On my quest for a tattoo, the first thing that popped in my head was the goddess Isis, and honestly, it probably had more to do with a gift someone recently sent me than my strong desire to tattoo an Egyptian goddess on myself.
I initially thought about getting the symbol of Isis, the tyet (it’s supposed to be a knot)…but then I thought, “Wait, doesn’t someone else I know have an Isis tattoo?” Then I remembered, it’s not someone I know, but someone I know of:
Rihanna’s tattoo is actually quite well done, but I figured I’d skip the Isis reference; it’s been done.
However, this is a great time to bring up this huge icon of ancient Egyptian culture.
Quick facts on the goddess Isis:
- She was worshipped as the ideal mother and patroness of magic
- She was known as the goddess of children.
- She was wife to Osiris, whom she brought back as a mummy to conceive Horus after he was killed and cut up into many pieces.
- Isis means “Throne”. She was originally known as Aset (EE-say) to the ancient Egyptians.
- She is Mother of Horus, and is seen breastfeeding Horus in many ancient Egyptian depictions, which have been said to have inspired the famous Maria Lactans and many other images of the Madonna with Child (and some more recent breastfeeding images).
So, perhaps not tattoo-worthy for me, but definitely a mythical character worth knowing a little about.
