(29) Isis holds in her right hand a small sailing ship with the spindle of a spinning wheel for its mast. From the top of the mast projects a water jug, its handle shaped like a serpent swelled with venom. This indicates that Isis steers the bark of life, full of troubles and miseries, on the stormy ocean of Time. The spindle symbolizes the fact that she spins and cuts the thread of Life. These emblems further signify that Isis abounds in humidity, by means of which she nourishes all natural bodies, preserving them from the heat of the sun by humidifying them with nutritious moisture from the atmosphere. Moisture supports vegetation, but this subtle humidity (life ether) is always more or less infected by some venom proceeding from corruption or decay. It must be purified by being brought into contact with the invisible cleansing fire of Nature. This fire digests, perfects, and revitalizes this substance, in order that the humidity may become a universal medicine to heal and renew all the bodies in Nature.

(23) The ancients gave the name Isis to one of their occult medicines; therefore the description here given relates somewhat to chemistry. Her black drape also signifies that the moon, or the lunar humidity--the sophic universal mercury and the operating substance of Nature in alchemical terminology--has no light of its own, but receives its light, its fire, and its vitalizing force from the sun. Isis was

(28) The twelfth chapter treats of a great wonder appearing in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. This woman represents the constellation of Virgo and also the Egyptian Isis, who, about to be delivered of her son Horus, is attacked by Typhon, the latter attempting to destroy the child predestined by the gods to slay the

(14) At length Isis discovered that the chest had floated to the coast of Byblos. There it had lodged in the branches of a tree, which in a short time miraculously grew up around the box. This so amazed the king of that country that he ordered the tree to be cut down and a pillar made from its trunk to support the roof of his palace. Isis, visiting Byblos, recovered the body of her husband, but it was again stolen by Typhon, who cut it into fourteen parts, which he scattered all over the earth. Isis, in despair, began gathering up the severed remains of her husband, but found only thirteen pieces. The fourteenth part (the phallus) she reproduced in gold, for the original had fallen into the river Nile and had been swallowed by a fish.

(35) The statue of Isis was placed on a pedestal of dark stone ornamented with rams' heads. Her feet trod upon a number of venomous reptiles. This indicates that Nature has power to free from acidity or saltness all corrosives and to overcome all impurities from terrestrial corruption adhering to bodies. The rams' heads indicate that the most auspicious time for the generation of life is during the period when the sun passes through the sign of Aries. The serpents under her feet indicate that Nature is inclined to preserve life and to heal disease by expelling impurities and corruption.

(533) 1263 To say: ----------------------------- 1263 ----------------- which goes forth ---- 1263 N. is the blood, which goes forth from R`; the sweat which goes forth from Isis. 26. FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PYRAMID ENCLOSURE AGAINST OSIRIS AND HIS CYCLE,

(35) The seventeenth numbered major trump is called Les Etoiles, the Stars, and portrays a young girl kneeling with one foot in water and the other on and, her body somewhat suggesting the swastika. She has two urns, the contents of which she pours upon the land and sea. Above the girl's head are eight stars, one of which is exceptionally large and bright. Count de Gébelin considers the great star to be Sothis or Sirius; the other seven are the sacred planets of the ancients. He believes the female figure to be Isis in the act of causing the inundations of the Nile which accompanied the rising of the Dog Star. The unclothed figure of Isis may well signify that Nature does not receive her garment of verdure until the rising of the Nile waters releases the germinal life of plants and flowers. The bush and bird (or butterfly) signify the growth and resurrection which accompany the rising of the waters. In the pseudo-Egyptian Tarot the great star contains a diamond composed of a black and white triangle, and the flowering bush is a tall plant with a trifoliate head upon which a butterfly alights. Here Isis is in the form of an upright triangle and the vases have become shallow cups. The elements of water and earth under her feet represent the opposites of Nature sharing impartially in the divine abundance.

(19) The explanations in these pages of the symbols peculiar to the Virgin Isis are based (unless otherwise noted) on selections from a free translation of the fourth book of Bibliotèque des Philosophes Hermétiques, entitled "The Hermetical Signification of the Symbols and Attributes of Isis," with interpolations by the compiler to amplify and clarify the text.

