Amazon.com
Osiris, the god of the dead, is an image of renewal, a seed waiting to erupt into life. His death at the hands of his brother, Set, the god of destruction---who hacked him into 14 pieces---and his regeneration through the hands of his wife, the goddess Isis, illuminates the spiritual path from unconsciousness to enlightenment. In psychological terms, Osiris represents the recollection of the diverse aspects of oneself into a unified whole. These issues are as pertinent today as they were when these texts were compiled millennia ago from pyramid walls and coffin inscriptions. The "Book of Coming Forth by Day," as it was called in ancient Egypt, is lovingly rerendered here by Normandi Ellis in her celebrated 1988 translation of a work that took over 4,000 years to evolve. This is a beautifully poetic tome extrapolated from hieroglyphics--the translator attempts to revive the sense of literature and song lost in literal translations and through devolution to phonetic hieratics (simplified hieroglyphs that represent sound units). Words such as these melt time, "Mine is a heart of carnelian, crimson as murder on a holy day--I am I. I will what I will. Mine is a heart of carnelian, blood red as the crest of a phoenix." --P. Randall CohanBook Description
is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Westernspirituality.Until now the available translations have treated thesewritings as historical curiosities with little relevance to ourcontemporary situation. This new translation made from the hieroglyphsapproaches this text as a profound spiritual document capable ofspeaking to us today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Northeast African Wisdom
This is a beautiful translation of the Ancient African wisdom found in the nile valley. It shows how thoughtful, reflective, & simply gorgeous the African people were, not to mention the intellect in creating theses stories. You can read them over and over, getting something new out of them every time.

Life after death in ancient Egypt
Ms. Ellis translates the components of what is known as the "Book of the Dead" with poetic zest.It is more a book of life after death, than of death.The scenes painted in this material are beautiful and haunting; the ideas uplifting.In spite of references to historic and geographic concepts foreign to me, the ideas and ambience remain applicable to daily life and create an afterlife of pure bliss.I would have liked more references to Isis, but perhaps there are very few extant works to translate.

Becoming
This has to be one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It has awakened the Osiris within me and inspired my own becoming.

Osiris Would Be Proud
This literary gem is much, much more than a "new and improved" translation of the Coffin Texts, or The Going Forth By Day (Egyptian Book of the Dead).It is a mystic and poetic interpretation of great personal depth with so many beautiful & comforting layers of collective application. Every page of AWAKENING OSIRIS is a humanist and sacred testament (a product of Gnosis), utilizing simple words to evoke complex poetic images, opening the mind to profound and illuminating vistas. AWAKENING OSIRIS is a hymn and a challenge--a statement so personal as to be universal.

No, this is not a new literal translation, but it is a true Work of Spirit.

Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani
Initiation

good book
Awakening Osiris is a good book.Allay the question of the trueness of the translation and envelop yourself in the reading.The invocations and prayers, praises and prose are simple and fluid.The passages are down to earth at times and lofty at others.Enobling, the work is sympathetic to the contemporary soul.I read Awakening Osiris years ago and it still has a place in my heart and a well deserved home on my bookshelf among the more scholarly works of ancient Egypt. ... Read more

Book Description
Her writing is so strong it pierces through the paper and lands squarely on the truths we've faced or know we must.-- Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Unconventional view of Egypt
This book is unique in that it focuses not only on Egyptian Mythology / Religion, but contains the writer's reflection on those principles within the context of her life.This blend of personal reflection and scholarly research make it a uniquely personal and unconventional look at this topic.

Her writing style does tend to be prosaic (i.e. stream of consiousness).But, the insights she brings to the able are worth the effort and time it takes to read this book.

Excellent for anyone's individual spiritual journey.
This book is a wonderful blend. She not only lets you peek inside her personal spiritual journey and sojourns to Egypt, but also helps you relate and comprehend the sometimes confusing Egyptian pantheon. She helps you identify with not only Egyptian religion, but gives clues to how Christianity and Wicca are connected as well. It is a great tale that encourages the reader to explore for themself and find their own spiritual path.

Not what I thought it would be
I did not enjoy this book, but I confess that perhaps I simply misunderstood what this book would be about when I purchased it.I was looking for a book about Isis, and instead got a book about a woman who seemed to be suffering an identity crisis - a subject that from my point of view, has been done to death.That I am sure is not the authors fault, but if you are looking for a book about Isis, you will be frustrated by just how little this book really refers to her.

A very soul-full book...
I love this book,but than again I love all the author's books.I didn't know what to expect from this book though.Since it was a journal type of book,I thought I might not like it.I was wrong...I LOVE IT! She is a very Soul-Full person (Iknow that's not how it's spelled,but the author is a very spiritual person and that shines through in this book) I had to re-read chapter 9 ,Ab: the intelligence of the heart,this chapter really made me think,it's so full of wonderful insights.Ex:"...Desire is life manifestly unfolding.If we fail to acknowledge our deep desires,we remain empty inside and vulnerable to the manipulations of those who would seduce us and feed upon our desire nature.We buy goods we don't need,thinking things will supply what we lack in the world.We wind up having affairs thinking that will satisfy our love nature.We rush blindly from this business deal to that,thinking that money and prestige will give us back the power we know we lack.All our addictions-eating disorders,alcoholism,smoking,overt sexuality,violence- are evidence of the desire nature out of control because the heart has tried to tell us what it wants,and we have not paid attention." Further in the chapter it says..."Simplicity of the heart keeps our aims and purpose in life clear.What matters is what is at hand at the moment...In hotep(peace) we contemplate our lives and concentrate our energies on the true desires of the heart aligned with God,rather than chasing after this or that fleeting thought..." The author also says the hieroglyph for peace(hotep) is a loaf of bread,implying nuturing, simplicity,contentment and rest...The ancient egyptians were very wise indeed,they knew how to live life to the fullest and Normandi Ellis conveys this over & over in this book.I got some deep insights into the egyptian myths (which can be confusing) but she explains their meaning very simply and you have an "Aha" moment and know what they meant by that myth. I highly recommend this book,if you are a deep thinker like Ellis.

