🌊 Nun (Primordial Waters)

Overview

Nun (also Nu, Nuu) represents the primordial waters of chaos that existed before creation. Neither fully god nor simple element, Nun embodies the infinite, dark, undifferentiated potential from which all existence emerged. In Egyptian cosmology, Nun is both the beginning and the end - the source from which creation arose and the abyss to which it will one day return.

Nature of Nun

The Waters of Chaos

Nun was not created; Nun simply existed eternally before time, space, and order. The primordial waters possessed these characteristics:

• Infinite and Boundless: Nun had no shores, no surface, no bottom - infinite in all directions
• Dark and Undifferentiated: No light existed within Nun; no distinctions between up and down, here and there
• Inert yet Potential: Nun was motionless, yet contained all potential for creation
• Neither Living nor Dead: Nun existed in a state before such distinctions had meaning
• Cold and Silent: No warmth, no sound, no motion disturbed the eternal stillness

Nun as Deity

While primarily a cosmic principle, Nun was also personified as a deity - the oldest of the old, father of the gods yet not truly a god himself. Depicted as a bearded man holding up the solar barque, or as a figure waist-deep in water with arms raised, supporting the world.

Nun had a feminine counterpart, Naunet, representing the same primordial waters in female form. Together they formed one of the four pairs of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad (eight primordial deities).

Nun in Creation Myths

The Emergence of Atum

In the Heliopolitan creation myth, Atum-Ra emerged from Nun through an act of self-creation:

• From the infinite waters arose the benben stone - the first solid matter, the primordial mound
• Upon this mound, Atum brought himself into existence through will and the utterance of his secret name
• "I am he who came into being as Khepri. I developed myself; I made myself."
• Atum's self-creation was the first act of order (ma'at) emerging from chaos (isfet)

The Cosmic Egg

In the Hermopolitan creation myth, the Ogdoad (eight primordial deities including Nun and Naunet) created a cosmic egg that floated on Nun. From this egg hatched Ra in the form of a bird, who then created the world through his divine light and utterance.

The Lotus of Creation

In some traditions, a primordial lotus flower rose from Nun. When it opened, the sun god Ra emerged as a child, bringing light to the darkness. This myth connected the daily blooming of the lotus with the eternal renewal of creation.

Nun in Ongoing Existence

Nun did not disappear after creation. The primordial waters continue to exist, surrounding and underlying the created world:

The Surrounding Ocean

• Nun surrounds the created world like an ocean encircling an island
• The sky rests upon Nun; Nut (sky goddess) drinks from Nun's waters
• The earth floats upon Nun; the waters beneath the world are part of Nun
• The sun travels through Nun during its nightly journey through the Duat

Source of Renewal

Nun's waters provide perpetual renewal and regeneration:

• Each dawn, Ra emerges reborn from Nun's waters
• The Nile flood was believed to rise from Nun, bringing fertility and renewal
• The deceased hoped to be regenerated in Nun's waters, reborn like Ra
• Temple sacred lakes represented Nun, used for ritual purification and renewal

Threat of Chaos

Nun also represents the ever-present threat of chaos dissolving creation:

• If ma'at (cosmic order) fails, creation could dissolve back into Nun
• Natural disasters and the breakdown of social order indicated Nun's chaos encroaching
• The chaos serpent Apep emerges from Nun to attack Ra's barque nightly
• Maintaining ma'at through righteous living and proper ritual kept Nun's chaos at bay

The End of Time

Egyptian cosmology was cyclical but not eternal. Eventually, the Egyptians believed, creation would end and return to the primordial state:

"All that I have created will return to Nun, to the limitless waters, as it was in the beginning. I will remain with Osiris, having changed myself into another form, that of a serpent which men do not know and the gods cannot see."
— Atum, from the Book of the Dead

This end is not destruction but transformation - a return to potential, from which new creation might one day emerge. Atum and Osiris, alpha and omega, will remain in the waters, preserving the seed of existence.

Symbolism and Philosophy

Nun represents profound philosophical concepts:

• Potential vs. Actuality: Nun is pure potential - undifferentiated possibility before actualization in creation
• Chaos vs. Order: The eternal tension between isfet (chaos/Nun) and ma'at (order/creation)
• Death and Rebirth: Return to Nun as death, emergence from Nun as rebirth - the source is also the destination
• The Unknowable: Nun represents that which existed before existence, beyond human comprehension
• Eternal Recurrence: Creation emerges from Nun, exists, and returns to Nun in endless cycle

Worship and Representation

Nun was rarely worshipped as an independent deity but was acknowledged in various ways:

• Temple Sacred Lakes: Represented Nun's primordial waters, used for purification rituals
• Nilometer Chambers: Measured Nile flood levels, connecting to Nun as source of the inundation
• Funerary Texts: Invoked Nun's regenerative power for the deceased's rebirth
• Temple Reliefs: Depicted Nun supporting the solar barque or holding up the world

Sources

Primary Texts: Pyramid Texts (especially Utterances concerning creation), Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead (Spell 175 - "The Chapter of Not Dying Again"), Shabaka Stone (Memphite Theology), Bremner-Rhind Papyrus, Temple cosmogonic inscriptions at Edfu and Dendera