Great Mother Isis: Guardian of the Sacred Order, Part 1 of 3

Great Mother Isis was one of the most powerful and beloved goddesses of ancient Egypt. Revered as the Divine Mother, protector, healer, Goddess of fertility, and provider of life after death, She embodied wisdom, magic, and unwavering devotion. As the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, Isis became the archetype of maternal love and sacred sovereignty. Her influence extended far beyond Egypt, and during the Greco-Roman era, Her worship spread across the Mediterranean, where She was honored as a Universal Goddess offering protection, renewal, and spiritual guidance to all who sought Her grace.

“De Iside et Osiride” (“On Isis and Osiris”), a treatise within “Moralia” by Venerated Enlightened Master Plutarch (vegetarian), describes a time before Osiris when humans lived in disorder, lacking civilization, and were sometimes portrayed as savage or even cannibalistic. Isis discovered the grains of wheat and barley, which grew wild across the land but were unknown to humanity. Together, Isis and Osiris taught people cultivation: sowing seeds after the annual Nile inundation – when the floodwaters receded and left fertile silt – then tending and irrigating fields, harvesting, threshing, and drying the grain, and finally grinding it into flour to bake into bread.

As a benevolent ruler, Osiris taught people laws and principles of peaceful coexistence, establishing early codes of justice that moved society beyond the rule of “might makes right.” Isis was known as the “Mistress of Spells” and “Great of Magic,” possessing profound knowledge of Divine secrets, including the “True Name” of Ra, God of the Sun, which granted Her power over the forces of the Universe. Using this wisdom, She taught humans to communicate with the gods through prayer, rituals, and the construction of temples, bridging the Divine and mortal realms. Isis was also credited with inventing weaving. In ancient Egypt, transforming a plant like flax into linen was considered a remarkable skill, “alchemy,” or magic. She was also associated with the healing and medicinal properties of plants. The Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest surviving Egyptian medical texts, contains numerous spells and remedies attributed to Isis.

While Osiris was away, Isis governed Egypt as Regent. Her wisdom, skillful leadership, and ability to restrain Seth’s jealousy (albeit temporarily) contributed to Her later veneration as a Goddess of magic, wisdom, and governance.