ISIS IS A GODDESS WITH GREAT MAGICAL POWERS. HER NAME IS WRITTEN WITH THE HIEROGLYPH OF A THRONE, WHICH SHE CAN WEAR ON HER
HEAD AS WELL AS THE CROWN OF COW HORNS AND SUN-DISC.
Isis married her brother OSIRIS and they had a son, HORUS. OSIRIS was murdered by SETH, who stole his throne. Isis outwitted
SETH with her magic and the throne of Egypt was given to HORUS. The pharaoh identifies with HORUS, so Isis is symbolically
his divine mother. Isis had to use magic to protect HORUS against dangers when he was child, so she was invoked by Egyptian
women when their own children were sick with fevers or bitten by poisonous animals.
Isis became 'great in magic' because the sun-god revealed to her his secret name - knowledge that gave her unique power. She
made a serpent out of clay mixed with the saliva of the sun-god and caused it to bite him. Then she refused to heal his pain
until he revealed the name.
Eventually the cult of Isis spread from Egypt across Europe. Isis was the last Egyptian goddess to be worshipped before christianity
finally suppressed all other cults.
KHEPRY
KHEPRY IS ANOTHER NAME FOR THE SUN-GOD IN HIS FORM AS A SCARAB BEETLE. HE TAKES THIS FORM AS HE LEAVES THE UNDERWORLD TO RISE
OVER THE EASTERN HORIZON AT DAWN.
In daily life the ancient Egyptians often saw scarab beetles rolling balls of dung across the ground. Consequently, they imagined
that a gigantic scarab beetle pushed the sun into the sky. Also, they noticed newly-hatched scarab beetles crawling out of
dung balls in which the eggs had been laid. It looked as if the beetles had come into existence from nothing. This reminded
the Egyptians of the way in which the creator sun-god emerged from the primaeval waters. The name Khepry means the 'Self-developing
One'.
In the funerary cult, a scarab inscribed with a spell in hieroglyphs was placed over the heart of the mummy.
