Goddess Tarot - 1 ~ Magic: Isis

What would be known to most as the Magician card is renamed Magic and is represented by the Goddess Isis. Just a little LWB info: she's the Egyptian fertility goddess and had unlimited magical powers.

I found a great site with some history of Isis here: http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis2.htm

After reading Isis' story I think this card's message is that even when the going gets rough, you still have the power to change you life. You are the creator of your destiny. Like the LWB said, the card is about realizing the magic you have within yourself.

*discuss amoungst yourselves*

Who is Isis?

Great Isis, you come to protect me with the north wind.
You strengthen me against all adversity.
You defend me against all my enemies.
You are Isis, the Divine One, Lady of Heaven, Queen of all Gods,
Your magick and words of power guard me.

The Great Goddess of the Egyptians was Isis, sister/wife to Osiris. Like her brother/husband she was associated with the Moon. Among many other titles, she was called the Creatress and the Giver of Life. According to legend, she and Osiris were married while still in the womb of their mother Nut. She was born in the Swamps of the Nile Delta and 17 July is celebrated as her birthday.

She and Osiris taught humans all the arts of civilization. The, while Osiris wandered the world teaching other cultures, Isis ruled in his place. Their brother, the evil Set, was jealous of Osiris’ power and position and organised for him to be killed. His body was sealed in a wooden box lined with lead and thrown into the Nile. The box washed out to sea, and then ashore in a foreign land where a tree grew around it.

When Osiris disappeared, Isis was heart broken. She searched long and, finally following a sweet odor, found the box inside a pillar in a king’s house. She revealed her identity to the Queen and recovered her husband’s body. Back in Egypt, Isis, with the help of her sister, Nephthysis, reanimated the body long enough to conceive a child. The rest of this part of the story is a little gruesome so I won’t repeat it The child was called Horus, however and, together with Osiris and Isis makes up the Holy Trinity. Isn’t this fascinating?

Isis is the Goddess of marriage and domestic life, the Moon, motherhood, fertility, childbirth, magick, purification, initiation, reincarnation, success, womanhood, healing, domestic crafts, advice, divination, agriculture, the arts, protection. She is also the patroness of priestesses.

What an amazing story. I am struck by the love story between Osiris and Iris and the story of the conception and birth of Horus. It is an interesting precursor to the story of Christ and the Christian Trinity, and much more acceptable to me. In the Thoth deck, the eyes of Horus appears in the Tower card, illustrating awakened consciousness, seeing reality as it is.

I am almost speechless at this version of the Holy Trinity. Isis is a more than equal partner in the Trinity.

What does this card mean to me? A lot more now that I know the story. Isis’ magick was partly responsible for the awakening of Osiris so that they could have a child. This is a much more proactive role for women that of Mary, the Mother of Christ., who was the passive recipient of the seed.

The card itself is simple but beautiful. The crown that Isis wears is of cows’ horns with a sun disk between them. The cow and the sun were both sacred, She is classically beautiful and one senses great power and grace within.

How different this tarot is from the Christian versions. Isis has many powers but she is not a trickster, as the conventional Magician is often described. She uses her magick for significant and ethical purposes.

A very powerful and sacred image, which is a very different tone for the whole deck and for the way women can see themselves. How much of our history has been taken from us? This whole tarot deck is so different!

By the way, there is no bitter question here. Just one of wonder, seeing the role and value given to Isis in this sacred story. What do you think?

Moongold

I tried to find this card so I could look at it.... does anyone have an address or picture to it?

Isis is a very powerful goddess for healers.... along with Kwan Yin and Mary and Brigid...... I use her energy often and She makes Herself known to me, as She is again now......

Skytwig,

Here's a link to Tarot.com, where you can view this entire deck.

http://www.tarot.com/about-tarot/decks/browsedecks.php?newdeck=11


Nevada

And here is a link to the Kris Waldherr's site

http://www.artandwords.com/goddesstarot/art.html#

Moongold

Moongold said:

I am almost speechless at this version of the Holy Trinity. Isis is a more than equal partner in the Trinity.

This is a much more proactive role for women that of Mary, the Mother of Christ., who was the passive recipient of the seed.

Click to expand...

The pictures of Isis with the Child is also very different from some of the pictures of Mary with child. The focus is entirely on the Mother - the child is incidental. Once this was pointed out to me, it was interesting to look at European art and see which images of Mary and Child were mother-centered -- the power of the woman as creator, rather than Christ-child centered.

The card itself is simple but beautiful. The crown that Isis wears is of cows’ horns with a sun disk between them. The cow and the sun were both sacred, She is classically beautiful and one senses great power and grace within.

