Ancient
In the ancient Egyptian lunar calendar, the festival occurred on the
17th of
the month Hathyr, when the nights grew longer and the Nile receded. As
nearly
as can be determined the festival coincides with the Roman solar
calendar on
October 28th - November 3rd. The Roman adherents of the cult came to
celebrate
the festival after the emperor Caligula officially recognized Isiac
worship and had a temple built to
the cult on the Field of Mars.
In the earliest Egyptian myths, it seems Osiris, the embodiment of
fecundity,
drowned in the Nile on this date. Later myths have Osiris murdered at
the hands
of his scheming brother, Seth the god of chaos (whom Greeks equated
with
Typhon). Still later myths - the most complete version being preserved
by the
Greek writer, Plutarch - have Seth dismembering the corpse and
scattering it
across the lands. Isis and her friends among the gods search the lands
to find
the pieces and reassemble the body of Osiris. Isis, Great of Magic,
resurrects
Osiris, who later goes on to become the ruler of the underworld.
The Discovery of Osiris was like a passion play, commemorating the
search for
the murdered god and his magical resurrection. Statues of the goddess
Isis were
veiled in black, and it seems very probable that priestesses of the
cult would
have dressed so as well (it must be understand that in Ancient Egypt
black was
the color of the fertile Nile silt, and was thus a color of life not of
death).
Children wore a tress of long hair behind the right ear, identifying
themselves
with the iconic depictions of a young Horus. Both genders of all ages
involved
in the cult chanted laments and cries of grief. Some, in a ritual not
unlike
that of the Attis cults, beat their flesh with pine cones until
bloodied.
A ritual idol of Osiris was dismembered and scattered along a
predetermined
route from the temple. They were then gradually "rediscovered" and
assembled. A priest of the cult wore a mask of Anubis, the jackal
headed
embalming god, whose sense of smell had helped Isis locate several of
the
pieces. On November 3rd the cult adherents joyously shouted "let us
rejoice!" They proceeded happily in procession through town, shaking a sistra. Those living in the countryside
surrounding the towns fashioned idols of Osiris out of damp earth and
seeds, and consecrated the idols in hallowed pine trunks.
Others decorated lamps or vases and offered them to the god.
Much like the Navigium Isidis, one did not have to be a duly initiated
member
to participate in this public festival. While mystae
and clergy certainly formed the backbone of any observance, the
wider public could and did participate in the processions. The festival
championed the triumph of rebirth over death. On one level, it assured
the prosperity of future harvests, as Osiris embodied the powers of
fertile
agriculture. On another level, those especially educated in Hellenistic
philosophy (such as Plutarch, one of our chief sources on the cult) may
have reinterpreted
the myths of the cult through the prism of Platonic theology. The
festival thus
appealed to people with a variety of spiritual needs and backgrounds.
It held
practices and beliefs in common with other related cults, such as those
of
Attis and Demeter.
Modern
There is much about this cult that simply cannot be reconstructed by
the
solitary practitioner. Creating and then dismembering a cult idol of
Osiris,
only to reassemble it, is probably beyond most people's ken.
Participating in a
large procession is obviously
impossible with the small numbers of modern adherents.
If one has a statue of Isis on one's domestic shrine, covering it in
black
would be entirely appropriate, and wearing black even more so. One
could go to
a park or one's backyard and fashion a makeshift Osiris idol out of
damp earth
and seeds, as was done in ancient
times.
The festival falls conveniently enough during the modern Halloween, a
time for remembering
the dead (albeit secularly and with much humor and fun). Around the
same time,
Wiccans and Celtic pagans celebrate the festival of Samhain, a
remembrance of
the dead, and some Christians celebrate All Souls Day. It seems
therefore
fitting that modern Isiac cult adherents do likewise. Remember dearly
departed loved
ones during this occasion. Meditate on what they meant to you, and let
it be
not amiss to shed tears for them.
Then on November 3rd have a joyous occasion to celebrate the
resurrection of
the god Osiris. Light a candle or a lamp. Have a feast with living
loved ones.
Party! Know that death is but a doorway to another world. The memories
of the
dead live on in our hearts. The spirits of the dead pass on to the
Underworld, and those who have contracted
into cults of savior deities shall see their gods there to illumine the
Stygian
depths.
****
For the historical section, I am heavily indebted to Robert Turcan's Cults of the Roman Empire.
