The Goddess Nut by Lesley Jackson
THE GODDESS NUT and the Wisdom of the Sky By Lesley Jackson
“Nut is the all-encompassing Great Mother but a very different one to those of most other cultures. Normally the Great Mother is seen as the natural regenerative force of the individual womb and the womb of earth. Nut however is the Great Round who encloses the universe. Hers is the womb of the generative nun. She is a creative space in which life is constantly regenerated. By providing the attributes of contained space and water Nut can be viewed as life itself. Nut is the source of everything. The cosmos is her body and she births and nourishes all living things taking them back into her body at death. Unlike virtually all the other Mother Goddesses Nut isn’t remotely chthonic, despite being associated with the tomb and coffin.” – Lesley Jackson
The Goddess Nut and the Wisdom of the Sky is a fascinating and in-depth study of the Ancient Egyptian goddess Nut, in her aspects as both Sky and Tree Goddess together with all that she encompasses. Lesley Jackson presents the history and myths of the Sky Goddess within the context of Ancient Egyptian culture and religion, providing considerable insights into what is currently known about how the ancient Egyptians related to the visible cosmos and how it informed their belief in the unseen realm and the afterlife.
Nut, like many goddesses, is a Mother Goddess, referred to as the Great One, Lady of Heliopolis and the Mistress of the Two Lands. Nut is also the Mother of the Gods, who gave birth to the god Ra, and to another five divine children with Geb: Osiris, Horus the Elder, Seth, Isis and Nephthys. She is the Great Encloser, and Shentayet, the “Mysterious One”, alluding to the important role she held in the afterlife. Her name was written as Nwt using the hieroglyph symbols of a circular water pot and a loaf above the sky symbol.
Explore Nut’s depictions, her epithets, her sacred animals and family connections, as well as her essential role in the Ancient Egyptian creation myth which tells the story of the creation of the Cosmos. This book explores this and many of Nut’s other important roles in mythology, religion and in other aspects of life as well as the fluidity of the inter-relationships of the Egyptian Gods. The Ancient Egyptian calendar, marked by the movement of the stars, the significance of stellar alignment and the decan stars (including Sirius) and their role in dividing the year, the Moon and lunar cycles and many other forms of timekeeping are also explored.
This book is highly recommended not only to students of Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, but also to all those who have ever looked up to the night sky with awe and wonder.
2021, 232 pages. Paperback & Kindle editions are available. ISBN 978-1-910191-25-5
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION NAMES & ICONOGRAPHY THE COW GODDESS The Forms of Hathor Pre-dynastic Goddesses The Emergence of the Hathor Cow The Celestial Cow Other Cow Goddesses THE SKY GODDESS THE SOLAR GODDESS THE TREE GODDESS Trees in Egypt Sacred Groves and Tree Cults OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH HATHOR The Sistrum The Menat Mirrors Spoons Papyrus ASPECTS OF HATHOR MUSIC & DANCE LOVE & SEX LADY OF DRUNKENNESS The Distant Goddess Beer in Egypt Wine in Egypt Ritual Offerings and Drunkenness Offerings to Hathor Offerings to the Deceased The Festival of Drunkenness Secular Drinking The Issue of Excess FRAGRANCE FERTILITY & CHILDBIRTH PROTECTING & NURTURING Nursing the King Provision of Food and Drink Healing and Hathor Hathor the Protector Protector of Ra The Battle Against Apophis A GEOLOGICAL GODDESS Mining in Egypt The Desert Specific Rocks and Minerals GODDESS OF TRADE & FOREIGN LANDS Protector of Sailors Goddess of Merchants Hathor of Byblos Hathor in Nubia Other Places THE AFTERLIFE & REBIRTH THE SEVEN HATHORS Foretellers of Fate Magic Afterlife Handmaidens Conclusion SEKHMET (Lion Goddess) RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER DEITIES Family Relationships Horus of Edfu Ptah Sobek Sons Horus the Younger Other Relationships ALTER EGOS & ASSIMILATIONS THE WORSHIP OF HATHOR The Egyptian Concept of Religion Propitiation Hathor and Royals The Worship of Hathor by Non-royals At Amarna Hathor the Women’s Goddess Hathor’s Help to Mortals Encountering Hathor Praising Hathor Hymns and Prayers Offerings Hathor Festivals Return of the Wandering Goddess or the Distant Goddess HATHOR’S TEMPLES Those Who Serve Hathor Hierarchy The Roles of Women Hereditary Positions Individual Priests and Priestesses Temple Rituals Temple Offerings WHAT HAPPENED TO HATHOR? The Decline of Hathor Isis The Rise of Isis Why Did Isis Triumph? HATHOR FESTIVALS CHRONOLOGY PLACE NAMES IN THE TEXT SACRED GEOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
About the Author
Lesley Jackson has a lifelong interest in archaeology, ancient history and sacred myth and a fascination with the mysterious geographical, be they lost worlds, otherworlds or the sacred places of this world. She is a devotee of the Egyptian deities and since being blessed with early retirement has devoted much of her time to researching and writing about them.
Lesley is the author of Thoth: The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom, Hathor: A Reintroduction to an Ancient Egyptian Goddess, Isis: The Eternal Goddess of Egypt and Rome, Sekhmet and Bastet: The Feline Powers of Egypt, and The Cobra Goddess & the Chaos Serpent in Ancient Egypt, all published by Avalonia. She has written a number of articles about Egyptian religion, some of which have been published in Pagan Dawn and Nile Magazine.
Despite the strong call of Egypt she is a Northerner at heart, preferring cooler climes and wooded landscapes. She lives in the East Riding of Yorkshire, close to the lost world of Doggerland.
LesleyJackson
