The Story of Ausar (Osiris), Auset (Isis), and Heru (Horus) - the Holy Trinity of Kemet and the original virgin birth story.
This story is important for Black men and women in that it illustrates the African origins of Christianity, while also promoting the virtues of order, temperance, and justice over jealousy, envy and hatred.
Courtesy: Lourve Museum. Shown are Heru (Horus) on the right, Auset (Isis) on the left, and Ausar (Osiris) in the middle.
The information we have on the story of Ausar (Osiris) is derived from information contained in the Pyramid Texts at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, and New Kingdom source documents such as the Shabaka Stone and the Contending of Horus and Seth. The Greek historians Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus also recount different versions of the story.
Ausar (Osiris) is not only a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River. He is described as the “Lord of love”, “He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful” and the “Lord of Silence”. The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death — as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life. Osiris was widely worshiped as Lord of the Dead until the suppression of the Egyptian religion during the Christian era.
The Story of Ausar, Auset, and Heru
Lord Ausar (Osiris)
The story of Ausar begins in Kush, an ancient kingdom to the south of Kemet (Egypt) in what is presently called Sudan. Ausar was an early Kushite leader and genius who had developed the technologies of the written word (called medu neter, or the language of the gods), agriculture, and theology. With this technology, Ausar left Kush to spread his teachings throughout the Nile Valley and the world. On his travels, he met a beautiful Nubian woman named Auset (Isis), whom he married shortly thereafter. Isis then served as his co-regent (not his subordinate, an important indicator of the position of women in Kemet). Auset (Isis) remained in her homeland while her husband continued in his travels as a missionary.
Ausar gained fame and admiration throughout Kemet. He was a unifier, a man of order and virtue, and an exemplary scholar. This fame provoked the envy and hatred of his brother, Set (Seti). As Ausar travelled throughout Kemet unifying the wild and scattered tribes into the worlds first nation state, his brother followed behind him in an attempt to undo his brothers accomplishments. Set stirred up animosity amongst those who had come under Ausar’s rule. “Who is he that you should listen to Ausar?” Set would proclaim. ”Let each man do as he pleases!”
Lawlessness exploded aceoss the region, and the order that Ausar brought to Kemet began to deteriorate. But Set was not satisfied with the chaos that he wrought – he wanted his brother dead. Set followed behind Ausar and murdered him while he slept. He dismembered Ausars body into 14 pieces and spread them across Kemet so that they couldnt be found.
When Auset learned of the murder of her husband, she fled into hiding and then went searching for the missing parts of her husbands body. She found every piece, except for Ausars penis. It had been cast into the Nile and eaten by a crocodile. She cleaned each piece of her husband’s body, anointed it with oil, and wrapped him in linens. She grieved over her beloved, not only because he was murdered but because they hadn’t consummated their marriage – Auset was still a virgin.
The spirit of Ausar heard her cries and visited her in the night. Nine months later, Auset gave birth to Heru.
An artists depiction of Heru (Horus)
Heru, endowed with the spirit of his father, was given the mission of defeating his wicked uncle Set and restoring order to his father’s kingdom on Earth as the rightful heir to a unified Kemet. Heru grew up in hiding, to prevent Set from discovering that Ausar had an anointed son, but all the while preached of his fathers kingdom and preparing his disciples for the day of battle. The battle between the forces of Set, in the North, against the forces of Heru, in the South, was apocalyptic. In the end, it was Horus and his righteous armies that was victorious.
Rather than killing his uncle, Heru (Horus) bound him in chains and cast him into an abyss. At the moment of his victory, Heru was transformed into a falcon and was called up into heaven to stand before his father and give testament. Ausar was well pleased, blessed him, and sent him back down to Earth to rule as the legitimate Pharaoh of a unified Kemet. Once Heru assumed his throne on Earth, Ausar was also able to be at rest and assumed his throne as the Lord of the Underworld.
To commemorate the victory of Heru, every temple and royal house carved a winged sun – the heru bedet - above its entrance. The heru bedet served as a reminder of the virtues of order and a warning against the dangers of intemperance and jealousy.
The story of Ausar, Auset, and Heru were later adapted to Christianity, and given a white, masculine theme. Check out this video and keep your mind open!
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