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Frau Holle

This essay is seven thousand words long and English is not my native language so please forgive me if there are grammatical or spelling mistakes in the text. I have also moved some passages arround so let's hope that I didn't accidentally leave doublets in this text

Most likely "Holle" (meaning "the Benevolent") was originally an epithet for the Germanic goddess Frigg. Following Christianization, this name became distinct, partly due to prohibitions against invoking pagan goddesses, which were now considered evil beings. Similarly, Perchta (meaning "the Shining One") in the southern German and Alpine regions may have derived from another name for Frigg, influenced by specific local Noric traditions. Related figures to Frigg/Perchta/Holle could also be Frau Harke or Harre. The name of Frau Holle's appears most frequently in the ereas arround Hesse, Thuringia, and Lower Franconia Further south, she is called Berchta/Perchta, while in the north, she is referred to as Frau Frerk (after Frigg/Frea/Frija) or Frau Wode, Frau Gode, named after Friggs husband: the god Odin. (The Old Norse theonym Odin and the high-german/dutch Wode/Woden/Gode are all derived from the Proto-Germanic masculine theonym „Wōðanaz“)

Frau Holle is also identified with the goddess Holda or Hulda, potentially another Germanic name for Frigg.

It is also possible that she is connected tot he Germanic death goddess Hel. Frau Holle is also associated with the fertility goddess Freyja. People who are familiar with Norse mythology will probably have heard the theory that Freyja and Frigg may have been one and the same goddess, but we don't have enough sources to determine this. And if Frigg and Freyja are derived from the same figure then it is still unclear whether this was just a later devolepment in the scandinavian countries while the continental Germanic Freyja/Frigg remained a single entity. Since the Continental Germanic tribes were Christianized earlier than the Scandinavians, we have even fewer sources on Continental Germanic mythology than on Norse Germanic mythology. The few Roman sources about the religion of Germania, for example, do not reveal anything about the existence of Loki, so it could be that Loki is a late addition to the phantheon, that he only gained importance later or that he only appeared in North Germanic mythology. Even if North Germanic and Continental Germanic mythology come from the same proto-mythology, both probably had different local deities and perceived their shared deities differently. In any case, the existence of Frau Holle indicates that Frigg/freyja held a more important position in Continental Germanic mythology than in Norse Germanic mythology. The continental Germanic Freyja/Frigg was equated with the Roman goddess Dianah, which is why it can be assumed that the continental Germanic Frigg was not only thought of as the wife of Odin but was also regarded as a young single goddess. Frau Holle is nowhere mentioned with a husband, but unlike Dianah, she is never explicitly associated with the concept of virginity. Frau Holle dosent have a husband but she isnt a virgin either. She is connected with the domestic duties of a house wife but in an supernatrual, ruler-of-the-universe-kind-of-way. Connections to Odin still exists though: during the Rauhnächte frigg is said to ridewith Wotan through the clouds, symbolizing winter storms and Frau Holle is sometimes said tob e the supreme leader oft he wild hunt

Written traces of Frau Holle can be followed back at least 1,000 years, with the earliest mention in the decrees of Bishop Burchard of Worms, written between 1008 and 1012. However, her roots go much further, stating, The evidence strongly suggests that Frau Holle is not a ghostly figure or a vegetation spirit but the regional embodiment of an ancient Earth Goddess. One of these manuscript documents, the 'Summa fratris Rudolfi de confessionis discretione', written between 1235 and 1250 by a Cistercian monk named Rudolf, is particularly interesting in terms of its content, as it refers to the myth of setting the table for Frau Holle in the Rauhnächten collected by Paetow.

The manuscript states:

“Certain women, in order to become happy and be successful in worldly matters, indulge in god-hating fantasies: On Christmas night, they set the table for the Queen of Heaven - whom the people call Frau Holle - so that she may help them.”

This statement points to a cult of Holle that still existed in the early 13th century, although it was viewed with suspicion and condemned by the church. As early as the beginning of the 11th century she appears to have been known as the leader of women, and of female nocturnal spirits, which "in common parlance are called Hulden from Holda". These women would leave their houses in spirit, going "out through closed doors in the silence of the night, leaving their sleeping husbands behind". They would travel vast distances through the sky, to great feasts, or to battles amongst the clouds. A 16th century fable recorded by Erasmus Alberus speaks of "an army of women" with sickles in hand sent by Frau Hulda. Thomas Reinesius in the 17th century speaks of Werra of the Voigtland and her "crowd of maenads."

In ancient times, the Germanic Chatti (or "Hessians") may have offered pagan sacrifices to their beloved goddess atop the mountain Hoher Meißner, as suggested by archaeological findings of gold coins from the first century AD.

Holle’s connection to the three worlds (Underworld, Upperworld, and Earthly realm) also suggests a role as a Germanic shamanic goddess, making the fairy tale read as an ecstatic initiation rite. Through the well (axis mundi), the initiates symbolically embark on a spiritual journey. In addition to literary accounts, folk customs associated with Frau Holle, bearing archaic features and shamanic elements, continue to the present day. For instance, in southern Germany during the Perchtenlauf (or Holle Run), wild men and women parade to drive out winter spirits and summon spring; their animal costumes with fur and horns recall Paleolithic cave paintings of shamans, clad in animal skins, performing ritual dances in honor of the numinous Mother of Animals.

During the christianasation, direct mention of Frigg or Diana became less acceptable. Thus, the common folk began referring to her obliquely as Hulda, Holde, or Holle.

In the eyes of the Church, she soon became a “she-devil.”

And so the radiant wife of Wotan faded from prominence, surviving only in the shadows of superstition. And since Frau Holle was associated with womanhood, she soon became a witch goddesses.Grimm describes Holle as an ancient sorceress and witch-goddess, noting that witches travel in Holle’s company and ‘Holle Riding’ in Upper Hesse and the Westerwald is synonymous with a witches' ride.”However, she was never as demonized as Frau Perchta bacame in the Alpine regions.

Her center of worship was/is a mountain massif Hoher Meissner. The entrance to her world ist he so called Frau See,a pond in Hoher Meißner. Around 1850, a shepherd found two Roman-era gold coins (1st century BC) near the Holle Pond. Excavations in 1937 unearthed medieval and earlier ceramic shards close to the pond, possibly indicating that offerings to Frau Holle took place there. According to legend, the Frau Holle Pond is bottomless. One tale describes a miner attempting to measure the depth of the “Holle See” with a plumb line, yet even after 65 fathoms (about 104 to 156 meters), he could not reach the bottom.. In this mystical place, there is said to be a silver castle surrounded by a garden full of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, which Frau Holle generously gifts, especially to women and girls.

Another story tells of Frau Holle appearing at noon as a beautiful young woman bathing in the center of the pond. She is said to sometimes play tricks on travelers or hunters, occasionally even seducing them.

In earlier times, young women especially would bathe in the Frau Holle pond on the Hoher Meißner, believing it would enhance their fertility. The water was also believed to have healing properties. Local schoolgirls would peer into the pond and, upon seeing their reflection, exclaim, “These are Frau Holle’s children.” —a custom still practiced in the 1930s. It was said that the tips of unborn children’s hair are in the reeds In the 19th century, boys and girls would gather at night near the Holle Hole by Schlitz, dancing and singing a song from which only the first stanza has survived:

“Miameide – stands on the heath – Wears a little green skirt. Three lovely maidens sit with her. One looks ahead, another into the wind. The woman by the spring has many, many children.”

This song likely has pre-Christian origins, though its precise meaning is lost. The last two lines may hint at Frau Holle’s role as a bringer of children. This may explain the tradition of young women bathing in the pond to enhance their fertility. The "White Wall" is a steep limestone slope, facing directly westward and exposed to the west wind. It represents the "autumn side" of the mountain and is therefore associated with myths of decline and death.

In the western part of the Meißner, there were likely sites dedicated to the veneration of the dead, while in the east, the symbolic direction of life, were places dedicated to birth and rebirth. The ancestral spirits who entered the mountain in the west were believed to re-emerge as children’s souls at Frau Holle’s pond, returning from the goddess’s subterranean world.

It’s also said that “Sunday children” (those born on Sundays) can sometimes hear a bright ringing near the pond, possibly inspired by the presence of midwife toads, also known as bell toads, due to their ringing calls.

One of the most significant Frau Holle sites on the Meißner is the "Kitzkammer," which, according to legend, houses Frau Holle's cats. In spring, these cats are said to transform into young women, priestesses of the goddess Holle, who then emerge from this site to join Frau Holle in guiding the natural cycles of growth, life, and decay. Located on the southwest slope of the Meißner, the Kitzkammer is a cave framed by basalt columns, though it is no longer accessible. It lies at the top of a wild gorge near a small mountain brook and has long been the subject of many myths about Frau Holle. Frau Holle's cats are enchanted girls and women who have run away from the village and stayed with Frau Holle. According to the myth, Frau Holle's cats sometimes bring lost wanderers back onto the right path.

The Kitzkammer lies on the edge of a ravine where streams rush down. The striking feature of this place is its exposed, black basalt rock, which forms beautiful, regular columns. However, these columns lie horizontally rather than rising vertically and end in a smooth wall, within which the Kitzkammer opens as a strange cave. The cave used to be larger, but basalt columns have since collapsed inside. This extraordinary place not only draws many visitors today but also stirred the imagination of early peoples who came here. Legends say that Frau Holle’s cats once lived here. 'Kitzen' are female cats, sacred animals often associated with the goddess in her myths. People who treat these cats kindly gain the favor of the goddess. Another legend tells of a shepherd boy who encountered a tall White Lady at the Kitzkammer holding a large set of golden keys, which she offered him. These keys are of great significance: they mark Frau Holle not only as a household steward but as the keeper of the world’s domains. Many similar White Ladies appear in folklore, using their magical keys to reveal hidden treasures within the earth—a connection to the underworld. Yet Frau Holle’s role goes further: in spring, she opens the cloud gate for the sun, and in autumn, she closes it again, establishing her as a ruler of the heavens. With her golden keys, she also unlocks the subterranean paradise within her mountain, the Ever-Green Garden, marking her as a Queen of the Underworld.

