The Zenith of Summer

* the egyptian goddess NUT, keeper of the Sun *

We are at the Zenith of Summer today– the sun is at its northernmost extreme in the sky and it’s the longest day of the year. As we spin our way through space, the sun will seem to stop still for a moment before continuing on - like a model on the catwalk just before the turn.

The longest day means the shortest night, and that made me think of Egyptian Goddess Nut. She is the sky, the protector of Ra the sun god.

 

Below, NUT eats the sun at dusk (that’s why we can’t see it at night). At dawn, she gives birth to it once more. It goes on and on like this. Today, Nut loans us the sun the longest she has or will all year. Tomorrow she will once more tighten the reins on her nightly meal. Is this breathtaking or what?

                                                                                                                                                                                    image courtesy of Queen of Heaven

Sun Gods get a lot of face time. Ra, Apollo, Louis XIV; everyone loves a sun god. But I am just a little bit more in love with Nut. – the nocturnal empress of Creation and Destruction, the beholder of the sun and stars, the keeper of the sun!

We also have these cool charms -Mexican Milagros that reminded me of some of the symbols in Egypt, especially the arms. I love the way people use the human body to tell stories. It makes so much sense, and the result is always so magical.

Happy Summer Solstice!