When I first saw an image of Osiris as a ladder, holding the crook and flail, I was amazed and it became part of the ladder imagery I’d been working with.

Later I became more familiar with the “djed” pillar, which looks like a ladder and may originally have been a stylized tree trunk but came to symbolize the backbone of Osiris. It was a very important amulet in ancient Egypt.

This piece is related to Coming to the Jumping Off Place, Dancer Ascends the Ladder and Guardians of the Ladder.