Nut -- The Spirit of The Sky

In her role as the firmament, Isis is recognized as Nut.

Nut is associated with many related functions, such as:

A. The Firmament of Heaven

B. Nut and Geb—The Celestial Sphere

C. Nut The Heavenly Astronomical Starry Sky, as she relates to:

- sun/solar and moon/lunar principles
- zodiac cycle

D. Nut the Spirit of the Sky; as being present in:

- coffins and coffin lids
- Tomb chambers
- Tree of life Nourishment and Rebirth
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C. Nut The Heavenly Astronomical Starry Sky:

Nut is depicted as a star-studded woman arched over the heavens.

Strikingly, in the first book of Genesis, we read:

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven".

Genesis I, 14 reads:

"14: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:"

The implications here are that the changes observed in the sky are correlated to changes on earth—such as the seasonal cycles.

The cyclical nature of the universe—in whole or in part—is a constant and consistent theme in the Ancient Egyptian texts.

Nut is depicted as arched over the heavens in the act of swallowing the evening sun and giving birth to the morning sun. The new sun is often shown in the form of scarab beetle—a new beginning; a rebirth.
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One of Isis' 10,000 attributes describe her as:

"The Queen of the Dekan stars."

Genesis I, 16-17 reads:

"16: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17: And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,"

Genesis I, 16, refers to the creation of the “greater light” of the day and the “lesser light” of the night. The reference is clearly made to the sun and the moon.

In the Egyptian model, Isis represents the sun and Osiris represents the moon. To the Egyptians, the sun and moon provide more than light during the day and night times. Here is how significant are they to creation and maintaining the universe, as foretold by Diodorus of Sicily in his Book I, [11. 5-6]:

"These two neteru (gods)—Isis and Osiris —they hold, regulate the entire universe, giving both nourishment and increase to all things ". . .

Reference to the creation of the stars is given at the end of Genesis I, 16:

"16: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17: And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth"

To the Ancient Egyptians, the stars have much more significance than to just “give light upon the earth.”

The Egyptian Nut is always associated with the constellations in the sky. Most noticeable are the zodiac signs that were found in Egyptian tombs and temples many centuries before the Greek era.

[More details about the subject of astronomy and zodiac are detailed in Ancient Egyptian Culture Revealed by Moustafa Gadalla.]

[Excerpts from Isis The Divine Female by Moustafa Gadalla]