The deity Aset is often referred to as ‘The Divine Mother’ or ‘Mother of the Deities’, ‘The Living One’ she usually takes on the form of a woman with a seat or throne on her head a hieroglyph of her name.
Aset (kemetic name)[Isis - greek name]: Goddess of civilization and primary mother Goddess. Wife and sister of Asar, sister of Nebt Het, Set, and Heru the Elder, daughter of Nwt and Geb, and mother of the twins, Bast and Heru Sa Aset. Sometimes considered to be the wife and/or daughter of Ra. Aset is usually shown with wings and sometimes appears as a swallow or kite. She appears as both a golden glowing skinned woman and as a dark black skinned woman.
Aset [Isis]: Goddess of civilization and primary mother Goddess. Wife and sister of Asar, sister of Nebt Het, Set, and Heru the Elder, daughter of Nwt and Geb, and mother of the twins, Bast and Heru Sa Aset. Sometimes considered to be the wife and/or daughter of Ra. Aset is usually shown with wings and sometimes appears as a swallow or kite. She appears as both a golden glowing skinned woman and as a dark black skinned woman.
Black Madonna: The famous “Black Madonnas” of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches are statues of Aset with Heru(Horus) converted to use as Mary and Jesus. Some of these statues are missing the arm that carried Bast. The Christians didn’t like using the statues of Aset with the baby girl.
The priestesses of Aset were known for their erotic dance ritual, the forerunner of modern erotic dance and stripping.
Aset’s relations:
Wife and sister of Asar, sister of Nebt Het, Set, and Heru the Elder, daughter of Nwt and Geb, and mother of the twins, Bast and Heru Sa Aset. Sometimes considered to be the wife and/or daughter of Ra.
Cult Center: A temple is dedicated to her on the Island of Philae, near the first cataract. She is revered throughout Egypt.
Attributes: Aset (Isis) is one of the earliest and most important goddess in ancient Egypt. She was regarded as the feminine counterpart to Osiris, a role she probably occupied before the dawn of dynastic Egypt. No other Egyptian deity has stood the test of time as well as Isis. Her cult was not extinguished with the other Egyptian gods, but was embraced by the Greeks and Romans, her worship has even lasted into the present day.
She was revered by the Egyptian people as the great mother-goddess and represents the maternal spirit in its most intimate form. She is often seen suckling a young Horus. In the Osiris legend she is seen as a dutiful wife, a grieving widow and as a protector of the dead.
As a winged goddess she may represent the wind. In the Osiris legend there are references to Isis wailing and moaning like the wind. She is also continually travelling up and down the land in search of her lost husband. Upon finding Osiris' body, she takes the shape of one of the swiftest birds, a kite. Flapping and darting above his dead body she wails in mourning. She restores life to Osiris by flapping her wings and filling his mouth and nose with air.
Aset (Isis) was a great enchantress, the goddess of magic. Together with Thoth, she taught mankind the secrets of medicine. She was the embalmer and gaurdian of Osiris. She is often rendered on the foot of coffins with long wings spread to protect the deceased.
Representation: A woman wearing on her head the hieroglyphic symbol of her name, which represents a throne or seat. Often seen wearing horns and a solar disk on her head. Sometimes she is pictured with wings, It is noteworthy that she is one of only a few deities that we find with wings in ancient Egyptian mythology.
Relations: Daughter of Nut and Geb. Sister of Osiris, Nephthys, and Seth. Wife of Osiris. Mother of Horus.
This Netert is known as Isis (wisdom) amongst the Greeks who also relate her to their deities Demeter, Selene and moon Goddess Astarte (star). In Sumeria she is known as Ishtar and Dina. Aset is Maya in Buddhism, Fatimah in Islam and Mary in Christianity. In the bible she is mentioned as Ashtoreth meaning star 1 kings 11:5 and 11:33. Aset or Auset or Eset iconography is often that of a mother suckling her child Heru/Horus.
