Last time we saw that there is no evidence for temple prostitution in ancient Egypt. Yet we still find modern writers (usually very well-meaning ones discussing sacred sexuality) who relay the tale that Isis spent ten years as a prostitute in Tyre, that She was beloved by prostitutes, and that Her temples were located near brothels and were reputed to be good places to meet prostitutes.

Where does all that come from?

Well, this is definitely one of those “consider the source” situations.

The bit about prostitution in Tyre is from Epiphanius, a 4th century CE Christian bishop writing against what he sees as heresies. He complains about the sister-brother marriage of Isis and Osiris then launches into the prostitution accusation. There’s no other evidence of this story circulating at the time. He may have made it up. He may have confused Isis with Astarte…

The Key to Egyptian Magic, Part 3

We’ve been talking about what I call (for lack of a known ancient Egyptian term for it) Kheperu, “Forms” or “Transformations.” It is a way of taking the imaginal Form or Image of a Deity upon ourselves and—for a specific, limited period—thus Transforming ourselves into the Deity; in this case, Isis.

It’s not exactly the same thing as trance possession or “being ridden” by a Loa, as in Voudon. In the case of Kheperu, the ritualist does not lose their own consciousness. Rather, consciousness is expanded. Assuming a Kheper (sing.) is more like stepping into a stream of Divine power, more like being carried than carrying.

When successfully done, Kheperu puts us in touch with a deeper wisdom that serves as guide in any…

The Key to Egyptian Magic, Part 2

Last week, we talked about Kheperu or “Transformations” as the key to Egyptian magic. This is the technique by which a human magician, priest/ess, or other adept practitioner, may briefly partake of Divine powers through the use of sacred images, ritual speech, and right action. It is a way of empowering our magic.

To develop this technique, a society would need to understand that human beings could become godlike—which ancient Egypt did—and further, that human and Divine beings naturally interact with each other and mutually affect each other.

This is a magical and participatory world. In Jeremy Naydler’s book TheTemple of the Cosmos, he comments that the Egyptians believed human beings depended on the Deities, but that…

The Key to Egyptian Magic, Part 1

I admire the blogging work of John Beckett on Patheos. His recent post talks about the period of disruption we are in right now, which he (and some of his compatriots, I gather) call Tower Time, after the tarot card.

In this particular post, I was struck by his recommendation to magic workers to “take your magic up a notch” in response to current times. I do agree. As I said a couple weeks ago, this time of change, this time of flux, is precisely when magic can have an outsized effect.

So today I’m going to start a series on what I believe is THE key to Egyptian magic. It has no known Egyptian name, but you find it everywhere throughout Egyptian sacred written materials. It freaked out the Greeks when they learned about it from Egypt. And it…

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…

Get ready for a wonderful gift from our Universe!  Our Sun, Moon and Earth join in the Solstice celebrations this year with a solar eclipse!  Though many of us won’t be able to see it in the sky (it’s directly visible mainly in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa), we can see it online.  This is a “ring of fire” eclipse – annular, not Total.  The eclipse can be watched online, starting at 11:45 pm EDT (Sunday, June 21, so that’s Saturday night), here! -though the eclipse won’t really show until later, like 1 am.  Remember that the Stonehenge Summer Solstice Sunrise is near the same time, at 11:52 pm – so you can get the magical treat of seeing them both in close succession! Here is the link to the Stonehenge Summer Solstice, online. Remember the time zone difference – the Summer Solstice Sunrise at 3:52 AM GMT…