Further down from the Kalbe towards the south, on the Hausener Hute, stands the "Frau-Hollen-Stuhl" (Frau Holle’s Chair), a two-part basalt block resembling a chair.

It is said that Frau Holle sits on this chair on beautiful summer days, combing her golden hair. The chair is also believed to have healing powers, able to drive away illness. The act of combing golden hair is a common mythological metaphor, also found in the legends of the Lorelei along the Rhine and Verena in Switzerland, both of whom use a golden comb. In ancient beliefs, women’s hair was seen as erotically attractive, and the act of combing it symbolized an irresistible call to the beloved.

these goddesses are not golden-haired because they are blondes, but as a symbol of sunlight. Combing the golden hair is said to summon the sun, as the high summer sun is mythologically considered the groom of the Earth at the time of the summer solstice. Therefore, the Frau-Hollen-Stuhl may have been an ancient seat of the goddess in the form of a Holle priestess, a place she took to celebrate the sacred marriage ceremony, known as hieros gamos, with her consort. In matriarchal seasonal festivals, the southern directions are linked to the magical ceremony of the sacred marriage, which was celebrated in summer between heaven and earth.

The observance that, from Frau Holle’s Chair, one can see the sun rise at the time of the summer solstice, with the sun appearing in the northeast above the Meißner and over a place called Morgengabe, adds significance to this spot. In this context, Morgengabe, meaning ‘morning gift,’ is fitting, as it traditionally denotes a wedding gift. Here, however, the goddess seems to offer the gift to her beloved rather than the other way around. This could suggest that as the sun rises over the Meißner at the summer solstice, the blossoming abundance of flowers and herbs turns towards the sun, as if offering itself to its light. Notably, Frau Holle was also considered a protector of newlyweds. Below this spot lies a small lake, now transformed into a moor from which black water flows. This former lake may have symbolized the goddess’s womb, opening here to love and offering itself to her consort.

The Kalbe was once a pasture where Frau Holle, a legendary figure of German folklore, allowed enchanted calves to graze. Today, it has become a lake formed from an old open-pit mine on the Hohe Meißner. Another place on the Hohe Meißner dedicated to Frau Holle is the cave called Hählenstein. Young wives would bathe in the cave’s pool on May Day night or Christmas Eve if they wished for a child. Girls hoped for a granted wish from Frau Holle when they placed flowers on the "sacrifice stone." It was believed that washing in the cave’s water in silence between eleven and twelve on Easter night preserved beauty. This water was considered miraculous, and many legends surround this site.

Southeast of Hessisch Lichtenau, in the village of Hollstein, three stones stand in a row. Known as the “Hollensteine” or “Frau Holle Stones,” the tallest is about five meters high, with the middle stone reaching about three meters. A medieval, weathered lion's head, carved into the southeastern rock face, stands at roughly 25 cm in height. While it’s unclear if the stones once served as a sacred site for Frau Holle, lions and cats were known to be associated with her or the goddess Diana. They may also indicate the presence of "Hollen," elves in Northern Hessian lore, who served Frau Holle. Note that elves are also part of germanic Mythology.

According to one legend, Frau Holle had stones stuck in her shoe as she took a giant step away from the Meißner and emptied them here. Leading the "wild hunt," Frau Holle and the Germanic god Wotan/Odin were believed to lead the souls of the year’s deceased through the “Bathhouse of Frau Holle,” under the waters of Frau Holle’s pond during the twelve nights from Christmas to Epiphany, returning them to be reborn. This completes the cycle from dawn (the east, sunrise, birth) to dusk (the west, sunset, death) and back to the dawn of life.

The “Bathhouse” lies in the west of the Meißner, appearing as a simple, somewhat marshy meadow beneath the “White Wall,” a limestone cliff. This meadow, unmarked due to its location within a nature reserve, preserves its mystique.

Between Eschwege and Wehretal-Langenhain lies the natural monument known as Blaue Kuppe. When Frau Holle once walked here, something in her shoe irritated her. She shook out a stone, and this stone became the hill now called Blaue Kuppe.

Then, there is the spring known as Queneborn. “Quene” is thought to be an old word meaning “gracious lady” (akin to "queen"), suggesting a connection to Frau Holle. Locals say the water from this spring, located by Grundmühle between Söhrewald-Eiterhagen and Hessisch Lichtenau-Quentel, is healing.

There is also a moor on the high Meißner called Weiberhemdmoor where Frau Holle taught women domestic chores.

Lastly, there are the Hirschberg and Honighof legends. A story tells that, when the glassmaker Essias Gunkel was in great need, he met an old woman at Hirschberg between Wickenrode and Großalmerode while gathering firewood. She showed him brown stones along the path, saying, “Take these.” Frau Holle’s gift turned out to be lignite, which people then collected or mined at Hirschberg. Honighof, once a wealthy but harsh farmer’s estate, has its own tale:

Honighof lay in a blessed valley, rich with volcanic ash deposits from Hirschberg, yielding abundant harvests. The honey farmer there was the wealthiest in the region, so much so that people joked, "Each cow bears two calves, each stalk two ears, and even if his pigs ran over sausages, he’d hardly mind."

But as he grew richer, his heart hardened. In harsh years, those in need turned to him for loans, only to hear him coldly say, "Those who have, have earned it; only bad blood squanders its wealth!” When the needy came again, he’d order his sons to “release the dogs on the riffraff!” His daughter, the only compassionate soul left after her mother’s passing, often wept over her family’s cruelty.

One spring day, while she was peeling potatoes alone, a poor old woman approached, struggling with a crutch and stretching out a frail, begging hand. The girl quickly cut a thick slice of bread, added a sausage, and gave it to the woman. “God bless you!” the woman murmured as the farmer and his sons entered. Furious, the farmer struck his daughter and, releasing his bloodhound, commanded it to attack the old woman, shouting, “Get away, the guides will bite!” Yet, the dog whimpered and crouched fearfully.

At that moment, the old woman vanished in a swirl of smoke that rose to the sky. Dark clouds cast a shadow like a coffin over the valley, lightning flashed, and thunder roared as if the very mountain might split. A bolt ignited the Honighof, and within minutes, the estate and the greedy farmer were consumed by flames.

When neighbors arrived with buckets and ladders to fight the fire, they found only smoldering rubble. Everything had burned – crops, animals, and people – except for the farmer's daughter, lying peacefully beneath a pear tree. Beside her stood a stern, white-robed woman with her arms protectively outstretched over the girl. As the villagers approached, the figure dissolved into mist. They knew it was Frau Holle’s judgment upon the Honighof.

The place was abandoned, with no one willing to rebuild on the cursed site. The daughter alone survived, moving to a nearby village where she married and led a blessed life. The people said that whatever she touched thrived, for she had stayed true to her heart until her happy end.

Another tradition in northern Hesse, especially around the Meißner region, occurs on New Year’s Eve. Children place a pot or bowl outside the door, and by New Year’s morning, the well-behaved find a small gift beneath the upturned pot.

In the Thuringian village of Schnett, in the Masserberg area, the end of the Rauhnächte (the “Rough Nights” following Christmas) is marked by the Hullefraansnacht, or “Night of Frau Holle,” in which she appears in the form of the Stöhere

There wer als otherSites of worship for Frau Holle beside the Hoher Meißner.. For instance, the spring sanctuary at Amorsbrunn in Amorbach, Lower Franconia, is likely a Frau Holle shrine, known for centuries as a place where women come to seek fertility. In line with Frau Holle’s mythology as a guardian of pools from which children’s souls emerge, women have long gathered here to collect water and bathe ritually. Empress Maria Theresa herself once traveled from Vienna to sponsor prayers for the fertility of the Habsburg family at this site. To this day, visitors collect water from a basin behind the church, which has been routed from the spring since a chapel was built over it in the 8th century. Most likely to christianize the pagan cult arround it.

Frau Holle was also worshiped in Marienberg in Würzburg. Frau Holle is referenced in the Würzburg legend of Saint Kilian, where she appears under the Roman name Diana. A ceiling fresco of Diana in the garden hall of the Würzburg Residence recalls her mention in the Kilian legend. Frau Holle was associated with several sacred mountains in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, often called “Frauenberge” (Women’s Mountains), the most famous of which is the Hoher Meißner

The most popular story about Frau Holle originates from the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale. The story goes as follows: A widow favors her unattractive, lazy daughter over her beautiful, hard-working stepdaughter. The stepdaughter has to sit by the well and spin until her fingers bleed, while the other daughter idles at home. While cleaning, the stepdaughter accidentally drops her blood-stained spindle into the well. The stepmother insists she retrieve it, so the girl jumps into the well and awakens in a meadow. She then helps by pulling baked bread from an oven and shaking ripe apples from a tree, both of which speak to her. She serves the old Frau Holle, diligently shaking her bedding, which brings snow to the world. Though she has a good life with Frau Holle, she eventually wishes to return home out of homesickness. Frau Holle leads her to a gate, where gold falls upon her, and she receives the spindle back. At home, she recounts how she gained her wealth. The widow, hearing this, sends her own daughter to Frau Holle. However, this daughter ignores the requests of the bread, apple tree, and Frau Holle herself. When Frau Holle leads her to the same gate, tar falls on her as a lasting mark of her choices.

