The first story of love and romance in recorded history, which tells a tale of intense devotion and dedication to unity, was that of Ausar (Osiris) and Auset (Isis). The tale was the foundation of the god and goddess belief system in ancient Egypt (also called Kamit—the black land), and was a basis of numerous of the founding myths that developed later in Mesopotamia and throughout the West.

A long, long time ago, Ausar was a ruler in Egypt very popular with his subjects. Why? After cultivating his higher spiritual faculties with the assistance of his beloved wife, Auset, he civilized his people by teaching them agriculture and animal husbandry. He also provided the people with a code of laws to live by.

The relationship between Ausar and Auset was an example to the people because it was based on love, trust, and respect; they complemented each other so that the best qualities within each were always front and center in their thoughts, in their feelings, in their actions towards one another and others. To enrich their spiritual bond, they meditated and prayed and worshipped together.

While he was away, Auset was in charge. She ruled the country with the same care and benevolence. But Ausar had an enemy, his bitter and jealous brother, Set, envious of his brother’s popularity and the internal and external peace he had wrought in the people and the land. Set (Satan?) thought he should rule, as does the human ego over its higher faculties, as does chaos over order. Set secretly obtained his brother’s measurements and had a magnificent casket made to fit. This casket was in the form of a human shaped box.

Set organized a large feast to which Ausar and 72 others were invited. At the height of the festivities Set produced the casket and announced that it would be given to whoever it fitted. All the guests tried the casket for size, but none fitted until finally Ausar stepped into the box.

Set and his minions immediately slammed the lid closed and sealed the casket shut with molten lead. The sealed coffin was then thrown into the Nile. Distraught, Auset set out to recover her husband’s body for a proper burial. Along with her sister, Nebt-Het, she searched for the casket throughout Egypt and then overseas. While she was away, Set usurped the government.

She eventually found the body! Some say it had come to rest in the roots of a massive tree, which perhaps later became known as the “tree of life” or the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  Auset returned the coffin to Egypt for a proper burial, concealing it in the marshes beside the Nile for safe keeping.

Unfortunately for Auset, her husband’s brother found the casket while out hunting and became so enraged that he chopped the body of Ausar into 14 pieces, and scattered the parts throughout the land of Egypt. This is likened unto the unity of all matter and energy in one black dot exploding in a big bang, creating space and time, and all things; akin to the scattering of lands that were once one; parallel to the segregation of human consciousness into various compartments; and analogous even to the division of humanity into male and female, and the vast variety of beliefs and cultures.

The ultimate goal of romance and love is getting back to One, the unity, the one-ness from which all springs.

Back to the tale: Auset confronted her blues, and maintained her fidelity and commitment to re-integrating the parts of her dismembered loved one. She set out and eventually found all the parts (except one, the story goes.)

She reassembled Ausar and wrapped him in bandages. In some accounts Auset magically breathed life back into Ausar’s body and immaculately conceived a son, Heru, whom she swaddled in warm clothing and nursed to manhood. After he grew into a young man, the young hero went out to battle his uncle Set to avenge his father’s death, and to re-establish virtuous living in the land.

Neither was able to secure an overall victory, until Heru consulted with Tehuti (Thoth), the god of wisdom, who gave him the insight needed to overcome his uncle. Heru didn’t kill his uncle, however. He gave him roles such as keeper of the crossroads, and the mercurial dominion over words and communication. He didn't kill him because chaos and entropy can’t be eliminated, according to the second law of thermodynamics. In the same way that Heru and Set went back and forth in battle as forces of light and darkness, the ebb and flow of the cycle of life will always continue, like the rise and fall of the seasons, as birth and death the way of the world.

The story is mythical, allegorical and metaphorical. We all have aspects of each character, each “god” within us. Every man and woman has masculine and feminine traits within, for instance. We all live in a box called “man” and “woman” but our source and true being goes beyond such limitations. Our own spirits are connected to the Force and Intelligence which began the cycles of creation and destruction, and the magnificent display of creativity that is the universe and nature.

Auset is the devoted wife and mother who makes sacrifices to heal that which she loves in order that we be prepared to do battle with the emotions and intellect within us, so that the higher self (Ausar), which is beyond feelings and reason, which is the spark of the Creator within, can predominate.

This way, we can be “born again” into the realization of who we really are, be a hero in the world but still not of it because our ultimate source is beyond our earthly confines.  This is how we can transcend death and embrace eternal life, stomping the blues of human existence by making right choices based on wisdom while we're here swinging for as many bars as we've got, basing our behavior and actions on allegiance to the truth of our being. The original Source of Being and Becoming lives in and all around us; hence, we truly can create our existence, and fulfill our dreams by re-membering who we really are. Thoughts, feelings, and actions can thereby be in accordance with truth.

A life partner, a mate, can assist in this process, as Auset helped Ausar re-member his true self, giving birth to a child who upon growing into maturity integrates that which is divided within us.

Life itself is about change, growth and learning. The best relationships help us through the changes of life, facilitate growth into our best selves, and teach us to move beyond the limitations that beset us. When two lovers become one, they re-enact the union of Ausar and Auset. Such unity goes beyond the physical, and includes emotional and spiritual unity.

May your relationship(s) give birth to mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and financial well-being and a state of “hetep”: peace of mind based in union and unity. Such is your birthright as a child of the Creator.