Osiris
“Glory be to Osiris Un-Nefer, the great god within Abydos, king of eternity, lord of everlasting, who passeth through millions of years in his existence.” The Book of the Dead, Plate II.
Osiris was the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian deity known as Asar, Aser, Ausar Ausir, Wesir, and Ausare. Osiris is one of the most popular, and important gods in Egyptian mythology, and his legends have been enjoyed, and admired since the time of the ancient Egyptians, and Plutarch. The aspects of nature he governs are the cycles of birth, death, rebirth, nature, and fertility. The aspects of civilization he governed were the ancient funerary rites, and practices. On the kabbalah’s Tree of Life he is placed in Tiphareth (for those of you not familiar with kabbalistic concepts I’ll be writing a basic intro article sometime in the future).
Let’s examine some of these aspects further. One of the things we have to remember is some of our basic middle school history – the Egyptians (like other river valley civilizations) held their Nile in a position of great importance. Her flooding, and the growth of the crops were associated with Osiris primarily because he was a god of vegetation.
There are many different variations to some of the stories concerning the gods which evolved over time. Not including the political environment or the cultural diffusion of the time(which influences the development of the gods within human understanding) the beginning of Egyptian civilization goes like this. The sun god Ra had ruled humanity for a time before his ascension to heaven. He left his reign to Shu, and then to Geb who in turn gave his throne over to his son Osiris one of four children ( Isis, Nephthys, and Seth being the other three).
Osiris became disturbed by the uncivilized ways of mankind, and aside from becoming their ruler he also became a teacher, and one of the first mythological Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Osiris taught mankind agriculture associating him with fertility, and taught man the arts of a civilized society. He would later leave Egypt for a period to civilize the rest of the world leaving his queen Isis to rule. His connection to agriculture, and in turn the Nile would eventually connect him with the cycles of death, and rebirth. This logical sequence symbolizes the passing of the seasons and plant growth, and decay. This association with death, and rebirth can be seen in many other fertility gods from other cultures.
Although Osiris was loved by both mankind, and the other gods the jealousy of this brother Seth would eventually end a “golden age” in Egyptian history. Seth filled with anger, and evil intent plotted against Osiris inviting him to a personal banquet along with 72 of Seth’s personal guard. Seth had designed a beautiful sarcophagus with Osiris’s measurements taken in secret, and offered it to whoever fit inside it exactly. All 72 men did not fit, and when it was Osiris’s turn to try out the potential prize he was locked inside, and thrown into the Nile.
The version of the story you read is not important but it is agreed that his body was then desecrated by Seth, and torn to 14 pieces, and thrown all over Egypt(many temples in Egypt symbolized the sites where the body parts supposably fell). He then overthrew Isis, and took control of the throne. Isis wild with grief, and despair searched all over Egypt for Osiris’s body parts along with the help of her sister, and wife of Seth Nephthys who was disgusted by her husband’s actions. Upon finding all the pieces except for the penis; using her magick Isis revived Osiris for a short time, and fashioned a penis made of gold. They made love, and she became pregnant. She would later give birth to Horus.
Osiris returned to the underworld, and become it’s ruler. Anubis appalled by his father’s actions as well (in some stories Seth is his father in others Osiris) mummified Osiris’s physical body thus introducing the process to the Egyptians. Later when Horus grew up he, and Seth fought many battles until Osiris returned from the Underworld threatening a council of gods to either give the throne to his son as was proper, or suffer his legions of demons promising to destroy the living, and the gods. As was stated by Osiris ” even the gods must come to sleep in my beautiful kingdom.”
The story symbolizes the concepts of order, and chaos with Osiris the former, and Seth the latter. One of the most powerful symbols found in modern day rites is the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation representing the Negative Confession of the dead. Osiris is represented by the Hierophant, and presides over the temple. The ceremony pulls the Neophyte out of his former life of Chaos, and disharmony from the divine into the grace of Osiris, and order.
The gods fear of the underworld also represents a humanist ideal that it isn’t only humans who depend on the gods but they who depend on humans as well, and with the death of the followers of one religion, so to can the gods die. Unfortunately Egyptian philosophy was in fact primitive at best, and this connection is only symbolic of Renaissance concepts.
Osiris was known, and praised as the Lord of the Underworld, Lord of Eternity. Lord of Lords, and Eternity, and Everlastingness. For further information, and reference checks on Osiris, and Egyptian mythology I recommend Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology and World Myths of Storytelling edited by C.Scott Littleton. I also recommend the Egyptian Book of the Dead translated by E.A Wallis Budge. For an esoteric perspective on the Kabbalah, and world myth please check out Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune.
L.V.X
Thank you
what was his meaning? was he a living person? where any of the gods real? how old was he when he died?