The fairy tale first appeared in the 1812 edition of Children’s and Household Tales, as collected from the tales of Dorothea Wild. In the second edition, a rooster was added as inspired by Georg August Friedrich Goldmann. Wilhelm Grimm encountered this motif during his travels in Westphalia. Clemens Brentano read an early version by Jacob Grimm, inspiring him to write The Tale of the Marmot.

In the first 1812 print, the mother was not yet a stepmother, and the heroine merely fetched water from the well, bending too low, without a bloody spindle. By the second edition, the story closely resembles the later seventh edition, complete with the crowing rooster. In the sixth edition, it’s described how the heroine uses a bread paddle to retrieve the bread and piles up the apples. Her growing homesickness is also expressed in phrases like, "I have a longing for home…," to which Frau Holle responds approvingly, "It pleases me that you long to go home again…". This phrase was later modified to "you are right…". The recurring phrase "boiled and roasted" appears from the first edition onward

Grimm’s notes trace the origin of the story to "Hesse and Westphalia" and include a “third tale from the Schwalm area,” resembling Hansel and Gretel: A beautiful girl and a rude girl spin by a well, and when the beautiful girl’s distaff falls in, she follows it. Below, she encounters a pear tree, a calf, an oven, and a pancake house where a red old woman awaits, calling her “the child of heaven and wind.” The girl, after helping the woman, steals a gold dress and flees. On her return, a rooster calls, “Our golden girl is back!” The rude girl attempts the same but is betrayed by the things she neglects, and the woman soils her dress. Another version, from the Paderborn region, involves a similar storyline, where a girl is rewarded by cooperating with the elements and animals but punished otherwise.

In the second edition, the Grimms addressed the common family conflicts of their time, particularly as many women died in childbirth, leaving stepfamilies in competition. Thus, the bad mother figure in Grimm’s tales often becomes a stepmother after the second edition. The spindle represents feminine diligence, while gold symbolizes worth and reward, contrasted here with tar for punishment. Tales of the good and bad girl were widely popular, like in The Tale of the Two Little Cakes by Giambattista Basile in Pentameron IV, 7. Similar tales can also be found in Ludwig Bechstein’s German Fairy Tale Book, with The Garden in the Well and The Golden Fawn as well as Grimm’s tale The Blue Light, and Theodor Storm’s The Rain Trude set in the underworld.

The precise origin of this tale remains uncertain as several regions claim Frau Holle resides in one of their mountains, such as Hohe Meißner, near Kassel, and Hörselberg near Eisenach. In mythological terms, the story seems to use older themes, such as jumping into a well as a journey into another world. Frau Holle, also known as Hulda or Perchta, represents "Mother Earth," whose myth is woven with elements of life and death. Some readers find that the lush meadow recalls near-death experiences. According to Ortrud Stumpfe, Frau Holle tests one’s capacity for loving intelligence, embodying nature’s judgment.

Hedwig von Beit interprets the "Tar Mary" as an image of shadow – representing either unconsciousness or calculated self-interest. Similar contrasts are found in Grimm’s tales 89, 107, and 126, where the shadow side is represented by two figures. The heroine encounters her feminine archetype while spinning, baking bread, and shaking apples from a tree. The well represents the unconscious, with the grain linking back to the Great Mother figure seen in ancient mysteries like those at Eleusis.

Wolf-Dieter Storl suggests that the goddess herself is a spinner, spinning the threads of life and reality. In the story, she gives the girl back the spindle, symbolizing the restoration of her life’s purpose. The rooster is a sacred bird, the apples signify vitality, and the oven symbolizes the feminine womb.

In addition to the well-known fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, there are many other legends about Frau Holle, some even found in Grimm's German Legends. The Grimms share additional tales about Frau Holle, telling us that pn the Hessian Mountain Meißner, several landmarks—like the "Devil's Holes," the "Battle Lawn," and particularly the "Frau Holle Pond"—bear names that hint at their ancient origins. This pond, located on the edge of a moorland, has a current diameter of only 40–50 feet. The entire meadow is surrounded by a partially submerged stone embankment, and horses have occasionally drowned there.

The people tell various tales, both good and bad, about Frau Holle. Women who enter her well are said to become healthy and fertile. Newborn children are said to originate from her well, from which she carries them out. Flowers, fruit, cakes, and other delights that grow in her unparalleled garden are shared with those who meet her and gain her favor. Frau Holle is known to be meticulous and values good housekeeping; when it snows on earth, it’s because she’s shaking out her bedding, causing the snowflakes to fall. She punishes lazy spinners by soiling their distaff, tangling their yarn, or even setting their flax ablaze. But for diligent maidens, she gifts spindles and even spins for them overnight, so their spools are full by morning. She pulls blankets off lazy girls, leaving them bare on cold stone, but rewards hardworking ones who bring clean buckets of water for the kitchen in the morning with silver coins. She likes to lure children into her pond, transforming good ones into "lucky children" and bad ones into changelings. Each year she roams the land, bringing fertility to the fields, but also frightening people when she leads the "Wild Hunt" through the forest. Sometimes she appears as a beautiful, white-clad woman in or above the pond; other times, she’s invisible, and only the sound of bells and a dark rumble can be heard from the depths.

During Christmas, Frau Holle begins her rounds, and young women wrap fresh flax around their spindles, leaving them out overnight. If Frau Holle sees them, she rejoices, saying:

"For every hair,

a prosperous year."

She continues this practice until the Epiphany, January 6, when she must return to the Horselberg. Should she find flax on a spindle then, she frowns and declares:

"For every hair,

a troublesome year."

So, the evening before, all young women carefully remove any remaining flax from their spindles to avoid ill fortune. It’s best, however, if they can finish their work before then. On the Meißner Mountain in Hesse lies a large pool or lake, often murky, called "Frau Holle’s Bath." According to old stories, Frau Holle can sometimes be seen bathing there around noon, only to disappear afterward. The mountains and moors around the area are filled with spirits, and travelers and hunters are often led astray or harmed by them.

The Grimms tell us two additional stories about Frau Holle. One is called "Frau Holle and Faithful Eckart." In Thuringia, there is a village named Schwarza. Around Christmastime, Frau Holle passed through, led by Faithful Eckart, who warned people to step aside so no harm would befall them. Two farm boys were carrying beer from a tavern when the procession appeared, taking up the whole road. The boys moved aside with their jugs. Soon, women from the procession took the jugs and drank from them. The boys kept silent out of fear, worried about facing their families empty-handed. Finally, Faithful Eckart came to them and said, "God advised you to stay silent, or you would have lost your heads. Go home quickly and speak of this to no one, and your jugs will always be full of beer." The boys obeyed and kept their word for three days, but eventually, they couldn't resist telling their parents. After that, the jugs ran dry. Others say it didn’t happen at Christmas, but at another time.

The second story involves Frau Holle's encounter with a farmer. Once, Frau Holle was traveling when she met a farmer with an axe. She asked him to block her cart’s wheels. The man did as she asked, and when the task was complete, she told him, "Gather the wood chips as a tip." Thinking the chips were worthless, he took only a few for the trouble. When he returned home and reached into his sack, he found they had turned into gold. He hurried back to retrieve the rest, but it was too late—nothing remained.

There are also other old fairy tales and legends about Frau Holle, such as the story of the girl called Little Earthworm: a young girl who loved all the animals in the forest and could never bear to be cross with even a spider. Her favorite toys were the flowers and butterflies, the gnats and beetles, lizards, and frogs. She even built little summer huts for the earthworms and stroked their backs without any hint of disgust. When spring brought out the flowers and the birds sang from the branches, this was her favorite time. In the mornings, she would take her shepherd’s pouch, drive her father’s cows to the large forest meadow, and stay in the woods all day until evening, playing with every creature and insect. This is why she was called "Little Earthworm" by all the neighbors.

One morning, as she led the cows ahead of her and the little dog followed behind, an old woman stepped into her path. The woman was poorly dressed, chattering her toothless jaws with cold and shivering so pitifully that it touched the girl’s heart. In her innocence, Little Earthworm took off her woolen jacket and wrapped it around the old woman’s frail shoulders. The woman simply nodded and murmured, “What one does, one does well!” and hobbled back into the bushes.

Now, Little Earthworm had to go for days wearing only her thin shirt, and her mother scolded her in the evening. Her parents had little to spare, and they couldn’t afford new clothes, so she had to wear an old, worn-out jacket from the previous year that was already bursting at the seams.

But then the days grew warm and sunlit, and after playing in the brook with pebbles and water spiders, she took a bath. The cool water felt so soft and comforting against her skin, flowing along as it made its way to the rivers and lakes of the lowlands. When the girl finished, dried off, and was about to slip into her clothes, she couldn’t find her old things anywhere. Instead, behind a bush lay the most beautiful and delicate items: a fine shirt, a colorful bodice, a little skirt, a stitched cap, and even a pair of delightful summer shoes, which surprised her most of all since country children usually went barefoot in the summer.

She tried on each piece: first the shirt, then the skirt with the bodice, the cheerful cap, and finally slipped her feet into the dainty shoes. She clapped her hands in delight and called out:

“Oh, so many pretty clothes! Where is the giver? Where is the tailor?”

Just then, an old woman emerged from the bushes and said, “What one does, one does well. Little Earthworm, don’t you recognize me?”

“Ah!” cried Little Earthworm, happy and astonished. “You’re the dear old woman with the torn skirt. And now you look so grand!”

“Yes, yes, that’s how the world turns,” the old woman laughed. “Rich one day, poor the next. Do you have a heart’s wish, dear child? Maybe I can grant it too.”

