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The symbol of Aset in the heavens was the star Sept (Sirius), which was greatly beloved because its appearance marked not only the beginning of a New Year, but also announced the advance of the Inundation of the Nile, which betokened renewed wealth and prosperity of the country. As such Aset was regarded as the companion of Asar (Osiris), whose soul dwelt in the star Sah, (Orion), and She was held to have brought about the destruction of the fiend Apep, and of his hosts of darkness by means of the might of Her Words of Power. As the light-giver at this season of the year She was called Khut, as the mighty Earth Goddess Her name was Usert, as the Great Goddess of the Underworld She was Thenenet, as the power which shot forth the Nile flood She was Sati, and Sept, as the embracer of the land and producer of fertility by Her waters She was Anqet, as the producer and giver of life She was Ankhet, as the Goddess of cultivated lands and fields She was Sekhet, as the Goddess of the harvest She was Renenet, as the Goddess of food which was offered to the Gods She was Tcheft and lived in the Temple of Tchefau, and as the Great Lady of the Underworld who assisted in transforming the bodies of the blessed dead into those whrein they were to live in the realm of Osiris, Her name was Ament (the "Hidden" Goddess). In this last capacity Aset shared with Asar the attribute of "Giver of Life," and She provided food for the dead as well as for the living; as Ament also She was declared to be the Mother of Ra. In fact, at a comparatively early period in Egyptian history Isis had absorbed the attributes of all the great primitive Goddesses, and of all the local Goddesses such as Nekhebet, Uatchet, Net, Bast, Hathor, etc., and She was even identified as the female counterpart of the Primeval Abyss of water from which sprang all life. From what has been said it is manifestly impossible to limit the attributes of Aset, for we have seen that She possesses the powers of a Water Goddess, an Earth Goddess, a Corn Goddess, a Star Goddess, a Queen of the Underworld, and a woman, and that She united in Herself one or more of the attributes of all the Goddesses of Egypt known to us.
According to one Egyptian legend, in the beginning there was nothing but Nu, the Primeval Matter of the universe. Ra enclosed Himself within a lotus blossom and later rose from the waters of Nu, self-begotten, along with the goddess Maat and the god Thoth who were also self-begotten. From His saliva, Ra made the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut. With His word alone He then made the heavens, the earth and the breath of life. From His tears then were created vegetation, the animals and humankind. After His acts of creation Ra took His place as god of the sun and ruler of the world. Eventually however, man became wicked and Ra made the decision to punish them. He called on the Goddess Sekhmet to carry out his sentence. When Sekhmet was loosed upon humans, the rivers ran with blood and there was much death. Ra looked upon this and pitied humans, telling Sekhmet to cease Her killing. Sekhmet however would not stop, being caught up in Her blood lust. In an effort to stop Her Ra set out 7,000 containers of beer that were laced with mandrake to drug the goddess and pomegranate to make the drink look like blood. Sekhmet drank all 7,000 jars, became drunk and forgot her battle rage. This event however, caused Ra to lose His desire to rule over humanity so He withdrew into the celestial realm and left His twin children Shu and Tefnut to rule in his stead. Shu then passed the burden of rulership to His children Seb and Nut. Seb and Nut eventually married against Ra's will and spent so much of their time making love to each other that Ra ordered Shu to forcefully separate them. Ra then declared that Nut could not give birth during any month of the year. Thoth took pity on the pregnant sky goddess and won enough light to create 5 extra days of the year by playing draughts with the God of the moon. Since the extra days were not part of the Egyptian regular calendar, Nut gave birth to 5 children. Asar (Osiris), Heru (Horus), Set, Aset (Isis) and Nephthys.
When Aset was young She decided to increase Her magickal prowess by tricking Ra into giving Her a measure of His power. She waited until Ra was at the end of His reign and weak. She then took dirt and a measure of His saliva to create an invisible snake that bit and poisoned the god. Ra was unable to cure himself because he did not know the cause of the wound. Aset offered to heal Him but only in exchange for his Secret name. Ra eventually gave in and told Aset His true name, thus passing his knowledge and power directly to Aset. Meanwhile, Nephthys was unable to have a child by Her husband Set and so lay with Asar. The child of that union was Anubis, who was abandoned soon after because Nephthys feared Set would destroy the child. Aset found young Anubis and raised him herself. Aset eventually married Asar. When Seb and Nut abdicated the throne, they passed rulership of Egypt to Asar and Aset. Set however was jealous and wanted the throne for Himself. When Asar returned from a journey to Memphis, during which Aset ruled in His absence, Set and His followers invited him to a banquet. Set brought out a magnificent burial chest and stated that whoever could fit inside it would be given it as a gift. Asar climbed inside and of course it was a perfect fit. Set and his followers then nailed the lid shut, covered the box with melted lead and threw it into the Nile. It floated out to sea where it is said that it eventually washed ashore near Byblos and it is said that a Tamarisk tree grew up around it. Because of this Nephthys left Set and the other Gods abandoned him and took refuge in the bodies of animals. Set himself took the throne of Egypt.
When the tamarisk tree was cut down to make a pillar in the palace of the Phoenician king of Byblos, it gave off an exquisite scent. So wonderful was it that Aset recieved word of it in Egypt. She traveled to Byblos and retrieved the chest, hiding it in the swamps that belonged to Buto, the Cobra Goddess. Then, using the magick She learned from Thoth, created light with Her hair, wind with Her wings and revived her husbands body long enough to concieve a child of him. Aset remained the guest of Buto, hiding in the swamps until her son Heru was born. Set had no intentions of giving up His throne and while hunting, found the chest that still held the body of Asar. Unfortunately Aset was absent so Set cut Asar's body into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. When Aset returned She was grief-stricken and immediately went with Nephthys looking for the pieces of Her husbands body. She found all the pieces but one, for Asar's manhood had been eaten by a Nile crab. With the help of Nephthys, Aset joined the pieces together. Then with additional help from Anubis, Thoth and Heru, Aset performed the first rites of embalming and the Rite of Rebirth, giving Asar eternal life. Asar then ascended to the immortal world and Aset hid Her son from Set, again in the swamps of Buto, until Heru was strong enough to avenge his father.
To make Him strong Heru was exposed to many dangers. He was attacked by wild beasts and poisoned by scorpions. Always the magick of Thoth and Aset saved Him. As He got older, Asar came to teach Him how to use weapons, all so that Heru could eventually claim the throne which was His by birth and take His revenge upon Set. The day then came when Heru challenged Set for the throne and petitioned the tribunal of the Elder Gods to pass judgement on who was the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt. The tribunal, of which Ra was the head, became deadlocked over the issue. To help settle the dispute, Thoth asked the Goddess Neith, who was the World Mother, to advise the tribunal. Without hesitation, Neith declared that Heru was the rightful ruler. All the gods agreed with Her judgement except for Ra, who believed Heru was too weak to take the throne. It appeared as if Heru would be declared ruler but the tribunal had yet to hear Set's testimony. Set had only one advantage and that was His serpents tongue. He convinced the gods that it was His great strength that protected the Sun Barge on it's journeys through the Underworld during the night. He implied that Heru had not the strength to do this duty. The entire tribunal then swung it's vote in favor of Set, with the exception of Thoth. Thoth attempted to speak up for Heru and Aset began laying curses upon everyone, terrifying the tribunal.