Isis Unveiled by H.P. Blavatsky

Date: 31 Mar 2003 01:00:53 -0800
Newsgroups: alt.pagan,alt.mythology,alt.arts.poetry.comments
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/temple_ofisis2
From: d
Isis Unveiled
by H.P. Blavatsky
quote:
Typhon figures in the BOOK OF THE DEAD, as the Accuser
of souls when they appear for judgment, as Satan stood up
to accuse Joshua, the highpriest, before the angel, and as
the Devil came to Jesus to tempt ot test him during his
great fast in the wilderness. He was also the deity
denominated Baal-Tsephon, or god of the crypt, in the
book of EXODUS, and SETH, or the pillar. During the
period, the ancient or archaic worship was more or less
under the ban of the government; in figurative language,
Osiris had been treacherously slain and cut in fourteen
(twice seven) pieces, and coffined by his brother Typhon,
and Isis had gone to Byblos in quest of his body.
i really am not familiar w/the Seth they speak of in the
Bible ... the only Seth i know of is one of the sons of Noah ...
are there any others?
as regards Isis, according to Blatvasky
... the student of Lepsisus, Champollion, and other
Egyptologists will quickly recognize Isis as the *woman
with child,* *clothed with the Sun and with the Moon under
her feet,* whom the *great fiery dragon* persecuted and
to whom *were given two wings of the Great Eagle that
she might fly into the wilderness.*
sorry about the stars but the *words* were in quotes .... i
assume she is quoting Revelations in the New Testament
of the Bible ....
-d
I've got a minute so I'll type in the info from Jokerman by Day.
'To Isis Moon Lady Language Creator Birth Goddess, Mother of Ra,
Saraswati and Aphrodite, Divine Mother.' Thus Allen Ginsberg in a note
accompanying the lyric 'Isis' on the 1976 record that Dylan entitled,
simply, DESIRE. .... 'I married Isis on the fifth day of May.' May --
the month of spring fertility rites, the time when Hermes led Persephone
out of Hades back to her mother Demeter. The connotations of May are
fused in the first line of 'Isis' with the numerological significance
involved in the specification of the fifth day of the fifth month of the
Gregorian calendar. One of the numbers associated with the universal
figure of the Great Goddess, the type of generative power, five is the
number of Dememter, of Ishtar, Aphrodite, and of Isis herself. The
number five contributes moreover to the interweaving of May with the
topic of marriage. For five is also the mystic number of the HIEROS
GAMOS, the archetypal Sacred Marriage of Heaven and Earth, the fruitful
union of opposites, of sun an dmoon, of male and female principles. In
its psychological resonance such a marriage may represent the harmonious
union of different elements -- both conscious and unconscious - of the
personality. 'To Isis Moon Lady ... Divine Mother.' In 'Isis' the
persona of the goddess appears under one aspect as a type of the
'feminine' dimension of identity. Goddess of fertility, a divinity of
the moon, she is a figure of elemental resource and unconscious
potentiality. In this respect she weds the speaker as soul mate, as
anima to his 'masculine' self. .....
just some idle thoughts....from a book i found on the shelf under some
dust.
the celtic would be interesting too.
i'm still betting on Thursday but Maybe Friday. (depends which day of
the week is number one ... to keep the five's theme going) :)
dbr
I think you should check out Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' where you will
find some connections to the 'Isis' storyline.
although Dylan uses the name Isis in his song, the song
itself does not seem to take place in the times that Isis
lived .... to me, the narrator of the songs seems like he
sets out on a journey [at a crossroads period of his life]
seeking some material reward, and instead finds that he
is involved in some much more mystical/spiritual
pilgrimage .... altho the storyline gets pretty scary in
parts, the narrator seems to plod on through like he is
some kind of luckyFool (w/all the tragedies happening to
his fellowJourneyman (an alterEgo, perhaps?) ... in the end
he meets up w/Isis [evidently a companion of long
acquaintance] and the conversation indicates that the
journey itself was not all that unusual or unexpected ...
[given the imagery of the song, one might say the couple
has a dry and somewhat understated sense of humor] ....
