Goddess of the Week

Nut is the ancient Egyptian Sky-Goddess; this is Her second appearance here, the first being last Valentine's Day (or Lupercalia Eve, if you prefer). She is one of the nine primeval Deities of the creation myths of Heliopolis. (Though the name Heliopolis is the one usually used, it is the Greek one; the old Egyptian name was Iunu Mehet or On. It is the modern Tell Hisn, a suburb of Cairo now). Several regions or cities in ancient Egypt had their own creation myths; in Iunu Mehet the story went like this:

In the beginning of days there was only Nun, the watery abyss, Whom the Egyptians called the 'eldest father'; out of Nun the Sun-God Atum emerged. Atum then created a mound of silt, which was the first land; after this He created two Deities, the Air-God Shu ('Dry'), and the Moisture-Goddess Tefnut ('Moisture'). From these two were then born another pair, Geb, the Earth God, and Nut, the Sky Goddess.

Geb and Nut then coupled, quite passionately.

In a slightly different strand of the myth, the Sun God Re (also of Heliopolis, and equated with Atum) then had Them forcibly separated by Their father Shu, the air, for He feared being overthrown by Their children. He further cursed Nut, and forbid Her from giving birth on any day of the year.

Luckily Thoth (Tehuti), the very clever God of Scribes, made a bet with the Moon and won, thereby gaining enough light to create five more days, bringing the total to 365 when it had been a nice even 360, or twelve months of thirty days each. (Of course 365 days is not the actual length of the year, it being more like 365.25 days, and they knew it; but the ancient Egyptians loved their round numbers and their order so much that, honestly, they kind of just let it slide). So Nut was able to give birth at last, and bore Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, and the elder Horus. Nut and Her five children, plus Geb, Tefnut and Shu, were considered the Heliopolitan Ennead ('group of nine Gods of Heliopolis').

Not counting Nun, apparently, and not naming the mound as the first bit of dry land, either, oddly enough.

As Sky Goddess Nut was said to swallow the Sun each night and give birth to it the next morning, making Her body, though the sky, in some ways a form of the Underworld; She was sometimes depicted as a sow, as they bear innumerable young (here equated with the stars) and have a reputation as cannibals who eat their young, as Nut alternately swallows the Sun (to bring night) and the stars (when it is day).

This week then is about waiting, pregnancy, and the anticipation of a good thing, I think, even if (like me) you have no desire ever ever ever to become literally pregnant yourself (or if, you know, you're a dude or something). Something Wonderful is coming—it is, in fact, just around the corner. The best part is that it's not something out of the blue, but something you have been working towards for some time that is about to bear luscious fruit.

Not, incidentally, that you need to do much about it at this point; it is, pretty much, inevitable that it comes at the appointed time. And that means whether you work at it or not at this point. Sure, keeping the momentum going is a good thing; but if you are tired or worn out, know that if you are unable to keep up your former pace now it will make little difference.

You may not even know you have been doing this work, incidentally. It may be one of those things that have been working themselves out on a deep dream-level, in your unconscious mind; perhaps something along the line of realizations about past circumstances that give you a new strength and purpose.

Just relax, and let it come, and be its own thing. Though like a child, it will almost certainly not be quite what you think it will be.

What does She say?

You are all my children. You are all born from me, as innumerable as the stars; and when your long day-life is over you will all come back to me, stars and gods and humans, devoured by the dark to be reborn sure as sunrise. Always devouring, always giving birth; it is the way of things, to be dark and light, joyous and fearful in their times. Though the fear is not really necessary, you know.

Granddaughter of the Void, they say; and I bear His nature, never forget.

Goddess of the Week

Nut, the ancient Egyptian sky Goddess, is this week's Goddess pick; this is Her first appearance here. As sky mother, She is said to swallow the Sun every night, and give birth to Him every morning. She was commonly depicted as blue-bodied (or in a blue dress) spangled with golden stars. She is in myth one of an older generation of Deities, and one of the Heliopolitan Ennead, a group of nine Deities Who feature in the creation myths local to the ancient city of Heliopolis (ancient Iunu).

In the Heliopolitan legends, the creator God Atum ('the All') emerged from the primeval waters of Nun; he then gave 'birth' to two more Deities, either by sneezing or masturbating (though it's interesting to note that in the latter case certain priestesses were known by the epithet of 'The Hand of the God', meaning, there just isn't any way to get around the fact that birth requires some kind of female presence); these two Deities were the God Shu (the air God, 'Dry' or 'Parched') and the Goddess Tefnut (the moisture Goddess, Whose name means just that, 'Moisture'). These two coupled, and as a result Tefnut gave birth to Geb (the earth God) and Nut (the sky Goddess, Who is named after a type of water-vase, perhaps representing the uterus).

Now, Geb and Nut loved each other very much, and they spent much of their time coupling. But the sun-God Re feared being overthrown by a new generation of Deities; so He had Geb and Nut forcibly separated by Their father Shu, the air. So Nut was lifted away from Geb (yes, She was on top) to become the arch of the sky. Geb, for His part, was inconsolable (He always struck me as rather a sweetie). But for Re that wasn't enough: paranoid like many despots are, He forbid Nut from giving birth at all.

Well, that wasn't going to work, certainly not for Nut, nor for the harmonious workings of the Universe; and so Thoth (Egyptian Tehuti), the God of wisdom, gambled with the Moon and won five new days to add to the year, which at that time was measured in twelve nice even months of thirty days each. So Nut was finally able to give birth to five major Gods of the Egyptian pantheon, Osiris (Au Sar, the God of resurrection), Isis (Au Set, Goddess of power), Nephthys (Nebet-het), Set (God of chaos and the desert), and the elder Horus (Heru, the falcon God).

Nut was regarded as a universal protective mother Goddess. Besides being the mother of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Seth, and Horus the elder, She was in some ways considered the mother of the Sun, since She gave birth to Him every morning. Likewise She was sometimes thought to be the mother of the stars, as She (complementarily) swallowed them at daybreak, giving birth to them at evening. In this role She was compared to a sow, which are known for having large litters, as well as for sometimes eating their young.

This card this week then indicates a period of waiting, of a plan coming to fruition. It will come in its own time, like daybreak and babies do, and there is no use hurrying it. Prepare as best you can, and try to be patient as you keep on keeping on; but go easy on yourself, too, and give yourself what you need as you midwife this thing into the world. Trust, also, that it will work out fine, though you will probably want to keep alert and on your toes to your and its needs.

This could just be me up here in New England, but I am also connecting this with a certain impatience, one that is manifesting as When the Hel is Spring going to be here already? (Though I imagine that certain folks in the mid-Atlantic area are right there with me.) The answer, of course, is in due time.

So patience, then, and learning to appreciate and love the moment we are still in, is a big part of the lesson. This waiting time has its own beauty and wisdom, and it is still worth it to slow down, look it in the eye, and see what we can see.

Even if you're just too damned sick of snow.

Not that She gets much snow down in Egypt, I mean. What does She say, then?

Children. Go play. I am Light and Dark and Rhythm and Time, and I will take care of all of that. You need not worry. Do your own thing; believe it or not it is all in good hands, and the Wheel will turn whether there is a single Witch in the world or not; not, that is, that you are not a part of this splendid world, or that you do not belong here, or that you do not co-create the vibrancy and beauty of it all. But sometimes you just worry too much. Go play.

And kiss Geb for me.

She says that with such kindness.