Apart of our 31 Days of Halloween celebration, we are reviewing the Power of Myth in our lives.
Where do our myths and legends come from?
"This is a prime myth in this period of the Goddess as the redeemer,
the one who goes in quest of the lost spouse or lover, and through her
loyalty and descent into the realm of death, recovers him. Isis and her
husband Osiris were twins who were born of the goddess Nut. And their
younger relatives were Seth and Nephthys, who were also twins born from
Nut. Seth planned to kill his brother Osiris, and he took Osiris
measurements secretly and had a wonderful sarcophagus built that would
exactly fit Osiris. So there was a hilarious party in progress one time
among the gods, and Seth trots in this sarcophagus, and he says, “Anyone
whom this perfectly fits can have it as his sarcophagus.” And everybody
at the party tried, and when Osiris got in, of course he perfectly fit.
Just at that time, 72 accomplices come rushing out and they clap the
lid on, strap it together and throw it in the Nile.
Poor little Isis, whose husband has been thrown into the Nile, starts
this wonderful quest for Osiris, So she comes to the place where the
palace is, and learns of the wonderful aroma and she suspects this is
Osiris. And she gets a job as nurse to the just-born little child. Well,
she lets the child nurse from her finger. And she loves the little
child, and she decides to give it immortality. So she does this by
placing him in the fireplace in the fire, to burn away gradually his
mortal body. But being a goddess she could keep that from killing him,
you understand. And when that would happen, she would convert herself
into a swallow, and fly mournfully around the pillar where her husband
is."
~Joseph Campbell, author of the Power of Myth
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Please visit Undawnted's Special Engagements page for: the Love and the Goddess and enjoy the Lecture for Writers and the Workshop.
