New World Isis

In Egyptian Mythology, Isis was supposed to marry the god Set, but instead wed his brother Osiris. In jealousy, Set killed Osiris and hid his body in the Nile. Isis recovered Osiris' corpse and prepared him properly for burial but at the funeral, Set stole the body, hacked it into pieces and scattered the pieces across the earth. Her devotion being so strong, Isis recovered the pieces of the body and reconstructed the fallen god Osiris.

In her grief, Isis transformed into a bird and circled in the air, crying out her sorrow and deep lament. The wind she made with her wings wafted over her husband and new life came into him and he was reborn.

To me, this story talks about the way we can become fragmented - our lives are cut up and compartmentalized- and we become role players, filling various parts but never feeling whole. We need to breathe. We need to allow our souls to return to our bodies, and -in prayer or meditation, or in simply being still and quiet- we can rejoin our fragmented selves and become entire once again.

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24" x 36"
Mixed Media
on Canvas
2007