What I Learned 10

Chris and Levi - Zhongli Quan and Lan Chaihe

• From Zhongli Quan, I learned that he is the god of weaponry and explosives. I also learned that he became immortal by blowing himself up and discovering immortality juice in a crack in the wall created from the explosion.
• From Lan Chaihe, I learned that he became immortal by washing he sores of an old man, who could have been one of the eight immortals in disguise.

Amira - Hel

• From Hel, I learned many things, among them being the fact that she can both see the future and look into a soul through your eyes and determine if you lived a good life or not.

Marie and Abby - Xi Wangmu and Chang'e

• From Xi Wangmu, I learned that there are variations of her peach garden in different myths. In some, it is a single peach tree that only grows one peach every three-thousand years. In other myths, it is a peach garden of 3,600 trees that have different types of peaches that each take different lengths of time to ripen.
• From Chang'e I learned that she and her husband Yi were banished from heaven and made mortal because Yi shot down nine of the Jade Emperor's ten suns. This resulted in Yi going in search of the immortality elixir.

Alana - Raven

• This cocky bird taught me that he has a brother, Logobola, with who he is arch enemies. His other brother (half brother) is Crow, which accounts for the similarities between Ravens and Crows.

Grace Little Deer

• Little Deer taught me many things about herself and her fellow deer, one of the more oustanding facts lies in the tale she told us of how deer recieved their antlers when rabbit tried to cheat in a contest to see which animal was the best of the runners. 

 Ally - Athena

• From Athena, I learned that her mother was swallowed by Zeus in the fear that she might give birth to a son. Consequently, Athena was forced to live in Zeus's head until Hermes split his head open, allowing her to emerge.  

Fiona - Odysseus

• Odysseus elaborated on his journey, the Odyssey. I learned that at one point, he was very close to home, and Posiden, who is his arch enemy, prevented him from reaching home. 

Jacob - Hermes

• From Hermes, I learned that he invented divine worship through his sacrifice to Olympus of the fifty cows he stole from Apollo.

Sarah - Freya

• The lovely norse goddess of fertillity explained to us many of her abilities and powers. Some of them, such as having the strength and stamina of many of the other gods and goddesses of Asguard, I had already guessed. But many, such as the fact that she practices magic, and the fact that she has a cloak that can transfigure the wearer into anything were unknown to me before she put on her presentation. 

 

The Story of Creation 9

       The beginning of the world was dark and cold, or so my father told me. All that existed were the chaotic waters of Nu; an endless ocean of suffocating icy black currents. This time before the earth was devoid of life and warmth and land to stand upon. So my father, using the force of his will and thoughts, created himself and a single mound of barren earth so that he could stand above the thrashing waves of the primordial waters. He was Ra, god of the sun, and for the first time, light shown through the starless night.
       Yes, my father told me of the everlasting night, and how he brought light to the world; how his first words became my husband Thoth, god of wisdom. He has told me of how he longed for a world that was full of light and life, and so, he created three more beings. And this, my friends, is where I enter the tale of creation. As a goddess created from the thoughts of my father, Ra, it was my duty to bring balance to the chaotic universe and when the earth had been shaped, to bring justice and order to it. But all of that would come in time. Before the earth could be created, the help of more gods and goddesses was needed.
       So, my father spat out Shu, god of air, and vomited up Tefnut, goddess of moisture. I shall not go into detail about how this came to be, but I will say this: it looked most unpleasant for all parties involved. They eventually mated and gave birth to two children of their own; Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. But their relationship went deeper than brother and sister. Entangled with one another through the bonds of their love, Nut and Geb seemed inseparable, despite Ra having taken Nut as his wife. When my father found out about their love, he was infuriated. In his rage, he ordered Shu to lift Nut into the sky, and as one last punishment, he cursed Nut. The children that she now bore within her womb could never be born upon any day of the year. 
        The world had finally found shape. Rain washed over the land, making it lush and fertile. Trees grew and leaves wormed their way from the first buds. Sand and brown earth covered the lands, and pristine mountain peaks rose up above the wild plains, majestic and untouched by age. Color bloomed throughout the bleak landscape, turning it into a vibrant array of life. Animals were created and placed into the vast wilderness, where they roamed. Bird song soon rang through the trees, and lions stalked the grassy plains. But Nut lived in constant pain with her unborn children. Thoth saw her pain and heard her cries, and so, to ease her pain, he gambled for five more days worth of moonlight.
       Naturally, being the wise man he is, he won and thus, five days were created upon which Nut could give birth to her unborn children, Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. The creation of the earth was almost complete.
       As the world took on form and light, balance began to take hold, but Nu still existed. Once, when the waters of Nu still ruled over the universe, Shu and Tefnut became lost in its black waters. Without light to guide them, they could not find their way back to the primordial mound. Ra grew frantic, searching everywhere for his beloved children. He sent his all-seeing eye out into the universe to search for them, and it roamed far and wide, searching tirelessly, until finally, it found the lost siblings.
       When they had been returned to him, Ra was so overwhelmed by his joy that he wept. The other gods and I watched as his silvery tears slid down his cheek and fell to the earth bellow. Here, they landed in a dry patch of earth and slowly, they took shape in the hot sands, bending and writhing into the form of the first human beings. Creation was complete. For the humans, the Nile was created to keep the soil fertile for crops, and an expanse of desert was wrapped around their kingdom to protect them. They were to live through the forty-two principles of Ma'at, which my husband Thoth put into word, and to this day, I continue to keep order in the world through these laws. Ra went down to the earth, and for many peaceful years, he ruled as the first pharaoh.
       Thus went the first chapter of the Earth.

     
  
 

Resolution 8

       This myth concludes with the creation of man and all of the other creatures of earth. Ra was finally satisfied with the world he and the other gods had created, and now he roamed the world in his boat, Mesektet, guarding it from the darkness. Order, or as much as could be achieved, had been brought to the world and I continued to enforce truth and justice among man kind and the gods. Many versions of this myth also claim that Ra made himself the first ruler of man. He ruled for many years in a land of peace a prosperity before retiring to his duties in the heavens above and the underworld bellow. The gods and goddesses took up their roles in the running of the universe, and for many years, we have basked in the worship of mankind, providing them with a way of life, protection and sustenance in return.

Thus, the end of this first chapter of the world is simply the beginning to a much greater saga; a prequel to the many myths that have formed over the years.  

Climax 7

       The last event in the shaping of the world was the creation of man and all of the other living creatures that now walk upon this earth. Some say that man was fashioned on a pottery wheel and brought to life by the breath of Ra. Others say he was born of Ra's silvery tears. Man was blessed with fertile land along the mighty Nile River where they could grow crops and they were protected by many miles of desert in every direction. There were other places where man existed, of course, but I suppose they were not as important. The other gods and goddesses don't mention them much. Never the less, this marked the beginning of the world as we know it, therefore making it the climax of the creation of the earth. 

       There has been some hiccups in the relationship between Ra and humankind. After all, he did set Hathor against them for being rebellious, and this resulted in a massive slaughter. Rivers ran red from blood and Hathor rejoiced in her efforts. Ra quickly lost his lust for punishment after this, and now that the kinks have been worked out, all of us gods and goddesses work to keep the world and all of its inhabitants safe. 

Hathor - Goddess of Love

Conflict 6

       In this next blog post, I will explain the conflict that lies in the Egyptian creation myth. To do so, lets journey back to the dark place I told you of two posts ago. The black waters of Nun lash at the barren hill upon which the first gods and goddesses stand. They are surrounded by chaos. There is no balance. No light or dark. No seasons or tides. Not even life and death. The conflict lies in the need to create a world amid the chaos of these ancient waters. Balance must be achieved, or this world will not survive and flower into the diverse planet that it is destined to be.
       When they were born, Shu and Tefnut were assigned the task of beginning to banish the chaos and bring peace to the world which was to be created. They did so in my name. With them at my side, I began to lay down the laws that would bring order to the world. Therefore, this conflict served as the driving force behind the story of Egyptian creation. It also allowed for other conflicts, such as Shu and Tefnut becoming lost in the waters of chaos, that could themselves be considered myths in in their own right.
       Why am I telling you this? Only because this conflict essentially caused the creation of the world, in Egyptian eyes, and all of the events that came with it.

