Tirza Schaefer: Romance Author & Goddess Facilitator
Isis
I love to explore the Divine Feminine and write about Goddesses. For a list of those, click on the link: Goddesses. In order to become more balanced within ourselves and, through that, to bring greater balance and harmony to the world around us, we must find greater balance between the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves that each one of us possesses, regardless of physical gender or any other ways of self-identification.
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Goddess of Life & Magic
The Ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom as part of the Osiris myth. Isis is the Greek version of her name which is Aset in the Ancient Egyptian language. Therefore, she will be referred to from hereon after by her Egyptian name, Aset.
In the Old Kingdom, Aset had a rather minor role as being merely a part of the Osiris myth. But by the New Kingdom, she was the Mother of Gods, Goddess of the Throne and revered far beyond the borders of Egypt. She had also taken on many aspects of other Goddesses like the vulture Goddess Mut and the cow Goddess Hathor.
In Egyptian mythology, Aset was the wife of her brother Osiris, whose Egyptian name is Asar, so we shall call him that from now. But their evil brother Set was jealous and killed Osiris, dismembering his body and strewing the pieces across the country. Aset loved Asar so much that she went out to collect and reassemble the pieces of her dead husband. Her devotion moved the other Gods so deeply that they helped her in her search.
She found twelve of the thirteen pieces, the only thing missing being Asar’s phallus. She formed it out of clay and through magic, awakened Asar to life. They conceived their son Horus, Heru in Egyptian, and Asar was the ruler of the Underworld from that time. Aset gave birth to their son and raised him.
The scorpion Goddess Serket helped to protect the baby from Set when they were hiding in the swamps. You can read more details about this in my article on Serket.
A Mythological Blueprint
The myth of Asar, Aset and Horus became the blueprint of many similar myths in other religions. For example, you find almost exact parallels in the Christian tradition with Joseph, Maria and Baby Jesus. They even fled to Egypt from the evil king Herod. In some traditions, it is believed that it was there that Jesus (just like Moses before him) learned to perform magic.
When we look at the word magic, it is important to note that the Egyptians understood something very different when using this word than we do in modern Western cultures. Magic was neither a parlour trick nor something that appeared out of thin air or was a special power people were born with (or at least not necessarily). Rather, it was the understanding of metaphysical concepts and the intentional mastery of energy manipulation.
In this context, the word manipulation is not meant as something evil but holds a neutral meaning of a scientific concept. Magic was quite literally science and the mastery of magic, meaning manipulation of life force energy, meant to wield power over life and death itself.
Aset was the Goddess, of magic, life and death, of motherhood, nurturing and healing. As the mother of Pharaoh, she was also invoked in healing spells in her capacity as the maternal nurturer and healer amongst the common population. No other deity in Egyptian mythology was so revered, loved and has so many texts about her or him surviving.
In modern days, Aset’s worship is still popular, mainly amongst the esoteric and pagan community. I remember first reading a witch’s book on the Goddess, Circle of Isis: Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches by Ellen Cannon Reed. Later, the Egyptian Book of Going Forth by Day (previously falsely translated as Book of the Dead), granted more insights not only into the myths of this Goddess but many other Egyptian deities and funerary rites. (To my knowledge, The Egyptian Book of the Dead by Earnest Budge is the first published English translation from 1898, that is still in print and universally used). It is a description of the Afterlife that a dead person wakes up to when allowed to pass the weighing of the heart ceremony in the Duat, the Underworld.
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There is a passage that reiterates the words of Isis to a dead person whom she resurrects to live on in the Afterlife:
“I have come that I may be your magical protection.
I give breath to your nose …
I have caused that you exist as a god …
I have provided you protection.
Illumined is your face with your beauty,
my lord, opened are your blind eyes forever.”
If you look at it from a literal perspective, you’ll notice that there are parallels to other religious texts of creating the first humans and the deity giving their breath to make the human breathe – and thus live. Adam’s creation was very similar. From a metaphysical point of view, it means that a person gains enlightenment, understanding their godhood and embracing its beauty.
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In my romance novel Her Badass Bikers, Ava is a woman who embraces the energy of Aset as a nurturer, protector and lover. Through her own brand of feminine, powerful love magic, she is able to bring parts in her lovers back to life that the men had previously deeply buried through trauma.
