The myth of Isis and Osiris is an immortal story of love, betrayal and revenge. And several images / symbols that relate to this egyptian myth find their way on the images of the Tarot cards. Today, let’s have a look at the myth of Isis and Osiris.

Isis and Osiris: The Happy Days

Osiris was the King of Egypt. Isis was his sister. But back then, the Pharaohs used to marry within the family to keep the bloodlines pure. So Isis and Osiris were married.

Osiris and Isis were well loved by the people of Egypt because of various reasons. They were just and good rulers, and most of all they had brought civilization to the barbaric population of the country. Osiris and Isis taught the egyptians how to plant the seeds of wheat, how to tend to the crops, and how to make flour and subsequently bread out of the wheat that they had grown. They also showed the people how to plant grapes and make wine, and make beer from barley.

Egypt was a happy and flourishing country, and everyone was happy.

Osiris then travelled across the world to spread his knowledge and to bring civilization to the rest of the world. And when he was gone, Isis ruled Egypt in his place. She was a good Queen, and was also very well loved by the people.

Isis and Osiris: Enter the Villain

Naturally, with all this nice stuff happening in his brother’s kingdom, Set (Osiris’ brother) wasn’t quite happy. He wanted to rule over the kingdom of his brother, but he knew that the only way that he could take over the kingdom was when his brother was dead. So he waited till the time Osiris returned from his travels across the world. And when he did, he put his plan into action.

In order to fulfil his evil plans, Set had made a sarcophagus using the exact measurements of Osiris. And he brought the sarcophagus into the court during the celebrations of Osiris’ return and proclaimed that the sarcophagus was a gift for the one who would fit into it properly. All of the attending Kings tried it, but failed. Finally, when Osiris went and tried it out, it fit him perfectly. Osiris was thrilled, but so was Set.

The moment Set had been waiting for was here, and Set put his plan into motion. His attendants quickly closed the lid of the sarcophagus, nailed it shut and poured boiling lead over it, effectively killing Osiris in the process.

Set then took over the throne of Egypt, becoming the new Pharaoh.

As for the sarcophagus with Osiris’ body – Set had it thrown into the Nile.

Isis and Osiris: The Grief of Isis

When Isis discovered Set’s treachery, she was overcome with grief. She also discovered how the sarcophagus had been thrown into the river Nile. So Isis set out in search of the sarcophagus. She wandered along the banks of the river Nile and cried. All she wanted was to find Osiris’ body and give it a proper burial so that his soul may rest in peace.

Meanwhile, the sarcophagus had flowed along the river, and had gotten entangled in the branches of a bush. Due to Osiris’ great powers, the bush became a beautiful tree. When King Malcander and Queen Astarte of Byblos heard about this wonderful tree, they came to see it. And the King of Byblos ordered the tree to be cut down so that it might be used in one of the pillars in his palace.

As she wandered, Isis heard about the tree and about the King and Queen of Byblos and realized that the pillar in their palace held the sarcophagus of Osiris. She began to wonder how she could get to it. She sat down by the banks of the river Nile and began to think.

Soon enough, the handmaidens of the Queen Astarte came to the river bank to bathe. Isis taught them how to plait their hair, since they didn’t know how to. Then she breathed over the hair, so that when they reached the palace their hair would smell nice. Of course, Queen Astarte was curious about all of this and sent for Isis.

Queen Astarte then asked Isis to serve in her palace and look after her children, to which Isis agreed. Isis would take care of the children by day, and by night she would go to the pillar and mourn the death of her husband. Soon enough, Isis got attached to the baby she was caring for, and decided to make him immortal. So she built a fire and burned off his mortal parts. Then she turned into a swallow and began to fly around the fire.

That night Queen Astarte woke up and decided to investigate the sounds of the fire, and discovered this scene. Seeing her son being burned off, she began to scream. Isis immediately stopped what she was doing and turned into her true form. Queen Astarte immediately realized her mistake, and sought Isis’ forgiveness. Her son wouldn’t be immortal now, but Isis asked for the pillar where Osiris’ sarcophagus had been trapped. Queen Astarte immediately granted Isis request.

