Nut (Nuit)

Nut (Nuit) She was an ancient Egyptian goddess of
the heavens, mentioned in the BOOK OF THE DEAD. The
wife of GEB and his sister, NUT was separated from him by
the command of ATUM. SHU raised her up so that Geb
could not touch her, and a ban was
placed on her bearing
children. The EPAGOMENAL DAYS were the only periods in
which Nut could conceive. The epagomenal days were
added to the Egyptian calendar by the god THOTH, who
played a game with the other deities so that he could aid
Nut. During that time Nut gave birth to OSIRIS, HORUS
(the Old), SET, ISIS, and NEPHTHYS.
Nut is depicted as a woman stretched over the horizons,
with stars and celestial lights forming her garb. She
was portrayed at times as a heavenly cow that ate the
stars each morning and then gave birth to them at twilight.
As a cow she carried the god RÉ on her back. When
Nut was shown as a woman, she wore a round vase on
her head, the hieroglyph of her name. Nut figures in
many religious legends. In some of these traditions she is
the cow that Ré mounted when he emerged from the
abyss at the moment of creation. In the mortuary rituals
she protected the deceased, who rose into her heavenly
abode as stars.
Nut did not have a temple or a cult dedicated to her
worship but there was a shrine honoring her in HELIOPOLIS.
In some texts she was called Kha-bewes; “One with a
Thousand Souls.” Egyptians believed that souls went to
Nut after death. She allowed them to dwell forever with
the stars. The holiest of these souls became the polar
stars, never setting and never changing.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
Source :Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt