Customer Reviews

Circle of Isis: Ancient Egyptian Magic for Modern Witches

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The New Page Books revised edition of "Invocation of the Gods" has been long awaited by several people who loved the original. Ellen herself was interested to get a revised edition printed so it is wonderful that it finally is available.
If you're Wiccan and are interested in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon, get this book first, before you get any other (especially any Llewellyn publication). While not another "Introduction to Wicca" book, this is an excellent resource for information regarding the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon from a Wicca perspective.
The section on Bast is definitive, the best information on this Goddess that I have read. Ellen shows a Goddess who is focused on protection and silence rather than a "fluffy kitty Goddess" like most people seem to think She is. She has even written, published only in this New Page version, a "Charge of Bast" that will knock your socks off if you're a Bast-focused person.
Ellen offers insights on other deities that are fresh and exciting, as much now as they were when this was first published.
She offers poetry, crafts, guided meditations and "contact rituals", indexes and information about festivals. There are the recopies from the original as well as new ones. Updates include an Ancient Egyptian glossary of names and words and an Internet Links section, as well as updated addresses and contact information for catalogs.
The rituals are refreshingly simple and written for this book. There is no pseudo-archaic language and the rituals and poetry are also simple and lovely.

The only things I miss about this edition are Ember's incenses and the beautiful black and white -interior- artwork that appeared in the Llewellyn "Invocation of the Gods". I wish she'd kept that in this one but it's still a very solid and intelligent book without them.

One more important point: This is a WICCA book, not a "Reconstructionist" or an "Egyptian Magick" book.
Ellen says on the first page that she is -not- attempting to recreate the religion of the Ancient Egyptians. "We are a Wiccan coven working with the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon" (paraphrasing mine).
She further mentions in other parts of the book that the Ancient Egyptians did not "Cast Circles", use traditional Wiccan tools or "Draw Down the Moon".
A couple of reviewers gave this book negative reviews because they "didn't want Wicca/New Age [stuff]". The book should be shelved in the Wicca/Witchcraft/Magic/New Age section of any bookstore, and it is labeled as Wicca on the back, so if they were not expecting Wicca, that's their problem. I would recommend they -read- the back of the material they are buying before buying it in the future.

In summation, if you're a Wiccan, get this book.
If you're looking for a whole book on Isis, get "Mysteries of Isis" or "Isis Magic" (both Llewellyn; "Mysteries" is better, but they both leave a lot to be desired).
If you're looking for a book on Ancient Egyptian Religion, Egyptian Magick or Egyptian Mythology, go to the Archaeology, Ceremonial Magic or Mythology section, not the WICCA one.

CIRCLE OF ISIS
By Ellen Cannon Reed

The title is decieving becasue the book is not all about Isis and thats the big reason I ordered this book. But I understand why she called it the Circle of Isis for her love of Isis is so strong. I think Egyptian Wicca would have been more appropiate. Now Mrs Reed doe not claim that she is recreating the magick that the ancient Egyptians used, she states that she is adopting the Egyptian pantheon into her Wiccan beliefs. She gives the experience that she had with the Egyptian deities and the experience that her coven had with them as well. You will find magick in this book but not spells like "to get a lover" or to "to heal a burn" the magick you will learn is with the deities. She gives some wonderful information on quite of few of the gods and goddesses major and minor deities. She gives you recipes for oil and incense for diffrent deities. Also she gives out guided meditations on meeting the deities and ritual on how to contact them. She gives out rituals that are suitable for solitary practice and rituals suitable for a group of people. there are wonderful hymns to the gods and goddesses, instructions on making an Egyptian wand, sistrum, kilt, scarab, wax and ushbati figures and more. She also includes Hierogyphics and their translations and other stuff as well. I honestly could not put this book down I was so fascinated with it. This book is indeed interesting. The book is pure devotion you can feel the authers love for the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt.
Im giving it 4 stars

I just bought this book and liked the fact that's easy to read and understand. The god profiles are based on personal experience rather than encyclopedia entries. There are even gods mentioned in this book that I didn't know existed. And the practical knowledge isn't bogged down in complex terms. This book is good for experienced witches or Wiccans that wish to explore the Egyptian pantheon without necessarily recreating the Ancient Egyptian worship style. It is also easy enough for beginners who want to learn magic through an Ancient Egyptian lens.

Despite the implications of the book's subtitle, Reed's overall emphasis is not on ancient Egyptian-based spellwork, but on dedication to the Gods of Egypt's pantheon. Then again, Reed is known to me as an author for whom magic and religion are deeply tied (just read her book The Heart of Wicca). She makes that view quite clear within the first chapter: "The magic you will find here is more than ways to cast spells. It is the magic of growing closer to the Gods, the magic of learning the Mysteries of the Universe" (16).