(676) 2007 To say: Thy water belongs to thee, thine abundance belongs to thee, thine efflux belongs to thee, 2007 which issues from Osiris. 2008 Collect thy bones; arrange thy limbs; 2008 shake off thy dust; untie thy bandages. 2009 The tomb is open for thee; the double doors of the coffin are undone for thee; 2009 the double doors of heaven are open for thee. 2009 "Hail," says Isis; "(come) in peace," says Nephthys, 2009 when they see their brother at the feast of Atum. 2010 These thy libations, Osiris, are in Busiris, in Grg.w-b(.f ); 2010 thy soul is in thy body; thy might is behind thee; remain chief of (or, master of) thy powers. 2011 Raise thyself up, N., 2011 travel over the southern regions; travel over the northern regions; 2011 be thou powerful over the powers that are in thee. 2011 Thy spirits, the jackals, are given thee which Horus of Hierakonpolis has given to thee. 2012 Raise thyself up, N., be seated on thy firm (or, copper) throne. 2012 Anubis, who is chief of the divine pavillion (s-ntr), has commanded 2012 thy purification with thy eight nm.t-jars and (thy) eight `b.tjars, which come from the s-ntr. 2013 Thou art a god who supports the sky, who beautifies the earth. 2013 The mnt.t-woman laments for thee; the great min.t mourns for thee; 2014 arms agitate for thee; feet tremble for thee, 2014 when thou ascendest as a star, as the morning star. 2014 He comes to thee, his father; he comes to thee, Geb; 2015 take his hand, let him sit upon the great seat; 2015 let him unite with the two mt-lakes of b.w; 2015 purify his mouth with natron on the lap of Mnti-'irti; 2015 purify his nails, upper and lower. 2016 Let one do for him what thou didst do for his brother, Osiris, . on the day of counting the bones, 2016 of making firm the sandals, of ferrying over the lake Rd-wr. 2017 To thee come the wise and the understanding; 2017 thou art called to the southern 'itr.t-palace; 2017 to thee come (the gods of) the full northern 'itr.t-palace, with a salutation. 54. TEXTS OF MISCELLANEOUS CONTENTS,

(39) From a golden ring on her left arm a line descends, to the end of which is suspended a deep box filled with flaming coals and incense. Isis, or Nature personified, carries with her the sacred fire, religiously preserved and kept burning in. a special temple by the vestal virgins. This fire is the genuine, immortal flame of Nature--ethereal, essential, the author of life. The inconsumable oil; the balsam of life, so much praised by the wise and so often referred to in the Scriptures, is frequently symbolized as the fuel of this immortal flame.

(28) In this figure the pagan naturalists represent all the vital powers of the three kingdoms and families of sublunary nature-mineral, plant, and animal (man considered as an animal). At one of her ears was the moon and at the other the sun, to indicate that these two were the agent and patient, or father and mother principles of all natural objects; and that Isis, or Nature, makes use of these two luminaries to communicate her powers to the whole empire of animals, vegetables, and minerals. On the back of her neck were the characters of the planets and the signs of the zodiac which assisted the planets in their functions. This signified that the heavenly influences directed the destinies of the principles and sperms of all things, because they were the governors of all sublunary bodies, which they transformed into little worlds made in the image of the greater universe.

(42) 32 Take the breast of thy sister Isis, which is protected(?); take this in thy mouth. An empty mns-jar.

(1) IT is especially fitting that a study of Hermetic symbolism should begin with a discussion of the symbols and attributes of the Saitic Isis. This is the Isis of Sais, famous for the inscription concerning her which appeared on the front of her temple in that city: "I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal Man hath ever me unveiled."

(4) A To say by Nut: N., I have given to thee thy sister Isis, 3 that she may take hold of thee, that she may give thy heart to thee which belongs to thy body.

(38) winds, vanishing in the extreme background. Court de Gébelin sees in this card another reference to the rising of the Nile and states on the authority of Pausanius that the Egyptians believed the inundations of the Nile to result from the tears of the moon goddess which, falling into the river, swelled its flow. These tears are seen dropping from the lunar face. Court de Gébelin also relates the towers to the Pillars of Hercules, beyond which, according to the Egyptians, the luminaries never passed. He notes also that the Egyptians represented the tropics as dogs who as faithful doorkeepers prevented the sun and moon from penetrating too near the poles. The crab or crawfish signifies the retrograde motion of the moon.

