sdi: Oil painting of the Heliconian Muse whispering inspiration to Hesiod. (Default)
sdi ([personal profile] sdi) wrote2025-01-15 11:58 am

The Gods and Their Symbols

Osiris is Fire itself, but his symbol is the "eye of Ra," the Sun, which is a reflection of Fire in the material world.

Set is Aither itself, but his symbol is a dragon or serpent (cf. the serpent chasing Tewaret, the Python, etc.) as representative of the Eclipse, which is a reflection of Aither in the material world (since shadows can only exist in the material aither, e.g. in "empty" space).

Horus is the prototype of the ascended individual soul (and thus a Platonic Form or Idea existing within Osiris). While not being a god in the same sense as the others, he too may be symbolically or virtually reflected within the material world, and hence he may be considered to be symbolized by the "eye of Horus," the Moon, which is an illuminating rocky body and thus the reflection of both Fire and Earth (e.g. the child of Osiris and Isis). (Apollo is the equivalent in Greek, and his "silver bow" is the crescent moon.) While the "true" Horus is an Idea rather than a being, he exists representationally at all levels of being, and these are what we interact with (e.g. a saint might be an Earthy Horus, a venerated ancestor might be a Watery Horus, a hero might be an Airy Horus).

Anubis is another Idea existing within Osiris, that of transition between levels of being, and his symbol is the dawn or dusk (the meeting point of the Firey Sun and the Watery horizon, e.g. the child of Osiris and Nephthys). (Artemis is the equivalent in Greek, which is why she presides over both childbirth in her role as midwife and death in her role as huntress, and her "golden darts" are the reflection of the rising or setting Sun over the sea, which looks like a shaft tipped by the Sun itself pointing upwards.) He, too, exists representationally at all levels of being (e.g. a seer or shaman might be an Earthy Anubis, a spirit guide might be a Watery Anubis, etc.).