OUTDATED
Nu, Egyptian embodiment of the chaotic waters. The first of the gods, it’s been ever present throughout time, a permanent aspect of reality. For countless millennia, Nu’s waters rested without action, but suddenly the waters stirred and out arose the Benben, the first mound of land. Lying on top of the Benben laid a lotus flower, the flower bloomed, revealing the newborn Ra. Along with Ra emerged the serpent of Chaos: Apep. Nu’s waters encapsulated the world Ra had sculpted, surrounding it like a bubble. Nu remained detached from creation, watching it from afar. However Nu would provide Ra with their otherworldly wisdom, in one instance when Ra lost the worship of his followers Nu gave him the advice to tear out his eye, which when Ra followed transformed into the goddess Sekhmet. Nu upholds Ra’s solar bark all through out its journey across the sky, traversing the sea of chaos that surrounds the universe.
Nu’s presence within Egyptian religion is deeply rooted, as the vast majority of creation myths in ancient Egypt centered around and greatly featured Nu, with the only exception being in Memphis where they were replaced with Ptah. In Heliopolis, Nu was split into eight deities who formed the Ogdoad, the pantheon who embodied the primordial waters. Nu represents the primordial chaos, an archetype found in many other gods, such as the Chinese Hundun, the Sumerian Nammu, the Mesopotamian Tiamat, and the Irish Danu. The concept of Nu may have developed into Asherah, with both representing the primordial waters of chaos. The primordial waters is a very ubiquitous concept, with it being found in Hinduism, Abrahamic religions, Mongolian mythology, Hawaiian mythology among many others. Viewing this primeval void as an ocean is nigh universal across the earth, you’d be hard pressed to find a creation myth without a mention of primeval waters.