But what would such a simple-hearted little soul wish for? She knew nothing of the riches of the earth and was happy enough with her forest companions. But then she remembered the big beetle and asked, “If you can, please bring back the golden beetle that once played with me and then disappeared forever.”

“Yes, yes,” the old woman said mysteriously, “the golden beetle is always so busy. But he shall make the time. Farewell now, Little Earthworm.” With that, she hobbled off toward the forest.

The girl, standing there in her finery, listened and soon heard a hum coming from the woods. She saw her golden friend flutter toward her, coaxed him to her hand, and he landed trustingly on her palm. He was beautiful and heavy, with eyes as wise as her little dog’s. When she spoke to him, he nodded his antennae and rubbed his front legs thoughtfully, as if he understood every word of her wishes. She played with him from flower to flower all day long, and the next morning, he returned, and they remained together in their friendship. The golden beetle even brought along ladybugs, which fluttered about, swaying in the warm breezes, and Little Earthworm watched them fly high over the oak trees. “Oh,” she exclaimed, “flying, flying, that would be my greatest joy!”

“You can, you can,” murmured the golden beetle, and suddenly a little cart came floating through the air, finely carved from ivory and drawn by ladybugs in silken harnesses.

“If you wish, you can!” encouraged her companion. She climbed in, and gently they rose, over the bushes and trees, drifting through the high air; the little boat flew from one side of the forest to the other, and Little Earthworm was thrilled, laughing and clapping her hands. Then they slowly descended to the meadow below. What a beautiful journey!

From then on, each day brought a new flight, and the golden beetle would sit up front, flicking his whip and politely guiding the girl over the trees so that she could peer into the birds’ nests. Little Earthworm grew up and was now fifteen. But she still herded the cows and played with every creature. However, the golden beetle came to the meadow less and less often. One May day, with its golden sunbeams and sweet birdsong, Little Earthworm felt a sadness come over her, though she didn’t know why. It seemed as if she had to bid farewell to all her loved ones, and her heart overflowed with emotion. She sang many sorrowful songs and farewell ballads to herself, wiping her eyes on her apron.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar hum, and the golden beetle was already beside her, his flying carriage in tow, and he encouraged her warmly, “Climb in, climb in, and you can ride across the Rhine.” She felt her old joy return and climbed in; the golden beetle took up the reins, flicked the whip, and off they flew into the blue sky. Around the forest once, but then further and further, until it became a wild ride, with winds tugging at her clothes, her hair whipping in the breeze, as they sped over hills and valleys, rivers, and mountains at a breathtaking pace. “Stop, slow down!” she cried, “turn back!” But the golden beetle flicked his whip again, and the ladybugs flew even faster, until the wind tore the breath from her lips. She lost consciousness, and when she awoke, she was lying in a lonely valley. Steep cliffs stood around her like armored knights, and everything felt strange. She lamented her lost home, her parents, and siblings, none of whom knew where she was now.

Through her tears, she finally saw a cozy little cottage in the distance. She slowly rose, dried her eyes, and walked toward it. A little dog ran out, barking happily; a rooster crowed his best song, and the geese honked and gaggled. But at the door sat an old woman, spinning and singing an old, forgotten tune.

As she approached, the old woman tied a knot in her thread, looked up, and called, “Little Earthworm, where have you come from?”

Then the young girl recognized the kind old woman and was overjoyed to find herself among friends. "Oh, Auntie," she cried through her tears, "Golden Beetle, that deceitful rogue, left me here, and now I’m completely lost with no idea how to get home!"

"Don’t be sad," the old woman replied. "Now you are safe with me." She took the girl’s hand and led her into the house. "Come, eat, and rest from your journey, for you've traveled nearly a hundred miles. I brought you to this valley to save you from a terrible fate. Back home, the cruel enemy rages, and wild hordes would bring you terrible harm. Stay with me, work diligently, and be patient, and I will ensure you return home in due time."

And so, for the time being, the girl remained in Frau Holle's house and learned all the household chores. In the mornings, she was up at dawn by the oven. Whenever she ran eagerly to the well, she always found a silver penny in the freshly polished bucket. She stoked the fire and set the soup pot on the flames, leading the villagers to say, "Frau Holle is making her morning soup; look how the smoke rises over the mountains."

Later, she would start kneading the dough for the daily bread. She had to stoke the fire intensely until flames shot from the oven. And again, the farmers said, “Frau Holle is having a baking day; the whole sky glows red!”

Whenever Frau Holle traveled the earth to check on the good and the wicked, she returned covered in dust. After such journeys, the girl would wash her traveling cloak in the golden spring. And when it poured rain down on earth, the elders would say, "It’s Frau Holle’s washing day; it rains but once." When the washing was done, the girl would hang the cloak to dry and bleach over the blooming rosebush that grew evergreen in the garden. Then Frau Holle would open the sky to let the sun shine forth in all its brilliance, so her cloak could dry and whiten. And parents would tell their children, "Frau Holle is drying her clothes today." The youngest would sing up to her:

"Dear Lady, open the door, let the dear sun come out, keep the rain inside, let the snow be consumed. The angels sit behind the well, waiting for the dear sun to swell."

For the little ones knew well that Frau Holle held them dearest of all, as she also nurtured the unborn in her spring.

As the nights grew long, and autumn came, Earthworm began learning to spin a smooth thread. She spun it clear as hair and wove the finest, most delicate webs. The sun’s wind would carry these webs over the earth, so they could whiten in the last rays. Then the seasoned earth-dwellers would say, "Now it’s Old Wives' Summer. Frau Holle spins smooth threads in the wind, and winter will soon be upon us." And they enjoyed the last warm days.

Then, around Christmastime, Earthworm had to fluff Frau Holle’s bedding. She did this with such joyful enthusiasm that the feathers flew across the sky. Meanwhile, children sat cozily inside, pressing their noses against the windows, exclaiming, "It’s snowing, it’s snowing, Frau Holle is shaking out her beds!"

When the young maiden had learned all the skills needed to become a proper housewife, five years had passed. On the anniversary of her arrival, Frau Holle came, took her by the hand, and said, "Now the time is fulfilled. The war is over, your service is complete, and I may no longer keep you here. Gather your things and prepare, for tomorrow we depart."

So Earthworm went to her attic room and wept bitterly, for parting from her foster mother weighed heavily on her good heart.

On a fresh May morning, a flower-painted carriage pulled up, and Frau Holle brought the girl all the linen she had woven and spun over the five winters, along with generous gifts for her parents. Frau Holle joined her in the carriage, and the horses sped like a storm across the land. Meadows, forests, villages, and people whizzed by, and by evening, they arrived in a neighboring village close to her home. Frau Holle embraced the maiden, kissed her, and placed a full pouch in her lap: “Use this to buy yourself a small farm, dear one, and may peace be under your roof!” With that, the horses turned swiftly to make their way back.

Earthworm rented a farmer’s cart and traveled into the homecoming evening. Her heart pounded as she saw the familiar woods again. But where had her village gone? She didn’t recognize it.

“Oh well,” grumbled the farmer, urging the horses into a trot, "War has ravaged it. Not a stone was left upon another. Here and there a house stands again. But it’ll be long before it’s all as it once was.”

Earthworm dared not ask more. Her breath caught as they passed the sad ruins of her family’s home. "The farmer rebuilt it,” her companion said, “he lives next to the new stable.” And there, she recognized her mother at the door, rushed into her embrace, and her father came too, and there was no end to their joy and questions.

So she was home again, shared her gifts, and everyone was overjoyed.

Then Earthworm realized how Frau Holle had protected her from harm, thanked the good spirits for her rescue, and became a benefactor to her entire family.

#norse mythology #Frau Holle #Frau Perchta #frigg #paganism

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deinemuddalutscht · 24 days ago

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Dark Rise Book recommendations

Just finished Dark Heir again. Do you guys have any book suggestions for books with similar themes? I love the protagonist being the villain or villain reborn trope. Here a few of my recommendations: (Warning! Spoilers!)

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

The female protagonist is an Isekai character who ends up as the villain in a fantasy world. While she isn’t truly evil, she doesn’t see the other characters as real people, allowing her to manipulate their emotions without guilt. Her love interest is a delightfully unhinged psychopath. The book also features a male, bisexual Isekai character playing a villainous role. He falls for one of the hero characters, who has one of the most suppressed sexualities I’ve ever seen. Without giving away too much, what’s great about their dynamic is that the male villain is actually a "good" guy pretending to be evil, while the hero is the truly unhinged murderer. The female and male protagonists pretend to be a couple for a while but have fantastic platonic chemistry. The premise revolves around two Isekai characters being trapped in a grim, "Song of Ice and Fire"-style fantasy book, surviving by playing the villains. The two of them have essentially to retell the origin story of the cruel God Emperor who later becomes the Antagonist of the book world in which they are trapped in.

Time Master Universe Series by Louise Cooper

The male protagonist is the reincarnated god of chaos. In this world, gods of order and chaos are locked in eternal battle. There’s a heterosexual romance, but some aspects of it haven’t aged well.

The Sundering by Jacqueline Carey

This series explores the war between light and dark from the perspective of the Dark Lord and his loyal generals. Imagine if Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman were misunderstood figures with morally gray motivations, making them more relatable than the "light side." While there’s no queer romance, the story includes queer themes: for instance, the Saruman-like character is an evil bisexual, and the Morgoth-like character was once the god responsible for sex and reproduction. Funnily enough that started to conflict between him and his purist brother and elves. Despite parallels to Tolkien, this series introduces its own ideas and world-building, far from being a mere retelling. It's a dark and tragic narrative, though not overly graphic in terms of violence or sex. While there is a hint of romance, it’s far less prominent than the book description suggests. The series is brilliant but also deeply tragic

The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington

One male character is the "reborn" villain who tries to stop his past self's evil plans. The world-building is excellent, but the romance feels lackluster, largely due to the author’s weak portrayal of female characters. There's a female villain whose entire goal is to seduce the villain by pretending to be one of his lovers three separate times and somehow he falls for her act every time.

Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee

A rich fantasy world with an exotic writing style, though not everyone’s cup of tea. The books consist of interconnected short stories, with Azhrarn, "Night's Master" and "Prince of Demons," as the recurring character. Azhrarn is the ruler of the Underworld and the most powerful of the Lords of Darkness, embodying pure wickedness. Azhrarn and most of the other chactars are bisexual.The romances in the series haven’t aged well, but Azhrarns unpredictable cruelty and power make for an intriguing mix of protagonist and antagonist.

Witch King by Martha Wells

The main male character is a gay, shapeshifting demon prince. The world-building is expansive but requires close attention to follow.

Magisterium by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

A reimagining of Harry Potter, but from the perspective of the sidekick of the prophesied hero—who happens to be the villain reborn. Though aimed at younger readers, the first book is surprisingly dark, especially the prologue, where the villain kills a baby to take over its body. The series lacks world-building and dramatically declines after the third book. The finale, The Golden Tower, is one of the worst conclusions I’ve ever read, with a protagonist who never faces real consequences for being the reincarnated villain.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Set in a world where three elder gods (light, darkness, and twilight) exist alongside their many incestuous godlings. The god of light kills the goddess of twilight out of jealousy after the God of Dark falls on love with her, sparking a divine war—aka a chaotic custody battle. The god of darkness and the children who remained loyal to him are defeated and imprisoned in mortal bodies as playthings for the human race. The protagonist is the reincarnation of the goddess of twilight, and the story features a messy, toxic polyamorous love triangle that's utterly captivating.

A Chorus of Dragons Series by Jenn Lyons

The male protagonist is reborn and bisexual, eventually ending up in a polyamorous relationship.

Empires of Dust by Anna Smith Spark

One of the main protagonists is a reborn villain and an overall despicable human being. I couldn’t warm up to him at all. He’s bisexual but ends up with an equally detestable female character. The series is dark and graphic, so be prepared.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

The story revolves around two prophesied queens—one of light and one of darkness—separated by centuries. Both are point-of-view characters. The Blood Queen has a villainous love interest but comes across as a frustrating, indecisive character. She betrays her family, husband, and kingdom, all for her attraction to the villain. She’s bisexual, but the character lacks agency, making her deeply unlikable. It wasn't for me, but others may enjoy it.

Master of Sorrows by Justin Travis Call

The male protagonist is believed to be the prophesied hero but is actually the Dark Lord/God reborn. No queer themes here. It's pretty dark but not graphic. disabledMC grows up in an ableist religious cult, so potential trigger warning here

I also really love Keos's youngest sibling's energy: Can we please talk about the fact that his villain origin story is being pissed about not getting what he wished for Christmas. I love petty gods lol. Still better than cutting your brothers hand off and declaring him the enemy of all humankind just because he did not like your shitty Christmas present

#dark rise #dark heir

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deinemuddalutscht · 1 month ago

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Everything I could find about the scorpion wives of Horus

R. K. Ritner argues that Sepertuenes and Tabithet are distinct, forming two out of a group of seven wives of Horus, of whom the others are Ifdet, 'She who runs,' Wepetsepu, 'She who judges misdeeds,' Sefedsepu, 'She who slaughters misdeeds,' Metemetneferetiyes, 'Beautiful when she comes,' and Batcheh, though Tabithet and Sepertuenes are the best-attested. I recommend checking out the YouTube video "Robert Ritner | Seven Brides with Seven Stingers: The Scorpion Wives of Horus" or reading Robert Ritner's The Wives of Horus and the Philinna Papyrus (PGM XX), 1998, or Robert K. Ritner's Tabithet is Biyet, the Lady of the Cobra, a Daughter of Ra, 1997, if you're interested in this subject.

However, it is also possible that Sepertuenes is an epithet for Tabithet, or that both are epithets for Selket or Isis, who are also associated with scorpions and referred to as wives of Horus.

The seven scorpions may be connected to the seven Hathors. A spell from Papyrus Geneva MAH 15274 tells of Horus emerging unscathed from an encounter with the seven Hathors, all of whom had head wounds. The wording suggests that it was a sexual encounter, but it remains unclear why the Hathors had head injuries. The spell recounts part of Horus' youth, when he had to hide from Seth with Isis. It includes a humorous story in which Isis warns Horus that the god Babi is roaming the land with 77 red dogs. Babi was associated with Seth, as Babi's form and companions—red dogs—were linked with the portrayl of the Seth-animal. In any case, Horus does not seem to take his mother's warning very seriously and is then attacked by Babi, who bites him in the leg. In the end, Isis manages to heal the bite wound.

These scorpion wives are also likely mentioned in the "O.BYU Mag." text, a Coptic love spell written continuously over three ostraca. This spell primarily consists of a narrative in which Horus asks his mother Isis for help in winning the love of a woman (maybe multiple ones) he meets in the underworld. Horus encounters either one or several female figures, referred to variously as “women/woman,” “beauties/beauty,” or “maidens/maiden.”Their/Her description focuses on their/her skin color (white or red), their/her black eyes, and their seat near a fountain or well, or upon thrones: ("I am Horus the son of Isis. I went into a gate of stone, I came out from a gate of iron. I found the woman NN, child of NN, the beautiful one, the white one with the black eyes, with the burning pupils , the one that my soul loved. I said to her, “Lie on the dirt , NN.” She did not want ⟨me⟩, neither was she willing … I cried before Isis, my mother. Isis said to me, “Why are you crying, Horus, my son?” ⟨I said⟩, “Do you not want ⟨me to cry?⟩, Isis, my mother? I went into a gate of stone, I came out of a gate of iron. I found the woman NN, child of NN, the beautiful one, the white one with the black eyes, with the burning pupils, the one my soul loved. I said to her, “Lie on the dirt, NN.” She did not want ⟨me⟩, neither was she willing.” Isis said to me, “⟨Even⟩ if you did not know how to find me, ⟨say (?)⟩“Come to [my] cup (?) that I might eat,do not leave me until it happens that she shall fulfill all my desire, now, quickly, quickly, by ⟨the⟩ power of Iaō Sabaōth.’")

As Robert Ritner has argued, these women almost certainly derive from the seven scorpion brides of Horus, known mostly from Pharaonic magical texts, with Tabithet being the most prominent. These scorpion-women may be related to the seven scorpions who accompanied Isis as protectors when she fled with Horus from Seth, (and) or they might represent the seven Hathors.

According to myth, Horus deflowered his wife, causing her to bleed and sting him, possibly alluding to scorpion mating behavior, where the female may sting or harm the male. ("Hail to you, Horus, by the blood of Tabithet- Horus deflowered her on a bed of ebony- Tabithet, the lady of the cobra, a daughter of Ra'! I will recite (?) against her as a hero . A falcon is to the right, another one to the left of her. However, I will escape. Horus, hail to you! Come to me, Tabithet, wife of Horus! Come, I am Horus!")Note that the words for daughter and son don't always literally mean daughter and son and can refer to all kinds of descendants lik a grandchild or great-grandchild. That why all gods and goddesses were called the sons/daughters of Ra at some point. Horus is burned by the poison and is eventually healed by fluids, like saliva or beer, and by knotted bands, which, in some versions, are made by the repentant wife. In one text, Tabithet’s appearance is described, focusing on her “faïence-faced” look, possibly symbolizing the dark, glossy scorpion carapace, whose color ranges from black to red or yellow. Similar descriptions of women being white or red, or black-eyed, may connect to this image. Another close parallel, identified by Ritner, is found in a Roman magical text where seven dark- or faience-eyed maidens draw water to cool a burning child on a mountain peak.

However, similar narratives are also found in other cultures, including Greece, Mesopotamia, and the Near East. These similarities point to the complex cross-cultural exchanges of the ancient Mediterranean, and caution against attributing influences to a single cultural source. Egyptian charms involving the wife of Horus do not entirely explain the Coptic Horus-Isis charms, where Horus lusts after the maidens but is rejected. This may indicate an adaptation from healing charms to love spells, with the burning of lust replacing the burning of poison, a common motif in Greek literature.

In Hs. Schmidt 1, the spell seems to serve a different function—as a sleep spell—although this may still connect to love spells, with Horus commanding the woman to “lie down” and complaining that she did not sleep. This could imply a sexual submission rather than simply sleep. Horus’ unsuccessful attempts to proposition the women gather the attention of Isis who asks him what the matter is. Interestingly the maiden are described as facing one another which could hint as a connection between Isis and the maidens, possibly as her scorpion attendants. ("Hear Horus crying, hear Horus sighing: “I am troubled, poured out/melted for seven maidens, from the third hour of the day until the fourth hour of the night. Not one of them sleeps. Not one of them dozes.

Isis His mother replied to him within the temple of Habin [near Hermopolis, where a temple and priest of Horus are mentioned as late as the 7th century CE] with her face turned toward the seven maidens and seven maidens turned toward her face: “Horus, why are you crying, Horus, why are you sighing?”

