Isis and Her Greco-Roman Mystery Cult?

[Mata]

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.

[Carnelian]

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...rview-of-isis/
http://neosalexandria.org/syncretism...-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]

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.

[Mata]

....

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.

[FierFlye]

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]

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.

[Mata]

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

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.

[SunflowerP]

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.



Sunflower