-d
From: Tom Christopher
of all of dylan's stuff, this is the only song where he reall works
at a continuing symbology, i think.
isis is the egyptian goddess of love, and that seems the
important part, it could've just as easily been venus or diana, its
his love, his ideal, that he wed on the fifth day of may, cynco de
mayo, the mexican independence day, so his love is connected to
revolution or freedom, but he couldn't hold on, he cut off his hair,
he went straight, went straight for treasure like rimbaud, but
that's a dead end, too. in a time of civil war the dividing line runs
thru the center of town, and he ties up his pony to a post on the
right, but its not long before he's back with isis, whos expected
him all along
the song's about desire
From: LFUNKARCH
"There's a body I'm tryin to find" certainly refers to
gravediggers/tomb-robbers who stole jewelry from Egyprtian tombs
(punishable by death for Cleopatra et.al.) or cadavers for medical
dissection in 18th and 19th century England)
Isis was also the Egyptian goddess of the moon, as Osiris was of the sun,
like Apollo and Diana of Roman myth. The pair may have symbolized perfect
union. Osiris is often portrayed as an alligator, Isis as a woman with a
sceptre. Like Orpheus, Osiris was torn apart, as someone else mentioned.
I got this sybolism from Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene"
It is a consistent song as far as connotation, someone probably should,
(or has!) write their doctoral dissertation on "Isis" :).
As far as the fifth of May?
RK
From: George Rothe
subterranean wrote:
>
> The fifth of May (Cinco de Mayo) is a holiday in Mexico, it's their
> Independence Day. I don't know if that has any significance.....
Isis had everyone digging at the wrong pyramids!! The Mayan pyramids
would make more sense. I wonder if there is a Mayan equivalent to
Isis? I also wonder if this song actually has its beginings during the
filming of 'Pat Garrett' which took place in Mexico. Hmmmmm!
d <email-address-deleted> wrote:
>also, rmd readers might find of interest the fact that not
>only were Sara(h)/Abraham brother and sister, but also
>Isis and Osiris .... (Oh Sister, when I come to lie in your
>arms .... ) .
Sarah & Abraham were half-brother & sister.
Abraham explains at Genesis 20:11-13:
And Abraham said, "Because I thought, Surely the fear of God
is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father,
but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my
father's house, that I said unto her, 'This is the kindness which
thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come,
say of me, "He is my brother.'"
-johnhenry
d <email-address-deleted> wrote:
>Isis was/is married to Osiris (Egyptian mythological
>personalities) .... Osiris was killed and his body cut into
>pieces by an enemy called Seth (I have heard different
>names for this enemy) and scattered throughout Egypt
>thus giving his soul no resting place according to
>ancientEgyptian beliefs ... Isis searched everlong to find
>and reassemble all the pieces, but could not find all ... (I
>have often wondered if this scattered body myth is an
>analogy for a scattered soul; a concept found in African
>mythology ...)
I've often wondered about the seldom heard view of this story (& similar
Babylonian mythology & pagan pantheons) as the legacy or invention of
Cain in exile - a murderer, estranged from family, profession, & Creator,
with nothing but time & imagination. How better for a jealous mind to spite
the Creator than to invent a religion of ancestor worship?...to deify Adam
& Eve, & ritualize worship of creation rather than the Creator, inserting
himself into every story? Perhaps he is cast as dismemberer of Osiris
in the story above? Or perhaps Cain cast himself as Osiris? & wrote a
fantasy of his mother ever searching for him in vain throughout the land
of Nod (wandering), to which God sent him for his crime against Abel?
Possibilities are as endless as variations found in ancient mythologies.
-johnhenry
Of course, it's also possible that Osiris made up the story of Cain and Abel.
-Stephen
>LFUNKARCH wrote:
>> As far as the fifth of May?
>
>Monday, I think.
Isn't the fifth of May called May Day, and doesn't it have some sort of
significance as far as Celtic fertility lore goes? This would fit with common
interpretations of Isis. Chris Rollason provided a brilliant interpretation
along these lines last year.
Perhaps Marguerita knows more about May Day?
--
Rob Zorn
> Isn't the fifth of May called May Day,
Actually May 1st is May Day ... the day the maids and lads
gathered flowers (as in Camelot) and made May Baskets; it also
was formerly a high holy day, 1st day of summer by older
calendars and high in otherworldly significance (as is November
1st).
this year May 5th falls on a Tuesday ...
-d
Chad Newton wrote:
>
> Dylan says in the boot "Get Ready! Tonigt Bob's Staying W/You" that the
> story of ISIS is true (actually they're all true he says) Does anyone know
> the background of this song?
>
> Thanks,
> Chad
it is often said that Dylan wrote these songs on a beach on
FireIsland (?) (NY) w/ lyricist Jacques Levy .... i am pretty
sure Levy's name is on the songs .... as for why dylan
wrote a song about Isis, i have never heard but perhaps
you might be interested in the following info
Isis was/is married to Osiris (Egyptian mythological
personalities) .... Osiris was killed and his body cut into
pieces by an enemy called Seth (I have heard different
names for this enemy) and scattered throughout Egypt
thus giving his soul no resting place according to
ancientEgyptian beliefs ... Isis searched everlong to find
and reassemble all the pieces, but could not find all ... (I
have often wondered if this scattered body myth is an
analogy for a scattered soul; a concept found in African
mythology ...)
anyway ... that's the basic Isis story (Isis/Osiris)
king/queen of ancientEgypt .... usually depicted as
benevolentRulers ...
also, rmd readers might find of interest the fact that not
only were Sara(h)/Abraham brother and sister, but also
Isis and Osiris .... (Oh Sister, when I come to lie in your
arms .... ) .
