Ra and the Secret Name
The Sun God’s Most Powerful Secret
Ra and the Secret Name is an Egyptian story about the goddess Isis gaining knowledge from the Sun god himself. Ra is ancient, mighty and creator of many things, but age has begun to affect his human form. Isis is already skilled in magic, yet she wants the greatest magical knowledge of all: Ra’s hidden true name. In Egyptian belief, a name was part of someone’s identity and power. Knowing a divine name could make a spell more effective. I like this story because Isis wins through patience and intelligence rather than a battle.
The tale survives in a magical text copied on a papyrus now in Turin. At its beginning, Ra travels through his daily life as king of gods and people. His body is described with precious materials, but he has grown old and saliva dribbles from his mouth. Isis notices it fall to the ground. She mixes the divine saliva with earth and shapes the mixture into a serpent. Because Ra did not create this snake himself, he does not know its nature or how to control it.Isis places the serpent on the path that Ra regularly travels. It bites him, and a fierce poison burns through his body. Ra cries out, trembles and calls the gods to help. He explains that something unknown has wounded him. He can see the sky and earth because he created them, yet he did not recognise this creature. That detail matters. The creator’s knowledge is vast, but Isis has made a new danger from part of his own body.
One by one, skilled gods try to help, but Isis says she needs Ra’s true name to drive out the poison. Ra offers a grand list of titles and achievements. He is maker of heaven and earth, creator of the Nile, source of fire and light, and the god who becomes Khepri in the morning, Ra at noon and Atum in the evening. These names describe real forms of his power, but Isis realises that the secret name is still hidden inside him.⬅ Back
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The curious mind behind Mythfits Society
Hi! I’m Jocelyn, and I created Mythfits Society to make discovering ancient myths easier, more interesting and much more fun.
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