Can Isissmell the flowers we place upon Her altar? DoesShe eat the delicacies we so carefullyarrange upon Her offering mat? Does She drink the wine we pour into a beautifulcup and lift to thesmiling lips of our sacred image?

Well, no.

And, yes.

Although I have had weird phenomena happen with offerings—for instance, once an entire two-ounce packet of incense (you DO know how much two ounces of powdered incense is, right?) was apparently incinerated without leaving a whiffof scent in the air of our tiny temple space—usually, the flowers wither naturally, the food dries to inedibility, and the wine evaporates.

So did the Goddess receive Her offerings or not?

Forthe ancient Egyptians, the sacred images of the Deities were sacred precisely because they werefilled with some measure of the Deity Her- or Himself. Offerings to Isis werereceived by this…