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Author Topic: Isis and Her Greco-Roman Mystery Cult?  (Read 2723 times)

Mata

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Isis and Her Greco-Roman Mystery Cult?
« on: July 27, 2012, 11:02:46 pm »
Hey everyone. I don't fully identify with any particular tradition or religion (even if my foundation is a nebulous, recon-friendly syncretism of Celto-Germanic heathenry), but lately I've been feeling very interested in learning about, and possibly establishing a relationship with Isis.

I know quite a bit about her regarding her Kemetic counterpart Aset, but feel less knowledgeable concerning her Greco-Roman mystery cult, which is the forefront of my interest.

1) Anyone have some good resources about the goddess/her cult in general?

2) Any tips on establishing a relationship with her? What sort of offerings, rituals, etc.

I'll take whatever you have to give, personal experiences, scholarly sources, so on.

I'm more interested in her Roman mystery form, but Kemetic view points are welcomed too. :)
« Last Edit: August 01, 2012, 06:20:05 pm by RandallS »
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Nyktelios

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Re: Isis
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2012, 10:52:17 am »
Quote from: Mata;66342
Hey everyone. I don't fully identify with any particular tradition or religion (even if my foundation is a nebulous, recon-friendly syncretism of Celto-Germanic heathenry), but lately I've been feeling very interested in learning about, and possibly establishing a relationship with Isis.

I know quite a bit about her regarding her Kemetic counterpart Aset, but feel less knowledgeable concerning her Greco-Roman mystery cult, which is the forefront of my interest.

1) Anyone have some good resources about the goddess/her cult in general?

2) Any tips on establishing a relationship with her? What sort of offerings, rituals, etc.

I'll take whatever you have to give, personal experiences, scholarly sources, so on.

I'm more interested in her Roman mystery form, but Kemetic view points are welcomed too. :)


There's a really good book that you have to read called, "Isis in the Ancient World" by RE Witt. It talks about her origins in Egypt, and how her associations translated into the Greco-Roman world, but also how she was syncretized with other goddesses and became this figure of a universal divinity of infinite names.

Lucius Apuleius' "The Golden Ass" is also an interesting source. The most relevant section you can find here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/lucius-assa.asp. Neos Alexandria also has some decent articles on her:
http://neosalexandria.org/syncretism/an-overview-of-isis/
http://neosalexandria.org/syncretism/a-history-of-the-worship-of-the-goddess-isis/
http://neosalexandria.org/syncretism/the-case-for-isis/
http://neosalexandria.org/syncretism/journey-to-isis/

To honour her, you could set up a shrine and offer her candles, incense, and drink libations. I usually use white or blue candles, and sensual, feminine fragrances like lotus, rose, or myrrh incense. Giving flowers to her as offerings would also be very appropriate.

SatAset

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Re: Isis
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2012, 01:45:16 pm »
Quote from: Mata;66342

I'll take whatever you have to give, personal experiences, scholarly sources, so on.

I'm more interested in her Roman mystery form, but Kemetic view points are welcomed too. :)



Carnelian already mentioned Witt's book, so I'll add The Cult of Isis in the Roman Empire: Isis Invictus by Malcolm Drew Donalson.
I am the Goddess of Who I can Become. I mix the magic of the sorceress with the blade of a warrior. I walk the liminal pathways to see the face of the Goddess, both terrible and kind. As She stares back at me, I tremble in awe and ecstasy.  --SatAset

Mata

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Re: Isis
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2012, 04:41:34 pm »
Quote from: Carnelian;66374
....

 
Quote from: SatAset;66390
Carnelian already mentioned Witt's book, so I'll add The Cult of Isis in the Roman Empire: Isis Invictus by Malcolm Drew Donalson.

Thank you both! I appreciate the links and book recommendations. :)

Does anyone know of any ancient hymns to Isis/Aset? Along with a list of epithets? Kemetic and Hellenistic, especially.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2012, 04:42:59 pm by Mata »
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Fier

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Re: Isis
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2012, 12:25:02 pm »
Quote from: Mata;66997

Does anyone know of any ancient hymns to Isis/Aset?

 
There may be one in The Golden Ass. There is, a least, a very detailed description of a ritual procession in her honor.

SatAset

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Re: Isis
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2012, 04:27:20 pm »
Quote from: Mata;66997
Thank you both! I appreciate the links and book recommendations. :)

Does anyone know of any ancient hymns to Isis/Aset? Along with a list of epithets? Kemetic and Hellenistic, especially.


There are the 4 Hymns of Isidorus for the Classical Isis and the Araetologies.  

There are 8 of Aset's Kemetic hymns from Philae published in Hymns of Isis at Philae by Louis V. Zabkar.  

I'm writing an Aset Hymnal right now.  I'm translating Her hymns and inscriptions from Dendera and a few others from Philae (that are not in Zabkar).  I'm also including hymns from other Egyptology books such as Lichtheim's Literature Vol. 2 book and the Book of the Dead.  
I still have to finish Dendera and then get Aset's hymns from El-Qa'la.  And possibly Edfu.  This will take me a while.
I am the Goddess of Who I can Become. I mix the magic of the sorceress with the blade of a warrior. I walk the liminal pathways to see the face of the Goddess, both terrible and kind. As She stares back at me, I tremble in awe and ecstasy.  --SatAset

Mata

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Re: Isis
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2012, 04:21:42 pm »
Quote from: FierFlye;67106
There may be one in The Golden Ass. There is, a least, a very detailed description of a ritual procession in her honor.

Thanks, FierFlye. The Golden Ass is on my list of books to get a hold of ;)
 
Quote from: SatAset;67120
There are the 4 Hymns of Isidorus for the Classical Isis and the Araetologies.  

There are 8 of Aset's Kemetic hymns from Philae published in Hymns of Isis at Philae by Louis V. Zabkar.  

I'm writing an Aset Hymnal right now.  I'm translating Her hymns and inscriptions from Dendera and a few others from Philae (that are not in Zabkar).  I'm also including hymns from other Egyptology books such as Lichtheim's Literature Vol. 2 book and the Book of the Dead.  
I still have to finish Dendera and then get Aset's hymns from El-Qa'la.  And possibly Edfu.  This will take me a while.

Thank you, SatAset! My only regret is that it seems like many books dealing with Isis tend to be outrageously priced. :( I better start hawking my library.

I look forward to your book. I'd love to read it.
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Re: Isis
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2012, 07:23:32 pm »
Quote from: Mata;68025
Thanks, FierFlye. The Golden Ass is on my list of books to get a hold of ;)

 
There's a translation from 1566 on Sacred Texts.  That's old enough that spellings, word usages, etc, will be different enough to be distracting and sometimes unclear; I'm quite sure I've seen less archaic translations around the 'Net.

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