“Do you wish that I not cry, do you wish that I not sigh, from the third hour of the day until the fourth hour of the night, while I am poured out/melted for seven maidens, not one of whom sleeps, not one of whom dozes?" Even if you did not find me, and you did not find my name, take a cup and a little water, whether a little breath or a breath of your mouth or a breath of your nose, and recite down over them, ‘O … two angels through whom sleep was set upon Ebed-Melech for seventy-two years, set sleep upon NN, child of NN, make his head heavy like a millstone, upon his eyes like a sack of sand, until I complete my demand, and I fulfil the desire of my heart, now, now, quickly quickly!’”)

The Pedestal of the Healing Statue Chicago OIM 9379 contains a spell in which either Tabithet tells Hathor of her encounter with Horus and initiates some kind of conflict between herself, Horus, and Hathor or refers to Tabithet as Hathor, disagreeing with another unnamed affair of Horus. The state of the text unfortunately does not permit us to reconstruct the myth. I attempted to translate it but it might not be completely accurate since its a very fragmentary spell: "What did the position against you. See, the poison said to your wife "I have entered the bed of Horus after his heart desired me more than you." She has brought disorder into your home. It was something evil inside the heart of your wife. Come with your power as/inside/over (...) May you vanquish the poison in every limb of the patient. May you throw the poison to the ground, may you open it for the things it said about you. May rejoicement return to your house, may the heart of Hathor rejoice. May the anger of her against you vanish. May the poison of your evilness die. May the heart of Bithet, the Golden one, the mistress, the wife of Horus, rejoice." In what would be the sole reference to Tabithet outside a magical context, Horus-pa-chered is referred to once at Edfu as the “son of Tabithet,” who is also characterized as “nurse of the Golden One".

Ostrakon Bruxelles E 3209 also calls Tabithet a daughter of Osiris/Sepa:

("Come, painful waters inside of the body of NN, born of NN like she came out of Bitchet, the wife of Horus, the daughter of Sepa. The daughter of Osiris when she as a child and Ra was young")

The goddess Sepertuenes is mentioned with her sister Tabithet in Borghouts spell 101 ("O Mistress of [. . .], skin-wearer who has come forth from Heliopolis, the Daughter of the Hooded One [or “She of the Nemes Headdress;” possibly equating the hood of a cobra with the Egyptian nemes headdress], without my adding Sepertuenes, she to whom the Earth Petitions, recite, pray for this young Horus that he might go off recovered to his mother, by the blood of Ta-Bitchet since Horus opened her in the evening. Seal the mouth of every reptile, O Ta-Bithet, Shining of Face" )

She is also mentioned in pLeiden I 348 = AMS 26: "( Oh Sepertuenes, wife of Horus, Oh Nekhbet, Nubian one, Oh eastern one (?), Oh Wenut, mistress of Hermopolis! Come, may you come (...)" ) as well in a short spell against skin diseases in the London Medical Papyrus. Her name isn't really translatable but Leits came up with "to which one comes, to which the land is left" (Leitz, Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen. Issue VI., 275)

Papyrus Chester Beatty VII tells us the following about Sepertuenes: (" When Horus had looked behind him he found Seth following him and vice versa. That heron, which is sitting down the two crests of the tendon in its vertex were drawn out and fitted with 7 knots. It was announced to Ra : The chest has gone forth from Heliopolis!' It is not known what is in it. A seal is in it, of black stone. Come to the earth, poison, at the words of Sepertuenes of the first corporation of Ra. She has been telling her name to Horus for three years, while the blood stuck on her thighs since Horus deflowered her. Come to me that you may exorcize these malignant that are in the body of NN born of NN as when Horus went to his mother Isis, in the night when he was bitten!")

The names for Sefedsepu and Ifdet come from a spell against scorpion wives in Papyrus Chester Beatty VII. The spell also directly confirms that there are at least seven scorpion wives of Horus that form a group:

("flow out, Sk[orpion]![---] [Name of the gods], with a broad back and numerous segments, [---] Sepertu[enes, wife of Horus]! [Come at my saying according to] what I say!I am the god who arose from himself, [---] Isis. O poison, [---] Ra, while Nut, who gave birth to [the gods], spoke [---] NN, son of NN.Come, [come out] at the word of [---], the wife of Horus![Look, I] am Horus, the physician who can appease a god.[Flow out of the body!]Come, come out at the word of [---], the wife of Horus!Look, [I am Horus, the physician who can appease a god].Flow [out of the body]!Come, come out at the word of [___]-Ifdet, [the wife of Horus]!Look, I am Horus, the physician [who can appease a god].[Flow] out of the body [out]!Come, come out at the word of Wepetsepu, the wife of Horus! Look, I am [Horus, the physician who can appease a god].Flow [out of the body]![Come, come out at] the word of Sefed-sepu, the wife of Horus!Look, I am Horus, the physician who can [appease a god].[Flow out of the body!]Come, come out at the word of [Metemet-]Neferetiyes, the wife of Horus!Look, I am Horus, the physician who can [appease a god].Flow out of the body!Come, [come out at the word of ---, the wife of Horus]!Come, [come out at the word of ---, the wife of Horus!]!Look, I am Horus, the physician who can appease a god.Flow out of the body![---] Horus (and?) (goddess) [---], food herb [---].flow [out] of the body! ")

Although some scholars think that all these Scorpion Goddesses may be manifestations of the one Great Scorpion Goddess, Serket. In another spell from Papyrus Chester Beatty VII against poisoning, Wepetsepu specifically calls herself not only by her own name but also refers to herself as Serket. But it also isn't uncommon for Egyptian deities to be referred to by the name of another deity especially when they share similar domains. Furthermore, the translation I could find of the spell actually sounds more like Wepetsepu is the poison while Selket is the healer trying to remove it. But translations can be tricky and I'm no expert. The spell in question goes as follows: (" Oh you that have attacked me! I am not the one who attacks you, Wepetsu is the one that attacks you! Poison, come to me, for I am Selket")

Sefet-Sefekh,Metemet-nefertiyes and (Ta-)bithet are also mentioned in another spell from the Papyrus Chester Beatty VII, though Tabithet is the only one specifically stated to be the wife of Horus:("The light will shine, the Nile will flood, so that sacrifices will be offered in Heliopolis!(For) the NN., whom NN. has born, he is healthier (literally: better) than he was, according to the saying of Sefet-Sefekh, according to [the saying of ...]-hedj, according to the saying of Hetjay, the Lady of Spells, according to the saying of Ut, the Lady of Flame, according to the saying of the Lady of Uraeen, according to the saying of Nebet-peseschet, according to the saying of Metemet-nefertiyes, according to the saying of Nebet-bitjet, the Lady of the Bandages, according to the saying of Bithet, the wife of Horus, according to the saying of Herenses, the beloved son!")

The scorpion wives, like all daughters of Ra, are also connected to the Uraeus: ("I am Batcheh, the wife of Horus. I am the uraeus, the creation of the gods",Papyrus Leiden I 343 + I 345)

The problem with the seven Scorpion wives theory is, that we have more than seven names for the scorpions. First there is Sefet-Sefech: "One should recite for NN, son of NN, as one recites for Sefet-Sefech behind the wall. These painful fluids of the scorpion(s) that are in the body of the NN, son of the NN, shall move away, just as 〈they〉 moved away from Horus after he had seen his enemy who had fallen under his feet.Behold, I am not the one who recites for you.It is Sefet-Sefech who shall recite this for you, as she recited for Horus, saying: “The son of a noble man came forth from the earth!" (Papyrus Chester Beatty VII)

Sefet-Sefech helped to heal Horus from scorpion wives, she is mentioned in Chester Beatty VII which made a lot of references to the other scorpion wives and her name means "Seven slayer" so she is clearly connected to the myth of the seven scorpions although she isn't specifically called a wife of Horus. The role of healer would link Sefet-Sefech to either Isis or Selket. If we go with Selket then maybe we have seven minor scorpion wives who attacked Horus and Selket as the main scorpion goddess-consort who helps her husband from the attack of her subordinate scorpions/sisterwives. Or maybe Sefet-Sefech is supposed to be the embodiment of all seven scorpion wives combined, who knows?

Then there is the goddess (Ta-)Menet, who is also mentioned in Chester Beatty VII and is specifically called a wife of Horus: "Oh Ennead, come and see the poison after it has come veiled, for it flooded over the shore like the flood!The light will shine, the sun will shine, so that sacrifices will be offered ((in the temple, which)) is in Heliopolis!

(For) NN. son of NN. has risen! A knot is tied in a bandage, his beginning is tied in the face of / in the presence of Ra. I will speak [... ... ..., according to] which is said by me.Because I have blinded your eyes, you will no longer open them, because I have paralyzed your fingers, [you will not] [...], [because I have] your sting you will not thrust it [in] to cause you to become black like Horus and red [like Seth]. ... your nose by the saying of the “heavenly woman,” the daughter of Ra, by the saying of Menet, the wife of Horus (...)"

It could be possible that Menet is simply a shortened form of Metemet-nefertiyes. And if it isn't confusing enough, there is also another scorpion wife of Horus that has nothing to do with the myth of the scorpion wives (thankfully), but she is a scorpion wife of Horus nonetheless: Hededet.

She appeared at Edfu as an independent goddess before she became associated and later merged with Isis. At first, she was considered as the consort of Horus. Later the cult of Osiris was incorporated into Edfu’s mythologies, making Isis-Hededet the mother of Horus-Behdety as well as the wife of Osiris.

#egyptian gods #egyptian mythology #horus #isis goddess

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deinemuddalutscht · 1 month ago

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Just me rambling about the husbands of Nephthys

The belief that Nephthys was the wife of Set largely comes from the writings of the Greek author Plutarch. Plutarch was a prolific writer and a priest at Delphi who likely obtained his information about Egypt during his travels to Alexandria. Although he accurately recounts much of Egyptian mythology, his writings are influenced by his philosophical views. By the time Plutarch wrote in the 2nd century CE, religious traditions had begun to merge, especially in Alexandria, where the cult of Isis was extremely popular.

