Saturday, December 24, 2011

Mut

MUT

Patron of: the sky, mothers.
Appearance: A vulture-headed woman or a woman wearing a vulture for a crown.
Description: The very word Mut means "mother" and Mut was the great mother goddess of Egypt, even outranking Isis. Often Mut was believed to be a sort of grandmother figure, as Isis was the mother figure for the world. She was said to be the consort of Amun, and their son was the moon-god Khonsu.
The three formed a sort of heavenly family for their people. Each year a festival would be held celebrating the marriage of Amun and Mut. The high priest of Amun would lead a procession from Karnak to the temple at Luxor.
Worshipped: Amun, Mut and Khonsu were worshipped as a trinity in Luxor.
FROM: http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mut.htm


Mut (Maut) was the mother goddess, the queen of the gods at Waset (Thebes), arising in power with the god Amen. She came to represent the Eye of Ra, the ferocious goddess of retribution and daughter of the sun god Ra. Originally a local goddess, probably from the delta area, she became a national goddess during the New Kingdom and was adored at one of the most popular festivals at the time - the Festival of Mut.
She was either depicted as a woman, sometimes with wings, or a vulture, usually wearing the crowns of royalty - she was often shown wearing the double crown of Egypt or the vulture headdress of the New Kingdom queens. Later she was shown as woman with the head of a lioness, as a cow or as a cobra as she took on the attributes of the other Egyptian goddesses. The ancient Egyptian link between vultures and motherhood lead to her name being the ancient Egyptian word for mother - mwt
FROM: Mut, Mother Goddess of the New Kingdom, Wife of Amen, Vulture Goddess

In Art, Mut was pictured as a woman with the wings of a vulture, holding an ankh, wearing the united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and also a dress of bright red/blue, with the feather of Maat at her feet. Alternatively, as a result of her assimilations, she is sometimes depicted as a cobra, a cat, a cow, or as a lioness. Some of Mut's titles included World-Mother, Eye of Ra, Queen of the Goddesses, Lady of Heaven, Mother of the Gods, and She Who Gives Birth, But Was Herself Not Born of Any.
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mut

Symbols: Double Crown, vulture, cobra, lioness, queen
Cult Center: Thebes
Her name means "mother" and in many ways she was regarded by the Egyptians as the great "world mother," and mother of the pharaohs.
It appears that Mut was originally the female counterpart of Nun. However, in Thebes she replaced Amaunet to become the wife of the great god Amon. Her son was the local god of the moon, Khonsu. Together, the three formed the triad of Thebes that would dominate Egypt during the New Kingdom.
Mut is one of the few goddesses who were self-created. She was called, "Mut, who giveth birth, but was herself not born of any."
The goddess is usually portrayed as a woman wearing the united crowns (or Double Crown) of the North and the South. In her hands she holds the papyrus sceptre and the emblem of life, ankh. Other images show her as a woman standing upright. Her arms are stretched out at 90 degree angles to her body and have large wings attached to them. The feather of Ma'at is at her feet. Some portraits depict Mut with the heads of a man, a woman, a vulture and a lioness. She has a phallus, a pair of wings and the claws of a lion.
The center of her worship was a quarter of Thebes called Asher (Ashrel, Ashrelt, Isheru). Her temple, Het-Mut, was just south of that of Amen-Ra.
FROM: Mut

In the Unas texts, the following prayer is given:
"O Ra, be good to him on this day since yester-"day" {sic}
After this come the words;
"Unas hath had union "with the goddess Mut, Unas hath drawn unto himself the flame "of Isis, Unas hath united himself to the lotus," etc. The only mention of Mut in the Theban Recension Book of the Dead is found in a hymn to Osiris, which forms the clxxxiiird Chapter ; the deceased is made to say to the god, Thou risest up like an "exalted being upon thy standard, and thy beauties exalt the face of man and make long footstep{s}. I have given unto thee the sovereignty of the father Seb, and the goddess Mut, thy mother, who gave birth to the gods, brought thee forth as the first-born of five gods, and created thy beauties and fashioned thy members."
FROM: Mut Post

The principal female counterpart of Amen-Ra, the king of the gods, in the New Empire was Mut, whose name means "Mother." and in all her attributes we see that see was regarded as the great "world-mother." who conceived and brought forth whatsoever exists. The pictures of the goddess usually represent her in the form of a woman wearing on her head the united crowns of the South and of the North, and holding in her hands the papyrus scepter and the emblem of life. Elsewhere we see her in female form standing upright, with her arms, to which large wings are attached, stretched out full length at right angles to her body. She wears the united crowns, as before stated, but from each shoulder there projects the head of a vulture; one vulture wears the crown of the North, and the other two plumes, though sometimes each vulture head has upon it two plumes, which are probably those of Shu or Amen-Ra. In other pictures the goddess has the head of a women or man, a vulture, and a lioness, and she is provided with a phallus, and a pair of wings, and the claws of a lion or lioness. In the vignette of clxivth Chapter of Book of the Dead she is associated with the two dwarfs, each of whom has two faces, one of a hawk and one of a man, and each of whom has an arm lifted to support the symbol of the god Amsu or Min, and wears upon his head a disk and plumes. In the text which accompanies the vignette, though the three-headed goddess is distinctly called "Mut" in the Rubric, she is addressed as "Sekhet-Bast-Ra, a fact which accounts for the presence of the phallus and the male head on a women's body, and proves that Mut was believed to possess both the male and female attributes of reproduction.
FROM: Tour Egypt: Mut


Other Links:
Kemet.org Names of Netjer : Mut The Temple of Mut -- details, images
FORMS OF MUT
TEMPLE OF MUT (another)
MUT AND NU
RealMagick Article: Mut/Mewet by Mirjam
The Precinct of The Goddess Mut Queen of the Gods
Statue of Mut, goddess of motherhood, unearthed at Karnak


This relates more to Amun's worship, but I think it's worth mentioning the God's Wives (of Amun) with Mut as in essence they are reinacting Mut and Amun's union and creations.
Here are some links and articles about the God's Wives: Some links about Waset (Thebes) where Mut was worshipped: For info about vultures, her symbol/totem:

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