How different this tarot is from the Christian versions. Isis has many powers but she is not a trickster, as the conventional Magician is often described. She uses her magick for significant and ethical purposes.

A very powerful and sacred image, which is a very different tone for the whole deck and for the way women can see themselves. How much of our history has been taken from us? This whole tarot deck is so different!

Moongold

Click to expand...

I love the way this deck helps us to see the archetypes from a perspective of the Divine Feminine. I know some feel this is unbalanced. I feel it is providing balance for all those aspects that have been covered over by patriarchal notions. It is necessary to rediscover them through feminine decks such as this one so they become second nature to us.

When I was a child, there were very few female doctors. The word "doctor" almost always meant a man. Now, that isn't true, for most people.

Likewise, the Hierophant is seen as male. I know he's supposed to be the male counterpart of the High priestess, but I don't buy that for a moment. He personifies male traditions in society based on hierarchy. In the Goddess deck, Juno reminds us there are female traditions, based in relationship. That feels much more like the female version of this card -- a very different thing than the High Priestess.

The story of Isis and Osiris transcends time. It is a story that every woman can identify with. Isis is not alone. She is the spiritual soul mate of Osiris but she is a much more powerful archetype than Mary, who has been fashioned by the Christian patriarchy. I know there is a theory that Mary is simply a reworking of the Isis myth but perhaps we are given an opportunity with Isis of going back to source.

I say that very carefully. The story of Isis and Osiris predates all history. Many people have spent their lives immersing themselves in the myth. Can I quote Jean Houston?

The story of Isis and Osiris really begins with their conception and their siblings' conception in the belly of Nuit, the great heavenly Goddess. Theirs is a tale of passion, of love and sorrow. It is a story of betrayal and forgiveness. It is a story of love lost and found, and lost again, a tale of the jealousy of brothers, the pain of death and the transformative joy that arises unexpectedly from the bitter fruit of the sorrows. Osiris looses his life and gains the heavens. Isis looses her husband and later gains a child. Even as Isis mourns the loss of partnership with her beloved Osiris, she finds the strength to discover her own unique individuality.

So her story is one for those of us seeking to find ourselves alone or in partnership with a soul mate or others. I agree with you, RedMaple that this deck does give women the opportunity to discover the Divine Feminine in a way that they simply do not often have. The Isis myth does this beautifully.

There is something about the art work of this deck which reaches out to me. The colours are warm and full of light. The images themselves seem to invite us in to another dimension that has resonance for me of sacred space.

Here is the image of Isis in the deck.

In looking at this image, I feel as though I have been led into the inner sanctum of Isis. I can almost smell the kephir, and feel the heat of the oil lamps. And here before me stands the mistress of magic, the queen of the universe. Isis. Ever notice her name? Is. Is. She IS. The eternal female BE-ING.

In contrast to Mary, bride of God, Isis is imperial, the all powerful. The gods seem secondary to her magnificence. Her familiar, the falcon, symbolizes Horus, and the great power and virtue born of her magic. She is at once connected with the universe and the earth- perfectly balanced.

Major Arcana: 1 ~ Magic ~ Isis

This article is from The Goddess Tarot Workbook by Kris Waldherr, Copyright 2000 by U.S. Games Systems - Pages 16-17

"Traditional Card: The Magician
Associated with the Suit of Swords
Keywords: Self-empowerment, awareness, mastery

Meanings: An awareness of the magic within yourself. A yearning to grow beyond limitations. The ability to transform your life through the strength of originality and personal power. Renewed creativity and vigor. Experiencing the Divine Feminine as a power within yourself.

Reversed or weakly aspected: Blocked power or creativity. Manipulating others. A need to control situations from behind the scenes. Secrecy.

The great Egyptian fertility Goddess Isis, affiliated with Magic, is a potent symbol of alchemic transformation. For over 3000 years, from before 3000 B.C. to the second century A.D. --Isis was worshiped in Egypt as the great mother goddess of the universe. She was sole possessor of the secret name of Ra, the Egyptian ruling God, which gave her unlimited magical powers. Using these powers, as well as the strength of her love, Isis was able to bring Osiris, her husband and her brother, back to life for a short time after he was murdered. Horus, the child she conceived of him during this interlude, grew to become one of the most powerful Egyptian gods.

This card suggests a growing awareness of the magic within yourself as well as a new yearning to grow beyond any limitations. You are able to transform your life through the strength of your originality and power --all you need to do is take possession of what you desire, much as Isis possessed the secret name of Ra."

The author goes on to list a few questions you might ask yourself about this card, possibly something to journal about if that's your thing, or you could even post your answers here if anyone wants to start a discussion...

"What does magic mean to me?
What do I consider magical about myself?
This card reminds me of the following:
Other thoughts I have about this card:"