Sunday, July 22, 2012

Gods And Goddesses: Shu


Shu is the god of the air and son of Atum. His sister is Tefnut whom is also his lover, fathering Nut and Geb with Tefnut. The meaning of the name “Shu” is “he who rises up”.  As god who deals with the air, it was the sailors who prayed to him for good winds.

It was Shu’s children Nut (the sky) and Geb (the earth) who embraced each other. Shy intervened by separating the two, holding Nut above Geb and thus allowing life to flourish. This put Shu in a position of holding the sky in place.

Ra was the first divine ruler, the second was Shu. The demon Apep however plotted Shu’s downfall and sent an attack. Shu was able to defeat Apep and his followers, yet Shu became ill and in this state his son Geb turned against him. Shu however gave rule to Geb and returned to the skies to protect the sun and to have daily battle with Apep.

No comments:

Post a Comment