Responsible For * Moisture, Mist * Moon * Order * Justice * Time * Heaven and Hell * WeatherTefnut

Tefnut

Also Known As: Tefenet, Tefnet Responsible For Moisture, Mist Moon Order Justice Time Heaven and Hell Weather Totemic Form Lioness About Her Cult Cult Center: Heliopolis, Leontopolis Tefnut helped support the sky, and each morning received the sun on the eastern horizon. She was one of the "great nine" who sat in judgment of the dead, and therefore frequently appeared in funerary scenes. She was considered the goddess of the second hour of the night of the fourteenth moon. Tefnut is credited with being the mother of the twins Nut (the sky goddess) and Geb (the earth). Legends In the mythology of Heliopolis, the first event of creation was the emergence of the god Atum from the chaotic wastes of Nun. He gave birth to his son Shu by spitting him out, and to his daughter Tefnut by vomiting her forth. Shu and Tefnut were brought up by Nun and looked after by Atum's Eye. Atum had only one eye, and it was physically separable from him and independent in its wishes. Shu and Tefnut became separated from Atum in the dark wastes of the waters of Nun. Atum sent his Eye to look for them and eventually Shu and Tefnut came back with the Eye.
While the Eye had been searching for them, Atum had replaced it with another, much brighter one. The original Eye was enraged with Atum when it returned at finding its place had been usurped. So Atum took the first Eye and placed it on his forehead where it could rule the whole world he was about to create. Once, Tefnut left Egypt and went to live in the Nubian desert, taking all the moisture in the atmosphere with her. Egypt suffered from a drought. While there, Tefnut turned into a lioness and went on a killing spree. Ra was lonely without his daughter and sent her husband Shu and the baboon Thoth to ask her to return to Egypt. She came back, bringing with her the inundation of the Nile and there were great celebrations in all the temples.
Name in Hieroglyphics The name of Tefnut translates to, "She of the mist". The syllable "TF" refers to moisture or spittle, and is written using the symbols for a loaf of bread ("T" sound) and horned viper ("F" sound). The second syllable, "NT", contains a pot symbolizing water for the "N" and another loaf for the second "T".
Depicting Tefnut In art, Tefnut usually was portrayed as a lion-headed goddess with a solar disk on her head, or as a woman, or as a lion. As one of the nine deities who sat in judgment of the dead, Tefnut often appeared in funerary scenes, seated in a row with the other members of the panel. In these, she was typically depicted as a woman, and could be identified by looking for her name written in hieroglyphics near her head. If doing a theatrical portrayal of Tefnut, these elements may be useful in building the character: Wear a headdress of the solar disk with two Uraeus (cobra) heads, one in center front, and the other in center back. Carry either an ankh or a scepter. Wear a lioness mask. Bring water or clouds into the set design in some way. Use dry ice to create the effect of mist