Written by a Woman, But I Like it Too!
I can only add to the previous review by saying that I am not a woman, yet I shared the great joy of reading it in my own way.I am not sure what the standards of the reviewer are, but I think she is mistaken in herstinginess if only 4 stars where her comments seem so glowing.I agreewith the glowing and would suggest top rating of this excellent work ofart! ... Read more

Book Description
This first collection of stories was the winner of the 1991 Bumbershoot Publication Award. Contest readers described these dozen Southern stories as "quirky, but not quite bizarre." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hits the Spot
A book like this really works better in Hard Back.Not a bad deal in soft, but really calls out for the solid feel of endurance.You will read it over and over.Normandy Ellis is a treasure and you will hold this bookwith reverence.

Southern Comfort in a Book
Top Rating!

Normandy Ellis is to literature what the Allman Brothers and Little Feat are to music.Culture and tradition are woven together with grit and realism as beans and rice find their place together on the plate. In short, you must read this book to consider yourself literate (unless youare an ignorant carpetbagger). ... Read more

Amazon.com
A priest in the modern day, Egyptian-based Church of the Eternal Source advises, "Cultivate an Egyptian frame of mind and schedule celebrations according to the magic of your own locality." In this light, author Normandi Ellis has constructed a reader-friendly guide to the Egyptian goddess mysteries, that we might develop our own celebrations of the sacred events that bless our lives. Referring to herself as an "Episcopagan," Ellis believes commemorating the divinity inherent in everyday happenings is something sorely missing from modern life. A renowned expert in Egyptology, Ellis attempts to fill this gap by demonstrating what the ancients celebrated as sacred, thereby helping us to bring the divine home again. Each of the 50 festivals is prefaced with a list of suggestions of occurrences we could celebrate, and suffixed with ways we might celebrate them. This book is a lovely and loving introduction to one of the more fascinating ancient spiritual traditions, replete with sparkling relevance for today's spiritual seeker. --P. Randall CohanBook Description
The first book to recover from original sources the history, myths, and pageantry of ancient festivals to Isis, Hathor, and other Egyptian goddesses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Why haven't more people reviewed this book?
I thought this book was excellent! I re-read this book over & over along with my book by Ditraci Regula on Isis.In fact my book is full of yellow highlites.I highlite all the things I can use in my own rituals such as hyms to the Goddess,what kind of offerings to use etc.I thought more people would have loved this book and reviewed it.I did!

A Bridge Between Worlds
Ancient Egypt is a faraway land in a far away time, yet they had the same stars, plants, and human needs that we have here today.Normandi Ellis never fails to put the reader in touch with the mysterious and intangible,yet at the same time with ourselves and our reality.The author has thetender caress of an artist and respectful embrace of an historian so thatthe purest of mysticism is revealed, but not dispelled.

The reader isguided through an effortless tour of truth not available outside the workof Normandi Ellis.Not unlike most travels, the experience will make ithard to return to the mundane world, and inspire future travels to newworlds beyond.Be certain to buckle your seatbelt; the ride is like noother.

As books on Egypt go, this author is without rival.This isequally true for her other works on the subject.Normandi Ellis is easy torecommend as an insightful scholar and author. ... Read more

Book Description
These collected short prose pieces carry us through a the changes of a woman's life from youth to middle age. The writing style has been described as poetic and dreamlike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Distilled Prose
Every page is a new and independantly interesting story and perspective on the world.At the same time, there is a unifying theme of practical reality and inescapable human experience.It is hard to believe that somuch could come out of one person.Normandi Ellis must have sufferedlabour pains giving birth to this great work of art. ... Read more

Product Description
Osiris, the god of the dead, is an image of renewal, a seed waiting to erupt into life. His death at the hands of his brother, Set, the god of destruction---who hacked him into 14 pieces---and his regeneration through the hands of his wife, the goddess Isis, illuminates the spiritual path from unconsciousness to enlightenment. In psychological terms, Osiris represents the recollection of the diverse aspects of oneself into a unified whole. These issues are as pertinent today as they were when these texts were compiled millennia ago from pyramid walls and coffin inscriptions. The "Book of Coming Forth by Day," as it was called in ancient Egypt, is lovingly rerendered here by Normandi Ellis in her celebrated 1988 translation of a work that took over 4,000 years to evolve. This is a beautifully poetic tome extrapolated from hieroglyphics--the translator attempts to revive the sense of literature and song lost in literal translations and through devolution to phonetic hieratics (simplified hieroglyphs that represent sound units). Words such as these melt time, "Mine is a heart of carnelian, crimson as murder on a holy day--I am I. I will what I will. Mine is a heart of carnelian, blood red as the crest of a phoenix." --P. Randall Cohan is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Western spirituality. Until now the available translations have treated these writings as historical curiosities with little relevance to our contemporary situation. This new translation made from the hieroglyphs approaches this text as a profound spiritual document capable of speaking to us today. ... Read more