While Reed shows definite consideration to revering Egyptian Deities in ways conducive to how the ancient Egyptians viewed Them, she freely acknowledges that she and her coven have no intentions of reconstructing ancient Egyptian religion; ancient knowledge is set in the context of modern Wiccan practice, and she makes no apologies for that.

Most of this book is dedicated to introducing various ancient Egyptian Deities to the reader. These introductions are fairly comprehensive in regards to more well-known Deities, e.g. Osiris, Isis, Horus the Younger, Ra, Anubis, Amen, etc. and they include both historical information on how They were perceived and worshipped in ancient times as well as how these Gods have personally interacted with Their modern followers. What originally caused me to purchase this book was the segment on Nephthys/Nebt-Het. Although Her name is well-known, most books say little of Her other than listing Her relationships to other Gods. I was particularly impressed with the quality and quantity of Reed's writings about Her. The thing that especially caught my attention was a song/poem for Her, which, in my opinion, beautifully captured Her essence. Many of the other Gods she introduces also have song/poems to illuminate Their natures. Also included are the names (in English tranliterations and in hieroglyphs) of and very brief statements about lesser known Deities. In order to make sure that such knowledge of the Gods does not remain vicarious, Reed makes sure to have a chapter which gives information and techniques on establishing a connection with a specific Deity. This section covers such tried and true methods as meditation, rituals, songs, as well as recipies for both food and incenses, all of which come in handy when invoking a God's presence.

Reed also discusses the rudiments of ancient Egyptian language and includes a chart of alphabetics (i.e. phonetic hieroglyphs that represent one sound) as well as a list of common determinatives (signs that are tacked onto Egyptian words to indicate a word's meaning). Other topics the book covers includes common Egyptian symbols and their potential for use in magic; a few Egyptian-inspired divinatory methods; a list of Egyptian names one may choose to adopt upon dedication to Egyptian Gods; a calendar based on the Egyptian's own; and instructions for making a wand, sistrum, nemes headcloth, scarab, and kilt.

I did not discover a great deal of flaws with this book either in regards to its faithfullness in depicting Egyptian religion and culture fairly accurately, or with its presentation of Neo-Pagan religion. The things I did notice were relatively minor. For instance, she seems to rely on the work of E.A. Wallis Budge, a rather prolific writer and museum curator, especially in the section on hieroglyphs. The only problem with this is that Budge's work is no longer entirely accurate and up-to-date and so the information she based on his work is also rather outdated. Earlier in the book she made a point about not claiming to be reconstructing ancient Egyptian religion and that the Gods were viewed through an admittedly modern lens, but I think in some cases adapting ancient Egyptian knowledge too much can be detremental. One particular case of this is Reed's addition of a fourth season (which she labels "Spring" and is symbolized by a contrived heiroglyph of what appears to be a bloated butterfly) to Egypt's traditional year consisting of only three seasons. I think she does this in order to make the seasonal theme work on a square divination cloth, but she could have addressed that issue differently by using hieroglyphs that refer to months and days of the Egyptian calendar that correspond to the duration of our seasons. In spite of these issues, I would still recommend this book as a good beginning resource for Pagans seeking to incorperate ancient Egyptian culture and religion into their practice.

This book is an excellent source book for learning about the gods of egypt and wonderful Pathworking through meditations....This is not in my Opinion, strictly Wicca, but more of a wisdom of ancient Egypt for Modern times...Those who are wiccan will feel that this is Beyond wiccan and the Reconstructionists will not feel too threatened...Ms Reed did an excellent Job and this book will be a permanant fixture in my Library...
May the Light of Ra Shine on your Brow...
NeferEmPet Sat Aset, Meryt Imhotep,

Wiccan Priestess and Universal Pagan

Circle of Isis is to the modern witch what the internet is to the computer. If your pantheon is Egyptian, this is the book for you. Packed with more than three hundred pages, author Ellen Cannon Reed has filled the void with her experience, knowledge and love of Egyptian witchcraft.

Ms. Reed begins Circle of Isis with the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt. In this first section, she provides a prayer or blessing with each deity, along with the hieroglyph and a personal story relating to each which gives you insight into the author and deity both.

After you complete your overview of deity you move smoothly on in Rituals, Meditations and Developing Relationships with Deity. This section is packed not only with Rites and Meditations but also with songs for the Gods, Incenses, Oils, Recipes for food and drinks, along with very soulful and meaningful prayers.

Coming into the next section, you are riveted by all the new knowledge you have acquired, yet your anticipation is more than fulfilled as Ms. Reed bows to the readers' command of "More!" No worries, the void is filled to the rim with Magic and Magical Tools. Learn about amulets and figurines. Learn how to make a Sistrum, a Scarab, or perhaps a kilt or wand, and let's not forget making a Nemyss. This book would not be complete without divination, and it was not forgotten. With an appendix of Tamaran names and a calendar, everything you need for your journey is all in Circle of Isis.

