention - the tools of magic - you co-create with the Universe. 

[Affirmation]: “I know my power and manifest my dreams”. 

- Goddess Spirit Oracle, Rachel Johnson

Sovereignty & Keys to Sacred Feminine Power

Image by Jo Jayson - from Self-Love through the Sacred Feminine

“[Isis] possesses immense internal power - an unshakable confidence within that gives off a serene, yet invincible essence. Unlike external power, which is about the gain of material and outside accomplishments, internal power is much stronger and less likely to be taken away once it is established. Isis comes to teach you about your own power.” - Jo Jayson, Self-Love through the Sacred Feminine, a Guide through the Paintings & Channelings of Jo Jayson

In Goddess spirituality Isis is known to hold unique keys to sacred feminine power. Jesus and Mary Magdalene were believed to be schooled in the Mysteries of Isis, which Plato thought to be over 10,000 years old in his day with Mary being initiated into priestess magic under her tutelage. (2, Jayson)

Isis can support us with stepping into our sovereignty, igniting our feminine power - or taking our power back - and with ‘activating sacred contracts to our divine feminine mission on earth’ (3, Bashford). Your ‘divine feminine mission’ may look different for everyone depending on your unique mission, but may involve some or all of the below:

  • Healing your soul trauma and integrating your soul fragments - particularly any wounds to your feminine side or from your maternal lineage

  • Being initiated into Goddess spirituality or an embodied understanding of the Divine Feminine

  • Being called into the role of Priestess / Guide / Healer or any type of role where you hold a safe or incubatory space for people to heal from trauma  

  • And/or working with people to heal wounds from or suppression of power by the patriarchy 

RITUALS TO CONNECT WITH HER

  • A Soul-Retrieval Process: carve out some quiet time, light a candle to Goddess Isis and ask for her support with a journalling process - either ask Isis directly or tune into your soul or higher self and ask if any aspects of your soul have been split off that are ready to be reintegrated. Allow yourself to write stream-of-consciousness style, move your conscious mind to one side for a moment and let your soul speak to you. If something comes through ask for guidance as to the best method to reintegrate that aspect - eg: a particular type of therapy or healing modality. It may be that you don’t need a lengthy therapeutic process - simply acknowledging that aspect and intentionally accepting it as reintegrated back into your spirit may be enough.

  • A Tarot Ritual - alternatively, you could do a tarot process to ask the cards to mirror back to you which aspects of yourself or which archetypal energy that belongs to you may have split off at some point (possibly because of personal or inter-generational trauma). If you pull any major arcana cards, this is an indication of a fairly major split that could be deeply impacting your life - eg: the Sun card could indicate a traumatised inner child, sense of self-esteem and identity and you may need to do some inner child work and solar plexus healing. Pulling the Moon or High Priestess card could indicate a wound to the Feminine side and a need to heal and reintegrate your feminine powers of emotional mastery, lunar wisdom and/or intuition. Pulling a court card or suit card may be a more minor aspect of yourself that’s affecting a specific area of your life (for example a cups card could be a specific emotional wound or a pentacles card could indicate particular issues with stability and finances).

  • Manifestation Techniques - as Goddess of Magic, Alchemy and Manifestation - any manifestation technique you use - such as intention-setting or scripting, can be amplified by calling on Goddess Isis to support you with your manifestation. As a Goddess of Ostara - or a Goddess linked with themes of rebirth, regeneration, fertility and spring - she can support you during this powerful portal to rebirth and manifest anything in your life that you would like to see some regeneration (particularly regarding stepping into your feminine power and sovereignty!).

  • Watch one of my Goddess Isis Pick a Card readings: 

*I’m using artistic licence here in including Isis as a Goddess of Ostara (and indeed any of the Goddesses I include as Goddesses of one of the sabbats who aren’t officially associated with any Wheel of the Year festival), as of course the Egyptian Goddesses are certainly not formally linked to Wheel of the Year festivals. Whilst there’s certainly many crossovers in seasonal festivals around similar times with other cultures, the Wheel festivals were mostly celebrated in Celtic cultures and so most official associated Goddesses (such as Brigid at Imbolc and Eostre at Ostara) are typically from Celtic or European cultures. Aside from the aforementioned resurrection and fertility myth that links Isis with the rebirth and fertility themes of Ostara, one of Isis’ festivals, however, was celebrated on March 5 - a spring festival that celebrated the beginning of the seafaring season, also linking Isis with the spring, which Ostara honours. Just sayin’ 💁‍♀️

REFERENCES 

  1. https://www.getty.edu/publications/egypt-classical-world/03/

  2. Self-Love Through the Sacred Feminine - Jo Jayson

  3. From the Isis card in the Goddesses, Gods & Guardians Oracle Deck - Sophie Bashford

The Witches’ Goddess - Janet & Stewart Farrar

Goddess Power Oracle - Colette Baron Reid

Goddesses, Gods & Guardians Oracle Deck - Sophie Bashford 

Self-Love Through the Sacred Feminine - Jo Jayson

Danielle Chivers
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