Goddess of the Week: Isis

Image via WikipediaClaire wants a wind goddess -- a gift for her daughter who works with wind turbines. Well, Claire, give your daughter the Egyptian goddess Isis. Isis was, among other things, a wind goddess, and she had these enormous wings that blew sweet, cool air into the Nile Valley.

Isis was the beloved consort of Osiris. Together they ruled the heavens and earth. But then, one day, Osiris's totally evil brother Seth killed Osiris so that he could be king. It's just like "The Lion King," except instead of lions there are gods, and instead of a bereft son wandering off with a singing warthog and meerkat, there's a bereft wife who cuts off her hair and goes searching for her husband's missing dead body. Finally, she gets the dead body and hides it in a swamp, but then totally-evil Seth comes and chops it into fourteen pieces and sends them floating down the river. Isis goes hunting again, finds 13 of the pieces and then has to give up because a fish ate the 14th, Osiris's penis, and, after all, there are a lot of fish in the sea. She can't go around looking for the penis in every one.

Turns out that, when you're Isis, you don't really need the penis anyway. She took her enormous wings and flapped and flapped until she created a big enough wind to blow life back into Osiris. But bad news: since he had been dead he had to go be the lord of the underworld. Maybe it had to do with the missing penis. Anyway, it was a sort of bittersweet reunion, but they did penislessly conceive a child, Horus, who went on to torment and, eventually, destroy Seth. So at least there's a Hollywood ending.

Channel this goddess: When you work with wind turbines, of course! If you want to channel her for other things, I'll let you do that at your discretion. (But really, as tragic as things get, don't take your losses out on your hair.)

Need a goddess: I've got goddesses! Post a comment telling me your need and I will see what I can do.