As you welcome Egyptian Deities into your life, be sure to welcome Circle of Isis into your magical library. It's defiantly a must have! ...

This book is an update of one of Ms. Reed's books and it's good to see that it has been revived.

A good book on the Gods and Goddesses of a particular pantheon is a valuable tool. Ms. Reed is well versed in the Egyptian pantheon and presents in this book her own personal perspective on the Gods and Goddesses that make up this pantheon, and how she has come to work with them.

Included in this book are the basics when working with this pantheon. An excellent history and overview of who the Gods and Goddesses are, correspondences to this pantheon, rituals, tools and making them yourself, songs to sing, recipes for food and for incense and oils (including a few from "Seahorse"). There is also information about amulets, how to make a sistrum, a primer on reading Egyptian hieroglyphs and a section on choosing a name for yourself in Tameran. All of this is included in an index in the back of the book for easy reference.

Ellen Cannon Reed is well versed in the subject of the Egyptian Pantheon, and she comes across in the book as being able to impart this information in a way that it can be understood by anyone. She also includes her own personal journey and experiences which help you to understand how these Gods and Goddesses can interact with each of us. While basic knowledge is good, personal experience gives us the wisdom we seek to be able to work with the Gods and Goddesses we choose to be our own personal Deities.

I highly recommend this book for those who are walking the Wiccan path and have chosen the Egyptian Pantheon as the Deities they wish to work with. Ms. Reed is the source for Egyptian Wicca and this book does the topic justice.

The mysteries of Egypt tug upon the heart strings of many people, but the path that leads to Egypt of the heart is hard to find. Like all matters of mystery, only the seeker can find their own path, but Circle Of Isis does provide a compass, a walking stick, and good advice that makes the task easier. Just as a skilled artist can look at the beautiful tangle of a tree and evoke its beauty with a few brush strokes, Ellen Cannon Reed has looked into the complexities of Egyptian magic and clarified it without diminishing it. Information is given about Egyptian mythology, modern ritual adaptations that are essentially Egyptian, and suggestions for further explorations that offer a balance of solid encouragement and reasonable cautions. She uses both the crook and the flail as needed. Perhaps one of the most important things about this book is that it conveys the religious attitudes needed to respectfully approach this work. I strongly recommend this book for all Pagans and Witches who are called to work with the Great Ones of Egypt.

- Ivo Dominguez, Jr.
Elder, Assembly of the Sacred Wheel

This book, "Circle of Isis" was earlier printed by the Publisher, Llewellyn Publications, as "Invocation of the Gods" back in the early 90's. In the previous volume, there were a good number of illustrations of the various deities, as well as other projects for those interested in the Egyptian religion. This edition has omitted almost all of this, and the book is not improved since Ellen Cannon Reed passed away a few years ago. For the record, in among the university-level Egyptology books, I still have my copy of "Invocation of the Gods".

I do not know all of the details surrounding this book's being reprinted, but was well acquainted with the author, the late Ellen Cannon Reed, via the very fledgling online pagan community on IRC Undernet #witchcraft ane #wicca. She and I talked at length about her books. In among some of our more animated (and heated)discussions about how the use of shwabti figures were not intended for the living as some sort of Egyptian "voodoo dolls", she confided in me that she felt Llewllyn pretty much screwed her over on this book - that it wasn't what she wanted it to be, that the editorial staff put it in and out of print so fast that she really didn't make all that much and she was extremely bitter over it. It is possible, however, that Llewellyn, never one to turn down potential markets, and the "hotness" of all things Egyptian surrounding the time of this book's re-release under a new name, Ellen was able to get something out of it at the end of her life until lukemia overtook her at last.

This book is not perfect. Ellen never claimed to be an authority on the subject of Egyptian religio and always said that it had been a labor of love for her. Given how much she loved Isis (Aset) and the other Gods, as well as her willingnes to be out there for the younger generation of Pagan seekers, perhaps folks could forive the shortcommings of the book - which to someone like me who is an Egyptian reconstructionist, would say that there are quite a few. It gives someone a starting place and sooner or later, that seeker will be exposed to others who have similar interests and they will find other books that will give more info on a spiritual system that is very complex and takes several years to udnerstand and to master.

My favorite Egyption goddess is Isis and I knew very little about the other goddesses worshiped in Egypt. It s open my eyes to the wonderful goddesses and their power to help us though our life on this earthly plane. I found this book very interesting, especialy the duties each of these deities had and the influencene women had in Egypt. I have really enjoyed this book,