Ra, the Sole Creator, was visible to the people of Egypt as the disc of the sun, but they knew him in many other forms. He could appear as a crowned man, a falcon, or a man with a falcon’s head. As the scarab beetle pushes a round ball of dung before it, the Egyptians pictured Ra as a scarab pushing the sun across the sky. In caverns deep beneath the earth were hidden another seventy-five forms of Ra: mysterious beings with mummified bodies and heads consisting of birds or snakes, feathers or flowers. The names of Ra were as numerous as his forms. He was the Shining One, the Hidden One, the Renewer of the Earth, the Wind in the Souls, and the Exalted One. Yet there was one name of the Sun God that had not been spoken since time began. To know this secret name of Ra was to have power over him and over the world that he had created.

Isis longed for such power. She had dreamed that one day she would have a marvelous falcon-headed son called Horus, who would inherit the throne of Ra. Isis was the Mistress of Magic, wiser than millions of men, but she knew that nothing in creation was powerful enough to harm its Creator. Her only chance was to turn the power of Ra against himself, and at last, Isis conceived a cruel and cunning plan.

Every day, the Sun God walked through his kingdom, attended by a crowd of spirits and lesser deities, but Ra was growing old. His eyes were dim, his step was no longer firm, and he had even begun to drool.

One morning Isis mingled with a group of minor goddesses and followed behind the King of the Gods. She watched the face of Ra until she saw his saliva drip onto a clod of earth. When she was certain that no one was paying attention to her, she scooped up the earth and carried it away. Isis mixed the earth with the saliva of Ra to form clay and modeled a wicked-looking serpent. Through the hours of darkness, she whispered spells over the clay serpent as it lay lifeless in her hands. Then the cunning goddess carried it to a crossroads along the route that the Sun God always traveled. She hid the serpent in the long grass and returned to her palace.

The next day, Ra came walking through his kingdom with spirits and lesser deities crowding behind him. As he approached the crossroads, the spells of Isis began to work, and the clay serpent quivered into life. As the Sun God passed, it struck him on the ankle and then crumbled back into the earth.

Ra gave a scream that was heard throughout all creation. His jaws chattered, and his limbs shook as the poison flooded through him like a rising Nile.

“I am wounded by something deadly,” whispered Ra. “I know it in my heart, though my eyes cannot see it. Whatever it was, I, the Lord of Creation, did not make it. I am certain that none of you would do such a terrible thing to me, yet I have never felt such pain. How can this have happened? I am the Sole Creator, the child of the watery abyss. I am the god with a thousand names, and my secret name was spoken only once, before time began. Then it was hidden within my body so that no one should ever learn it and use spells against me. Yet as I walked through my kingdom, something struck at me, and now my heart burns, and my limbs tremble. Send for the wisest of my children. They are skilled in magic, and their knowledge pierces heaven.”

Messengers hurried to the great gods, and from the four pillars of the world came the Ennead: Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, Seth and Osiris, Isis and Nephthys. Envoys traveled across the land, the sky, and the watery abyss to summon all the deities created by Ra.

From the marshes came frog-headed Heket, Wadjet the cobra goddess, and the fearsome crocodile-headed god Sobek. From the deserts came fiery Selkis, the scorpion goddess; Anubis, the jackal guardian of the dead; and Nekhbet, the vulture goddess. From the cities of the north came warlike Neith, gentle cat-headed Bastet, fierce lion-headed Sekhmet, and Ptah, the god of craftsmen. From the cities of the south came Onuris, the divine huntsman, and ram-headed Khnum with Anukis, his wife, and Satis, his daughter. Cunning Thoth and wise Seshat, goddess of writing; virile Min; snake-headed Renenutet, goddess of the harvest; kindly Meskhenet; and monstrous Taweret, goddess of childbirth, were also summoned to the side of Ra.

The gods and goddesses gathered around the Sun God, weeping and wailing, afraid that he was going to die. Isis stood among them, beating her breast and pretending to be as distressed as the others.

“Father of All,” she began, “whatever is the matter? Has a snake bitten you? Has some wretched creature dared to strike at its Creator? Few among the gods can compare with me in wisdom, and I am the Mistress of Magic. If you will allow me to help you, I am certain that I can cure you.”

Ra was grateful to Isis and told her all that had happened.

“Now I am colder than water and hotter than fire,” complained the Sun God. “My eyes grow dark. I can no longer see the sky, and my body is soaked with the sweat of fever.”

“Tell me your full name,” said cunning Isis. “Then I can use it in my spells. Without that knowledge, even the greatest of magicians cannot help you.”

“I am the maker of heaven and earth,” said Ra. “I made the heights and the depths. I set horizons in the east and west and established the gods in their glory. When I open my eyes, it is light; when I close them, it is dark. The mighty Nile floods at my command. The gods do not know my true name, but I am the maker of time and the giver of festivals. I spark the fire of life. At dawn, I rise as Khepri, the scarab, and sail across the sky in the Boat of Millions of Years. At noon, I blaze in my strength as Ra, and at evening, I become Ra-Atum, the setting sun.”

“We know all that,” said Isis. “If I am to find a spell to drive out this poison, I must know your secret name. Pass your name to me and live.”

“My secret name was given to me so that I could sit at ease,” moaned Ra, “and fear no living creature. How can I give it away?”

Isis said nothing and knelt beside the Sun God while his pain mounted. When it became unbearable, Ra ordered the other gods to stand back while he whispered his secret name to Isis.

“Now the power of the secret name has passed from my heart to your heart,” said Ra wearily. “In time, you may give it to your son, but warn him never to betray the secret.”

Isis nodded and began to chant a mighty spell that drove the poison from the limbs of Ra, and he rose stronger than before.

The Sun God returned to the Boat of Millions of Years, and Isis shouted for joy at the success of her plan. She knew that one day Horus, her son, would sit upon the throne of Egypt and wield the power of Ra.