Tefnut

**Tefnut**


 * Other Names:**

Tefenet, Tefnet


 * Meaning of Name:**

“Moist.” //Tef// is the root of the Egyptian word for “spit” and “rain.”


 * Hieroglyphics:**

or or


 * Titles:**

“She Who is the Dew”

"Eye of Ra"

//Nesert// (“Lady of Flame”)


 * Family:**

She was thought to be the daughter of Atum and Mut, the sister-wife of Shu, and the mother of Nut and Geb. Sometimes Tefnut's father was Amun or Ra, and her consort Ptah.

One of the Ennead, Tefnut was a lunar goddess of the night sky, linked to dew, rain, and mist. She provided “pure water” for the deceased in the Duat, and washed their feet. Tefnut’s tears were thought to have fallen to earth and turned into incense-bearing plants. She was prayed to in times of drought. In the Pyramid Texts Tefnut was closely involved in the weighing of the heart of the deceased: "Tefnut has weighed the heart and Ma’at has listened, and Shu has born witness." It was said that Shu and Tefnut were two parts of one soul - Shu was supposed to carry away hunger from the deceased, and Tefnut his thirst.

Tefnut was pictured as a woman with the head of a lioness, wearing the sun-disk on her head. Sometimes Tefnut was depicted as a rearing cobra, a lioness-headed serpent, or as a lioness. During the reign of Akenaten, when many of the old gods were rejected, Tefnut and Shu remained in favor and Akhenaten and his wife were often depicted as the twin deities.

Egyptian Deities - T