-d
p.s. I have read in a couple of interviews w/Bob that he
doesnt recall this period in his life very well .... he says
the songs on Desire have little meaning for him anymore
... altho Bob may be familiar w/some of the imagery he
uses in the songs on the Desire album, he evidently
want/ed/s to distance himself from the *tarot* and other
esoteric mystical imagery .... i once read a quote where
when he was responding to a question re: why he used
TheEmpress card (signifying Desire) on the cover of the
Desire album, he said something to the effect .... i dont
know anything about all that stuff ... that was all Sara's
shit ....
Off hand I don't recall any Desire album songs being performed live in
the last decade or so (please correct me if I am wrong!).
He does play "Seven Days" from the same Rolling Thunder period but that
wasn't on the album.
Note that Dylan has only recently corrected his longstanding lyric error
in "Man In The Long Black Coat" where he 'accidentally' includes a line
from "Sara" Well the beach is deserted An' it's been there since June Tree trunks uprooted 'Neath the high crescent moon
The "Sara" lyric is: "The beach is deserted, except for some kelp, and a
piece of an old ship that lies on the shore".
In 1978, Dylan wonders aloud about having neglected the song Isis in his
sets: "I wanted to do more harmonica and violin together but we never got a chance to do that. But, yeah, all that time, those songs like 'Isis' and and all that - gee, I haven't done that for a long time - I used to do that song all the time..." (12 December 1978 interview with Lynne Allen)
In the same interview, Dylan adds: "No, I haven't left the songs behind. I never leave the songs behind. I might leave the arrangements and the mood behind, but the songs, I never leave them behind."
Ben Taylor
>Isis was/is married to Osiris (Egyptian mythological
>personalities) .... Osiris was killed and his body cut into
>pieces by an enemy called Seth (I have heard different
>names for this enemy) and scattered throughout Egypt
>thus giving his soul no resting place according to
>ancientEgyptian beliefs ... Isis searched everlong to find
>and reassemble all the pieces, but could not find all ... (I
>have often wondered if this scattered body myth is an
>analogy for a scattered soul; a concept found in African
>mythology ...)
Set, not Seth, is the name I've seen.
Rolling Stone contributing editor Jonathan Cott, who wrote a handsome
picture book about Dylan, also published a book about Isis/Osiris . . . Isis and Osiris: Exploring the Goddess Myth by Jonathan Cott New York: Doubleday, 1994, 209 pgs. ISBN: 0-385-41797-7
No mention of Dylan or his song, other than on the dust jacket. Ever
notice how often Dylan is used to help sell books? Anyway, the
story is told in considerable detail. He mentions that the myth has
been reworked many times over by others besides Dylan, such as
Walt Whitman, D. H. Lawrence, Norman Mailer, and Sam Shepard.
Actually I seem to recall an interview of either Dylan or Levy in
which he claimed the song had little or nothing to do with this
particular myth. Sorry but I can't put my hands on it right now.
Then again, one wonders whether this was intentional disinformation.
Do you suppose Dylan would do anything like that? ;-)
Ron Chester
EDLIS Bibliographical Agent
>Actually I seem to recall an interview of either Dylan or Levy in
>which he claimed the song had little or nothing to do with this
>particular myth. Sorry but I can't put my hands on it right now.
The closest thing I've been able to locate is the June 1985 Rockline
interview:
Caller: Listen, in 1976 I bought your first album and Hurricane struck me, like, first, but Isis has always haunted me and I wanted to know what you meant by the song Isis.
Dylan: Hmm . . . Well, it's kind of like a journey, you know, like sort of a journey type trip. I wrote that with another person and I think half the verses were mine and half the verses were his, and it just sort of ended up being what it was. I don't really know too much in depth what it would mean.
Coburn: Who did you co-write it with?
Dylan: Jacques Levy.
Coburn: Jacques Levy, and the basis I guess is Egyptian mythology, Isis being a goddess. Is that what it stemmed from?
Dylan: (Laughs) I guess so.
Coburn: You're not sure. . . Anything else on your mind [caller] . . .
Ron Chester
EDLIS Bibliographical Agent