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Isis and the Virgin Mary

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HUM 1110.99 Final Paper

A Comparison and Contrast of the Mother Goddess Figure

Introduction This paper compares and contrasts the Virgin Mary and the Egyptian mother goddess Isis. A mother goddess is a deity or persona that represents motherhood, fertility, creation or one that embodies the bounties of the Earth. The Virgin Mary and Isis each represent perspectives of what is called the Sacred Feminine or Divine Feminine. Upon first glance, it appears that the similarities between the Virgin Mary and Isis are nothing more than a coincidence. I however, think The Virgin Mary and Isis are the same entity merely altered to fit different cultural needs. Author and psychic medium, Jessica Jewett, best describes this on her web page, “The supreme mother of the universe; she is loving, wise, courageous and sacrifices herself and her family of the benefit of mankind. In modern Christian culture, this description fits the Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, but three thousand years ago and longer, this description also fit the most powerful Egyptian goddess, Isis.” (Jewett) I will be using their origins, symbols, titles, functions in religion, and seasonal festivals to compare and contrast The Virgin Mary and Isis in attempts to show how they are one in the same.

Origins/Births Both Isis and The Virgin Mary are similar in the fact that they are considered divine mothers and venerated as a “life-giver”. They both had male offspring, Jesus and Horus, both of whom are considered royalty in their own right. They are different from each other due to the fact that Isis is a goddess and always has been while The Virgin Mary was always mortal. According to authors Jenny and the Reverend John Schroedel in their The Everything Mary book: The life and legacy of the Blessed Mother, “In many ways, the Virgin Mary fits the type of woman who is

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