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The story starts by Ava and Jax meeting again after many years after having lost touch. Ava used to babysit Jax when he was a child, being his neighbour at the time for two years. She kept this pattern by looking after children in her community when the mothers were unwilling, incapable or working. Ava is the personification of a protective, nurturing mother, even though she does not have any children of her own.
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She is also powerful in her intuitive talents and after making mistakes in the way she deals with her wounded men, she manages to learn and grow and reach them in their pain, causing healing, the rebuilding of trust and love to grow.
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In this way, she resurrects not only parts of herself but also in the men she loves and breathes new life into all of them.
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If you wish to meditate with the divine feminine energy of this most wonderful and loving Goddess to discover and embrace these aspects of divinity within yourself, you must tap into your unconscious, the collective unconscious, that which lies hidden, dormant under the veil of illusion, ego and the waking, analytical, conscious mind. Aset can bring you magic, love and power over your own life. She loves and accepts you as you are and empowers you to no longer be stuck in victimhood and reactionary responses to outside influences.
Aset guides you into the unconscious to find answers of truth that empower you and enable you to tap into your own divine feminine powers. She is that part of you that holds, understands and wields magic. She is the devoted lover and mother, protector and healer. She can bring the dead back to life and this means in a metaphorical context that you have the power to let the old die and create a new life with eyes open to see divine (not human) truth and understand cosmic order ( see my article on the Goddess Ma’at).
It is New Year’s Eve 2021 and while my daughter and her friend giggle in the next room, I have elected to allow them their teenage private space to go within and reflect on myself, my life, draw conclusions from what was and decide on how I wish to go forth into the new year of 2022. I have high hopes that this coming year will be magical. After all, 22 is a master number is numerology and Aset is the Goddess, the ultimate master of magic. It is no small wonder that she has come to me after so many years of (im)patiently waiting for her to tell me it is time to write about her on my part.
For those who don’t know, I don’t decide on which Goddess to write about with the analytical part of my brain but it is the Goddess aspect within me that speaks to me when the time is right for a certain aspect, a certain divine feminine energy to be not only discussed but tapped into and explored. And so, Aset is with me now, resurrected from the depth of my subconscious to impart her wisdom on me, and by extension you.
The Unconscious
A Timely Reminder
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When I asked her what message she has for you, this was her answer:
I am Aset, wife, mother, nurturer and healer. I am that within you that is most powerful, yet most often lies dormant and untapped. You should make use of me, your inner power, for you can wield the greatest magic in my name.
The last two years in your timeline on earth have been marked by feelings of powerlessness in the face of patriarchal authoritarian forceful abuse of power. I am here to remind you of your own strength and ability to create that which you desire. In the face of death of your old life – and also literal death which many of you have experienced in recent times, grieving the loss of loved ones, I have come to remind you that you possess the power to create a different life, a new life, resurrected from the debris of the old, that which has gone foul and died.
Resurrect your power and be willing to embrace radical change in order to bring this about. You won’t be able to without that. The unfamiliar can be scary and current times are very scary for many. However, it is vital (from vita, Latin for LIFE) to discard all fear and hatred, bury the hatches of the split that has been created in our societies through fear and resulting urges to turn on each other when it seemed impossible to turn on that (and those) which created the situation in the first place.
This is not a time to accuse and abuse each other but to come together as one and embrace differences and love unconditionally. United you are strong, for you are my children and you have, quite literally, all the power in the world to create a new world order. Do not doubt that this is possible for a new world order has been created, one which is not of light and true understanding. Divine truth is all-inclusive and will never turn on any part of itself. Thus, humanity must come together to heal. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, to create a world that takes care of all its individual parts. Great change is coming and you will fare a lot better if you dig deep into your own soul and find the courage to embrace and usher in the kind of changes we wish to see in the world, to create a new world.
Let me be clear. This is not an abstract esoteric concept, nor am I appealing to you to take flight in loftier spheres. Being human is about bringing in those energies you desire into the physical and manifesting (materialising) them in your current human reality. When considering this, the expression “heaven on earth” has a whole new meaning, does it not, my children? Be well, live well and create fearlessly!
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Tarot Card
Crystals
Black Obsidian, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Sapphire, Star Sapphire, Blue Beryl, Green Beryl, Amethyst, Clear Quartz, Turquoise, Green Jasper, Red Jasper, Moonstone, Pearl, Peridot