Isis and Osiris: It Ain’t Over Yet

Finally, Isis had the sarcophagus of Osiris. When she opened it and saw Osiris lying dead in it, she let out a loud wail of lament. But eventually, she took the sarcophagus with her and returned to Egypt to give her husband a proper burial.

When Set heard about this, he was furious. He went to the river bed where Isis had just returned, and in a flash of anger opened the sarcophagus and took Osiris’ body. He tore it into fourteen pieces and threw them all over Egypt.

Seeing this dastardly act, Isis grew sad yet again. She cried out for help. Set’s wife, Nephthys came to help her. Along with her came Anubis, the son of Nephthys and Osiris. As they traveled across the land in search of the body parts, they were accompanied by seven scorpions. Wherever they found a part of Osiris’ body, they built an altar. Soon enough all the body parts, except one, had been assembled. The final missing part, the phallus of Osiris, had been thrown into the river and was eaten by a fish.

So Isis took the body parts and used her magic to join the body of Osiris. Then, using the secret name of Ra, she breathed life into him. This time, she had a plan. She spent the night with Osiris, and conceived a child.

Since Osiris had been dead and now had been returned to the land of the living, he went to the Underworld, Duat, and became the ruler of the Underworld.

Meanwhile, Isis went into hiding.

Isis and Osiris: Horus’ Revenge

While in hiding, Isis gave birth to a son whom she named Horus. Horus grew to be a bright, intelligent and brave young man. And he wanted to avenge his father’s death by killing Set. As he grew up, Osiris often visited his son and taught him many good and useful things and made sure that Horus was capable of defeating Set.

Finally, when Horus was ready to fight Set, Osiris ordered him to gather an army and march on to Set’s kingdom. When Horus was ready with his army, the Sun God Ra visited him so that he could bless Horus. To do that, Ra would have to look into the eyes of Horus.

But Set had come to know of all that was going on. When Ra had just started to look into Horus’ eyes, Set took the form of a huge black boar and passed from there. This distracted Ra, and Set attacked. He sent a flame of fire towards Horus’ eyes, and since Ra wasn’t ready for such an attack, Horus lost his eye. But Ra quickly recovered, and took Horus into a dark room. After a few days, Horus could see again with his one good eye.

Finally, the war began, and Horus took his army to fight Set’s army. In the final battle, Set took the shape of a huge, red hippopotamus and straddled the river Nile, causing a great flood of water to drown Horus’s army. But Horus immediately took the form of a giant young man with a harpoon in his hand. When Set opened his mouth to utter more curses at Horus’ army, Horus immediately sent the harpoon flying. The harpoon went straight into the mouth of the hippopotamus, and Set died on the spot.

With Set’s death, the storm and flood ceased and the people of Egypt began to rejoice.

Isis and Osiris: An Immortal Myth

This myth of Isis and Osiris has many shades to it. And several of its shades are seen across some Tarot cards. We see Isis in her veiled beauty in the image of the High Priestess, and we encounter Set, Anubis and Horus on the image of the Wheel of Fortune card.

This immortal myth has many interesting aspects that shed light on the way both Isis and Osiris brought a sense of ‘civilization’ to the population that they reigned over. Perhaps, this is why they were worshipped as Gods.

Such was their legacy that all the Pharaohs and their Queens after them claimed to be the living form of Isis and Osiris.

With their good deeds and their wisdom, (and of course, magical feats), Osiris and Isis have passed into the pantheon of those Gods and Goddesses, whose myths inspire us and enchant us.

Reference Links

This story wouldn’t be complete without me linking to those websites where I read about this myth for the first time. 🙂

• http://www.egyptianmyths.net/mythisis.htm
• http://www.philae.nu/philae/IsisOsiris.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris_myth
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis

Your Turn…

Did you enjoy the story of Isis and Osiris? What about this story appealed to you? What didn’t make sense and why? Why does the story of Isis and Osiris have such a deep significance in the Egyptian myths?

Please do share your thoughts and comments below.