Character Development 5

       Being one of the more important gods in the story of Egyptian creation is Atum, also associated with Ra. Therefore, it is only fitting that I introduce him first. He is the god of creation and has one all seeing eye that is the sun as you and I see it today. He is quite the family man, seeing as he spit out his son Shu, and vomited up his daughter Tefnut, both of whom he loved enough to send his eye in search of them when they got lost in the waters of Nun (chaos).

Atum

       Shu, god of air, and Tefnut, goddess of moisture are also present in this tale, as they began to set about building the world which Atum had begun. They themselves had two children and were very dedicated to carrying out their task to divide the chaos. For this of course, they needed my help. 

Shu and Tefnut

       Their two children, Geb, god of the earth and Nut, the blue star covered goddess of the sky, where slightly less focused on the task. They were the greatest of lovers, but in the end, Shu separated them so they might perform their duties in the creation of the world. This, however, did not prevent the birth of Isis, Osiris, Set, and Nephthys. Isis is the beautiful and intelligent mother goddess, while her husband Osiris, who was killed by his brother Set, is the ruler of the underworld. Set, the god of evil and chaos. He now resides in the heavens, his voice booming over the earth in deafening thunder. Lastly, helping the souls of the deceased as they set off towards the underworld, and comforting those who these souls leave behind is the kind and sympathetic Nephthys, the funerary goddess.  

Geb and Nut

       Two more figures besides myself were involved in this tale, though perhaps, they played a small role. Hathor, goddess of love and fertility, has a happy but mischievous way about her. Thoth, my ibis headed husband, is the lord of wisdom. He writes everything down, and has thought deeply about time, science, astronomy, art, mathematics, and who knows what else. 

Thoth

       Lastly, I of course am present in this myth, but I shall not repeat all that I have already told you about myself. You should know, however, that both Thoth and I were created by Atum (also Ra) himself; Thoth from his word, and I from his thoughts.

setting 4

       Over the next few posts, I have taken it upon myself to explain the story of creation in Egyptian mythology and to show you what role I played within it. But before I tell this tale in full, let me paint a picture of what it looked like at the time. 
       In the beginning, the world was black and full of raging waters. These were the waters of Nun, or chaos, my enemy. If you were to journey back in time to see it, you would only know the feel of cold wetness and stifling darkness. This, I suppose, was all that Ra knew when he willed himself into flesh and created a mound of earth in the midst of the great ocean so that he could have land to stand upon. This mound was simply that; a barren hill. No animals or plants or air or rivers. You could stand at the very top of the hill, and not feel the sting of cold winds on your face. All that could be heard was the crashing waves upon the edge of the mound and the darkness, with no sun or sky to break it, was complete. But when Ra created his children, Shu and Tefnut, the creation of the world could begin. This is also where I come into the story, but I shall save that for another day. 
       Once Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky were born, the earth and sky where created. The earth began to take shape, and the roiling seas no longer ruled the universe. The smell of sea salt was replaced with the rich scent of lotus flowers. Now fields and mountains and deserts took shape in a lush landscape, carved by the great Nile River and lighted by the blazing sun. Bird song rang through the wild and animals moved through the tall knife blade grasses. When walking during the day, the sun beat down on your back, and at night, the cool winds washed over your face while the moon smiled down on the sleeping land. 
       But despite all of this, Nun still had not been banished from the world, and though the ancient waters of chaos have receded since the beginning of time, I still work tirelessly to keep them from washing in and flooding the world.