Nut

(Art by -alice-)

### Aliases

Nuit, Newet, Neuth, Nunut, Nent, Goddess of the Sky, Goddess of the Nighttime Sky, Goddess of the Stars and Astronomy, Goddess of Cosmos and the Universe, Goddess of Motherhood, Coverer of the Sky, The Star-Spangled Goddess, She who Protects, Mistress of All, She who Bore the Gods, She who Holds a Thousand Souls

## Physical Description

### Spirit of

Sky, Stars, Astronomy, Cosmos, Universe, Motherhood

## Relatives

### Offspring

Osiris, Isis, Her-ur, Set, Nephthys, Khepri

**Nut** is the goddess of the sky, the stars, astronomy, cosmos, the universe, and motherhood venerated by the Ancient Egyptians. As the personification of the nighttime sky, she serves as a barrier keeping the forces of chaos from wrecking disaster upon the world.

## Overview

She is the Mother Goddess of the Egyptian Pantheon, having the duty of consuming Ra in the evening under the form of Khnum and give birth to him at dawn as Khepri. She is the daughter of Shu and Tefnut, and is the sister of Geb. With her brother, she mothered the gods Osiris, Her-ur, Isis, Set, and Nephthys.

## Appearance

Nut appears as a beautiful giant woman who could easily hold the city of Thebes in the palm of her hand. Her skin is deep-blue and is speckled with stars that form constellation, galaxies, and nebulae and drift across her body. Her teeth are so bright, they are like a galaxy bursting into existence. Her midnight-black hair is long and is braid with twinkling stars.

Her headdress is in the shape of a pot, which symbolizes her position as a Mother Goddess.

In ancient Egyptian art, she was pictured as a woman arched on her toes and fingertips over the earth, her body portrayed as a star-filled sky. Her fingers and toes were believed to touch the four cardinal points or directions of north, south, east, and west.

## History

### Children of Nut

Geb and Nut are brother and sister, the children of Shu and Tefnut, and yet despite this, they came to love each other both sexually and romantically. After spending years together and with their parents' approval, they decided to make a family of their own. However, when Ra heard of a prophecy that said a child of Nut and Geb would become the new ruler of Egypt in his place, he forbid their child to be born by cursing them so that none of their child would be able to be born on any day on the three-hundred and sixty days of the year.

Desperate, she came to Thoth and asked him for guidance, and the god of wisdom quickly devised a plan. Thoth gambled with Khonsu, god of the Moon, whose light rivaled that of his father Ra's. Every time Khonsu lost, he had to give Thoth some of his moonlight. Khonsu lost so many times that Thoth had enough moonlight to make five extra days. Since these days were not part of the year, Nut could have her children.

She then gave birth to Osiris - god of agriculture and later god of the dead, Her-ur - god of war, Isis - goddess of magic, Set - god of deserts, and Nephthys - goddess of water. When Ra found out about their birth, he became furious and threw Nut up to the air and became the sky, after worth, he pulled Geb to the ground and turned him into the earth. Ra then ordered their father Shu - god of air - to keep them separated for eternity.

Nevertheless, Nut did not regret her decision, as she was able to finally have children of her own, even if the cost was to be separated from her beloved Geb for eternity.

## Trivia

* Nut has been equated with Ouranos by theologians.