Kauket- Egyptian PrimordialPrimordial"Lady of Darkness"

Also known as: Keket and Kuket

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Titles & Epithets

Lady of DarknessGoddess of Obscurity

Domains

darknessobscurityprimordial chaosnight

Symbols

serpent

Description

Before the first sunrise, there was no light to cast shadows, only the absolute darkness that was Kauket. Serpent-headed goddess of primordial obscurity, paired with Kek in the Ogdoad, she was the void the first dawn had to pierce.

Mythology & Lore

Before the First Dawn

The Hermopolitan Ogdoad named eight forces that existed before creation. Kauket and her counterpart Kek were the darkness: not shadow, which needs light, but the utter blackness that preceded the sun. She appeared as a serpent-headed woman, he as a frog-headed man. Together with the other six, they brought about the first dawn, the cosmic egg or primeval mound from which Ra emerged. The Egyptians called this the moment when darkness broke. Kauket was what broke.

In the Coffin Texts, the eight primordial forces still surround the ordered world. Death was a return to their domain. The sun that rose from Kauket's darkness on the first morning rose again each dawn, and the dead passed through her darkness each night before the same light returned.

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