(18) Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, the founder of Egyptian learning, the Wise Man of the ancient world, gave to the priests and philosophers of antiquity the secrets which have been preserved to this day in myth and legend. These allegories and emblematic figures conceal the secret formulæ for spiritual, mental, moral, and physical regeneration commonly known as the Mystic Chemistry of the Soul (alchemy). These sublime truths were communicated to the initiates of the Mystery Schools, but were concealed from the profane. The latter, unable to understand the abstract philosophical tenets, worshiped the concrete sculptured idols which were emblematic of these secret truths. The wisdom and secrecy of Egypt are epitomized in the Sphinx, which has preserved its secret from the seekers of a hundred generations. The mysteries of Hermeticism, the great spiritual truths hidden from the world by the ignorance of the world, and the keys of the secret doctrines of the ancient philosophers, are all symbolized by the Virgin Isis. Veiled from head to foot, she reveals her wisdom only to the tried and initiated few who have earned the right to enter her sacred presence, tear from the veiled figure of Nature its shroud of obscurity, and stand face to face with the Divine Reality.

(26) Other hieroglyphics seen in connection with Isis are no less curious than those already described, but it is impossible to enumerate all, for many symbols were used interchangeably by the Egyptian Hermetists. The goddess often wore upon her head a hat made of cypress branches, to signify mourning for her dead husband and also for the physical death which she caused every creature to undergo in order to receive a new life in posterity or a periodic resurrection. The head of Isis is sometimes ornamented with a crown of gold or a garland of olive leaves, as conspicuous marks of her sovereignty as queen of the world and mistress of the entire universe. The crown of gold signifies also the aurific unctuosity or sulphurous fatness of the solar and vital fires which she dispenses to every individual by a continual circulation of the elements, this circulation being symbolized by the musical rattle which she carries in her hand. This sistrum is also the yonic symbol of purity.

(366) 626 To say: O Osiris N., stand up, lift thyself up; 626 thy mother Nut has brought thee forth; Geb has wiped thy mouth for thee. 626 The Great Ennead avenge thee; 626 they put for thee thine enemy under thee. 627 Carry thou (him who is) greater than thou, said they to him, in thy name of "He of the Great Saw Palace." 627 Lift (him up who is) greater than thou, said they, in thy name of "He of the Great Land Nome." 628 Thy two sisters Isis and Nephthys come to thee; they heal thee 628 complete and great, in thy name of "Great Black," 628 fresh and great, in thy name of "Great Green." 629 Behold, thou art great and round like the "Great Round"; 629 behold, thou are bent around, and art round like the "Circle which encircles the nb.wt"; 629 behold, thou art round and great like the "Great Circle which sets." 630 Isis and Nephthys protected thee in Si�t, 630 even their lord in thee, in thy name of "Lord of Si�t"; 630 even their god in thee, in thy name of "God." 631 a. They adore thee, so that thou shalt not (again) withdraw from them, in thy name of "Dw-ntr" (or, "divine Dw"); 631 they take care of thee, so that thou mayest not (again) be angry, in thy name of "Dndr.w-boat." 632 Thy sister comes to thee, rejoicing for love of thee. 632 Thou hast placed her on thy phallus, 632 that thy seed may go into her, (while) it is pointed like Sothis. 632 Horus the pointed has come forth from thee as Horus who was in Sothis. 633 Thou art pleased with him, in his name of "Spirit who was in the Dndr.w-boat"; 633 he avenges thee, in his name of "Horus, the son, who avenges his father."

(4) And now I speak to thee, O River, holiest [Stream]! I tell thee what will be. With bloody torrents shalt thou overflow thy banks. Not only shall thy streams divine be stained with blood; but they shall all flow over [with the same]. The tale of tombs shall far exceed the [number of the] quick; and the surviving remnant shall be Egyptians in their tongue alone, but in their actions foreigners. XXV

(27) A serpent interwoven among the olive leaves on her head, devouring its own tail, denotes that the aurific unctuosity was soiled with the venom of terrestrial corruption which surrounded it and must be mortified and purified by seven planetary circulations or purifications called flying eagles (alchemical terminology) in order to make it medicinal for the restoration of health. (Here the emanations from the sun are recognized as a medicine for the healing of human ills.) The seven planetary circulations are represented by the circumambulations of the Masonic lodge; by the marching of the Jewish priests seven times around the walls of Jericho, and of the Mohammedan priests seven times around the Kabba at Mecca. From the crown of gold project three horns of plenty, signifying the abundance of the gifts of Nature proceeding from one root having its origin in the heavens (head of Isis).