Plutarch recounts a story in which Osiris unknowingly fathers a child with Nephthys, believing she was his wife, Isis. Nephthys, afraid of her husband Set's reaction, abandons the child, and Isis later finds and raises him as Anubis, who becomes her guardian. Interestingly, Plutarch also refers to a tradition where Nut’s children have different fathers: Horus and Osiris are Ra's sons, Isis is Thoth's daughter, and Nephthys and Set are the only children born in wedlock with Geb. Wikipedia states that Horus the Elder is a form of Horus that is the son of Geb and Nut, but this is only partly true: This claim comes from Plutarch, but Plutarch also claims that Horus the Elder is a son of Osiris and Isis, conceived by Isis and Osiris in the womb of Nut, and then born alongside the other children. Essentially, Plutarch tried to explain the multiple origin stories of Horus by stating that Osiris and Isis had supposedly three sons, all named Horus, and early Egyptologists somehow accepted this explanation. According to Plutarch, the three half-brothers also have different hair colors: Osiris has black hair, Horus white, and Set red. Additionally, Plutarch recalls a festival where Egyptians insulted red-haired people to mock Set's power on Earth. This has nothing to do with Nephthys’ marriages, but it's too amusing not to mention.

Overall, Plutarch paints a rather negative picture of Nephthys: Not only is she an adulterous wife who cheats on her husband, but she also has nonconsensual sex with Osiris, abandons her child in the desert, and even betrays Isis by revealing where she is hiding with her dead husband and child to Set. Plutarch also refers to Nephthys as Aphrodite throughout the text.

While many early sources link Nephthys and Set as a couple, there is little concrete evidence from ancient Egyptian texts directly confirming their marriage. Osiris, Nephthys, Set, Horus, and Isis are the core figures in the Osiris myth, and they all interact with one another inside th myths, except for Nephthys and Set. However, they are paired in other contexts, such as in descriptions of the Ennead. For example, in the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys and Set are paired together for specific roles, but they are not explicitly called a married couple. Some texts from later periods refer to Nephthys as Set’s wife, or mention Set having a wife, though these accounts are often times ambiguous and don't firmly establish this as a widespread early tradition. Therefore the tradition reported by Plutarch, in which Nephthys is the mother of Anubis by Osiris, finds little support in indigenous Egyptian sources, though it was likely not entirely invented by him.

As far as I can tell, we currently have no Ancient Egyptian texts that name Nephthys as Anubis’ mother, either by Set or Osiris. I know Wikipedia lists Anubis and Wepwawet as sons of Nephthys and Set, but no actual source is given for this information. Anubis is sometimes regarded as the son of Nephthys and Ra, though. The only real Egyptian source for Nephthys abandoning Anubis that I could find is in the Papyrus Jumilhac (“Nephthys, her bravery existed with him [Horus]. She had him [Horus] hidden as a small child in papyrus. His name is Anubis and his image is as Mehit-imyut.”). However, we should note that it is unclear whether Nephthys hid her son Horus-Anubis as Isis hid her child, or if she helps Isis hide the baby Horus-Anubis. In this text, Nephthys hiding her child is framed positively, not as the action of an adulterous woman abandoning her illegitimate child for selfish reasons.

Nephthys was sometimes regarded as Osiris’ wife in the underworld, just as Isis was on earth. Osiris and Nephthys are depicted as a couple in some contexts, as seen in the statue of Ramose from the Louvre (E 16378). Nephthys is sometimes given the title Onnophret, the feminine form of the Osirian epithet Onnophris or wn.nfr, meaning "the beautiful existent."

Interestingly, an erotic spell from the 4th century, mostly written in Greek with some Old Coptic passages, tells the story of how Isis goes to Thoth (specifically identified as her father in this version) and tells him about Osiris sleeping with Nephthys. Thoth then gives her a love spell to win Osiris back. However, it is unclear whether Isis is upset about Osiris taking a lover or a second wife. Alternatively, Nephthys could even be Osiris' first wife in this scenario, with Isis as the jealous sister.

There is one text I found that names Nephthys and Set as a married couple within the context of the Osiris myth. It's called the Ptolemaic Berlin Papyrus 8278, and it contains a story that goes as follows:

The first nine lines of Pap. Berlin P. 8278 are quite damaged. However, the main topic is the expulsion of Set from Egypt. The first readable paragraph tells how Set will be kept away from Egypt for the rest of his life. The text refers to him as a donkey, which is a very late interpretation of the Set animal. Then, there is a dialogue between the men of Horus and the men of Set. They discuss the punishment inflicted on Set. The men of Set would like the men of Horus to set him free. Set is described as copulating, drunk, and dead of thirst. From an explanatory gloss, we learn that Set went to an oasis with the Eye of Horus and swallowed it, leading to his drunkenness. Then, an unidentified speaker states that he has shown the way to Horus. After this, the god Thoth insists that Set is drunk and accuses him of harming Osiris. It is mentioned that Set "has been seized" and "has failed." All the gods start speaking to him, pointing out his failure. Finally, it is Isis’ turn to insult Set. She accuses him of taking water "in his own hand" (an explanatory gloss equates water with Osiris). Set is called "camel, pig, hippopotamus," and "the Failed One." Set speaks for the first time but avoids the accusations, instead lamenting his failed attempt to have anal sex with Nephthys, likely due to his drunken state. He recalls grabbing Nephthys' tail and trying to copulate with her ("Voice of Set: [The] female donkey was taken when I was seizing her tail. I was given deceit… Nephthys was taken when I was on her anus… although she belongs to me as a wife").

Nephthys was also sometimes regarded as Horus' wife, as seen in the magical stela of Nesamun ("All fertile lands, all deserts, all mountains, and all waters and what is in them are united under the feet of Horus, son of Osiris, with whom Isis was pregnant and with whom Nephthys is married. May they dispel your feverish heat, may they remove your inner restlessness."). Papyrus Ramesseum IV even speaks of an unnamed daughter of Horus and Nephthys ("Hemen slept with his mother Isis after he had impregnated his aunt Nephthys with a daughter").

#egyptian gods #egyptian mythology #seth #nephthys #osiris #horus #Set

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deinemuddalutscht · 4 months ago

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Statues of Twink-Horus, because I love him and so should you

#egyptian mythology #egyptian gods #horus

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deinemuddalutscht · 4 months ago

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"The Book of the Victory over Seth" is a hieratic text for a Ritual whose purpose was to cause the downfall of Seth and his followers. It was performed in the temple of Osiris, foremost of the Westerners, the great god, lord of Abydos on all days, as well as in other temples. It tells the story of how Seth invaded Egypt after his defeat in the contending for the throne. The texts contains a list of all of the crimes that Seth committed during his invasion of Horus's kingdom and let me tell you, some of these crimes are really something else: Like what do you mean "He has thought of eating Mafdet before the faces of Mut and Bastet."??? (This sentence could also be translated to "He has thought of eating Mafdet before the face of her mother Bastet). I also love how beside him slaughtering people, the list also contains activities such as "He has run quickly in wabet" and "he has uttered screams before the Ennead"

#egyptian gods #egyptian mythology #seth #horus

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deinemuddalutscht · 4 months ago

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Why Marvel spelled it "Khonshu"

First of all, there is not one correct spelling of this name as Egyptian hieroglyphics cannot be directly translated into the alphabet, and the pronunciation and spelling of the name have changed over the millennia.

To understand where this spelling comes from, one must first look at the history of the name: The spelling in the Old and Middle Kingdoms suggests that the name was pronounced something like χansVw. The V stands for a short unknown vowel that could not be recreated because ancient Egyptian script has no vowels. That's why direct transcriptions of hieroglyphics just write the name as "hnsw". The spellings Khonsu, Chensu, Chonsu, Khonsou, Chonsou, Khesnu, and Khensou are all derived from hnsw/χansVw, .

However, "Khonsu" is not the "authenthic" pronunciation of the name, because a) the English Khonsu is pronounced xɛnsu and not χansVw, and b) the original name for Khonsu contains the unknown vowel. It is even quite possible that Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used a different vowel for the name than the ones of the Middle Kingdom. In the Amarna period, the name was pronounced ˈχansə, and around 800 BCA, it was χans. Interestingly, the pronunciation ˈχansə seems to have survived in the Meroitic language in words like uṣiḫaanša. From χans, the spellings Chons, Khens, Khons, Hons, etc., are derived. In Coptic, χans became Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, from which the spellings Shons and Schons are derived. Additionally, there is a Hellenized version of the name: Chespisichis/Khespisíkhis, from which, for example, the Portuguese name for Khonsu, Quespisiquis, is derived. The Greek version did not become the dominant form however, unlike for other gods such as Osiris, Isis, Seth, Nephthys, Horus and Anubis (Ausar, Aset, Sutekh Nebet-het, Heru and Anpu are the actual Egyptian versions of their names)

For reasons that will be important later, I first need to explain Khonsus role in the Theban pantheon. Every ancient Egyptian city had its own hierarchy and local versions of gods and myths. Different attributes and tasks were assigned to different gods in different citys. Amun, Khonsu, and Mut were the patron gods of Thebes, though they were relatively unknown until Thebes became the capital city of Egypt. This led to the cults of these gods becoming extremely popular. It is hard to comprehend just how incredibly powerful the priesthood of Amun was.: the priests of Amun were rulers in their own rights during the 21st Dynasty, and in the Greco-Roman period people used the Temple of Khonsu in Karnak to make temple oaths that governed civil matters like debts, compensations, inheritance, and divorce. Thus, the priesthoods in Karnak held significant power within Ancient Egyptian society.

