Isis Magic : Articles : Horus and Set

MANY OF YOU may already be familiar with the story of Isis and Re in which Isis becomes the possessor of the knowledge of the True Name of Re. Thus Re makes Himself vulnerable to Her so that She can, in turn, heal Him. For us today, the story teaches us that we, too—if we would bring the healing power of Goddess into our lives—must make ourselves vulnerable to Her.

As I was researching that story, I found another parallel story that I had never seen before. The sketchy tale is told as part of a healing formula in the Turin Papyrus—the same papyrus in which one version of the Isis and Re story is found. However, in this case, it is not Re Who is poisoned, but Set, and not Isis Who heals, but Her son Horus. From what remains here, it seems that Horus had not planned the poisoning of Set, but when it occurs, He repeats the formula of healing by the True Name that He, no doubt, learned from His mother.

Here’s the story as told in the papyrus:

Horus and Set were voyaging together on Horus’ golden barque. Suddenly, Set cried out, “Come to me Horus, I have been bitten!”

And Horus turned to Set and said, “Tell Me Thy name, that I may work magic for Thee. One works magic for a man through his name, and a God is greater than His reputation.”

Set replied, “I am Yesterday, I am Today, I am Tomorrow That Has Not Yet Come.”

But Horus said, “No, Thou art not Yesterday, Today, or Tomorrow That Has Not Yet Come. Tell me Thy name, that I may work magic for Thee. One works magic for a man through his name, and a God is greater than His reputation.”

So Set said, “I am a Quiver of Arrows, I am a Cauldron of Disturbance.”

“No, Thou art not,” said Horus and repeated what He had said before.

“I am a Man of a Thousand Cubits, Whose Reputation is Not Known.”

“No, Thou art not,” said Horus and repeated again what He had said.

“I am a Threshing Floor; I am a Jug of Milk, Milked from the Breast of Bastet.

“No, Thou art not,” said Horus again.

Finally, Set replied with His True Name, “I am a Man of a Million Cubits Whose Name is Evil Day. As for the Day of Giving Birth or of Conceiving, There is No Giving Birth and Trees Bear No Fruit.”

And that’s the end! The formula simply concludes with the promise that the sufferer will be made as sound as Horus was by Isis. So even though, in this case, Horus learned the name of Set, still it is Isis who does the healing. Interesting! If anyone knows anything more about this or any other similar tales, I would be most interested to hear more.