Nut & Geb

* Who was Nut?

Nut and Geb – her beloved and brother – were personification gods of Sky and earth. Nut is goddess of the Sky with all stars above. She is usually depicted on wall art with long blue garment with stars on it, stretching all her body above the earth. Her parents were gods Shu (god of Wind and light ) and Tefnut ( goddess of rain and moisture ) They gave birth to the most famous of creator gods – Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephtys.

Alternative names of Nut are- Neuth, Newnet

Nut often has symbol meaning of resurrection and rebirth. She is one of the cosmological ennead (the basic nine gods of creation myth in Egypt).

Depicted usually with small water pot in hands. Nut represented also the night sky with stars and death and rebirth.

* Geb appearance and role

~ He had basic functions of god of underworld, dead, earth, vegetation, and life. Later he transfer this functions to Osiris, his son. We see him depicted on monuments wearing the signs of divine authority – the headdress of pharaoh (Khat), tied at the back of head, and Osird – divine long beard (that pharaohs wore after their decent to dead). His sacred symbol is a goose, that he wears above his head. This can be associated with the idea, that Geb gave birth to the “egg” of the world and beginning of the creation. He is also painted with green color skin (sometimes black referring to death) and white clothing (the same like later Osiris), that are symbols of rebirth, and after life, the world of the dead.

He is identified with the Greek god Cronus.

* Legends ~

In the beginning Nut and Geb were inseparable, so there was no space between them. Ra couldn’t create anything on earth, because of the lack of space. Then Shu –god of light and wind separated both siblings forcefully, making Nut to raise high in the place of sky; her hands and legs form the four pillars of world.

II. it was believed in sun set the sun is entering the mouth of Nut, and on the next day the sun disc was born again from Nut. It traveled all the way at night trough her body. The same way Nut swallowed the stars and gave birth to them again in the night. 

     * Nut and Geb were in the beginning of creation of the world; they were protectors, and gods not just for all living, but also for the dead souls. Nut was depicted also with water container on her head – sign that she was taking care of dead.

Water pot is one of the symbols of Nut, associated with care and bringing water, nourishment to all souls. Another symbols are: sycamore tree (symbol of protection, eternal life, power), ankh (eternal life), waz scepter – divine power, authority, spread wings – (Maat and Isis also are presented in this way) symbol of freedom, balance, truth, connection between divine and human plane.

One of the sacred symbols of Nut was a ladder (which Osiris used to climb to heaven world) called “maqet”. Her titles were “Cover of sky” “the one who protects”; She was depicted on the inner side of sarcophagus, as she had role to protect the souls of deceased. Sometimes she was represented as a caw, who carried the god Re on her back.

Appearance of Nut – She was represented sometimes a winged goddess with wide spread wings, sometimes as a cow, whose role was to swallow the sun in evenings and give birth to it again in mornings. She also is depicted wearing a crown of water container, as she provides water for the living and dead. She can be seen with ankh – symbol of eternal life- and “was” scepter (long staff with symbolic animal head at the end that has magical properties). 

[ nina Lea-noura * ]

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Depiction on Dendera Temple, Egypt [ Nut gives birth to the Sun ]