I believe Marvel had difficulty understanding that Egyptian mythology did not have THE ONE pantheon that stood above the rest of the gods, like the 12 Olympians or the gods of Asgard. The Ennead of Heliopolis, was very important in the city of Heliopolis as it had two primary functions: 1) It served as a divine council for resolving disputes among the gods, and 2) as a generation of creation gods. Cosmogonies (creation myths) were different in every city, with each city placing its local gods at the top of the creation chain. In Thebes, the Ennead also existed, but it played a significantly smaller role in the Theban pantheon since they were not considered to be the gods who actually created the world. Additionally, it partially consisted of different gods than the "classic" Ennead. Thus, the Theban Ennead primarily served as the court and council of the god-king Amun-Ra. While Osiris and Horus were still considered to be quite important compared to the rest of the Ennead, they were very much merged with the Theban versions of Amun and Khonsu. Tasks that were typically attributed to Isis in other cities, for example, were assigned to "Hathor chief of Thebes" (a local Theban version of Hathor, not to be confused with "Hathor within the Benenet": another local Theban version of Hathor who was revered as the consort of Khonsu-Neferhotep).

There are several Theban cosmogonies, but they generally follow this pattern: At the beginning, there was a creator god who was a form of Amun. This creator god had a son(s) who were sometimes deities like Khonsu and Tatennen, but also could be other aspects of Amun (for example, in some inscriptions, the creator god Amun Kematef creates his "son" Amun Irita, but Amun Irita is just another version of Amun. This differentiation is sometimes made in Theban inscriptions to distinguish Amun as the dead creator god from Amun the king of the gods and Amun as part of the Ogdoad). The creator god then creates the eight gods of the Ogdoad with this son. The ogdoad is a group of four male-female twin pairs that in other cities is the very first generation of gods. The Ogdoad then together creates some form of the sun god, who then creates the Ennead.

The new Kingdom period made Khonsu into A creator god and sometimes even THE creator god The depiction of Khonsu as THE creator god is much rarer and is due to a fusion with Amun-Ra. He was known as “Khonsu, the great one, who comes forth from the primordial water” (as seen on the statue of Harwa from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty in the Egyptian Museum, the magical healing statue of Hor in the Turin Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of a priest of the goddess Bastet in the Louvre Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, the healing statue of Psammetikseneb in the Florence Museum from the Thirtieth Dynasty, and in the inscription of Mentuemhat in the temple of the goddess Mut at Karnak from the end of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and the beginning of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty respectively). In his form as the creator god who emerged from the primordial water, he was sometimes represented as a double hawk-headed man with four wings standing on two crocodiles as a symbol of his triumph over chaos. Alternatively, he was rarely represented as a creator god in the form of a crocodile with the head of a hawk, lying on a pedestal. According to the historian Armour, the two heads of the hawk represent the sun and moon. They also probably symbolize Khonsu as a divine lunar equivalent of the creator sun god. In this form, he combines the sun and the moon in a single creature, thus, he could be conceived as a mythical complex personification of death and rebirth simultaneously.

Khonsu-Re was known since the late New Kingdom, but he lost significance during the Greco-Roman period. We often imagine the triad consisting of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu as a father, mother, and child dynamik, but like everything in Egyptian Mythology, the family tree is more of a cycle: Mut could be the mother, daughter, and wife of Amun(-Ra), Amun was the father of Khonsu, but at the same time, Khonsu was also seen as a form that Amun takes at night or at the beginning of the new day, and Mut was the mother of Khonsu, but she was occasionally also referred to as his daughter. ("Khonsu who arrives as an infant after old age, made by his daughter, fashioned by his J-serpent, through her [Mut], he is greatest of gods and goddesses. That she gave birth to him in Thebes was in the form of an august child, the rn/i-scarab, in his manifestation of Khepri"). The reason for this is that the births of the sun and moon were not understood as one-time events but as events that repeated every day, month, or year (daily birth of the moon symbolizing the rising of the moon, monthly births symbolized the beginning of a new moon cycle, and yearly birth symbolized the beginning of a new year and the start of spring). As the sun and moon, Amun and Khonsu are children who grow old, die, and are then reborn in an ever-renewing cycle.

Khonsu as A creator god is the more commonly attributed role to him in Thebes and is more associated with his role as the son of Amun rather than as a moon and sun god. The khonsu cosmogony makes him into the second god to emerge from the primodial water after Amun-Ra Kematef. Basically Amun ejaculates the into the waters, Khonsu then swallows the seed, becomes pregnant by it and travels to earth to give birth to the Ogdoad on the so called island of flames. In a way all gods can be considered the sons of Amun(-Ra) but Khonsu fills the role of THE son of Amun: the firstborn, the heir, the most important, and the most revered. This position naturally aligns him with Shu, who in the Heliopolitan cosmogony is the firstborn son of Re. In fact, Khonsu adopts many aspects of Shu: like how he is regarded as a wind god and the holder of the sky. Early Egyptologists even thought that Shu and Khonsu were the same deity. I still have an annotated version of Herodotus' work from the 18th century, where the footnotes claim that Shu in Thebes was called "Khonsu Neferhotep." The confusion arose from some Ancient Egyptian inscriptions that used "Shu" as an epithet after the Khonsus name, which literally gives the name Khons-shu or Khonshu (as I have already explained, Khons/Chons was the spelling usally used during the late New Kingdom). But the Shu in Khonshu was not just an epithet but this merged form also had its own cult.

God splitting happens when an epithet becomes so interwoven with a particular epithet that it forms its own subaspect of the "main" deity. Like how "Hathor in Benenet", "Hathor, chief of Thebes" and "Hathor, chief of Dendra" are all aspects of Hathor with the epitheth stating which role they take on in the pantheon. Distinguishing between different forms of the same god can be quite important since there can be significant differences when it comes to their priesthood, temple attributes and their place in the Egyptian family tree. God splitting was very common fo Khonsu in Thebes: "Khonsu-Neferhotep," "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," "Khonsu-pa-chered," "Khonsu-wen-nekhu," "Khonsu-Shu," and "Khonsu-Thoth" all had their own small priesthoods in the Karnak Temple Complex. The priesthood of Khonshu did not have its own temple, unlike "Khonsu-pa-chered" or "Khonsu-pa-ir-sekher," but was housed in the main temple of Khonsu in Thebes, the so-called Benenet.

Essentially, all offshoots of Khonsu are differnet aspects for Khonsu-Neferhotep, who had by far the largest and most important priesthood. And Khonsu-Neferhotep is the aspect of Khonsu that gained the most importance. Therefore Khonshu is a part of Khonsu-Neferhotep and Khonsu-Neferhotep is a part of Khonsu. That is why Khonsu during the Old Kingdom was so different from the Khonsu of the New Kingdom period: The theban version of him eclipsed basically all of the bloodthirsty, cannibal versions of him that might have existed in other city during the Middle Kingdom Other Khonsus in other cities. That is essentially why it is so difficult to understand Khonsus's original role in the Old and Milde kingdoms aside from the bloodthirsty underworld deity. It even debatable to which extent the Khonsu in the pyramid texts and coffin texts was a moon god to begin with and when he first became associated with the falcon. It is difficult to say who Khonsu was before became Khonsu-Neferhotep, the patron god of Thebes. Therefore it might be more accurate to say that Khonsu-Neferhotep isn't just a partial aspect of Khonsu, he straight up became THE Khonsu. We do not even know what the cult of Theban Khonsu was like before Ramesses III built the Benenet and Hatshepsut grouped him together with Amun and Mut to triad, because nothing of the Pre-Benenet temple survived, just the knowledge that there existed one.

In any case, Khonshu primarily embodied Khonsu's aspect as a sun and creator god, which is why I have focused so much on these aspects. Therefore, he is referred to in inscriptions in various ways, such as: "He who sails to Western Thebes daily, who leaves offerings for the Great Ba of Kematef, who is there as Amun, in the Underworld chamber with the Bas of the Ogdoad." or "He who enters Manu bearing offerings for the Father of fathers of the Ogdoad, so that his face lights up and his heart rejoices upon seeing him, as the august child when he enters the Eye-of-Re (Thebes)." Or "He who returns pregnant from the Grotto of Nun with the prestige of his father in his body." Basically some priests of Khonsu-Neferhotep thought that the myth in which Khonsu becomes pregnant by drinking his fathers semen, and then fucks the universe into existence with Hathor is a linguistic masterpiece that deserved its own cult.

Presumably, the cult around Khonshu had something to do with ancestor worship, as it describes how Khonshu leaves offerings for Amun Kematef and the Ogdoad. In the Theban tradition, the first creator god and the Ogdoad are often described as being dead gods, which contrasts sharply with the idea that Amun should be the king of the gods. This is why there is a differentiation between Amun Kematef, the dead first creator god, and Amun Irita, the living creator god and king of the gods. Simultaneously, the epithet "Father of the Fathers of the Ogdoad" is used to distinguish Kematef and Irita from Amun of the Ogdoad. Some cosmogonies, like the Khonsu cosmogony, avoid this confusion altogether by simply replacing the last pair of the Ogdoad (Amun and Amunet) with the twin pair Nia and Niat. Technically, there is also a fourth generation of Amun, because the sun god that the Ogdoad collectively conceives (don't ask me how they managed that. The gene pool of the Ancient Egyptian Gods is just a puddle at this point) is often another aspect of Amun, like Amenope.

#egyptian gods #egyptian mythology #khonsu #khonshu #moon knight #what happened in the primordial waters stays in the primordial waters

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